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Chapter Two Study Guide
Directions: Please define the following terms.
1. artifacts: objects made by people that can help scientists learn about life
2. ceremony: a way to celebrate a cultural or religious event
3. culture: the way of life of a group of people that may include their ideas, customs, and
traditions
4. division of labor: dividing up the work so that people can produce more goods
5. economy: the way people run their industry, trade, and finance
6. migration: movement of people from one place to another
7. civilization: a group of people with ways of life, religion, and learning
Directions: Answer the following questions in complete sentences very thoroughly.
Look back in your book to find specific answers.
1. What was the land bridge theory? The land bridge theory is the belief that there
was once a large glacier that covered large parts of the earth. Because of this
there was more dry land on Earth than there is now. Scientists called the land
bridge Beringia, named for the Bering Strait, the body of water that separates
Russia from Alaska. They believe that early people crossed from Asia into North
America on this land bridge.
2. What is the main reason peoples in the Americas settled into villages?
They settled in villages because of the development of agriculture.
3. List some achievements of the following groups.
a. Olmec: The Olmec had a strong trade system, the created systems of writing
and counting, and developed a 365 day calendar.
b. Maya: The Maya developed their own writing system and a counting system
that include zero. They built over 100 stone cities.
4. What was the main purpose of the Iroquois League?
The Iroquois League helped resolve conflicts.
5. Describe the homes and resources of each of the following groups.
a. Eastern Woodlands: Iroquois and Algonquian
The Eastern Woodlands group relied on trees and wood. The Iroquois lived in
longhouses and the Algonquian lived in wigwams. The Iroquois and Algonquian
were grouped according to the languages they spoke.
b. The Plains:
The Plains Indians relied on buffalo for clothing, tools, utensils and shelters.
People in the Central Plains generally lived in lodges and the nomads of the Great
Plains lived in tepees.
c. The Southwest and West:
The Indians of the southwest had little resources. They were able to grow corn,
beans, and squash, but needed trade to get resources they did not have. They used
stones, mud, clay, and straw for homes, pottery and baskets. The Puebloans lived
in pueblos made from adobe and the Navajo build homes called hogans. The
people in the west relied on dry brush to build homes and hunted buffalo or
fished.
d. Northwest:
The people of the northwest relied a great deal on fishing. Salmon was a staple
food and they used whales for food and used the fat to burn in lamps. They used
hollowed out logs for canoes. They used wood for homes which were like
longhouses, but bigger.
e. Arctic:
The people hunted and used animal skins for clothes and tents. Oil was used for
light and heat and bones were used for tools. The Aleut lived in houses with
beams made of whalebone and walls of sod and in the winter many Inuit lived in
igloos made of ice. Some lived in tents of animal skin or sod.