Changes in Native American Food Production
Changes in Native American Food Production
1 Native Americans expanded their sources of food in the centuries around the end of the first millennium ᴄ.ᴇ. Native Americans in the East had already established small-scale agricultural communities, but sometime between 800 and 1100 ᴄ.ᴇ., maize began to be grown throughout much of the Eastern Woodlands, as indicated by much greater amounts of burned maize in the fill of houses and pits. Increase in maize consumption is also supported by measures of the stable forms of carbon in human bones, which provide a direct indication of what people ate. The skeletal evidence is entirely consistent with the botanical information. Both indicate a shift in dietary composition at the same time. Furthermore, the plant remains and human bones show that within any particular region, the change in diets took place over a period spanning no more than a few centuries, perhaps only a few generations. Viewed from the archaeological perspective, this shift was indeed rapid.
2 Maize in the midcontinent was added to well-established plant cultivation practices. Stone hoes, most notably large ones of tabular chert (a type of hard, compact rock) from quarries in southwestern Illinois, began to be widely traded in the Midwest at this time. The use of heavy hoes signals a greater need to prepare larger gardens and to weed them on a regular basis. Elsewhere maize was adopted without being preceded by a long tradition of growing native plants, mostly after 1000 ᴄ.ᴇ. and sometimes well after that date.
3 Regardless of what people might have grown, all of them collected nuts and berries and hunted large and small animals. In the midcontinent, many of these plants and animals thrived near human settlements where there were plenty of active and abandoned fields interspersed by intact woodlands. Long occupations of particular areas had changed dense forests to vegetation mosaics consisting of shrubby growth to mature stands of trees. For example, bits of burned wood from archaeological sites in Ohio show that the second-growth trees that cover an area after the original trees are removed increased at the expense of the older trees. People benefited from this transformation in vegetation cover: many edible plants and animals were found in overgrown clearings (areas from which trees had been removed), and saplings (young trees) filled a need for straight, narrow poles for houses.
4 Hunting practices changed across much of the Eastern Woodlands somewhere between 600 and 800 ᴄ.ᴇ. when numerous small arrowheads first appear. Opinion is divided over whether bows and arrows were new to the Eastern Woodlands or had been present for a long time, but they only became common during a period that spanned a few centuries. Light bows and arrows—as opposed to heavy spears—would have been particularly desirable if locally depleted animals and birds forced hunters to travel over longer distances in search of prey. Such hunting practices took place in at least some places, such as in the middle Ohio Valley where hunting camps have been found in remote rock shelters. Bows and arrows would also have been useful in the opportunistic hunting of small mammals and birds that frequent fields and clearings. People in the midcontinent were spending more of their time in these places, as indicated by the quantities of cultivated plants that were consumed. It would have been simple for people who were tending their crops to carry a bow and quiver of arrows in the event that they happened on anything to shoot.
5 █ The use of fish was also increasing at this time along the major Midwestern and Southeastern rivers. █ Such a development is consistent with a more sedentary (settled in one place) existence by greater numbers of people who necessarily placed heavier demands on what local areas could produce. █ The use of fish was also increasing at this time among groups living along the major Midwestern and Southeastern rivers. █
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1 Native Americans expanded their sources of food in the centuries around the end of the first millennium ᴄ.ᴇ. Native Americans in the East had already established small-scale agricultural communities, but sometime between 800 and 1100 ᴄ.ᴇ., maize began to be grown throughout much of the Eastern Woodlands, as indicated by much greater amounts of burned maize in the fill of houses and pits. Increase in maize consumption is also supported by measures of the stable forms of carbon in human bones, which provide a direct indication of what people ate. The skeletal evidence is entirely consistent with the botanical information. Both indicate a shift in dietary composition at the same time. Furthermore, the plant remains and human bones show that within any particular region, the change in diets took place over a period spanning no more than a few centuries, perhaps only a few generations. Viewed from the archaeological perspective, this shift was indeed rapid.
