Deck 9: The Interior West

Question 1

Which of the following statements about the development of the mounted nomadic cultures of the Great Plains is incorrect?

A) tepee rings became a more common feature of the Interior West
B) people quickly learned how to tame horses, fight from horseback, and hunt bison
C) horses resulted in increased population growth and mobility
D) they developed in 1200 CE and flourished until the late 1900s

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Which of the following best describes the North American Great Plains region?

A) a vast grassland with absolutely no trees
B) a vast section of North America characterized by the presence of large salt lakes, glacial valleys, and brush forests
C) a vast grassland with a few forests located in upland regions and along rivers
D) a grassland rich in roots, tubers, berries, grains, and other edible food crops

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Which of the following is the main reason why medicine wheels were constructed by Great Plains Indian cultures?

A) The original purpose of these features is still uncertain
B) They served as territorial neutral ground for regional inter-tribal councils
C) They served as ritual centers for cultural ceremonies including healing ceremonies and battle dances
D) They provided a template for laying out historic period settlements

Answer 3

A

Question 4

What was the primary food source for the Native American tribes of the Great Plains for thousands of years?

A) wheat
B) roots and tubers
C) bison
D) maize

Question 5

What was the primary feature of Numic-speaking peoples that allowed them to be more successful in the Great Basin than the Fremont culture?

A) advanced hunting strategies that allowed them to take down large-game animals
B) a hunter-gatherer adaptation that was better suited to the Great Basin around the time of the Medieval Maximum
C) a natural resistance to the strain of smallpox that wiped out the Fremont people
D) language and religious practices that helped form a large trade network in the region

Question 6

Native Americans were able to adapt to and flourish in the Northwest Plateau region of the United States as a result of the presence of large game animals, edible roots, and __________________.

A) migratory birds
B) migratory fish
C) small game animals
D) fertile farmland

Question 7

The Plains Woodland cultures were composed of __________________.

A) farmers who brought cultivation with them from the Eastern Woodlands
B) hunter-gatherers who relied on scarce tubers, nuts, and berries
C) mounted nomads who used horses to effectively hunt bison
D) hunters who used the bow and arrow to out-compete the tribes already on the Great Plains

Question 8

Pithouses were developed and built by sedentary peoples living on the Plateau of the Interior West as a way to __________________.

A) effectively smoke fish caught during salmon runs and meat from large game animals
B) protect against the dangers of landslides and earthquakes
C) stay cool during the hot summer months and warm during the harsh winters
D) keep large stores of corn and root crops from going bad over the winter months

Question 9

What is the archaeological significance of Gatecliff Shelter?

A) it is the oldest evidence of Bison hunting in the Great Plains
B) only children were found buried there
C) it is important for the lack of artifacts found there
D) it is an important chronological record of cultural and paleoenvironmental changes in the Great Basin

Question 10

Archaeological evidence shows that the final component of the Head-Smashed-In site is where bison were __________________.

A) ceremonially buried
B) butchered
C) killed prior to falling off a cliff
D) taunted by Spanish bull-fighters

Question 11

__________________ are found along river routes between the Pacific Coast and Plateau region to mark important meeting places for trading goods.

A) burial mounds
B) ceremonial hearths
C) totem poles
D) petroglyphs and other rock art

Question 12

What is one reason why the Plateau region has remained archaeologically distinct from the neighboring Northwest Coast?

A) human adaptation to mostly interior resources
B) more people lived there
C) greater evidence of horse breeding
D) it is not archaeologically distinct

Question 13

The archaeological presence of __________________ illustrates the importance of farming in Middle Missouri cultures.

A) scapula hoes
B) manos
C) metates
D) all of the above

Question 14

Archaeologists used __________________ analysis to identify sources of obsidian tools found in the Great Basin.

A) radiocarbon
B) zooarchaeological
C) trace element
D) botanical

Question 15

The aridity of the Great Basin is __________________ that of the Great Plains, making farming very difficult.

A) greater than
B) less than
C) equivalent to

Question 16

Great Plains cultures maintained a consistent way of life and are easy to trace archaeologically.

Question 17

According to archaeological evidence and oral traditions, which of the three subgroups of the Hidatsa people is considered the last of the evolved Middle Missouri cultures to arrive in north-central North Dakota?

A) Awatixa
B) Awaxawi
C) Hidatsa proper
D) they all arrived around the same time

Question 18

The early hunter gatherers of the Interior West region were probably very warlike.

Question 19

The construction of fortified villages and clustered earth lodges during period of the Coalescent Tradition was the result of __________________.

A) poor weather
B) a food surplus
C) endemic warfare
D) population decrease

Question 20

The expansion of Plains Village cultures is accompanied by all of the following, except __________________.

A) semi-domestication of deer
B) spread of maize agriculture
C) warmer climate
D) increase in bison herd populations

Question 21

Which of the following is a likely root cause for the evolution of many short-lived cultures in the Great Plains, Great Basin, and interior Plateau areas?

A) shortages of arable land
B) constant inter-tribal warfare
C) severe food shortages
D) drought cycles