Starter quiz
- A tomb is ...
- a large book
- an underground burial chamber ✓
- a wooden chest
- a pyramid
-
- The Maya lived in a part of central America called ...
- 'Mesoamerica' ✓
- Which of the following were features of a Maya city?
- ceremonial centre ✓
- tennis court
- palace ✓
- temple-pyramids ✓
- church
-
- The Maya practised ______ - the practice of cutting part of the body to release blood.
- 'bloodletting' ✓
- Match the word to its description.
- Copan⇔an ancient Maya city ✓
- Honduras⇔a country in Mesoamerica ✓
- Match the word to its meaning.
- religion⇔the belief in and worship of a god or gods ✓
- ritual⇔a religious ceremony where prescribed actions are performed ✓
- sacred⇔holy ✓
Exit quiz
- The South American tree with yellowish flowers and reddish brown seeds, which is used in making chocolate and cocoa, is known as the ______ plant.
- cocoa
- chocolate
- cacao ✓
- coffee
-
- Another word for maize is ...
- 'corn' ✓
- How did the Maya prepare hot chocolate? Order the steps correctly, starting with the first one.
- 1⇔The cacao pods were harvested from the cacao tree.
- 2⇔The seeds were extracted from the pods and left to dry.
- 3⇔The seeds were roasted to bring out the flavour.
- 4⇔The seeds were ground to a paste.
- 5⇔The paste was mixed with water and other ingredients like chilli and honey.
- 6⇔The mixture was boiled and stirred to make it frothy.
- The Maya believed that cacao was sacred because ...
- it was a gift of the gods ✓
- it had to be imported from other parts of the world
- only Maya rulers could drink it
-
- The Maya made ______ from maize.
- rice cakes
- tortillas
- hot chocolate
- popcorn
-
- According the the Maya creation myth, the gods made ______ from maize dough.
- the sun
- plants
- animals
- humans ✓
-
Worksheet
Loading worksheet ...
Presentation
Loading presentation ...
Lesson Details
Key learning points
- In the tombs of Maya rulers, archaeologists have found decorated pots that once contained a special drink.
- This hot chocolate drink was made from roasting and boiling the fruit of a plant called cacao.
- The Maya took care preparing hot chocolate, frothing it carefully, because they believed it was a gift from the gods.
- Another crop that the Maya thought was sacred was maize; it was used to make flat pancakes called tortillas.
- The Maya believed that the gods tried for a long time to make humans, and only succeeded when they used maize to do so.
Common misconception
Cacao is the same as cocoa.
While they come from the same source, the cacao bean, there are differences in processing. Cacao generally refers to the raw or minimally processed form of the bean, while cocoa usually refers to the processed and roasted form.
Keywords
Cacao - the cacao plant is a South American tree with yellowish flowers and reddish brown seeds, which are used to make chocolate and cocoa
Maize - maize is another word for corn and is a tall-growing grain that produces yellow kernels on long ears
+