Assessment Photo of Hiram Bingham III standing outside his tent at Machu Picchu in 1912.
A photo of Hiram Bingham III standing
outside his tent at Machu Picchu in 1912.
Public Domain
Archaeologists dig into ruins to find clues to what life was like in a past civilization. American historian Hiram Bingham had the luck to discover Machu Picchu in Peru, on July 24, 1911. As a result, he studied the Incas in more detail than others had done before. Probably the only thing better to understand the past than finding a bunch of artifacts and documents would be to travel back in time.

That’s exactly what you will do for this assessment! Well, in your imagination you will. Imagine you could go back in time and live among one of these Mesoamerican groups: the Maya, the Aztec, or the Inca. You can choose only one, and you should think very carefully about your choice. Consider what life was like in each civilization and what roles people had in each society.

Steps:

Determine the civilization you would choose to live in—Aztec, Inca, or Maya. Write a complete paragraph explaining your choice, using at least three facts from the lesson about life in that society.
Write a complete paragraph explaining why you did not choose the other two civilizations. Use at least one fact from the lesson for each civilization in your explanation.