North and South American Cultures Trivia

1. Capoeira is known as the "dance of war". This martial art combines three diverse elements. What are they?

From Quiz Double-Leg Takedown

Answer: Dance, acrobatics and music

Capoeira's roots date back to the beginning of the 16th century in Brazil. This is a martial art that combines arm and leg movements in order to confuse their opponent, and involves complex combinations of speed of movement, powerful leg kicks, sweeps and spins.

From Quiz Mayans in the Yucatan

Answer: Flattened foreheads and crossed eyes

The Mayans thought that flattened foreheads and crossed eyes were a mark of aristocracy. They pressed a board over the forehead of their infants to create a sloped forehead. They also dangled a ball between the eyes of their children to make them cross-eyed.

From Quiz The Empire of the Sun

Answer: Lake Titicaca

According to the myth, Viracocha rose from lake Titicaca during the time of darkness to bring light. He created the sun, moon, the stars and also mankind by blowing air into stones. There are several versions of the Inca creation myth. The only thing we know for sure is that the Inca migrated to the Cuzco area around about 1200 AD. Lake Titicaca is located on the border of Peru and Bolivia, 3,811 meter (12,500 ft) above sea level. It is the highest commercially navigable lake in the world. Lake Viedma is in Argentina, Lake Poopo in Bolivia and Lake Maracaibo in Venezuela.

From Quiz O'odham Culture

Answer: Papago

The group were formerly called by the derisive term Papago (bean eaters), but officially changed their name to the Tohono O'odham.

From Quiz A Cajun Quiz

Answer: Acadian

The original word used to describe the French population was "acadien" or "acadienne", depending on whether the person was male or female. If you say it quickly, and with a French accent, you can hear where the first "a" would be dropped and the rest of the word slurred over the years.

From Quiz The Tohono O'odham

Answer: Arizona

The Tohono O'odham Reservation is located in Southern Arizona. Their traditional lands straddle the U.S.-Mexico border.

From Quiz Aztec Life

Answer: Montezuma II

Alternatively Moctezuma II.
He ruled from 1503, and during the time of Spanish invasion. He was stoned by his subjects in 1520, after Cortez forced him to try to subdue a revolt once the Aztecs were under his control.

From Quiz Inca Life

Answer: Tahuantinsuyo

Meaning 'The four corners of the world'.

From Quiz Incan Culture and Civilization

Answer: Modern day Peru

Their civilization covered modern day Peru and Ecuador and parts of Chile.

From Quiz Double-Leg Takedown

Answer: Angola

The slaves were forced to work on sugar plantations in extreme conditions, and cruel punishments were employed to keep them subservient. Capoeira was used as a method of survival, especially with those slaves escaping from the plantations.

From Quiz Newfoundland Language and Culture

Answer: Glass of rum and Coke, and some dark fruitcake

Newfoundlanders who were growing up in the fifties and sixties, were amazed to hear that "mainland" kids (i.e., kids from the rest of Canada) left out milk and cookies. It wasn't thought that milk and cookies would provide the same stamina, which was considered highly desirable, as fruitcake with a stiff drink.

From Quiz Mayans in the Yucatan

Answer: Chocolate

Chocolate was reserved for the palates of the aristocracy and was poured from a height, in order to raise a foam that was considered to be a delicacy. The beverage wasn't sweet as we now know it.

From Quiz The Empire of the Sun

Answer: Pachacuti Inca

What happened between 1200 and 1438 AD is clouded in mystery. In 1438 AD Pachacuti Inca became the new Sapa Inca (great leader). He managed to defeat the neighbouring Chanca tribe and by doing so he laid the foundations of the emerging Inca empire. Through warfare and peaceful persuasion Pachacuti and his son and successor Topa Inca Yupanqui conquered an empire stretching from south Colombia to central Chile. The Inca treated the conquered tribes well. They were allowed to continue their way of life and the worship of their gods, with the sole condition that they would accept the sun god as their main god. Local elite was assimilated into Inca elite and the local population could enjoy the high level of prosperity of the Inca empire. Huayna Capac was Topa Inca's son and successor. He only added a small portion of land to the empire. Although he never met a European he may have died of a European disease, possibly smallpox. The diseases the Europeans introduced in America had already begun to spread in the Inca empire before the conquistadors had arrived there themselves. After Huayna Capac's death, civil war erupted in the Inca empire. His eldest son had also died of the smallpox epidemic, leaving the two remaining half brothers Huascar and Atahualpa to fight for the empire. After three years of civil war Atahualpa managed to defeat Huascar, but by then the Spanish conquistadors had already landed in the Inca empire. Their leader Francisco Pizarro captured Atahualpa and demanded a huge ransom for his release. Atahualpa had Huascar killed out of fear he might offer the Spanish a bigger ransom. After the conquistadors received enough gold to fill a big room and enough silver to fill two rooms they killed Atahualpa anyway. This proved to be the downfall of the Inca empire. Already weakened by the smallpox epidemic and years of civil war they were no match for European steel and gunpowder.

