Free Printable Chapter 1: The First Americans

1.

About 10,000 years ago, people took a major step that allowed them to live in larger, permanent settlements. What was that step?

a)

They invented the wheel.

b)

They developed language.

c)

The developed the spear.

d)

They began to practice agriculture.

2.

Which of the following was an achievement of the Mayan civilization?

a)

They conquered the Aztecs.

b)

They built the city of Tenochtitlán.

c)

They built irrigation systems for bringing water to fields.

d)

They charted the movements of the sun, moon, and stars.

3.

1. _________ is the name of the "land bridge" that enabled people to migrate to America from Asia.

a)

Beringia

b)

Bellina

c)

Panama

d)

American Bridge

4.

What is the BEST definition of culture?

a)

The system in which people make, share, and use goods.

b)

The way of life of people (arts, rules, beliefs, and history)

c)

A new type of farming.

d)

A decision-making body

5.

What is irrigation?

a)

a system for collecting water in pools

b)

a system of governing a large population

c)

a way to add air into the soil for farming

d)

a system for bringing water to dry fields

6.

What Native American nation lived in the Southwest?

a)

Pueblos

b)

Cherokees

c)

Makah

d)

Iroquois

7.

Planting and raising crops is called

a)

irrigation.

b)

economy.

c)

agriculture.

d)

nomad.

8.

What is the BEST definition for adapt?

a)

a decision-making body

b)

to change in order to survive harsh conditions

c)

a system for making rules and decisions to guide the group

d)

a system to make, share, and use goods

9.

A government is BEST defined as what?

a)

A decision-making body

b)

A system for making rules and decisions to guide a group

c)

A system to make, share, and use goods

d)

To change in order to survive harsh conditions

10.

The bison was the important economy for what region?

a)

Northern Woodlands

b)

Southwest

c)

Plains

d)

Pacific Northwest

11.

The Mohawk hairstyle is an example of what?

a)

culture

b)

government

c)

economy

d)

league

12.

As a direct result of agriculture

a)

permanent settlements formed.

b)

there was a surplus of food everywhere.

c)

women did not have to work.

d)

the Cubs won the World Series.

13.

Hunter-gatherers moved southward, following their food source. This is an example of

a)

economy.

b)

government.

c)

migration.

d)

irrigation.

14.

What nation built the large city of Tenochtitlàn?

a)

Iroquois

b)

Inuit

c)

Mayas

d)

Aztecs

15.

Which nation is credited with creating a system of writing and charting the sun/moon on a calendar?

a)

Mayas

b)

Inuits

c)

Mound Builders

d)

Iroquois

16.

The creation of the kayak is an example of

a)

religion.

b)

government.

c)

changing the land.

d)

how the land changed their way of life.

17.

A person who moves often in search of food is

a)

a nomad.

b)

a council.

c)

an adaptation.

d)

a cookie monster.

18.

Which region constructed longhouses and wigwams made of bark?

a)

Southwest

b)

Southeast

c)

Northern Woodlands

d)

Plains

19.

What is important about Mound Key, Florida?

a)

The Calusa made the land out of shells.

b)

The Calusa made the land out of bones.

c)

It is a famous Aztec city.

d)

It is an ancient Inuit city.

20.

What is the BEST example of how Native Americans changed their environment to improve their lives?

a)

They formed leagues.

b)

They burned shrubs to grow grass.

c)

They hunted bison.

d)

They hunted and gathered.

21.

Native American children were

a)

left to fend for themselves.

b)

believed to have connections to the spirit world.

c)

raised solely by the shamans of each community.

d)

followed their fathers to help with work.

22.

Which group in the Northern Woodlands formed a union of nations?

a)

Puebloans

b)

Mayas

c)

Iroquois

d)

Nookah

23.

What is a kachina?

a)

A chief or leader

b)

A type of totem pole to attract animals

c)

a doll that represents spirits

d)

a religious ceremony

24.

What was a potlatch?

a)

a large Tlingit feast or ceremony

b)

a type of Hopi spiritual doll

c)

a Lakota method of hunting

d)

a pot with a large latch on it

25.

Children learned from _________ who orally passed on group traditions.

a)

storytellers

b)

chiefs

c)

older children

d)

ancestors

26.

Who is an ancestor?

a)

an older relative who lives with their children

b)

an elder who has become a chief

c)

a relative who lived in the past

d)

Mr. Gowell

27.

Who is a shaman (choose the best answer)?

a)

a doctor

b)

a religious leader

c)

a chief

d)

a shy man

28.

A league is a group who

a)

share the same goal.

b)

originated from the same group of people.

c)

hunt and fish together.

d)

watch the Voice.

29.

Which of the following is an example of economy?

a)

wearing Mohawks

b)

burning shrubs to grow grass

c)

growing cotton

d)

playing lacrosse

30.

What is a council?

a)

a type of economy

b)

a group who make decisions, usually the society's leaders

c)

a group of nations joined together

d)

a group who build irrigation systems

31.

