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Difficulty: EasyIndigenous Societies and Diverse Environments

Read the excerpt and answer the question below:

"These people have houses of three and four stories high, with good apartments and fireplaces... They cultivate fields of maize, beans, and squashes, which they irrigate by means of canals that they build from the river. In this manner, they obtain abundant crops, despite the dry climate of the region."
—Adapted from a Spanish account of an expedition into the American Southwest, late 16th century

Which of the following environmental adaptations of indigenous societies in the Southwest is most directly described in the excerpt?

  1. A
    A nomadic lifestyle based on following migratory bison herds across the Great Plains
  2. The development of complex irrigation systems to cultivate crops in an arid environmentAnswer
  3. C
    The widespread adoption of Spanish horse culture to travel and farm more efficiently
  4. D
    The establishment of agricultural labor systems based on the Spanish encomienda model

Answer

The development of complex irrigation systems to cultivate crops in an arid environment
The correct answer is correct because the excerpt describes how the indigenous people of the Southwest built canals from the river to irrigate crops such as maize, beans, and squashes, demonstrating a sophisticated adaptation to their dry environment.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the primary source stimulus to identify key agricultural practices and environmental conditions.
The source describes houses of three and four stories, cultivation of maize, beans, and squashes, and the use of canals to irrigate crops from the river in a dry climate.
Understanding the specific details of the source is necessary to identify the environmental adaptation being described.
2
Match the details of the stimulus to the correct regional indigenous adaptation.
The building of canals to irrigate crops in a dry climate represents the agricultural adaptations of Southwestern societies, such as the Pueblo, to their arid environment.
This connects the source's content directly to the learning objective on regional indigenous societies and their environments.

Key Concept

Southwestern indigenous societies adapted to their dry environments by developing complex irrigation systems to support agriculture.
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Topics

Indigenous Societies and Diverse Environments

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