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

Grade 6 Social Studies Worksheet - Building Confidence

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Stone Age toolkits

   Toolkit	Made by	What it had
   Oldest known toolkit (Oldowan)	at least 2.6 million years ago	?
   Handaxe toolkit (Acheulean)	from about 1.76 million years ago	large flakes shaped into handaxes
   Middle Stone Age toolkit	by at least 285,000 years ago in parts of Africa	smaller flake tools, stone points fixed to wooden shafts, awls and scrapers

   The cell marked ? is blank. Below the chart: Paleolithic means Old Stone Age. Dates are from the Smithsonian Human Origins Program.

2. 1.

   Esme's chart has a blank: what did the oldest known toolkit have?

   • Points fixed to wooden shafts
   • Hammerstones, stone cores and sharp flakes
   • Large flakes shaped into handaxes
   • Clay pots, metal tools and woven baskets
3. 2.

   Jun's chart has a blank: when were handaxe toolkits made?

   • By at least 285,000 years ago in Africa
   • About 1.76 thousand years ago
   • From about 1.76 million years ago
   • At least 2.6 million years ago
4. 3.

   Kira's chart has a blank: what did the Middle Stone Age toolkit have?

   • Bronze tools, clay jars and woven baskets
   • Large flakes shaped into handaxes
   • Points on shafts, awls and scrapers
   • Hammerstones, stone cores and sharp flakes

5. Stone Age toolkits

   Toolkit	Made by	What it had
   Oldest known toolkit (Oldowan)	at least 2.6 million years ago	hammerstones, stone cores and sharp flakes
   Handaxe toolkit (Acheulean)	from about 1.76 million years ago	large flakes shaped into handaxes
   Middle Stone Age toolkit	by at least 285,000 years ago in parts of Africa	smaller flake tools, stone points fixed to wooden shafts, awls and scrapers

   Below the chart: Paleolithic means Old Stone Age. Dates are from the Smithsonian Human Origins Program.

6. 4.

   Milo reads the word artifact. What is an artifact?

   • A story told about the past
   • An object people made or used
   • A map of a modern city
   • A rock shaped by rivers, with no people
7. 5.

   Noah reads that early people were hunter-gatherers. What does that mean?

   • They kept herds in barns
   • They found wild plants and animals for food
   • They bought food in shops
   • They grew wheat and barley in their own fields
8. 6.

   Which toolkit in the chart is the oldest, Pia asks?

   • The three are the same age
   • The handaxe toolkit
   • The Oldowan toolkit
   • The Middle Stone Age toolkit
9. 7.

   Which came later, the handaxe toolkit or the Middle Stone Age toolkit, Ren asks?

   • The handaxe toolkit
   • Neither: both are from last century
   • The Middle Stone Age toolkit
   • Both came in the same year
10. 8.

    How many years ago is 2.6 million years ago, written as a number, Tala asks?

    • 2,600 years ago
    • 260,000 years ago
    • 2,600,000 years ago
    • 26,000,000 years ago
11. 9.

    For millions of years, how did all people get their food, Zee asks?

    • Keeping animals in barns
    • Growing wheat and barley on their farms
    • Gathering plants and finding animals
    • Trading at markets for food
12. 10.

    Middle Stone Age awls could poke holes. Why would people poke holes in hides, Ari asks?

    • To plant seeds in them
    • To write long messages on them for others
    • To join hides into clothing
    • To make the hides heavier