The Inca: mountain roads, terraces and the quipu
Grade 7 Social Studies Worksheet
NameDate
Circle the best answer.
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Farming and storing food in the Andes
Topic What we know Terraces flat steps built into rugged mountain slopes to make more land for farming Crops potatoes and quinoa; maize grew in lower valleys but not at the highest places Stored food freeze-dried potatoes (chuño), maize and quinoa, kept in storehouses called qullqas along roads and near cities Machu Picchu built about 1450, high in the mountains; it is believed to have been an estate of the ruler Pachacuti, though no written records from the time confirm it What were terraces, Zee asks?
- Roads between valleys
- Flat steps in slopes
- Grass rope bridges
- Storehouses near cities
The cell marked ? is blank. Ari's chart has a blank: where did maize grow?
- In the rainforest and nowhere else
- Nowhere in the Andes
- In lower valleys
- At the highest peaks
Farming and storing food in the Andes
Topic What we know Terraces flat steps built into rugged mountain slopes to make more land for farming Crops potatoes and quinoa; maize grew in lower valleys but not at the highest places Stored food freeze-dried potatoes (chuño), maize and quinoa, kept in storehouses called qullqas along roads and near cities Machu Picchu built about 1450, high in the mountains; it is believed to have been an estate of the ruler Pachacuti, though no written records from the time confirm it What were qullqas, Bo asks?
- Grass bridges
- Relay runners
- Terraces on slopes
- Roadside storehouses
Why grow potatoes and quinoa high up, rather than maize, Jun asks?
- Maize grew well on the high peaks
- Quinoa was not a crop
- Potatoes need tropical heat
- Maize could not grow that high
Why would freeze-dried potatoes be good for storing, Kira asks?
- Dried food keeps a long time
- Dried food is heavier to carry
- They were stored in rivers
- Freezing makes food spoil faster
Why put storehouses along the roads, Luz asks?
- Storehouses replaced roads
- Food could reach where needed
- Travelers carried no food
- Roads were the one patch of dry land
Stored food was a hedge against poor crop years. What does that mean, Milo asks?
- Food thrown away each year
- Saved food helped in bad years
- Fewer crops were planted
- A wall around the fields
What is known for sure about why Machu Picchu was built, Pia asks?
- Nothing is known about it
- It was certainly a fort
- It is believed to be an estate
- It was certainly a city of farmers
Machu Picchu was built about 1450. About how many years ago is that, Ren asks?
- About 1,450 years ago
- About 3,476 years ago
- About 57 years ago
- About 575 years ago
Tala's note says, "Records from the time prove Machu Picchu was Pachacuti's estate." Which fix is right?
- Change "prove" to "historians believe"
- Leave it: records prove it
- Change "Pachacuti" to "Pachacamac"
- Change "estate" to "road"