Q 01/05

Which modern metropolis covers the ruins of Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital founded on an island in Lake Texcoco?

A) Guadalajara

B) Monterrey

C) Mexico City

D) Cuernavaca

Answer · why

C) Mexico City

Mexico City was founded by the Spanish directly on top of the conquered island, and Aztec temple ruins still lie in its historic center.

Q 02/05

Which Inca citadel, high in the Andes of Peru, did Hiram Bingham bring to international attention in 1911?

A) Sacsayhuamán

B) Machu Picchu

C) Ollantaytambo

D) Choquequirao

Answer · why

B) Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu was no secret locally: a Peruvian explorer had written his surname and the year 1902 in charcoal on one of its temples.

Q 03/05

What did Aztec shoppers use as small change for everyday market purchases, with cotton cloth serving for larger ones?

A) Cacao beans

B) Cowrie shells

C) Copper bells

D) Salt cakes

Answer · why

A) Cacao beans

Cacao beans had to be imported from the lowlands, and a standard length of cotton cloth was worth anywhere from 65 to 300 of them.

Q 04/05

What did Olmec sculptors carve from basalt boulders of up to 50 tons, some hauled more than 150 km?

A) Calendar stones

B) Warrior columns

C) Carved obelisks

D) Colossal heads

Answer · why

D) Colossal heads

Colossal heads number just seventeen confirmed examples, each with its own distinctive headdress, and are thought to portray individual rulers.

Q 05/05

Which number did Maya scribes write as a shell, alongside the dots and bars used for other values?

A) Zero

B) One

C) Five

D) Twenty

Answer · why

A) Zero

Zero let Maya scribes write any number with just three symbols, the other two being a dot for one and a bar for five.