Which of the sentences below best expresses the essential information in the highlighted sentence in the passage? Incorrect choices change the meaning in important ways or leave out essential information.
A)In certain regions, changes in diets took place over just a few centuries.
B)Human bones and plant remains show dietary changes in many regions.
C)Evidence in all regions shows that the shift in diets occurred relatively quickly.
D)Some changes in diet took place in only a few generations, but most changes took several centuries.
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2 Maize in the midcontinent was added to well-established plant cultivation practices. Stone hoes, most notably large ones of tabular chert (a type of hard, compact rock) from quarries in southwestern Illinois, began to be widely traded in the Midwest at this time. The use of heavy hoes signals a greater need to
prepare larger gardens and to weed them on a regular basis. Elsewhere maize was adopted without being preceded by a long tradition of growing native plants, mostly after 1000 ᴄ.ᴇ. and sometimes well after that date.
According to paragraph 2, the fact that heavy stone hoes had begun to be widely traded indicates that
A) relatively few people outside southwest Illinois had the skills to produce the kind of tools needed for cultivating plants
B)maize cultivation became well established in areas near the Midwest before it spread to other regions
C)maize cultivation was being adopted by people with no previous experience of growing native plants
D)the size of the gardens being prepared and cultivated had increased
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Paragraph 2 suggests which of the following about maize cultivation by Native Americans?
A)After around 1000 ᴄ.ᴇ., maize cultivation required tools that were smaller and lighter than those needed for other plants.
B)The cultivation of maize developed faster in areas outside the Midwest because of their long tradition of growing a variety of native plants.
C)In most regions, preparation of larger fields for maize cultivation became less common after 1000 ᴄ.ᴇ.
D)In some regions, long-established plant cultivation practices were not a necessary requirement for adopting maize.
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3 Regardless of what people might have grown, all of them collected nuts and berries and hunted large and small animals. In the midcontinent, many of these plants and animals thrived near human settlements where there were plenty of active and abandoned fields interspersed by intact woodlands. Long occupations of particular areas had changed dense forests to vegetation mosaics consisting of shrubby growth to mature stands of trees. For example, bits of burned wood from archaeological sites in Ohio show that the second-growth trees that cover an area after the original trees are removed increased at the expense of the older trees. People benefited from this transformation in vegetation cover: many edible plants and animals were found in overgrown clearings (areas from which trees had been removed), and saplings (young trees) filled a need for straight, narrow poles for houses.
The word “ intact ” in the passage is closest in meaning to
A)open
B)undamaged
C)populated
D)ancient
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3 Regardless of what people might have grown, all of them collected nuts and berries and hunted large and small animals. In the midcontinent, many of these plants and animals thrived near human settlements where there were plenty of active and abandoned fields interspersed by intact woodlands. Long occupations of particular areas had changed dense forests to vegetation mosaics consisting of shrubby growth to mature stands of trees. For example, bits of burned wood from archaeological sites in Ohio show that the second-growth trees that cover an area after the original trees are removed increased at the expense of the older trees. People benefited from this transformation in vegetation cover: many edible plants and animals were found in overgrown clearings (areas from which trees had been removed), and saplings (young trees) filled a need for straight, narrow poles for houses.
In paragraph 3, the author mentions the findings in archaeological sites in Ohio in order to
A)demonstrate how widespread the collection of nuts and berries had become across the area
B)challenge the idea that people could have settled in areas where woodlands used to exist
C)provide evidence that long occupations had transformed the environment
D)indicate why human settlements changed as a result of natural environmental changes
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4 Hunting practices changed across much of the Eastern Woodlands somewhere between 600 and 800 ᴄ.ᴇ. when numerous small arrowheads first appear. Opinion is divided over whether bows and arrows were new to the Eastern Woodlands or had been present for a long time, but they only became common during a
period that spanned a few centuries. Light bows and arrows—as opposed to heavy spears—would have been particularly desirable if locally depleted animals and birds forced hunters to travel over longer distances in search of prey. Such hunting practices took place in at least some places, such as in the middle Ohio Valley where hunting camps have been found in remote rock shelters. Bows and arrows would also have been useful in the opportunistic hunting of small mammals and birds that frequent fields and clearings. People in the midcontinent were spending more of their time in these places, as indicated by the quantities of cultivated plants that were consumed. It would have been simple for people who were tending their crops to carry a bow and quiver of arrows in the event that they happened on anything to shoot.
