SOCIAL STUDIES

POVERTY POINT : GRADES 5-8 ’S ANCIENT INHABITANTS (LESSON 2) GEORGE DURRETT TIME ALLOTMENT: STANDARDS: One 45-minute class periods United States History Standards for grades 5-12 This lesson can be used in conjunction withLesson http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/nchs/standards/ 1: Earthworks: Evolutionary worldera1.html Milestones of the Americas, or separately. If used http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/nchs/standards/ in conjunction with the first lesson, the Poverty Point worldera2.html film need not be shown again. The time allotment Standard 1A: Analyze how the natural environments would be one 45-minute class period. of the Tigris-Euphrates, Nile, and Indus valleys shaped the early development of civilization. OVERVIEW: Standard 1B: Analyze how the natural environments of the Tigris-Euphrates, Nile, and Indus valleys When we think of ancient cultures in the New World, shaped the early development of civilization. the Mayans, , and Incas come to mind. Yet here Standard 2B: Compare the climate and geography of in Louisiana lies evidence of a culture that extends back the Huang He (Yellow River) valley with the as far as 1350 BC. The prehistoric people of Poverty natural environments of Mesopotamia, Egypt, Point created an earthen structure so immense that it and the Indus valley. was unrecognizable from the ground. In the 1950’s, an aerial photograph was discovered that pictured huge Louisiana Social Studies Content Standards earthen ridges and mounds that were not a product of http://www.doe.state.la.us/DOE/asps/home.asp natural geological formation. Geography: Physical and Cultural Systems Through the activities in this lesson, students will Students develop a spatial understanding of Earth’s examine the structures and artifacts of Poverty Point in surface and the processes that shape it, the order to understand the cultural aspects of North connections between people and places, and the American prehistoric people, their development in relationship between man and his environment. relationship to the world wide emergence of other Places and Regions cultures, and the role of archeologists in preserving our G-1B-M1: Explaining and analyzing both the physical past. With the use of web sites, film and text, the and phenomena associated with students will compare and contrast our prehistoric culture specific places, including precipitation and with other familiar early cultures around the world. settlement patterns. G-1B-M4: Describing and explaining how personal SUBJECT MATTER: Social Studies, interests, culture, and affect History people’s perceptions and uses of places and regions. LEARNING OBJECTIVES: Environment and Safety The student will: G-1D-M1: Analyzing and evaluating the effects of • Compare and contrast the Poverty Point human actions upon the physical civilization’s emergence with that of other environment. early civilizations. Historical Thinking Skills • Construct a model of Poverty Point H-1A-M1: Describing chronological relationships and earthworks through an analysis of the site. patterns • Create artifacts and jewelry similar to that of H-1C-M1: Describing the earliest human the Poverty Point inhabitants. communities. Louisiana History H-1D-M1: Describing the contributions of people, events, movements and ideas that have been significant in the .

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MEDIA COMPONENTS: Video: Poverty Point Earthworks: Evolutionary Milestones of the Americas

Web sites: Poverty Point Earthworks: Evolutionary Milestones of the Americas http://www.lpb.org/programs/povertypoint/pp_transcript.html This Web site examines the ancient earthworks of the Poverty Point Native Americans, a development that may have begun 6,500 years ago. Archeologists discuss where and why the mounds were developed, the artifacts found, and the possible lifestyle of these people. http://members.aol.com/Donnclass/indexlife.html This web site provides information on the ancient civilizations of Egypt, Greece, Rome, India, China, and the NW Pacific Coast Indians. It is an informative and amusing collection of facts, stories, and other information that is easily and quickly attainable to the middle school student. Hyperhistory http://www.hyperhistory.com This Web site offers timelines, maps, and links to cultures, their histories and photographs of these civilizations. MATERIALS: • Pencil and paper • Question and answer sheets for film viewing For each group of 4-5 students: • Long thin strip of paper for a time line (cash register rolls can be found at an office supply store) • Mexican clay or Playdough • Laminated maps of Poverty Point • World Map

PREP FOR TEACHER: Prior to this lesson, bookmark the Web sites used in the lesson on each computer. View film and set it to the spot to be viewed.

Prepare the hands-on element of the lesson by:

1. Making index cards with the names of early civilizations on each one (Egypt, Greece, Rome, India, China, and NW Pacific Indians). Instructions on the card will direct the student to: a. find the book marked site on the internet and print one picture of the assigned civilization. b. identify the time period of the civilization. c. compile a minimum of five facts illustrating that civilization’s individuality. d. place the picture and facts on the time line. 2. Prepare time line by marking off years beginning with 10,000 BC to 2000 AD mark 2000 AD as the present. Tape to wall or chalkboard. 3. Divide clay or play dough into enough for each group to make a small relief to recreate the Poverty Point mounds. 4. Laminate Poverty Point maps for clay relief work. 5. Divide clay in individual portions for each child in each group to make artifacts and jewelry.

