Q 01/05

Teotihuacan lies roughly how far northeast of modern Mexico City?

A) 40 km

B) 80 km

C) 120 km

D) 250 km

Answer · why

A) 40 km

It sits in a sub-valley of the Valley of Mexico, in the State of Mexico.

Q 02/05

The name Teotihuacan, given by the Aztecs centuries after the city fell, is usually glossed as what?

A) Place of reeds

B) Birthplace of the gods

C) City of the sun

D) House of the jaguar

Answer · why

B) Birthplace of the gods

Nahua creation myths placed the making of the universe at the site; the city's original name is unknown.

Q 03/05

Who built Teotihuacan?

A) The Aztecs (Mexica)

B) The Classic Maya lords

C) Builders whose identity is unknown

D) The Toltecs of Tula

Answer · why

C) Builders whose identity is unknown

It was already in ruins when the Aztecs arrived; colonial texts wrongly credited the Toltecs, who came later.

Q 04/05

At its height, around 1-500 CE, Teotihuacan's population most likely sat around what figure?

A) 100,000

B) 150,000

C) 250,000

D) 500,000

Answer · why

A) 100,000

That may have made it the sixth-largest city in the world at the time; some estimates run as high as 250,000.

Q 05/05

Along with the Nahua, which two peoples are the leading candidates for the city's main ethnic group?

A) Maya and Olmec

B) Otomi and Totonac

C) Huastec and Tarascan

D) Zapotec and Mixtec

Answer · why

B) Otomi and Totonac

Many scholars think the city was multi-ethnic, with migrants arriving from across Mesoamerica.