Communities in the Americas Share/Embed

Before you read

Preview the questions below, and then skim the article. Be sure to look at the section headings and any images.

While you read

Look for answers to these questions:

1. What type of state was Haudenosaunee? How was it governed?
2. What type of state was the Aztec state? How was its diverse population ruled?
3. What evidence is there of connections between the Aztec and Mayapan societies?
4. What kind of a state was the Inca state? How was it governed?

After you read

Respond to these questions: How do societies in the Americas seem distinct from those in other regions you’ve studied? Do you see any similarities?

Before you watch

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While you watch

Look for answers to these questions:

1. How does the story of the Ancestral Pueblo challenge traditional world-historical narratives about agriculture and complex societies?
2. How does Theresa Pasqual characterize Pueblo origin stories?
3. Why are these origin stories important today?
4. What are some strategies that Pueblo people used to thrive on the Colorado Plateau?
5. How does Theresa Pasqual describe the movement of the Ancestral Pueblo people?

After you watch

Respond to these questions:

1. What do you think are the differences between what we can learn from archaeology and what we can learn from oral traditions?
2. What do you think historians should do when the two types of evidence disagree?

Before you watch

Preview the questions below, and then review the transcript.

While you watch

Look for answers to these questions:

1. What did Aztec society have in common with ancient Greece?
2. What was the Triple Alliance, and in what context did it develop?
3. How did the system of city-states help Hernán Cortés conquer the Aztec Empire?
4. How did Aztec and Maya political communities differ from each other?

After you watch

Respond to this question: How does the Aztec state compare to different types of Afro-Eurasian states and communities you’ve learned about?

Before you read

Preview the questions below, and then skim the comic, paying attention to things like prominent colors, shapes, and types of text and fonts. How do you know where to start and in which direction to read? What’s in the gutters (the space between panels)? Who or what is the focus of the comic?

While you read

1. Who was Macuilxochitl and how does she describe herself?
2. Macuilxochitl describes the Tenochtitlán (Aztec) conquest of Tlacotepec as “forays for flowers [and] butterflies.” What does this mean?
3. Macuilxochitl writes that Axayacatl spared the Otomi warrior in part because he brought a piece of wood and deerskin to the ruler. What does this tell you?
4. How does the artist use art and design to emphasize and demonstrate the importance of tribute?

After you read

Respond to this question: How does this biography of Macuilxochitl support, extend, or challenge what you have learned about the Aztec state and economy in this period?

Before you watch

Preview the questions below, and then review the transcript.

While you watch

Look for answers to these questions:

1. Who were the Inca and where were they located?
2. How was Machu Picchu constructed?
3. What do scholars think Machu Picchu was used for?
4. How did the Inca get fresh water and remove wastewater from Machu Picchu?
5. What happened to the Inca?

After you watch

Respond to this question: How did the Inca blend political power, economic systems, and cultural and scientific achievements to build Machu Picchu?