First Peoples

Where’s the Bering Strait, and what does it have to do with the history of the North American continent?

• It's the shortest distance between the North American continent and Denmark; medieval vikings made their way to Vinland across the straight in the 10th century CE

• It's the isthmus that connects Central and South America; anthropologists and paleontologists summarize that humans originated there

• It is a waterway that separates present-day Siberia from present-day Alaska; historians theorize that humans made their way across a now vanished land bridge from Asia to North America

Why is it important that the Three Sisters agricultural system combined beans, corn, and squash?

• Those three crops together provided complete nutrition; no single plant can provide all the nutrients a human body needs to survive

• Beans, corn, and squash were the three cash crops that the Iroquois harvested and sold to England in order to fund the operations of their Confederacy

• Those three crops attracted wild turkeys to Mohawk communities, making hunting much more convenient

Read the passage and answer the question below.

"Around 7,000 years ago, agriculture emerged in Mesoamerica, including the domestication of maize, beans, and squash, causing major changes in the plants that people cultivated. Three Sisters agriculture had spread across Mexico by 3,500 years ago, though they originated at different times."

-Source: Amanda J. Landon, anthropologist, "The 'How' of the Three Sisters," 2008

How did the cultivation of maize affect settlement patterns in the American Southwest and present-day Mexico?

• It caused Native Americans in the area to develop permanent settlements supported by a hunter-gatherer lifestyle.

• It caused Native Americans in the area to develop permanent settlements supported by farming and irrigation systems.

• It caused Native Americans in the area to live a hunter-gatherer lifestyle, where most of their diet was dependent on animals they hunted.

• It caused Native Americans in the area to live a nomadic lifestyle, constantly searching for new ground to cultivate.

How were Mississippian people similar to other Native American groups in the pre-contact era?

• The environment in which they lived influenced their societies and economies.

• They were largely nomadic, depending on horses to follow herds of animals.

• They had no religious practices or beliefs.

• They had an egalitarian social structure, where individuals were generally equal in status.

Examine the image and answer the question below.

Which of the following factors most influenced the adoption of largely mobile lifestyles by early societies in the Great Basin and Great Plains?

• The arid Great Basin limited farming opportunities close to major waterways, making permanent settlements undesirable.

• Religious beliefs stipulated that devout individuals should live nomadic lives.

• Frequent earthquakes and flash floods made stone houses and pueblos unsustainable.

• The climate of the Great Plains consisted of periods of drought, making farming impossible.

Why did the Sioux live in structures like those depicted in the image?

• They facilitated a nomadic lifestyle

• They were easily disposable

• They reinforced egalitarian social structures

• They were more durable than other forms of housing

Read the passage below and answer the question.

“There were four chiefs: Mr. Bear, Cougar, Bald Eagle, and Salmon. They met to try to figure out what it was that they were going to do. They knew of a place where there were many salmon. This would be the best thing of the coming people. It would keep them strong and healthy; besides, it would taste so good! But there was a problem. The salmon were being held way up river by a dam and were being guarded by some women, who when crossed would stop at nothing to destroy anything that got in the way of keeping their salmon and doing their work.”

-Native American legend recorded by Martin Louie and Diana Brooks. Published in Wicazo Sa Review, 1990.

Based on passage, in which region of North America do you think the Native American people who told this legend lived?

• the Pacific Northwest

• the Great Plains

• the Southwest

• the Northeast

Native Americans lived in teepees as they followed herds of bison across the Great Plains. Which of the following environmental factors led bison to flourish in the Great Plains?

• The wet grasslands of the western Great Plains created prairie ideal for grazing.

• The arrival of horses in 1519 made it easier for Native Americans to herd and breed bison.

• The melting of glaciers provided new water sources for bison herds.

• Bison were chased onto the Great Plains by prehistoric predators.

What do BOTH traditional Native American stories and archaeological evidence show about the human history in the Americas?

• The first Americans travelled across a land bridge in the Bering Strait.

• Some early migrants travelled in boats along the Pacific coast.

• Native American groups were in North America long before recorded history began.

• Spirits and animals were responsible for creating life in the Americas.

What motivated European nations to enter a very competitive era of exploration and colonization?

• The desire to acquire wealth, to conquer lands, and to spread Christianity

• They wanted to see what it was like elsewhere

• The desire to get away from the terrible conditions in Europe

• Europe had lost its appeal and they wanted to live elsewhere