The Ancient Americas Educator Guide
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The Ancient Americas Educator Guide Follow the epic tale of the peoples in the Americas. This exhibition presents the diverse and fascinating story of the ancient cultures of North, Central, and South America and the Caribbean, from the earliest humans in the Western Hemisphere to the end of AD 1400. Teacher Notes The Ancient Americas Permanent Exhibition, opened March 9, 2007 (Free with general admission) This Educator Guide is separated into fi ve parts: • Exhibition guide, including Learning and Teaching about Indigenous Cultures guide • Bibliography: Teacher and student resources • Noteworthy facts • Vocabulary • A walking map The Ancient Americas consists of 8 galleries. You will encounter over 2,200 artifacts, as well as numerous interactive stations, video presentations, and contemporary Indigenous perspective information panels. Before you visit the exhibition, spend some time viewing the information on the Museum’s Web site at www.fi eldmuseum.org/ancientamericas to begin planning your visit. This guide includes an introductory section, Learning and Teaching about Indigenous Cultures, to be reviewed before your visit to The Ancient Americas exhibition. We also recommend using some of our quick noteworthy facts and pre-activities to introduce your students to the exhibition themes. We suggest focusing your visit by studying one or two sections within the exhibition in depth. Each section of this guide has an introduction, guiding questions and answers, pre- activities, fi eld trip activities, and post-activities to help guide your students’ experience. Acknowledgements: The Ancient Americas Educator Advisory Committee members contributed greatly to this educator guide. Active participants include: Jolene Aleck (Northern Paiute), Mary Ann Bloom, Tracy Boland, Claudia Bravo, Dan Brinkmeier, Linda Comminos, Mara Cosillo-Starr, Eileen Day (Chiricahua/Apache), Leah Gotcsik, Paul Guggenheim, Luis Guzman, Frances Hagemann (Ojibwe/Metis), Tammy Haggerty-Jones, Anne James, Kelly Naughton, Michele Nowak, Beth Spencer, and Dorene Wiese (Minnesota White Earth Ojibwe). Created by The Field Museum by Sarah Wille, Social Science Program Specialist; Elizabeth Babcock; Director of Education and Library Collections, and Monica Garcia, Manager of Teacher Programs and Partnerships. Mr. and Mrs. Michael W. Ferro, Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Miles D. White Generous support provided by Ernst & Young LLP and LaSalle Bank. Education programs are supported in part by The Searle Funds at The Chicago Community Trust, Mr. and Mrs. Martin J. Koldyke, The Lloyd A. Fry Foundation and The Segal Family Foundation II. The Field Museum • Educator Guide Part 1 Page 1 Sections Part One: Page(s) • Corresponding Illinois Learning Standards (ILS) 3–4 • Introduction to The Ancient Americas Exhibition 5 • Learning and Teaching about Indigenous Cultures 6–9 Section/Gallery 1: 10–16 Part Two: Page(s) Ice Age Americans • Related Programs, Exhibitions, and Section/Gallery 2: 17–23 Teacher and Student Resources 56–68 Innovative Hunters and Gatherers Part Three: Section/Gallery 3: 24–27 Farming Villagers • Noteworthy Facts 69–70 • Vocabulary List 71–75 Section/Gallery 4: 28–32 Powerful Leaders Part Four: Section/Gallery 5: 33–38 Rulers and Citizens • Walking Map 76 Section/Gallery 6: 39–43 Empire Builders Section/Gallery 7: 44–49 First Contacts Section/Gallery 8: 50–55 Living Descendants Image Credits: Cover clockwise: ©2006 The Field Museum/J.Weinstein A114447_01d, Page 28: ©2006 The Field Museum/J.Weinstein A114444_05d A114445_02d, A114443_06d, A114474_04d Page 30: ©The Field Museum, A110028c Page 1 top–bottom: ©2006 The Field Museum/J.Weinstein A114471_13d, Page 33: ©2006 The Field Museum/J.Weinstein A114521_01d A114472_05Adc, A114473_09d Page 34: ©2006 The Field Museum/J.Weinstein A114446_02d Page 3: ©2006 The Field Museum/J.Weinstein A114449_04d Page 36: ©Wood Ronsaville Harlin, Inc. Page 10: ©2006 The Field Museum/J.Weinstein A114450_08d Page 39: ©2006 The Field Museum/J.Weinstein A114449_04d Page 13: ©Wood Ronsaville Harlin, Inc. Page 41: ©Wood Ronsaville Harlin, Inc. Page 17: ©The Field Museum/Peggy Macnamara Page 44: ©The Field Museum, A107621c Page 19: ©The Field Museum/Peggy Macnamara Page 49: Frances Hagemann Page 24: ©2006 The Field Museum/J.Weinstein A114442_09d Page 52: ©2006 The Field Museum/J.Weinstein GN90901_30d The Field Museum • Educator Guide Part 1 Page 2 Illinois State Standards (ILS) with adaptations to specifi c activities and grade levels Use of the materials in the educator guide in combination with a fi eld trip to The Ancient Americas will help you structure learning experiences that correspond to the following Illinois Learning Standards. This exhibition, while suitable for all