Final answer:
The statement is false, as the number of people living in North America prior to European exploration is estimated to be between 7 million and 18 million, not 75 million to 2 million.
Step-by-step explanation:
The statement claiming the number of people who lived in North America prior to European exploration ranges from 75 million to as little as 2 million is false. Current historical consensus suggests a more accurate estimate would be within the range from 7 million to 18 million inhabitants in North America (excluding Mexico) at first contact with Europeans. In fact, estimates indicate that the Western hemisphere as a whole was home to about 43-65 million people, which was about a fifth of the world's population at the time. The variance in population estimates is due to different methodologies and interpretations of historical and archaeological evidence.