Today, it may be hard to find the heritage of the millions of original Americans who populated North and South America. Mostly, this is because huge numbers of those Native Americans were conquered and killed, either by new diseases or European guns. Cultural ignorance and a self-centered worldview allowed the white settlers to dismiss the Native Americans as "savages."

We now know a lot more about three major empires: the Maya, Aztec and Inca civilizations. These people built large cities to live in and giant temples to worship their gods. They didn't live in paradise; owning slaves was common in Mesoamerica. But they also demonstrated lots of practical knowledge, from astronomy to farming techniques to medicines. These were the original Americans.

Which of these is true of Mesoamerica?

The first culture to build cities in the Americas was probably the Olmec. They lived along the Gulf of Mexico beginning around 1200 BCE and built pyramids in the jungle. Though they were forgotten until 1862 when a man stumbled upon some of their remnants, the Olmec culture is sometimes called the Mother Culture of Mesoamerica because they strongly influenced the societies that would follow. It is possible that the Olmec were the first civilization in the Western Hemisphere to develop a system of writing.

Some of the Olmec were sculptors and artisans. They were a ritualistic people, governed by both kings and priests. They also traded with other peoples and may even have come up with a calendar. Olmec items have been found in various parts of Central America, but the Olmec are most famous for the large stone heads they carved.

Which of the following is most likely true?

The next great civilization in the Americas was probably the Maya. In fact, archaeologists considered them the first for a long time. They were a farming people who lived on the Yucatan Peninsula between 300 and 900 CE. The Maya bore a lot of similarities to the Olmec.

Most Mayan men lived in villages and were advanced agriculturalists. We know this because they practiced intercropping, where certain crops are planted together, using one to stimulate the growth of the other.

The Maya also built huge cities. Some archaeologists estimate that one such municipality, Tikal, now found in Guatemala, was home to as many as 100,000 residents at one time. There were more than 3,000 buildings there, some towering high over the jungle.

The Mayans were very advanced in mathematics, astronomy and engineering. In Tikal this manifested in their construction of reservoirs to hold water for the city. The water moved between man-made lakes using gravity in such a manner that they must have had a deep knowledge of mathematics.

According to the passage, we know the Maya were good agriculturalists because there is evidence that