Deck 1: The First Civilizations of North America

Question 1

What has proved to be the most important contribution of Native Americans to the course of human history?

A) the domestication of large animals
B) the deforestation of the Great Plains
C) the manipulation of plants for agriculture
D) the development of pottery and other stone works

Answer 1

the manipulation of plants for agriculture

Question 2

What food, developed by Native Americans, forms the center of the contemporary American diet?

A) corn
B) teosinte
C) beans
D) squash

Answer 2

corn

Question 3

Which of the following was the most significant barrier to communication and technology transfer between groups in the Americas?

A) lack of interest among inhabitants
B) groups that did not know of each other's existence
C) the perpetual state of war between groups
D) the north-south geography of the Americas

Answer 3

the north-south geography of the Americas

Question 4

Why were Native Americans spared the effects of most of the world's communicable diseases until contact with the Europeans in 1492?

A) Until that time, they had eaten a nutrient-rich diet.
B) Until that time, they had not domesticated any animals.
C) Until that time, they did had not lived in large groups with close contact.
D) Until that time, they had rarely traveled out of their own communities.

Question 5

A(n) ________ is a member of a group of people who have no fixed home and who move about, usually seasonally, in pursuit of food, water, and other resources.

Question 6

The emergence of new _________-climates, waterways, and land environments in which humans interacted with other animals and plants-made for even greater diversity in the Americas.

Question 7

The first inhabitants of the Americas hunted a vast array of huge mammals like mammoths and giant bison, otherwise known as _______.

Question 8

________ was the port city and hub of the Mississippian trading network.

Question 9

Explain how early peoples evolved into stable and secure cultures.

Question 10

Explain how the emergence of ecosystems made for ever greater biological diversity.

Question 11

Compare and contrast the early cultures of ancient Mexico.

Question 12

Describe the early cultures of the American Southwest.

Question 13

Analyze the differences between the cultures of the Pacific Northwest and the other Native American cultures in North America.

Question 14

Analyze and explain the rise of agriculture and the worldwide spread of American crops.

Question 15

Explain why Native Americans were largely spared the effects of most of the world's communicable diseases until 1492.

Question 16

Describe the Americas on the eve of contact with European civilizations.

Question 17

In an evolutionary context, why were Native Americans at a disadvantage compared to Europeans?

Question 18

Discuss the historical detective work involved in tracking the movements of the earliest Americans.