How early people lived: hunting, gathering, tools and moving to new lands

Grade 6 Social Studies Worksheet - Challenge Me

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Our species reaches new lands

   Place	Homo sapiens there by	Evidence and notes
   Africa	about 300,000 years ago	where Homo sapiens evolved
   Australia	50,000 years ago	Smithsonian timeline
   Europe	40,000 years ago	Smithsonian timeline
   The Americas	15,000 years ago (Smithsonian timeline)	footprints at White Sands, New Mexico, dated about 23,000 to 21,000 years ago (National Park Service)

   Below the chart: during the Ice Age, a land bridge called Beringia joined Asia and North America. Scientists still debate when people first reached the Americas.

2. 1.

   By how many years ago had Homo sapiens reached Europe, Tala asks?

   • By 15,000 years ago
   • By 40 years ago
   • By 50,000 years ago
   • By 40,000 years ago
3. 2.

   Where did Homo sapiens arrive by 50,000 years ago, Zee asks?

   • Australia
   • Europe
   • The Americas
   • Antarctica
4. 3.

   What joined Asia and North America during the Ice Age, Ari asks?

   • A land bridge called Beringia
   • Footprints at White Sands
   • A bridge built from stone
   • A road paved by early farmers
5. 4.

   Which place did Homo sapiens reach first, Australia or Europe, Bo asks?

   • Neither one: both are recent
   • Australia, by 50,000 years ago
   • Europe, because 40,000 is smaller
   • Both in the same year
6. 5.

   How many years earlier is the Australia date than the Europe date, Esme asks?

   • 1,000 years
   • 90,000 years
   • 10,000 years
   • 10 years
7. 6.

   How many years passed between our species evolving and reaching Europe, by the chart, Jun asks?

   • About 340,000 years
   • About 260 years
   • About 260,000 years
   • About 26,000 years
8. 7.

   Why does the chart give two dates for the Americas, Kira asks?

   • People reached it twice in a row
   • One date is a typing mistake
   • The bigger date is the newer one
   • The sources differ, and scientists still debate
9. 8.

   If the White Sands dates hold up, how much earlier would people have reached the Americas than 15,000 years ago, Luz asks?

   • About 6 to 8 years earlier
   • Exactly 15,000 years earlier
   • About 36,000 to 38,000 years earlier
   • About 6,000 to 8,000 years earlier
10. 9.

    Noah's note says, "Homo sapiens reached Europe before Australia." Which fix is right?

    • Change Australia to Antarctica
    • Change it: Australia came first
    • Leave it: 40,000 is the smaller number
    • Change Europe to Africa
11. 10.

    Ren's note says, "People walked to the Americas across a bridge they built." Which fix is right?

    • Change Americas to Australia
    • Change it: Beringia was land, not built
    • Change walked to flew
    • Leave it: Beringia was built