Social Studies 8: Chapter 1 Study Guide
1. Why did people cross the land bridge from Siberia to Alaska? Is that land bridge
still there? What is it called today?
People were following animals from Asia. They crossed the land
bridge and filtered down through the Americas. It isn’t there
anymore, because it is covered with water. It is now called the
Bering Strait.
2. How did the development of farming lead to cities and early civilizations? Which
of these civilizations created a calendar? Which had the largest empire in the
1400’s?
Farming let people settle down and stay in one place. It also let
people grow more food than they needed, so they could start
trading for other things other people had or were growing.
The Mayans created a calendar, and the Incas had the largest
civilization in the world in the 1400’s.
3. Who were the Mississippians?
The Mississippians were mound builders who built cities in
America.
4. What beliefs did Native American traditions reflect? How did they pass on
traditions to their children? Where did they hunt buffalo? How were Iroquoian
chiefs picked?
Native American traditions reflected their belief about the
importance of the natural world and they believed that nature
housed spirits.
They hunted buffalo in the Great Plains areas.
Iroquoian society revolved around women. They made important
decisions like picking chiefs.
5. Who was Mansa Musa? Jesus? Muhammad? Martin Luther? Henry the
Navigator?
Mansa Musa – leader of Muslims in Mali/Africa, spread Islam
Jesus – son of God, followers founded Christianity
Muhammad – founder of Islam, prophet
Martin Luther – was unhappy with Catholic Church, protested
corruption and began his own religion
Henry the Navigator – prince who made advancements in navigation,
opened school to teach art of navigation and how to read navigation
instruments
6. Who participated in the Athens Assembly? Who made laws in Roman Republic?
Who did U.S. model our government after?
All adult, male, citizens of Athens participated in the Athens Assembly.
It was the first democracy, even though it wasn’t perfect and excluded
people.
The Senate made laws in the Roman Republic, whose members were
elected representatives.
The US modeled our government after both Greeks and Romans in these
matters.
7. What some important effects of the Crusades?
The Crusades brought Muslims and Christians into contact with each
other. They spread ideas from the Middle East to Europe and exposed
each other to different ways of life.
8. Who first came up with idea of monotheism? Who was threatened by
Christianity, but later made it their official religion?
Jews were the first monotheistic religious group. Romans were
threatened by Christianity and Pontius Pilate crucified Jesus. However,
later, Rome was brought under Christianity by Constantine and
Theodosius.
9. What was the Silk Road? Where did it go?
Famous/important trade route between Europe and Asia.