7th Grade Chapter 01 Study Guide: What Does a Historian Do?

What dates belong in the Middle Ages period? Select all that apply.

• A.D. 400

• 400 B.C.

• A.D. 600

• 2900 B.C.

• 3900 B.C.

The main job of a historian is to

• examine the causes or reasons that something happened in the past.

• open new museums to display a variety of ancient artifacts.

• teach history and social studies and keep a journal.

• travel around the world, finding archaeologists to work with.

We can use our knowledge of the past to help us

• discover who is to blame for starting wars.

• learn more about modern technology.

• make decisions about the future.

• write more interesting books.

Historians divide the past into larger blocks of time, or several centuries, known as

• centuries.

• decades.

• eras.

• millenniums.

The Gregorian calendar

• is used by nobody in the world today.

• is used by all of the world today.

• is used by most of the world today.

• is only used by Europe today.

A sock from ancient Egypt would be considered a

• fossil.

• Homo sapien.

• primary source.

• secondary source.

An example of a secondary source would be

• the biography of a famous general.

• a hand-drawn map by an explorer.

• the election records from a presidential race in 1860.

• a letter written from the battlefield to a soldier’s wife.

When historians interpret a document, one way that they can determine if the source is trustworthy is by

• investigating the social status of its creator.

• finding out the age of the writer.

• evaluating how much information is contained in the document.

• considering the point of view of the author.

What can you infer from the cave painting?

• The artist was a man.

• Berries were used as paint.

• Hunting was not important to the people.

• The people were hunters.

When historians draw conclusions, they look for

• other historians’ opinions.

• how people view events in present times, not past.

• facts and evidence in their primary and secondary sources.

• bias and opinions in secondary sources.