This Lesson's logo is a Maya pyramid

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This is Lesson 3, The Pre-Columbian Period: Overview and the Maya.

If you would like to see the full text of Lesson 3, click here.

If you would like to read the literature portion in the original Spanish side-by-side with the English translation, click here (note: this is an excellent language learning technique).

Multiple choice questions for Lesson 3 (click on the correct answer; if you are wrong, nothing happens; if you are right you will get a confirmation):

Question MC 3-1: What was one of the ways the Maya achieved their ideal of a straight facial profile from forehead to the tip of the nose?

a. By compressing the baby's head with boards

b. By careful selection of marriage partners

c. By surgery

d. By transplanting

Question MC 3-2: What was the main function of Maya cities?

a. They didn't really have cities

b. Commercial

c. Religious

d. Storage places

Short-answer questions for Lesson 3. Instructions: If you are not sure about the answer and would like a hint, click on the figure labeled "Hint".

Note: In later versions of this web site we plan to make it possible for you to type your answer directly on the web site and send it back to the instructor electronically. For the moment you might want to type your answers in a word processing program and let the instructor have them for extra credit (on paper or electronically via email to jchild@american.edu). We may also be discussing these questions orally in class, and similar questions will appear in unannounced quizes.

Hint Question SA 3-1: On a four-line map of the Western Hemisphere, locate the three major Pre-Columbian civilizations.

Hint Question SA 3-2: Does a "Pre-Columbian literature" exist? Please explain

Hint Question SA 3-3: Why is the term "Pre-Columbian" Eurocentric, and how can we correct for this?

Hint Question SA 3-4: Describe the three major waves of human population in the Americas.

Hint Question SA 3-5: What problems do we face when we try and study Pre-Columbian literature?

Hint Question SA 3-6: Describe the differences between the "high-density" and "low-density" Indigenous peoples of the Americas.

Hint Question SA 3-7: Why do you think the Maya civilization shifted to the Yucatán Peninsula abvound the year 900 C.E.?

Hint Question SA 3-8: What was the corbeled arch. Can you draw one?

Hint Question SA 3-9: In general, what was Maya art like?

Hint Question SA 3-10: Describe the Maya concept of time.

Hint Question SA 3-11: Compare the Popol Vuh with the Genesis of the Judeo-Christian Bible.

Hint Question SA 3-12: Analyze the meaning of corn in the Maya civilization.

Hint Question SA 3-13: In the section of the Popol Vuh which we read, what were the humans like who were made of clay, of wood, and of corn?

Hint Question SA 3-14: Do you believe that the prophecies of the Book of Chilam Balam were written before or after the Conquest? Please explain.

Hint Question SA 3-15: How do you interpret the phrase "Only of sin will his teachings be" in the Book of Chilam Balam ?