What Do Social Scientists Do?

Multiple Choice

What is the main focus of an archaeologist's work?

• Reading ancient documents and records

• Studying how families and groups were organized

• Examining objects that people made and used

• Understanding why people lived in certain places

Multiple Choice

What is the main focus of an anthropologist's work?

• Digging up ancient tools and pottery

• Reading ancient handwritten records

• Understanding where places are located on a map

• Studying how people live and organize themselves in groups

Multiple Choice

What is the main focus of a geographer's work?

• Studying objects that people left behind

• Understanding family structures and beliefs

• Examining relationships between people and their environment

• Translating ancient writing systems

Multiple Choice

What is the main focus of a paleontologist's work?

• Studying ancient human-made objects

• Understanding how societies were organized

• Analyzing why people lived in certain places

• Examining fossils of ancient plants and animals

Multiple Choice

What is the main focus of a historian's work?

• Excavating ancient artifacts

• Studying social customs and beliefs

• Analyzing geographic locations

• Examining written records from the past

In 2019, archaeologists explored a cave in Spain and made an incredible discovery. They found evidence of people who had lived there thousands of years ago, along with the remains of animals and plants from that time period. The cave was located near a freshwater spring in the mountains, making it an ideal place for ancient people to live.

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When scientists examined the cave, they found many different types of evidence that needed to be studied by different experts:

The Cave Discovery (12,000 years ago)

Match

Match each piece of evidence to the social scientist who would be MOST interested in studying it:

• Stone spear points, bone needles, and painted pottery bowls

• The cave built into a hillside overlooking a river, with a freshwater spring nearby

• Five separate sleeping areas arranged around three large fire pits for cooking

• Fossilized animal bones, ancient seeds, and preserved tree pollen found in the cave layers

• Research reports and museum exhibits created to document the cave findings

Archaeologist

Geographer

Anthropologist

Paleontologist

Historian

• Archaeologist

• Geographer

• Anthropologist

• Paleontologist

• Historian