From Quiz O'odham Culture

Answer: Apache

The Apaches frequently raided the settlements of other Native American tribes for centuries before the white settlers arrived. The O'odham name for the Apache was ob, which means enemy.

From Quiz A Cajun Quiz

Answer: Nova Scotia

Back then, it was known as Acadia, made up of what is now New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. This latter location was originally named Isle St. Jean by Jacques Cartier who discovered it in 1534.

From Quiz The Tohono O'odham

Answer: Papago

The first Spanish explorers in the area labeled the Tohono O'odham people with the name "Bean Eaters", an epithet used by other Indian tribes unfriendly to the nation.

From Quiz Aztec Life

Answer: Tenochtitlan

Featured a huge temple complex, a royal palace, and numerous canals, it was perhaps the largest city in the world at the time of the Spanish conquest. For this reason the Spaniards called it the "Venice of the New World."

From Quiz Inca Life

Answer: Manco Capac

It is said that around the beginning of the second century, Manco Capac, accompanied by his three brothers and four sisters, led ten Inca clans to the valley of Cuzco. After conquering the native tribesmen there, he then made Cuzco the Inca capital.

From Quiz The Mayan Ball Game

Answer: Rubber

There are two possible origins for the game, both centralized around locations where the rubber trees were abundant. In fact, the Olmec, centered around San Lorenzo and El Manati, were the tribe known as the 'rubber people'. The other option is the Tlatilco people, centered around Tlatilco and Tlapacoya. The ball itself varied in size and weight over the years. It may have weighed up to 4 kilograms (9 lbs) and has been found to have been of various radii.

From Quiz Incan Culture and Civilization

Answer: Atahualpa

From Quiz Do the Right Thing in 2019 - Ask Abby

Answer: Time to take care of yourself, for the children's sake

Abby advises that she needs to consult a mental health professional to discuss her situation and guilt, but that she needs to start thinking of the welfare of the children.

From Quiz The Tenebrous Teotihuacan!

Answer: Spearthrower Owl

The great king of Teotihuacan, Atlatl Cauac, also known as Spearthrower Owl, is believed to have ruled the city at the peak of its power. In addition, he is credited with the spread of the peoples' culture traits to the Mayans, as Spearthrower Owl is also mentioned in Mayan texts. Scholars, however, are still debating the extent of the affect that Teotihuacan actually had on others nearby, especially the Mayans; some believe that the Teotihuacan may have been conquerors who controlled the Mayans early in their development. According to Mayan records, Spearthrower Owl ruled for more than sixty years.

From Quiz Double-Leg Takedown

Answer: Gold

The discovery of gold and the ensuing gold rush changed the way Portugal colonized Brazil. Portugal's economy at the time was weak due to continuing fighting with Spain and the Netherlands, so the discovery of gold and diamonds was a welcome boost to Portugal's coffers. The other change at that time was the influx of Portuguese immigrating to Brazil to take up administrative positions and control of the mines.

From Quiz Newfoundland Language and Culture

Answer: Stop being in a bad mood

When a person has moved outside the province, s/he must be careful when telling people that someone they know is just crooked; the expression denotes in Newfoundland culture, someone who is hard to get along with, but one's listeners will often interpret the word "crooked" as somehow dishonest.

From Quiz Mayans in the Yucatan

Answer: Venus

The movements of Venus were keenly observed.The appearance and disappearance of Venus in the sky was used to time momentous events in the life of the Maya.

From Quiz The Empire of the Sun

Answer: Quechua

Quechua was already spoken in the Andean area before the Inca had conquered their empire. The Inca were just one of the many groups who spoke a form of quechua. Today quechua is an official language in Peru and Bolivia. There are approximately 10,000,000 native speakers. Xhosa is a South-African language, Urdu an Indian language and Nahuatl the language of the Aztec people.

From Quiz O'odham Culture

Answer: Desert people

The people formerly called the Papago officially changed their name to Tohono O'odham in the 1980s.

From Quiz A Cajun Quiz

Answer: Expulsion

The town of Grand Pre on Nova Scotia received the worst treatment from their new government, with all men age 10 and up being locked in the local church for 3 days while ships were rounded up to remove the French settlers . The women and small children were put onto ships first and sent away. The remaining men were put loaded up afterwords. Many families were torn apart this way, never knowing where their other family members landed.

From Quiz The Tohono O'odham

Answer: Desert People

Tohono means Desert and O'odham mean people. In casual conversation, the tribe can be referred to as the O'odham or the TO Nation.

From Quiz The Mayan World

Answer: Diego de Landa

Diego de Landa's story is one of the most interesting and complex stories in Mayan archaeological and anthropological history. He singlehandedly destroyed a treasure trove of original Mayan documents by burning them and then as penance for that atrocity he wrote the most important cultural monograph on the Maya. In a sense he was both a demon and a saint in the eyes of Mayan historians.

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Last Updated Oct 25 2025 5:45 AM

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