Investigating the Past

Social scientists are scholars who study

• animal behavior

• dinosaur skeletons

• human society

People who study the past are most like:

• A. Artists

• Bl Builders

• C. Detectives

What important discovery did four teenagers make at Lascaux, France, in 1940?

• A. Clay sculptures of an army of soldiers.

• B. A cave filled with paintings of animals.

• D. A wooden stick used for throwing a spear.

Which of these activities would an archaeologist most likely do?

• A. Make maps.

• B. Examine objects.

• D. Study Earth's features.

An object made or used by people in the past is called:

• A. An artifact.

• Be. A document.

• C. A ritual.

Why do historians read diaries and letters from the past?

• A. To agree on plans for the future.

• B. To compare their ideas of history.

• D. To find out what happened and why.

Which one of these is a human-made feature that a geographer might study?

• A. A cave.

• B. A road.

• C. A spear.

A prehistoric object is one that comes from a time:

• A. Before history was written.

• B. Before people lived in cities.

• D. Before electricity was discovered.

What is the evidence that prehistoric cave artists built wood structures (scaffolding) to stand on?

• A. Many trees grew in the area.

• B. The ancient planks are still there.

• D. Some paintings are too high to be reached from the floor.

If ancient paintings were found in a cave, which of these questions would be the hardest to answer?

• A. Why did people paint in caves?

• B. How did people make the paint?

• D. What did people use for paintbrushes?