Study Guide for American Indians Unit Test
1. Archaeologists study human behavior and culture through the recovery and analysis of
artifacts.
2. Scientists are not in agreement as to when and how people entered the Western
Hemisphere.
3. Cactus Hill is located on the Nottaway River in southern Virginia.
4. Evidence that humans lived at Cactus Hill as early as 15,000 years ago makes it one of the
oldest sites in North America.
5. What is an artifact? Material that is recovered from ancient civilizations. Examples include
tools, bones and pottery.
6. American Indians lived in all areas of North America.
7. Members of these tribes live in their homelands and in many areas of North America
today.
8. In the past, American Indians fished, hunted, and harvested crops for food.
9. Clothing was made from animal skins and plants.
10. Their shelters were made of resources found in their environment.
Some examples of the resources they used to make shelters are: (Name the tribe that
most likely used that resource.) Inuit – ice, whalebones, animals skins; Kwakiutl – cedar
trees; Pueblo – clay bricks; Lakota/Sioux – Buffalo skin; Iroquois – wood and straw.
11. What is a natural resource? Materials from the environment that can be useful to people.
A reserved source of supply or support
12. What are some examples of natural resources Native Americans used? Wood, bones,
rocks
13. What is a human resource? People working to produce goods or services
14. What are some examples of human resources Native Americans had? Fisherman, hunter,
builder, clothes maker
15. What is a capital resource? Goods produced and used to make other goods and
products.
16. What are some examples of capital resources? Baskets, nets, spears, bow and arrows,
canoes, hooks, mason tools
17. How did weather and climate affect the way American Indian groups built their homes? –
American Indians built homes from the resources in their environment. These resources
were usually designed to be water proof and ventilated. These houses could have fires
inside them to keep the American Indians warm.
18. Each of the five tribes used different types of houses, what were they called and made
out of?
Iroquois: long houses made of wood
Inuit: igloos made of ice or whale bones and animal skins
Pueblo: Adobe houses made of clay
Sioux: tipis made of buffalo skins
Kwakiutl: plank houses made of cedar
Directions: Match each American Indian group with the climate and physical characteristics
of their homeland.
C
Inuit
D
Kwakiutl
A
Lakota
E
Pueblo
B
Iroquois
A Lived on the Great Plains' open grasslands with relatively dry weather
B Lived in the heavily forested Eastern Woodland, with a mild climate and four
distinct seasons
C Inhabited flat and hilly land covered by snow and ice with temperatures below
freezing for most of the year
D Lived among the high, rocky cliff of the Pacific Northwest coast, with a rainy,
mild climate
E Lived in the cliffs and mountains of the desert areas of the Southwest with hot, dry
weather
Color in the map to
represent where each
American Indian group
inhabited.
Create the key below:
Inuit
Kwakiutl
Lakota/ Sioux
Pueblo
Iroquois