According to paragraph 4, archaeologists knowledgeable about the Eastern Woodlands between 600 and 800 ᴄ.ᴇ. disagree about whether
A)most hunting practices there changed sometime during that period
B)bows and arrows had been present there long before that period
C)people there had begun to cultivate plants for food in addition to hunting for animals
D)people there were likely to have used light bows and arrows for opportunistic hunting of small mammals and birds
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4 Hunting practices changed across much of the Eastern Woodlands somewhere between 600 and 800 ᴄ.ᴇ. when numerous small arrowheads first appear. Opinion is divided over whether bows and arrows were new to the Eastern Woodlands or had been present for a long time, but they only became common during a
period that spanned a few centuries. Light bows and arrows—as opposed to heavy spears—would have been particularly desirable if locally depleted animals and birds forced hunters to travel over longer distances in search of prey. Such hunting practices took place in at least some places, such as in the middle Ohio Valley where hunting camps have been found in remote rock shelters. Bows and arrows would also have been
useful in the opportunistic hunting of small mammals and birds that frequent fields and clearings. People in the midcontinent were spending more of their time in these places, as indicated by the quantities of cultivated plants that were consumed. It would have been simple for people who were tending their crops to carry a bow and quiver of arrows in the event that they happened on anything to shoot.
According to paragraph 4, the presence of hunting camps in remote rock shelters supports the idea that
A)hunting practices differed greatly in different parts of the Ohio Valley
B)spears were no longer used for hunting in the Eastern Woodlands
C)people still relied more on hunting than they did on cultivating plants
D)some hunters traveled significant distances in search of prey
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5 █ The use of fish was also increasing at this time along the major Midwestern and Southeastern rivers. █ Such a development is consistent with a more sedentary (settled in one place) existence by greater numbers of people who necessarily placed heavier demands on what local areas could produce. █ The use of fish was also increasing at this time among groups living along the major Midwestern and Southeastern rivers. █
According to paragraph 5, the increased use of fish as a food source was in part due to
A)increasing numbers of fish were available on major rivers
B)increased population and changes in lifestyle
C)improved food transportation along rivers
D)increased number of naturally occurring flood plains
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5 █ The use of fish was also increasing at this time along the major Midwestern and Southeastern rivers. █ Such a development is consistent with a more sedentary (settled in one place) existence by greater numbers of people who necessarily placed heavier demands on what local areas could produce. █ The use of fish was also increasing at this time among groups living along the major Midwestern and Southeastern rivers. █
Conditions were not the same along narrow upland streams, so for people living there, fish and other aquatic animals made up a smaller part of their diets.
Where would the sentence best fit? Click on a square [█] to add the sentence to the passage.
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Native Americans expanded their sources of food during the period between around 800 and 1100 ᴄ.ᴇ.
A)Evidence for increased maize cultivation and consumption is provided by plant and human remains as well as by the wider use of large stone hoes.
B)The most complete evidence supporting shifts in the diets of Native Americans around the end of the first millennium comes from archaeological sites in Illinois and Ohio.
C)Hunting practices made it possible to hunt in more distant areas and in agricultural fields and clearings, and fish consumption increased in some areas.
D)Archaeological evidence supports the idea that technological innovation allowed settlements in the Eastern Woodlands to change their dietary habits much faster than other communities.
E)Long occupations and plant cultivation led to areas of deep forests being replaced by active and abandoned fields that provided habitats for many edible plants and small animals.
F)As populations grew they placed heavier demands on what local areas could produce and. as a result, many people eventually had to move from forested regions to flood plains.
