Social Studies - Chapter 2 – Review - Answer Key
Thinking About Vocabulary:
1. Oral tradition
2. Secondary source
3. Artifact
4. Primary source
5. Archaeology
6. Excavate
7. History
8. Prehistory
9. Archaeology
10. Oral tradition
Thinking About Facts:
1.
2.
Primary sources and secondary sources
Primary sources are written records or artifacts from the time under study, while
secondary sources are studies based on primary sources
3. Historians search for clues to help them solve the mystery of the past.
4. They tell us what materials and what tools people used, how people lived and got
around, what jewelry they wore, to name just a few examples.
5. History refers only to the story of what happened after writing was developed, while
prehistory describes what happened before writing was developed.
6. Artifacts from the past to learn about the cultures that produced them
7. That he was thousands of years old, that he was a prehistoric man who carried a kit of
tools to help him survive, and that he might have been a shepherd
8. Survival tools, such as an ax, knife-blades, rope, hunting arrows, a net for trapping, a
needle, a fire-starter, and a “medicine chest”; that people lived in the Alps over 5,000
years ago and that they interacted well with their environment and were metalworkers.
9. Any one of the following: studies by microscope, comparison studies, x-rays, carbon
dating for the age of artifacts
10. Who was he? What did he do for a living? Why was he so high in the mountains when
winter set in? How did he die?
Bonus Question:
The family stories were oral tradition. They gave him basic information and the clues needed to start his research. The African man who
knew the clan history was also part of oral tradition. His information told Haley where his ancestor came from. The historic documents
(ship’s logs, plantation records, sales record) were primary sources. They helped prove that the stories were true.
Social Studies - Chapter 2 – Review - Answer Key
Thinking About Vocabulary:
1. Oral tradition
2. Secondary source
3. Artifact
4. Primary source
5. Archaeology
6. Excavate
7. History
8. Prehistory
9. Archaeology
10. Oral tradition
Thinking About Facts:
1.
2.
Primary sources and secondary sources
Primary sources are written records or artifacts from the time under study, while
secondary sources are studies based on primary sources
3. Historians search for clues to help them solve the mystery of the past.
4. They tell us what materials and what tools people used, how people lived and got
around, what jewelry they wore, to name just a few examples.
5. History refers only to the story of what happened after writing was developed, while
prehistory describes what happened before writing was developed.
6. Artifacts from the past to learn about the cultures that produced them
7. That he was thousands of years old, that he was a prehistoric man who carried a kit of
tools to help him survive, and that he might have been a shepherd
8. Survival tools, such as an ax, knife-blades, rope, hunting arrows, a net for trapping, a
needle, a fire-starter, and a “medicine chest”; that people lived in the Alps over 5,000
years ago and that they interacted well with their environment and were metalworkers.
9. Any one of the following: studies by microscope, comparison studies, x-rays, carbon
dating for the age of artifacts
10. Who was he? What did he do for a living? Why was he so high in the mountains when
winter set in? How did he die?
Bonus Question:
The family stories were oral tradition. They gave him basic information and the clues needed to start his research. The African man who
knew the clan history was also part of oral tradition. His information told Haley where his ancestor came from. The historic documents
(ship’s logs, plantation records, sales record) were primary sources. They helped prove that the stories were true.
Name: __________________________________________
Date: _______________
Social Studies – Chapter 2 Review (Study Guide)
Answer the following questions based on Chapter 2:
Thinking About Vocabulary:
Write the word or term from the list below that best completes the sentence. You will need to use
some words more than once.
Archaeology, artifact, excavate, history, oral tradition, prehistory, primary source,
secondary source
1. Before written records were kept, people passed on their history by word of mouth or
___.
2. A written study of the past that is based on a primary source is called a _______.
3. An object made by someone in the past is an ________.
4. The scrapbook that Nina found in her grandfather’s attic is an example of a _______.
5. _____ is the study of the remains of past cultures.
6. Archaeologists often dig up, or ______, historical sites.
7. _______ can be identified as the story of the past.
8. The time before the development of writing is called _________.
9. ________ often involves the search for artifacts.
10.Stories and legends were passed on during prehistory through _______.
Thinking About Facts:
Answer the following questions:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
What sources do historians use to study the past?
What is the difference between primary and secondary sources?
How is an historian like a detective?
What do artifacts show about the past?
How is history different from prehistory?
What do archaeologists study?
What conclusions did the archaeologist Konrad Spindler make about the frozen man
found in the Alps?
8. What belongings of the Iceman were discovered, and what did archaeologists learn
from examining them?
9. Name at least one method the archaeologists used to find information about the
Iceman.
10.What mysteries still remain to be solved about the Iceman?
Bonus Question:
Describe the sources Alex Haley used in learning about his family’s history. Tell what kind of
source each one was and how it helped him.