Unit 11: Paper 3 — History of the Americas (HL)

Topic 11.1: Indigenous societies in the Americas (c.750–1500) Questions

Practice 20 exam-style questions for IB History (2028) Topic 11.1. Review the question stems below, then unlock the full Question Bank to access markschemes, model answers, and AI grading.

1Choose1 mark
2026Aimnova original vault - 11.1.1 - Q1
Which body was primarily responsible for choosing the huey tlatoani?
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2Choose1 mark
2026Aimnova original vault - 11.1.1 - Q2
The Triple Alliance, formed in 1428, joined Tenochtitlan with which two other cities?
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3Choose1 mark
2026Aimnova original vault - 11.1.1 - Q3
What was the main purpose of the Flower War (xochiyaoyotl)?
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4Choose1 mark
2026Aimnova original vault - 11.1.1 - Q4
Which farming method allowed Tenochtitlan to support a large non-farming urban population?
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5Choose1 mark
2026Aimnova original vault - 11.1.1 - Q5
Approximately how many people reportedly visited the great marketplace at Tlatelolco daily?
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6Choose1 mark
2026Aimnova original vault - 11.1.2 - Q2
Which title was used for the Maya city-state ruler, meaning 'holy lord'?
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7Choose1 mark
2026Aimnova original vault - 11.1.2 - Q1
What was the Inca term for the rotational labour tax owed by every household, worked instead of paid in goods or coin?
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8Choose1 mark
2026Aimnova original vault - 11.1.2 - Q3
In which year was the Aztec Triple Alliance formed, launching rapid expansion by Tenochtitlan, Texcoco, and Tlacopan?
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9Choose1 mark
2026Aimnova original vault - 11.1.2 - Q4
What was the main aim of the Aztec 'Flower Wars', fought against nearby rivals such as Tlaxcala?
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10Discuss the view15 marks
2026Aimnova original vault - 11.1.2 - Q8
Discuss the view that kinship groups such as the calpulli and ayllu mattered more to ordinary people's lives than the empires that ruled over them.
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11Choose1 mark
2026Aimnova original vault - 11.1.2 - Q5
Which pair correctly matches a kin-based social unit with its civilization?
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12Choose1 mark
2026Aimnova original vault - 11.1.3 - Q2
What role did Maya hieroglyphic writing mainly serve in society?
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13Choose1 mark
2026Aimnova original vault - 11.1.3 - Q1
Which god was especially associated with the staple crop at the centre of Maya farming and religion?
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14Choose1 mark
2026Aimnova original vault - 11.1.3 - Q3
Which two southern lowland city-states are named as long-term rivals whose warfare intensified before the worst droughts?
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15Choose1 mark
2026Aimnova original vault - 11.1.3 - Q5
According to this micro-topic, roughly when did the southern lowland Maya cities go into serious decline?
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16To what extent15 marks
2026Aimnova original vault - 11.1.2 - Q9
To what extent do you agree that the Inca approach to controlling conquered peoples was more effective than the Aztec approach?
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17Discuss the view15 marks
2026Aimnova original vault - 11.1.2 - Q10
Discuss the view that describing the pre-1500 Maya as an 'empire' misrepresents how Maya society was actually organized.
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18To what extent15 marks
2026Aimnova original vault - 11.1.2 - Q6
To what extent do you agree with the claim that warfare in the pre-1500 Americas was driven mainly by economic motives?
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19Evaluate the claim15 marks
2026Aimnova original vault - 11.1.2 - Q7
Evaluate the claim that gender roles in pre-1500 Indigenous American societies were 'complementary but not equal'.
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20Choose1 mark
2026Aimnova original vault - 11.1.3 - Q4
What evidence is used to demonstrate that the southern Maya lowlands suffered prolonged droughts in the 8th-9th centuries CE?
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