North American societies before 1500: Ancestral Puebloans, Hohokam, Cahokia and the Haudenosaunee

Grade 7 Social Studies Worksheet - Challenge Me

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   Two traditions of the Americas (cards A to E; summaries in our words). Card A, the Great Law of Peace: a reference summary says the Haudenosaunee confederacy formed under the Great Law "likely between 1142 and 1660," with little agreement on the date. Some arguments point to a solar eclipse of August 31, 1142; many archaeologists and anthropologists think the League formed about 1450. The five original nations were the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga and Seneca, and the Tuscarora were accepted as a sixth nation in 1722. Card B: Clan Mothers traditionally appoint leaders and can remove a leader who is corrupt or does not listen to the people. Card C: the name "Iroquois" first appears in writing in 1603, in the writings of the French explorer Samuel de Champlain. Its origin is unclear and debated. The nations call themselves Haudenosaunee. Card D, Hohokam: they lived in the Sonoran Desert of southern Arizona from roughly 300 to 1500 CE (dates debated). The canal network around Phoenix was the most complex in the pre-contact Western Hemisphere. Floods in the mid-1300s ruined canal heads and made hundreds of miles of canals useless, and after 1375 most villages on the lower Salt River were left. Card E: the Akimel O'odham and Tohono O'odham live in southern Arizona today. Their oral tradition holds that the Hohokam may be their ancestors. Archaeologists disagree about whether Hohokam communities were politically united. The word Hohokam comes from the O'odham word huhugam, which refers to past human life.

2. 1.

   Card A gives dates from 1142 to 1660 for the Great Law. How wide is that range, Ari asks?

   • 508 years, found by subtracting 1142 from 1650
   • 518 years, since 1660 minus 1142 is 518
   • 2,802 years, found by combining the two dates
   • 308 years, found by using 1450 as the end date
3. 2.

   Card A offers an eclipse in 1142 and a view that the League formed about 1450. How should a historian treat this, Bo asks?

   • The sources disagree by centuries, so the date stays unsettled
   • The matter is closed, since archaeologists outrank oral accounts
   • The eclipse settles it, since an eclipse is a fact of astronomy
   • The sources agree, since both are inside the range of 1142 to 1660
4. 3.

   Card C says "Iroquois" first appears in writing in 1603 in Champlain's writings. What does that show, Esme asks?

   • The nations began in 1603, when Champlain first met them in North America
   • When a European first wrote the name, not when the nations began
   • The nations chose that name for themselves in 1603
   • Champlain founded the League in 1603
5. 4.

   Card A: the earliest date for the Great Law is 1142 and the Tuscarora joined in 1722. How many years between, Jun asks?

   • 570 years, since 1722 minus 1152 is 570
   • 280 years, since 1722 minus 1450 is 272
   • 2,864 years, since 1722 plus 1142 gives the span
   • 580 years, since 1722 minus 1142 is 580
6. 5.

   Card B says Clan Mothers appoint leaders and can remove one. What does that show about sharing power, Kira asks?

   • Leaders stayed in office for life no matter what the people thought
   • Leaders were chosen by drawing names, with no role for any group
   • Men alone chose leaders and women had no part in the process
   • Women held a check on leaders: Clan Mothers could remove one
7. 6.

   Card D: Hohokam lived from about 300 to 1500, and most lower Salt River villages were left after 1375. What share of the 1,200 years had passed by 1375, Milo asks?

   • About 75 percent, since 1375 minus 300 is nearly 1,000
   • About 1,075 percent, the number of years in the span
   • About 90 percent: 1,075 of the 1,200 years
   • About 10 percent, the share of the years after 1375
8. 7.

   Which chain from card D is best supported, Noah asks?

   • Floods ruined canal heads, canals became useless, villages were left after 1375
   • A long drought ended the canals first, and the floods came a few years afterward
   • Villages were left after 1375, so floods then ruined the canal heads of the canals
   • The canals caused the floods in the mid-1300s, which is why the villages were left
9. 8.

   Card E: O'odham oral tradition says the Hohokam may be their ancestors; archaeologists debate how united Hohokam communities were. How do the two views differ, Pia asks?

   • One names possible ancestors; the other asks how communities were organized
   • They ask the same question about the Hohokam and so must give the same answer
   • Archaeologists reject the oral tradition, since a tradition cannot count as evidence
   • The O'odham say the Hohokam were unrelated to them, which settles the archaeologists' debate
10. 9.

    A student writes, "The Hohokam disappeared." Which reply fits cards D and E best, Ren asks?

    • Not supported: villages were left, but the O'odham live in southern Arizona today
    • Supported: card D gives 1500 as an end date, so no one remained in the desert after that
    • Not supported: archaeologists agree that the O'odham are direct descendants
    • Supported: card D says villages were left after 1375, so the people ended there and then
11. 10.

    Suppose a new study dates the Great Law to the 1200s. What does that change about card A, Zee asks?

    • It settles the question, since a newer study replaces older estimates
    • It changes nothing, since an oral law cannot be dated by any method
    • It shows the 1142 eclipse story is right, since both dates are early
    • It adds one more estimate; scholars would weigh it with other evidence