Mid-Chapter Quiz: Chapter 1

1. What was the main reason that the first humans came to the Americas from Asia?

• They were fleeing overcrowded conditions in Siberia.
• They were following the animals they hunted.
• They were trying to reach the tip of South America.

2. Which evidence from the text best supports the correct response to #1?

• "For thousands of years a land bridge linked what is now Siberia to Alaska."
• "Ice Age hunters followed woolly mammoths across land bridges."
• "Archaeologists have different views about exactly when early humans first reached North America."

2. 3. Draw an arrow on the map to show which way the early humans traveled on the Bering land bridge or Beringia.

4. Read these sentences from the text. Then answer the question that follows.

“In cities such as Uxmal, Tikal, and Copan, the Maya built great palaces for their rulers and huge pyramid temples to honor their gods. These structures were covered with elaborate carvings and inscriptions in their system of picture writing, called hieroglyphs.”

What is the meaning of the word hieroglyphs?

• modern translations of ancient languages
• people who study cultures that no longer exist
• writings that use a writing system based on pictures

5. Reread this text from the section about the Pueblo people. Then answer the question.

“Pueblo homes were modeled after the cliff dwellings of the Ancestral Pueblo. They are cube-like rooms stacked on top of each other. Wooden ladders outside of the rooms were usually used to get from one floor to another. Sometimes the bottom floor would have no doors or windows, and a person could get in only by climbing a ladder. This made the structure easy to defend because the ladder could be pulled up. Pueblo buildings were usually home to several families and had connecting shared rooms.”

What do the details in the text suggest about the Pueblo people?

• They had little knowledge of their past.
• They were sometimes attacked by outsiders.
• They lived far away from most family members.

6. Reread this paragraph from the text. Then answer the question.

“Southern California’s deserts do not have this same wealth of resources. There, groups such as the Cahuilla, the Serrano, and the Chemehuevi adapted to use the few plants that grow in the desert. The Cahuilla also developed irrigation systems to raise crops including corn, squash, beans, and melons. By digging ditches to feed into small lakes, the Cahuilla made use of the limited rain to sustain a vibrant culture.”

 How did Southern California Indians like the Cahuilla traditionally obtain most of their food?

• from farming and fishing
• from hunting and fishing
• from gathering plants and farming

7. Circle the area where the Pacific Northwest tribes live.

8. Which statement best describes the way in which Pacific Northwest peoples traditionally treated the forests of the area?

• They mostly ignored the forests and instead found their food in the ocean.
• They cut down so many trees that they could no longer support their way of life.
• They used only as many trees as necessary so that the forests were not destroyed.

9. Which evidence from the text best supports the correct response to #7?

• "The ocean supplies seafood and plants for the groups of American Indians living in the Pacific Northwest."
• "Plentiful wood from the area’s forests allowed these people to construct homes, carve canoes and masks, and fashion household items including dishes and spoons."
• "They were careful to cut down only as many trees as they needed to continue their way of life."

10. Which evidence from the text best supports the inference that the Makah traditionally respected nature and did not destroy it wastefully?

• "Though the Makah hunted many kinds of sea animals, whale hunting held a special place in Makah life."
• "Makah canoes carrying as many as sixty hunters at a time would set out in search of whales."
• "Every part of a whale was used in different Makah activities."