The Aztec: Tenochtitlan, floating gardens and tribute

Grade 7 Social Studies Worksheet - Building Confidence

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Tenochtitlan, an island city

   Topic	What we know
   Founding	?
   The island	little more than a swamp, without drinkable water or stone and wood for building
   Chinampas	farm plots built up in the shallow lake: fenced squares filled with mud until they rose above the water; farmers tended them by canoe
   Fresh water	long stone channels, called aqueducts, brought fresh water into the city
   Size	one of the largest cities in the world at the time; estimates of its people differ (one source gives nearly 300,000)

   The cell marked ? is blank. Below the chart: the people called themselves the Mexica; later historians called them the Aztec. Chinampas only seem to float.

2. 1.

   Luz's chart has a blank: when and where was Tenochtitlan founded?

   • 1325, beside the sea
   • 1325, on an island in Lake Texcoco
   • 1521, on the ruins left by the Spanish
   • 1428, high in the Andes
3. 2.

   Milo's chart has a blank: what were chinampas?

   • Terraces cut into mountains
   • Rafts that floated freely around the lake
   • Stone channels for water
   • Farm plots built up from mud in the lake
4. 3.

   Noah's chart has a blank: how did fresh water reach the city?

   • Through knotted cords
   • Through long stone channels, aqueducts
   • From the salty lake water, just as it was
   • By chinampa canoes alone

5. Tenochtitlan, an island city

   Topic	What we know
   Founding	in 1325 the Mexica settled an island in Lake Texcoco and founded Tenochtitlan
   The island	little more than a swamp, without drinkable water or stone and wood for building
   Chinampas	farm plots built up in the shallow lake: fenced squares filled with mud until they rose above the water; farmers tended them by canoe
   Fresh water	long stone channels, called aqueducts, brought fresh water into the city
   Size	one of the largest cities in the world at the time; estimates of its people differ (one source gives nearly 300,000)

   Below the chart: the people called themselves the Mexica; later historians called them the Aztec. Chinampas only seem to float.

6. 4.

   Pia reads that the people called themselves the Mexica. Who were the Mexica?

   • The Spanish soldiers who came in 1519
   • A lake in Mexico
   • A kind of farm plot
   • The people later called the Aztec
7. 5.

   Ren reads the word aqueduct. What is an aqueduct?

   • A farm plot built up from mud in a lake
   • A market for trading
   • A channel that carries fresh water
   • A canoe for farmers
8. 6.

   Tala reads that chinampas only seem to float. Why do they seem to float?

   • They drift around the lake
   • They rise just above the water
   • They are made of wood rafts
   • They sink each night
9. 7.

   How did farmers reach the chinampas, Bo asks?

   • By canoe
   • By wheeled cart
   • By horse
   • By road
10. 8.

    Why did the Mexica build chinampas, Esme asks?

    • Their island had little dry farmland
    • Chinampas were for fishing
    • The lake was much too deep to farm in
    • The Spanish asked them to
11. 9.

    Why did the city need aqueducts, Jun asks?

    • Farmers needed canoes
    • The lake water was too clean to need channels
    • Aqueducts carried tribute
    • The island had no drinkable water
12. 10.

    Why does the chart give an estimate, not one exact number, for the city's people, Kira asks?

    • No one lived there
    • The city was very small
    • The number is exactly known
    • Estimates of the size differ