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Life in North America Before 1492 is a free printable Grade 3 to Grade 5 social studies worksheet on how nations lived and traded before Europeans arrived, aligned to C3 Framework indicator D2.Geo.4.3-5. It prints 8 questions with an answer key on its own sheet of paper, in 25 versions that each ask different questions, so no two students in the class work from the same page. Print it from the browser or download it as a PDF — no account, no email.

Set 8 of 25 · the same problems every time you open this link.

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Set 1 has all 25 in a single PDF. All 25 sets ask different questions.

Life in North America Before 1492

D2.Geo.4.3-5

NameDate

Choose the best answer.

1.About how many people may have lived in Cahokia at its largest?
  • A.Perhaps 10,000 to 20,000
  • B.About 10 million
  • C.About 50
2.What did the people of Cahokia build out of earth?
  • A.Brick towers
  • B.Huge mounds, including Monks Mound
  • C.Stone castles with moats
3.How did Ancestral Puebloans adapt to the dry Southwest?
  • A.They built igloos
  • B.They fished for salmon in the ocean
  • C.They built homes in cliffs and stored water and crops
4.Before horses came, what did dogs pull for Plains peoples?
  • A.Wagons on iron rails
  • B.Loads on wooden frames called travois
  • C.Mail carts
5.Why did many Southwest peoples hold ceremonies for rain?
  • A.Rain fell every day there
  • B.They wanted floods
  • C.Rain was scarce and their crops depended on it
6.Before Europeans brought horses, how did Plains peoples hunt bison?
  • A.From trains
  • B.On foot, sometimes driving herds over cliffs
  • C.On horseback with rifles
7.How did the Hohokam farm the desert of what is now Arizona?
  • A.They dug long canals to bring river water to their fields
  • B.They planted rice in swamps
  • C.They waited for snow
8.How did peoples of the Pacific Northwest use their forests and rivers?
  • A.They herded cattle and horses
  • B.They built cedar plank houses and fished for salmon
  • C.They built adobe pueblos

LessonPrint · D2.Geo.4.3-5 · Set 8 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Life in North America Before 1492

Set 8. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.Perhaps 10,000 to 20,000
  2. 2.Huge mounds, including Monks Mound
  3. 3.They built homes in cliffs and stored water and crops
  4. 4.Loads on wooden frames called travois
  5. 5.Rain was scarce and their crops depended on it
  6. 6.On foot, sometimes driving herds over cliffs
  7. 7.They dug long canals to bring river water to their fields
  8. 8.They built cedar plank houses and fished for salmon

Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to D2.Geo.4.3-5 of the C3 Framework for Social Studies State Standards.