students regardless of grade level, maps closely to the concepts studied in later elementary and middle school. Fifth and sixth grade students in Illinois will fi nd explicit connections to most Illinois social studies curricula, as well as a wealth of interdisciplinary connections. English Language Arts State Goal 1: Read with understanding and fl uency. State Goal 2: Read and understand literature representative of various societies, eras and ideas. State Goal 3: Write to communicate for a variety of purposes. State Goal 5: Use the language arts to acquire, assess and communicate information. Mathematics State Goal 7: Estimate, make and use measurements of objects, quantities and relationships and determine acceptable levels of accuracy. State Goal 8: Use algebraic and analytical methods to identify and describe patterns and relationships in data, solve problems and predict results. State Goal 9: Use geometric methods to analyze, categorize and draw conclusions about points, lines, planes and space. State Goal 10: Collect, organize and analyze data using statistical methods; predict results; and interpret uncertainty, using concepts of probability. Science State Goal 11: Understand the processes of scientifi c inquiry and technological design to investigate questions, conduct experiments, and solve problems. State Goal 12: Understand the fundamental concepts, principals and interconnections of the life, physical and earth/space sciences. State Goal 13: Understand the relationships among science, technology and society in historical and contemporary contexts. The Field Museum • Educator Guide Part 1 Page 3 Illinois State Standards (ILS) with adaptations to specifi c activities and grade levels Social Science State Goal 14: Understand political systems, with an emphasis on the United States. State Goal 15: Understand economic systems, with an emphasis on the United States. State Goal 16: Understand events, trends, individuals and movements shaping the history of Illinois, the United States and other nations. State Goal 17: Understand world geography and the effects of geography on society, with an emphasis on the United States. State Goal 18: Understand social systems, with an emphasis on the United States. Fine Arts State Goal 25: Know the language of the arts. State Goal 26: Through creating and performing, understanding how works of art are produced. State Goal 27: Understand the role of the arts in civilizations, past and present. Foreign Languages: State Goal 29: Use the target language to develop an understanding of the customs, arts, literature, history and geography associated with the target language. The Field Museum • Educator Guide Part 1 Page 4 Introduction to The Ancient Americas Exhibition etween the end of the last Ice Age and AD 1500, thousands of distinct societies called the Americas home. These societies created a rich diversity of social systems, languages, art, and religions, independent of—and prior to—the B arrival of Europeans. Through the objects they left behind and the places they lived, you meet a few of the many peoples who lived in pre-Columbian North, Central, and South America, and the Caribbean. As students explore the history of the peoples in the Americas, they will discover the American experience is a human story that applies to all of us today. Step inside The Ancient Americas to uncover the abundant creativity, dynamic relationships, and enduring contributions of early peoples in the Americas. • Discover how people not only survived, but thrived, during the Ice Age, and witness what “cropped up” when gathering and hunting groups experimented with their resources over time. • Find out what happened when people settled in farming villages, and how this changed the lifestyles of early peoples. • Examine different types of leadership in early societies, including how life was altered when more powerful individuals made decisions for whole communities. • Learn about a range of societies that successfully used local resources, created communities, formed governments, built cities, and created monuments in art and architecture. • Explore how and why multi-ethnic empires formed in the Americas, and what life was like in these vast societies. • Investigate how contemporary Indigenous peoples maintain ties to their rich heritages, as they live and work in the modern world. This 19,000 square-foot exhibition features over 2,200 objects, ranging from works of art to everyday objects, maps, dioramas, photographs, videos, and interactive stations. Each gallery in The Ancient Americas also features “Past Meets Present: Voices of Our Peoples” informational panels highlighting themes in the exhibition that are relevant to contemporary Indigenous peoples today. These panels feature full-color portraits and fi rst-person quotes from Indigenous peoples from