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?

   • Hammerstones, stone cores and sharp flakes
   • Points fixed to wooden shafts
   • 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?

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

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

   • Points on shafts, awls and scrapers
   • Large flakes shaped into handaxes
   • Bronze tools, clay jars and woven baskets
   • 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.

   Luz reads the word archaeologist. What does an archaeologist do?

   • Sells old tools at a market
   • Studies the past from things people left
   • Studies stars, planets and moons in space
   • Writes new laws for a city
7. 5.

   Milo reads the word artifact. What is an artifact?

   • A map of a modern city
   • A rock shaped by rivers, with no people
   • A story told about the past
   • An object people made or used
8. 6.

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

   • They found wild plants and animals for food
   • They kept herds in barns
   • They bought food in shops
   • They grew wheat and barley in their own fields
9. 7.

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

   • The Middle Stone Age toolkit
   • The three are the same age
   • The handaxe toolkit
   • The Oldowan toolkit
10. 8.

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

    • The Middle Stone Age toolkit
    • Neither: both are from last century
    • The handaxe toolkit
    • Both came in the same year
11. 9.

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

    • 26,000,000 years ago
    • 2,600,000 years ago
    • 2,600 years ago
    • 260,000 years ago
12. 10.

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

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