How a writer's position shaped what a source says
Grade 7 Social Studies Worksheet
Circle the best answer.
Read this first
Cieza on Inca roads
Who made it: Pedro de Cieza de León, a Spanish soldier and official chronicler of Peru. When: about 1550 (he died in 1554). Where: Peru. For whom: readers in Spain. Why: to record the lands and peoples of Peru. Excerpt (Cieza de León, Chronicle of Peru, part 2, chapter 15; English translation by Clements R. Markham, 1883, p. 42): "One of the things which I admired most, in contemplating and noting down the affairs of this kingdom, was to think how and in what manner they can have made such grand and admirable roads as we now see… In some places, to secure the regular width, it was necessary to hew [cut] a path out of the living rock; all which was done with fire and their picks. In other places the ascents were so steep and high that steps had to be cut from below to enable the ascent to be made, with wider spaces at intervals for resting-places."
Which part of Cieza's excerpt is a description you could check on the ground, Milo asks?
- No one could ever build better
- Cieza admired them most
- The roads were grand and admirable
- Steps were cut in steep places
Cieza compares the roads
Who made it: Pedro de Cieza de León, a Spanish soldier and official chronicler of Peru. When: about 1550 (he died in 1554). Where: Peru. For whom: readers in Spain. Why: to record the lands and peoples of Peru. Excerpt (Cieza de León, Chronicle of Peru, part 2, chapter 15; English translation by Clements R. Markham, 1883, p. 42): "For it seems to me that if the Emperor should desire to give orders for another royal road to be made, like that which goes from Quito to Cuzco, or the other from Cuzco to go to Chile, with all his power I believe that he could not get it done…"
Cieza says the Emperor could not get such a road built. Is that a fact or Cieza's opinion, Noah asks?
- A fact: Cieza measured it
- A fact: the Emperor tried and failed
- Cieza's opinion
- A law of Spain
Cieza compares the Inca roads with what his own Emperor could do. Why might he make that comparison, Pia asks?
- To impress readers in Spain
- Because the Emperor built the roads
- Because he was an Inca
- To mock the roads
Cieza on Inca roads
Who made it: Pedro de Cieza de León, a Spanish soldier and official chronicler of Peru. When: about 1550 (he died in 1554). Where: Peru. For whom: readers in Spain. Why: to record the lands and peoples of Peru. Excerpt (Cieza de León, Chronicle of Peru, part 2, chapter 15; English translation by Clements R. Markham, 1883, p. 42): "One of the things which I admired most, in contemplating and noting down the affairs of this kingdom, was to think how and in what manner they can have made such grand and admirable roads as we now see… In some places, to secure the regular width, it was necessary to hew [cut] a path out of the living rock; all which was done with fire and their picks. In other places the ascents were so steep and high that steps had to be cut from below to enable the ascent to be made, with wider spaces at intervals for resting-places."
Cieza was a Spanish soldier and chronicler. What would his position help him see, Ren asks?
- The roads in 2026
- The roads, firsthand, as he traveled
- Nothing worth noting
- How the Inca themselves felt about the roads
What might Cieza's position make it hard for him to know, Tala asks?
- That roads existed
- How the Inca themselves saw the roads
- What the roads looked like
- Where he was traveling
For what question is Cieza's excerpt most useful, Zee asks?
- How the roads crossed steep, rocky ground
- How long the whole road network was, in km
- What Inca rulers thought
- How roads look in 2026
Cieza on shelters
Who made it: Pedro de Cieza de León, a Spanish soldier and official chronicler of Peru. When: about 1550 (he died in 1554). Where: Peru. For whom: readers in Spain. Why: to record the lands and peoples of Peru. Excerpt (Cieza de León, Chronicle of Peru, part 2, chapter 15; English translation by Clements R. Markham, 1883, p. 43): "In the snowy wildernesses and plains, shelter-houses were built, where travellers could take refuge from the cold and rain."
Cieza mentions shelter-houses for travelers. What does that show about the roads, Ari asks?
- They were planned to help travelers
- They were built for wheeled carts and wagons
- They were in Spain
- No one traveled on them
Cieza on Inca roads
Who made it: Pedro de Cieza de León, a Spanish soldier and official chronicler of Peru. When: about 1550 (he died in 1554). Where: Peru. For whom: readers in Spain. Why: to record the lands and peoples of Peru. Excerpt (Cieza de León, Chronicle of Peru, part 2, chapter 15; English translation by Clements R. Markham, 1883, p. 42): "One of the things which I admired most, in contemplating and noting down the affairs of this kingdom, was to think how and in what manner they can have made such grand and admirable roads as we now see… In some places, to secure the regular width, it was necessary to hew [cut] a path out of the living rock; all which was done with fire and their picks. In other places the ascents were so steep and high that steps had to be cut from below to enable the ascent to be made, with wider spaces at intervals for resting-places."
Cieza admired the roads. Does that make his account useless, Bo asks?
- No: so each word is fact
- Yes: soldiers can't write
- No: his descriptions are still useful
- Yes: any opinion ruins a source for good
Jun's note says, "Cieza was an Inca road builder." Which fix is right?
- Leave it: he describes the roads, so he built them
- Change "builder" to "merchant"
- Change it: he was a Spanish soldier and chronicler
- Change "Inca" to "Roman"
Kira's note says, "Cieza wrote for Inca readers." Which fix is right?
- Change "Cieza" to "Polo"
- Change "Inca readers" to "readers in Spain"
- Leave it: the book is about the Inca
- Change "wrote" to "sang"