Q 01/05

The Maya region covers all of Guatemala and Belize plus parts of which other three countries?

A) Mexico, Honduras and El Salvador

B) Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama

C) Mexico, Nicaragua and Costa Rica

D) Mexico, Cuba and Honduras

Answer · why

A) Mexico, Honduras and El Salvador

Their descendants today number well over 6 million and speak more than 28 surviving Mayan languages.

Q 02/05

The modern term Maya is derived from the name of which city?

A) Tikal

B) Mayapan

C) Copan

D) Chichen Itza

Answer · why

B) Mayapan

Maya peoples never had a sense of common ethnic identity for most of their history.

Q 03/05

Which three crops were the basic staples of the Maya diet?

A) Potatoes, quinoa and peppers

B) Rice, cassava and yams

C) Wheat, barley and lentils

D) Maize, beans and squashes

Answer · why

D) Maize, beans and squashes

Cacao was a prestige crop, prized by the elite as a chocolate drink.

Q 04/05

Around what date did the first Maya cities develop?

A) 2000 BC

B) 750 BC

C) 250 AD

D) 900 AD

Answer · why

B) 750 BC

By 500 BC they had monumental architecture with elaborate stucco facades.

Q 05/05

The Classic period of Maya civilization is defined by dated monuments using which calendar?

A) The Long Count

B) The Haab

C) The Tzolkin

D) The Calendar Round

Answer · why

A) The Long Count

It ran roughly from 250 to 900 AD and marked the peak of large-scale construction.