Choose the letter of the best answer.
1. How do historians study the past?
A) They mainly concentrate on written documents to determine the
attitudes of a people.
B) They privilege physical artifacts, such as bones and buildings,
over written documents.
C) They use the same methods as archaeologists to obtain
information.
D) They study only public writings and ignore biased personal
writings.
2. The distinction between the study of humans by archaeologists and
the study of humans by historians is often denoted by the
A) development of architecture.
B) use of fire.
C) invention of writing.
D) use of verbal language.
3. Though ancient Americans lacked writing skills, they
A) knew how to read.
B) shared a common spoken language.
C) left detailed records of births and deaths.
D) used other kinds of symbolic representation.
4. How do modern archaeologists study ancient peoples?
A) They rely only on written documents.
B) They rely only on what they can learn from artifacts.
C) They combine a variety of approaches.
D) They make an educated guess based on a specific natural
environment.
Page 1
,5. What was the reason for the early, prolonged absence of humans in
the Western Hemisphere?
A) The warm climate of Africa attracted most of the earth's
population.
B) Large herds of mammoths made migration to the Americas too dangerous.
C) North and South America had become detached from the continent of Pangaea.
D) Plentiful food made it unnecessary for northern European tribes
to seek a different home.
6. How did climate change allow hunters to reach the Western
Hemisphere?
A) It raised the sea level of the Bering Strait to allow ships to pass submerged
icebergs.
B) More moderate temperatures allowed people to live farther north and east.
C) A long cold spell created the wide land bridge of Beringia.
D) The change in climate killed off threatening herds of mammoths and bison.
7. Although experts debate the exact time people began migrating to
North America, the first migrants probably arrived
A) around 25,000 B.P.
B) around 15,000 B.P.
C) more than 1.5 million years ago.
D) fewer than 5,000 years ago.
8. How long did it take Paleo-Indians to migrate throughout the Western Hemisphere
after their initial arrival?
A) 50 years
B) 100 years
C) 1,000 years
D) 10,000 years
9. What do the artifacts that have survived from the Paleo-Indian era suggest about the
first Americans?
A) They specialized in hunting big mammals.
B) They developed permanent settlements along the Canadian
Rockies.
C) They used bows and arrows to kill small animals.
D) They ate no plant foods.
Page 2
,10. About 11,000 years ago, the Paleo-Indians faced a major crisis because
A) the temperature cooled dramatically, making it more difficult to
live.
B) the large animals they hunted had difficulty adapting to a
warming climate.
C) hunters had killed too many small animals, eliminating the food
sources of the large mammals.
D) a lengthy drought led to a massive shortage of edible plants.
11. How did Native American cultures adapt to the extinction of big
game?
A) Native Americans adopted stationary agriculture.
B) Paleo-Indians domesticated larger animals.
C) Native Americans moved only to warm climates.
D) Paleo-Indians began foraging wild plant foods.
12. When Europeans arrived in 1492, Native American cultures were
A) dying off due to lack of food and environmental problems.
B) characterized by an impressive level of similarity and unity.
C) divided into about twenty groups whose members shared cultural
traits.
D) so varied that they defy easy and simple description.
13. What does the term Archaic describe?
A) Hunting and gathering cultures that descended from Paleo-Indians
B) Agricultural cultures that preceded the Paleo-Indians before 13,000 B.P.
C) The historical events that occurred from A.D. 800 to A.D.1500
D) The historical era that begins with the development of agriculture
14. Which of the following is an accurate description of Archaic Indians?
A) They depended solely on agriculture for food.
B) Most established permanent, though small, villages.
C) They hunted smaller game with traps, nets, and hooks.
D) They domesticated animals as a food source.
Page 3
, 15. Archaic Indians who hunted the bison herds of the Great Plains were
A) skilled horsemen who utilized speed to catch animals.
B) nomads who moved constantly with their prey.
C) solitary hunters who attacked animals as they slept.
D) cautious hunters who avoided stampeding the herds.
16. How did the introduction of bows and arrows affect Archaic Indians?
A) Bows permitted hunters to wound animals from farther away.
B) Indians traded the costly bows and arrows for food.
C) Arrowheads were larger and heavier than spear points but equally
effective.
D) New weapons allowed Great Plains hunters to abandon their nomadic lifestyle.
17. The Archaic Indians in the Great Basin inhabited a region with
A) moderate temperature variations.
B) few game animals and waterfowl.
C) predominantly desert topography.
D) great environmental diversity.
18. What was the main source of food for Archaic peoples inhabiting the
Great Basin?
A) Bison
B) Fish
C) Plants
D) Waterfowl
19. Why did native peoples in California remain hunters and gatherers for
hundreds of years after Europeans arrived in the Western
Hemisphere?
A) Little competition existed for food sources in California.
B) Both land and ocean provided an abundant food supply.
C) The California peoples ate only fish and marine life.
D) The few tribes in the region shared acorn-gathering territory.
