text: [Themes: edutainment, quiz]
  
  Splash! You land in a body of cold water. What a contrast from your previous destination! When you manage to get your head above water and catch your breath, you notice that you have tumbled into a river. The current is pretty strong, but not too strong to prevent you from reaching the bank aligned with dense trees and bushes. As there seems to be no people, nor any sign of civilization around you, it is difficult for you to assess where you've been dropped in time. A slight mist hangs over river and the trees, giving you the impression that you are in the mountains and of course, restricting your view over the horizon. The sound of movement in the water on the other side of the riverbank alarms you...what just plunged into the water? Hopefully not crocodiles...
  
  I am very sorry my dear candidate, but I'm going to have to leave you here for a while on your own as it seems I'm encountering some kind of disfunction with my time machine. Yes, even in the future sometimes the computers still break down. Damn machine! Just give me a sec please.
  
  So time traveler, what will you do?
  
  > go with the flow of the current...
  Although you took a great risk in deciding to stay in the water, you are pleased to know that there are no crocodiles or alligators in the vicinity. Something else must have caused the movement of water on the opposite side of the river. At ease you let yourself be taken by the gentle flow. The river is not very deep and now and then you even manage to touch the bottom with your toes. While you swim on at an easy pace, you have time to enjoy the silence and your peaceful environment. You ponder for a moment on the great difference of the world you left behind, the 21st century, and the ancient world where you are currently stranded. You are surrounded by an environment which you are not accustomed to: devoid of music, the sound of vehicles, the televisions, radio's and all sorts of electronic devices which are so common in your time. Even the water that is currently pushing you forward is more clear and pure than the water of a river in the 21st century - you wouldn't dare to swim in any river or lake in your century! It is a bizarre feeling that overwhelms you. After about 10 minutes, you notice that the current get's slightly stronger and the river becomes more irregular, there are some small drop-offs ahead of you.
  
  What will you do?
  
  > continue following the river...
  Having led yourself through a series of drop-offs and irregularities in the river, you soon become aware that the current is becoming much more stronger. A number of rocks and boulders are sticking out of the water while branches and leafs are moving past you at a much faster pace. It is obvious that you are descending. You pass through another drop-off with swirling water and then notice that the woods on the riverbank to your right suddenly become less dense. You suddenly hit your knee against a rock under the water and curse. That hurt! Where is Chronos? you ask yourself irritated. A large floating branch collides into you, perfect for you to hold on to and keep yourself afloat!
  
  What's your next move?
  
  > Struggle to the riverbank on your right?
  Fearing that the current will soon be too strong for you to swim, you decide not to wait any longer. Already you have to exercise great effort in order to get to the riverbank. Especially your sore shoulder hurts from the exertion. By clutching to one rock and then swimming to another you finally manage to get hold of some roots and pull yourself upon the muddy bank. You fall down in between the trees: exhausted. Once you've finally caught your breath, you open up your torn and dirty shirt to see how your shoulder is faring. It does not look good. Your right shoulder is badly swollen and bruised. It would be best for you not to use it too much. Standing up, you head into the forest, leaving the river behind you. You have the chills...you are drenched to the bone and the temperature is pretty cool.
  
  > Continue...
  Having walked into the forest, you soon notice that it starts descending in a gentle slope, forcing you to hold on to the trees in order not to slip in the wet undergrowth. It doesn't take long before you look out upon a clearing. Little by little the sun finally makes its appearance through the cloudy, foggy sky offering you a beautiful sight. You are standing upon the slope of a hill. Below you, is a green/yellowish valley of maize. Beyond the valley of corn, you see a walled settlement built around a pyramid of stone. When seeing this, the mystery clears up: the pyramid of stone can only be a mesoamerican temple. You can identify it immediately. You finally see some civilization as there is quite a bit of movement in and around the settlement and even closer, right behind you! Behind you stand three native warriors, probably the locals from the settlement you see in the valley. Since they are already there, your presence on their territory was already known after you got out of the river. The three men look menacing, their faces and bodies painted, their noses, ears and lips pierced with fangs and their dark hair tied behind their heads. Two of them have their spears pointed at you. The third one - the oldest and probably the leader - carries a maquahuitl; a sort of sword made out of wood embedded with volcanic stone as blade. You put your arms in the air in order to show that you have no mean intentions.
  
  I'm sorry for leaving you stranded dear contestant, but I've fixed the problem now and we can continue. You were supposed to be warped to the Minoan civilization in 1519 B.C. but you've been sent to Mexico in 1519 A.D. instead. I see that you are in trouble. Quickly then, answer me this question: which of the following civilizations is the oldest civilization of mesoamerica?
  
  > The Zapotecs...
  No it weren't the Zapotecs, but admit, the name of these people is pretty catchy, not? The Zapotec civilization had its beginnings in the Valley of Oaxaca in southern Mexico around 500 B.C. Their civilization was centered around the ancient city of Monte Alban, one of the first major cities in Mesoamerica. The civilization flourished at around 200 B.C. when the rulers of the Zapotec civilization started to expand outside of the Oaxaca Valley. Since the surrounding territories could not compete with the Zapotecs politically nor militarily, the civilization expanded their influence from Quiotopec in the north to Chiltepec to the south. From 200 A.D. on, the Zapotec civilization began to decline and had problems maintaining their borders. Although the Zapotec people survived until well after the Spanish conquest of Mexico, it had stopped being a leading civilization by the 9th century A.D.
  
  I'm sorry but since you gave the wrong answer, I'm forced to leave you here in Puebla, Mexico in 1519 A.D. As you well know, this is the year that the famous conquistador Hernan Cortes explored Mexico and made his journey to Tenochtitlan, the famous Aztec capital. I'm not sure that you will have the opportunity to meet him though as you have fallen into the hands of an Otomi tribe which are the allies of the larger Tlaxcalan tribes and enemy to the Aztecs. If you run away now, you will certainly be caught and be sacrificed to the patron deity in a few days time on the pyramid in the distance. If you surrender, you will probably be treated better, but you will still be sacrificed...