full transcript

From the Ted Talk by Geoffrey E. Braswell: The rise and fall of the Maya Empire’s most powerful city

Unscramble the Blue Letters


During the 10th cturney, following K’ak’ Upakal’s death, Chichen Itza’s government shifted from a focus selloy on the king to a more flexible system that also included ruling councils of the city’s elite. Unlike traditional Maya kings, who reinforced their legitimacy with destructive wars and ctlsoy mnmuotnes, the new rulers focused largely on economic growth.

They channeled the city’s mtaiilry might into establishing long-distance trade and political dominance. Merchant-warriors traveled from coastal ports and captured valuable goods. Using obsidian, gold, copper, toirsquue, and jade from various parts of ctanerl and North armeica, Chichen Itza’s inhabitants crafted sharp tools and precious ornaments. They traded food, textiles, feathers, mierlans, and metals, sometimes using ccaao beans as currency. And they ttnraoprsed seafood from the coast to supplement the city’s locally grown staple crops. Farming was eiesnsatl to Chichen Itza’s survival. The city’s architecture and religious practices reflected this importance by keeping track of time, the tainrst of ciestlael bodies, and agricultural cycles.

Open Cloze


During the 10th _______, following K’ak’ Upakal’s death, Chichen Itza’s government shifted from a focus ______ on the king to a more flexible system that also included ruling councils of the city’s elite. Unlike traditional Maya kings, who reinforced their legitimacy with destructive wars and ______ _________, the new rulers focused largely on economic growth.

They channeled the city’s ________ might into establishing long-distance trade and political dominance. Merchant-warriors traveled from coastal ports and captured valuable goods. Using obsidian, gold, copper, _________, and jade from various parts of _______ and North _______, Chichen Itza’s inhabitants crafted sharp tools and precious ornaments. They traded food, textiles, feathers, ________, and metals, sometimes using _____ beans as currency. And they ___________ seafood from the coast to supplement the city’s locally grown staple crops. Farming was _________ to Chichen Itza’s survival. The city’s architecture and religious practices reflected this importance by keeping track of time, the _______ of _________ bodies, and agricultural cycles.

Solution


  1. century
  2. costly
  3. minerals
  4. central
  5. solely
  6. monuments
  7. america
  8. transit
  9. turquoise
  10. celestial
  11. essential
  12. transported
  13. cacao
  14. military

Original Text


During the 10th century, following K’ak’ Upakal’s death, Chichen Itza’s government shifted from a focus solely on the king to a more flexible system that also included ruling councils of the city’s elite. Unlike traditional Maya kings, who reinforced their legitimacy with destructive wars and costly monuments, the new rulers focused largely on economic growth.

They channeled the city’s military might into establishing long-distance trade and political dominance. Merchant-warriors traveled from coastal ports and captured valuable goods. Using obsidian, gold, copper, turquoise, and jade from various parts of Central and North America, Chichen Itza’s inhabitants crafted sharp tools and precious ornaments. They traded food, textiles, feathers, minerals, and metals, sometimes using cacao beans as currency. And they transported seafood from the coast to supplement the city’s locally grown staple crops. Farming was essential to Chichen Itza’s survival. The city’s architecture and religious practices reflected this importance by keeping track of time, the transit of celestial bodies, and agricultural cycles.

Frequently Occurring Word Combinations


ngrams of length 2

collocation frequency
chichen itza 5
golden age 2
serpent god 2


Important Words


  1. agricultural
  2. america
  3. architecture
  4. beans
  5. bodies
  6. cacao
  7. captured
  8. celestial
  9. central
  10. century
  11. channeled
  12. chichen
  13. coast
  14. coastal
  15. copper
  16. costly
  17. councils
  18. crafted
  19. crops
  20. currency
  21. cycles
  22. death
  23. destructive
  24. dominance
  25. economic
  26. elite
  27. essential
  28. establishing
  29. farming
  30. feathers
  31. flexible
  32. focus
  33. focused
  34. food
  35. gold
  36. goods
  37. government
  38. grown
  39. growth
  40. importance
  41. included
  42. inhabitants
  43. jade
  44. keeping
  45. king
  46. kings
  47. largely
  48. legitimacy
  49. locally
  50. maya
  51. metals
  52. military
  53. minerals
  54. monuments
  55. north
  56. obsidian
  57. ornaments
  58. parts
  59. political
  60. ports
  61. practices
  62. precious
  63. reflected
  64. reinforced
  65. religious
  66. rulers
  67. ruling
  68. seafood
  69. sharp
  70. shifted
  71. solely
  72. staple
  73. supplement
  74. survival
  75. system
  76. textiles
  77. time
  78. tools
  79. track
  80. trade
  81. traded
  82. traditional
  83. transit
  84. transported
  85. traveled
  86. turquoise
  87. valuable
  88. wars