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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

   • One date is a typing mistake
   • The sources differ, and scientists still debate
   • The bigger date is the newer one
   • People reached it twice in a row
8. 7.

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

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

   Which sentence about the first people in the Americas is the most careful, Milo asks?

   • Exactly 23,000 years ago, proven
   • By 15,000 years ago; earlier is debated
   • About 1,500 years ago
   • Exactly 15,000 years ago, proven
10. 9.

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

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

    Pia's note says, "The White Sands footprints prove the exact date people arrived." Which fix is right?

    • Change White Sands to Chauvet
    • Change footprints to fossils of Beringia
    • Leave it: one clue settles it
    • Change it: they are evidence, still debated