Page 4
1. How do historians study the past?
A) They mainly concentrate on written documents to determine the
attitudes of a people.
B) They privilege physical artifacts, such as bones and buildings,
over written documents.
C) They use the same methods as archaeologists to obtain
information.
D) They study only public writings and ignore biased personal
writings.
2. The distinction between the study of humans by archaeologists and
the study of humans by historians is often denoted by the
A) development of architecture.
B) use of fire.
C) invention of writing.
D) use of verbal language.
3. Though ancient Americans lacked writing skills, they
A) knew how to read.
B) shared a common spoken language.
C) left detailed records of births and deaths.
D) used other kinds of symbolic representation.
4. How do modern archaeologists study ancient peoples?
A) They rely only on written documents.
B) They rely only on what they can learn from artifacts.
C) They combine a variety of approaches.
D) They make an educated guess based on a specific natural
environment.
Page 1
,5. What was the reason for the early, prolonged absence of humans in
the Western Hemisphere?
A) The warm climate of Africa attracted most of the earth's
population.
B) Large herds of mammoths made migration to the Americas too dangerous.
C) North and South America had become detached from the continent of Pangaea.
D) Plentiful food made it unnecessary for northern European tribes
to seek a different home.
6. How did climate change allow hunters to reach the Western
Hemisphere?
A) It raised the sea level of the Bering Strait to allow ships to pass submerged
icebergs.
B) More moderate temperatures allowed people to live farther north and east.
C) A long cold spell created the wide land bridge of Beringia.
D) The change in climate killed off threatening herds of mammoths and bison.
7. Although experts debate the exact time people began migrating to
North America, the first migrants probably arrived
A) around 25,000 B.P.
B) around 15,000 B.P.
C) more than 1.5 million years ago.
D) fewer than 5,000 years ago.
8. How long did it take Paleo-Indians to migrate throughout the Western Hemisphere
after their initial arrival?
A) 50 years
B) 100 years
C) 1,000 years
D) 10,000 years
9. What do the artifacts that have survived from the Paleo-Indian era suggest about the
first Americans?
A) They specialized in hunting big mammals.
B) They developed permanent settlements along the Canadian
Rockies.
C) They used bows and arrows to kill small animals.
D) They ate no plant foods.
Page 2
,10. About 11,000 years ago, the Paleo-Indians faced a major crisis because
A) the temperature cooled dramatically, making it more difficult to
live.
B) the large animals they hunted had difficulty adapting to a
warming climate.
C) hunters had killed too many small animals, eliminating the food
sources of the large mammals.
D) a lengthy drought led to a massive shortage of edible plants.
11. How did Native American cultures adapt to the extinction of big
game?
A) Native Americans adopted stationary agriculture.
B) Paleo-Indians domesticated larger animals.
C) Native Americans moved only to warm climates.
D) Paleo-Indians began foraging wild plant foods.
12. When Europeans arrived in 1492, Native American cultures were
A) dying off due to lack of food and environmental problems.
B) characterized by an impressive level of similarity and unity.
C) divided into about twenty groups whose members shared cultural
traits.
D) so varied that they defy easy and simple description.
13. What does the term Archaic describe?
A) Hunting and gathering cultures that descended from Paleo-Indians
B) Agricultural cultures that preceded the Paleo-Indians before 13,000 B.P.
C) The historical events that occurred from A.D. 800 to A.D.1500
D) The historical era that begins with the development of agriculture
14. Which of the following is an accurate description of Archaic Indians?
A) They depended solely on agriculture for food.
B) Most established permanent, though small, villages.
C) They hunted smaller game with traps, nets, and hooks.
D) They domesticated animals as a food source.
Page 3
, 15. Archaic Indians who hunted the bison herds of the Great Plains were
A) skilled horsemen who utilized speed to catch animals.
B) nomads who moved constantly with their prey.
C) solitary hunters who attacked animals as they slept.
D) cautious hunters who avoided stampeding the herds.
16. How did the introduction of bows and arrows affect Archaic Indians?
A) Bows permitted hunters to wound animals from farther away.
B) Indians traded the costly bows and arrows for food.
C) Arrowheads were larger and heavier than spear points but equally
effective.
D) New weapons allowed Great Plains hunters to abandon their nomadic lifestyle.
17. The Archaic Indians in the Great Basin inhabited a region with
A) moderate temperature variations.
B) few game animals and waterfowl.
C) predominantly desert topography.
D) great environmental diversity.
18. What was the main source of food for Archaic peoples inhabiting the
Great Basin?
A) Bison
B) Fish
C) Plants
D) Waterfowl
19. Why did native peoples in California remain hunters and gatherers for
hundreds of years after Europeans arrived in the Western
Hemisphere?
A) Little competition existed for food sources in California.
B) Both land and ocean provided an abundant food supply.
C) The California peoples ate only fish and marine life.
D) The few tribes in the region shared acorn-gathering territory.
Page 4
