2008 civics test · Question 59 · Colonial Period and Independence
Who lived in America before the Europeans arrived?
Any one of these answers is accepted
- American Indians
- Native Americans
What this means
The people who lived in America before the Europeans arrived were the American Indians, also called Native Americans.
They had lived across the continent for thousands of years, in hundreds of separate nations and tribes, each with its own language and way of life. When European settlers came, these were the peoples already here.
Both answers are accepted: American Indians or Native Americans.
Why this is on the test
This question recognizes the people who lived in America long before European settlers arrived, and both tests ask it the same way.
How this question is asked
On the 2008 civics test, the officer asks up to 10 of the 100 questions out loud and you pass by answering 6 correctly. You answer in your own words. There is no multiple choice and nothing to write down for the civics portion.
This question also appears on the 2025 civics test , as question 74.
Related questions
More from Colonial Period and Independence.
- 58 What is one reason colonists came to America?
- 60 What group of people was taken to America and sold as slaves?
- 61 Why did the colonists fight the British?
- 62 Who wrote the Declaration of Independence?
- 63 When was the Declaration of Independence adopted?
- 64 There were 13 original states. Name three.