Deck 3: The Peopling of America

Question 1

Clovis material culture is most easily distinguished from most other Paleoindian complexes by __________________.

A) its highly distinctive fluted projectile points
B) association with extinct mammals
C) microblades and wedge-shaped cores
D) a wide array of side- and end- scrapers

Answer 1

A

Question 2

An alternative, yet unsupported hypothesis for the origins of Clovis in North America and states that __________________.

A) North American was populated by people who migrated across Canada and down the Atlantic Coast
B) the Clovis complex could have derived from the Mousterian culture found in Eastern Europe
C) the Clovis complex is derived from the Solutrean culture of Upper Paleolithic France and Spain
D) the ancestors of Clovis arrived in the new world after crossing the Pacific Ocean in boats

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Which of the following is NOT one of the characteristic features of Paleoindian peoples?

A) they used a small toolkit with relatively simple technology
B) they existed in small, highly mobile groups
C) they had extensive social networks
D) they lived in large, permanent settlements

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Which of the following best describes the small number of skeletons that have been recovered from the Paleoindian period in North and South America?

A) they exhibit a mix of Asian and European features resulting from a long history of intermarriage between Native Americans and European settlers
B) Their DNA and skeletal features are consistent with Siberian origins
C) the skeletons are so degraded that we cannot tell anything about them
D) they look nothing like modern Native Americans

Question 5

Which of the following sites has provided remains and radiocarbon dates that support the theory of an early spread of maritime people southward along the Pacific coast?

A) Monte Verde
B) Mesa
C) Cactus Hill
D) Meadowcroft Rockshelter

Question 6

All of the following make it difficult for modern archaeologists to study the earliest people in North America except that __________________.

A) early Native American populations were small and carried relatively few material possessions
B) only a small number of significant sites ever existed and were spread over the entire North American continent
C) all of the earliest sites have already been found and there is nothing left for modern archaeologists to study
D) areas of the Pacific Coast where migrations may have occurred are now below sea level

Question 7

Clovis Paleoindian culture in North America was widespread by around __________________.

A) 24,000 BCE
B) 17,300 BCE
C) 15,500 BCE
D) 11,000 BCE

Question 8

Pre-Clovis sites in Alaska dated prior to 11,000 BCE include Mesa, Dry Creek, and __________________.

A) Windover
B) Meadowcroft Rockshelter
C) Nenana Valley
D) Dyuktai

Question 9

The __________________ site in Texas displays multiple Paleoindian components, including a distinct variation of Clovis.

A) Folsom
B) Blackwater Draw
C) Gault
D) Lubbock Lake

Question 10

The __________________ site in Washington shows signs of how megafauna were exploited, such as butchering and the manufacture of bone projectile points.

A) Folsom
B) Manis Mastodon
C) Paisley Caves
D) Arlington Springs

Question 11

Early Paleoindian sites along the Pacific coast suggest that some humans arrived via __________________ before glaciers retreated.

A) mammoth
B) kelp
C) Monte Verde
D) boat

Question 12

__________________ projectile points found in the American Northwest suggest the presence of an alternative yet contemporary group to the Clovis culture.

A) pre-Clovis
B) Western Stemmed Tradition
C) Monte Verde
D) fluted

Question 13

A large number of Clovis points are found east of the Mississippi, but not in __________________.

A) the Western US
B) Canada
C) Central America
D) New England

Question 14

The earliest levels of __________________ are a potentially pre-Clovis occupation called the Miller complex.

A) Paisley Cave
B) Arlington Springs
C) Mesa Verde
D) Meadowcroft Rockshelter

Question 15

The distribution of Clovis sites suggests its rapid spread was via __________________.

A) diffusion of knowledge rather than population migration
B) population migration
C) boat
D) music

Question 16

The technological advantage of fluting was probably that it __________________.

A) had superior ergonomics
B) increased killing power
C) made hafted points stronger
D) did nothing; there is no advantage

Question 17

Humans probably had a role in the megafaunal extinctions at the end of the Pleistocene.

Question 18

Reciprocal gift-giving typically practiced by mobile hunter-gatherers creates __________________.

A) obligations that hold relationship and societies together
B) renewal of social bonds
C) greater advantages than hoarding
D) all of the above

Question 19

Paleoindian rock art-though rare-can be distinguished by its depiction of extinct fauna, including __________________.

A) mastodons
B) camelids
C) bison
D) A & B only

Question 20

While fluted points disappear from the archaeological record during the Late Paleoindian period, __________________ points continued to be made.

A) Clovis
B) coprolite
C) Solutrean
D) lanceolate

Question 21

Between 6000-3000 BCE, the __________________ was/were largely abandoned, probably following a long, dry cooling period.

A) Mississippi Delta
B) North Atlantic
C) High Plains
D) Western refugia