Why were teepees important to the Plains people?

a)

They were portable shelters.

b)

They were good to burn for warmth.

c)

They warded off animals.

d)

They were used to cook bison.

32.

Which group of people lived in igloos and wore sealskin clothing?

a)

Mound Builders

b)

Inuit

c)

Anasazi

d)

Maya

33.

The discovery of ___________ turned nomads into farmers.

a)

tomatoes

b)

beans

c)

maize

d)

chocolate

34.

Which civilization built terraces for farming?

a)

Olmec

b)

Maya

c)

Aztec

d)

Inca

35.

What is a long period of little rainfall?

a)

drought

b)

artifact

c)

federation

d)

terrace

36.

The lives of the Native Americans changed forever when

a)

there was a lack of food

b)

the climate changed

c)

the Europeans arrived

d)

wars broke out

37.

What animal became important to the Plains people during hunting and warfare?

a)

horses

b)

mastodons

c)

woolly mammoths

d)

bison

38.

Which group formed a federation to promote peace?

a)

Hohokam

b)

Nez Perce

c)

Iroquois

d)

Cherokee

39.

Where do archaeologists believe the early Americans came from?

a)

South America

b)

Australia

c)

Europe

d)

Asia

40.

What did early Americans need in order to begin to form communities?

a)

dependable food supply

b)

clay to build homes

c)

money to buy things

d)

ways of protecting themselves

41.

Farming allowed people to spend more time

a)

visiting neighboring tribes

b)

traveling farther

c)

improving their lives

d)

hunting

42.

What is a society ruled by religious leaders called?

a)

democracy

b)

theocracy

c)

civilization

d)

federation

43.

The Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan was built on an island in Lake Texcoco which today is part of

a)

Beringia

b)

Pueblo Bonito

c)

Atlantis

d)

Mexico City

44.

Which of these characterizes an American Indian cultural region?

a)

People migrated together.

b)

People have the same leader.

c)

People share a similar language.

d)

People come from the same family.

45.

Which of these best explains why different cultural regions formed in North America?

a)

Groups settled in the areas at various times.

b)

Groups chose where they lived based on their special skills.

c)

Groups needed to distinguish themselves from other groups.

d)

Groups adapted to the environments in which they settled.

46.

How do scientists think people migrated from Asia to the Americas during the last Ice Age?

a)

They sailed across a narrow strait.

b)

They traveled south from Canada.

c)

They traveled across a land bridge.

d)

They sailed to Mexico and then drifted north.

47.

How do historians learn how American Indians lived so long ago?

a)

They read their journals.

b)

They study their artifacts.

c)

They live in their shelters.

d)

They speak to their families.

48.

Which of these describes how American Indians viewed their environment?

a)

They believed they owned the land on which they lived.

b)

They believed that the land should remain unchanged.

c)

They believed they were a part of a community of living things.

d)

They believed they were the rulers of the region in which they lived.

49.

How did the American Indians in the Southeast live?

a)

They lived in wooden longhouses in the forest.

b)

They lived in adobe villages on top of flat mesas.

c)

hey lived in underground pit houses beside major rivers.

d)

They lived in towns clustered around large earthen mounds.

50.

Which of these was most important to the survival of the American Indians?

a)

land and home ownership

b)

trade to meet their daily needs

c)

ability to use natural resources

d)

warm and mild climate conditions

51.

American Indians who lived on the Plains wore clothing made from animal hides. Which of these was an important economic activity in this region?

a)

fishing

b)

mining

c)

hunting

d)

gathering

52.

Which of these describes one way American Indians adapted the environment to meet their needs?

a)

Northwest Coast people ate fish.

b)

Southwest people made many things with corn.

c)

Great Plains people made clothing from animal hides.

d)

Eastern Woodlands people burned trees to plant corn.

53.

Which of these enabled American Indians to settle in permanent villages?

a)

trading

b)

hunting

c)

herding

d)

farming

54.

Which of these was an important resource of the Northwest Coast people?

a)

Great Lakes

b)

Pacific Ocean

c)

Gulf of Mexico

d)

Mississippi River

55.

Which of these was most important in determining the way of life of an American Indian group?

a)

food sources

b)

language skills

c)

land ownership

d)

religious celebrations

56.

Which of these was a strong influence on the kind of shelters used by each American Indian group?

a)

wealth

b)

climate

c)

religion

d)

education

57.

Which conditions challenged the survival of American Indians in the Southwest?

a)

extreme cold and flat land

b)

dense forests and wild animals

c)

high temperatures and lack of water

d)

dangerous storms and flooded fields

58.

How was it possible for the mesa people to grow corn in the desert?

a)

They used rain barrels.

b)

They dug irrigation ditches.

c)

They traded their crops for water.

d)

They planted drought-tolerant corn.

Chapter 1: The First Americans

Total questions: 58

Worksheet time: 19mins

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