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INTRODUCTORY ACTIVITY: If this lesson is done in conjunction with lesson one, the introductory activity can be deleted. Go to Activity #1and proceed.

1. Pass out xeroxed pictures of artifacts of ancient peoples. Ask your students to examine the pictures and offer suggestions on the items’ purpose, age, and location of the possible sites. Are these people hunters and gatherers, or have they progressed enough to establish villages? What kind of culture do you think they may have had?

2. Following this discussion, define what an archeologist, geoscientist, and historic site manager are and the purpose of their work. Introduce a picture of the Poverty Point site and the names of the archeologists and geoscientist that worked it.

Poverty Point is a very large earthwork development formed by Louisiana Native Americas as far back as 6,500 years ago. The site was abandoned 3,300 years ago. It wasn’t until the 1840’s, about twenty years before the civil war, an explorer by the name of Jacob W alter was looking or lead ore and found the first reported Native American artifacts at Poverty Point. In the 1950’s an old aerial photograph was found that showed man-made earthen mounds. They were so big, no one standing on the ground could have seen that they formed a specific shape and purpose. Today we are going to hear from four professionals that have worked to understand the Poverty Point Site and its history. Two of the men are archeologists. These are people who scientifically study the life and culture of ancient peoples. Their names are Robert Connolly, Ph.D. and Jon Gibson, Ph.D. One professional, Robert Saucier, is a geoscientist studying the earth, how it was formed in northern Louisiana, and how that relates to the location of the Poverty Point mounds. The fourth individual in this team is Dennis LaBatt, an historic site manager. His job is to oversee the excavations and protect the site from harm.

3. The teacher will pass out the question forms that will be answered while watching the film and read over them with the students. The questions will include: • How old are the earthforms? • In what shape are the earthforms? • If the ridges were straightened and laid end to end, how long would they be? • What possible purpose did the thirty-seven acre plaza serve? • What explanation is there for the deep pits found on the western side of the plaza? • Where did the Poverty Point people get and stones? • Their houses were probably constructed from what materials? • What did the people eat? • What destroyed any evidence of housing? • What did they hunt with? • How was the food cooked? • What animal was symbolic for the Poverty Point culture? • What does a certain type of jewelry indicate in this culture? Corresponding answers are attached.

4. The students will view the film and answer questions. Feel free to stop the film at any time to make a significant point or to answer a student’s question.

5. The students will discuss the data gathered from the film. The Poverty Point Earthworks: Evolutionary Milestones of the Americas website will be provided on the Internet for exploration and review. The students are encouraged to check their answers and provide additional material.

Louisiana Public Broadcasting • 7733 Perkins Rd • Baton Rouge, LA 70810 • 225.767.5660 • 800.272.8161 • www.lpb.org • [email protected] SOCIAL STUDIES

CULMINATING ACTIVITIES: The teacher will explain the following activities to the groups. The groups are to take turns on the computer or computers researching the assigned civilization. If a computer lab is available, the students can individually research the material and plan the time line presentation in the classroom. The students that must wait for the computer will begin the Activity #2 and move on through the other activities until computer time is available.

Activity # 1 The students will use the book marked history websites to research the assigned civilization, gather five interesting facts that illustrate the culture, and print out a picture illustrating what archaeologists have found. Activity # 2 The students will use information from the Poverty Point web site to create a relief map of the earthworks, show where the deep holes are located, and be ready to explain possible uses of the formations. Activity # 3 The students will recreate jewelry and artifacts of Poverty Point and or their assigned early civilization from clay. They will then be prepared to present the artifacts and their significance. CULMINATING PRESENTATIONS: The groups will place a picture of their assigned civilization on the appropriate place on the world map. They will then present the parallel time lines comparing and contrasting the emergence of these familiar civilizations. Each group will explain what they learned about their assigned culture and how it differs from the Poverty Point culture. They will exhibit the relief map of Poverty Point and describe how this culture grew up in response to the inhabitants needs. The groups will illustrate how and why they chose to make the artifacts and jewelry.

The teacher will guide the students through the presentations pointing out that all the cultures developed near fresh water and in an area that crops could be grown. Questions will be presented asking why we know more about the other civilizations than we do about Poverty Point.(answer: We have no written history that has survived. Perhaps because their means of communication was on a material that would have decomposed.) Compare how early the Chinese civilizations developed compared to the others on the time lines. Were there earlier cultures before the Grecian, Roman, and Egyptian that we explored? (answer: Yes, we do not as much information because of a lack of written information because of the development of that culture.)

CROSS-CURRICULAR EXTENSIONS: LANGUAGE ARTS: Historical fiction paragraph including the five senses and facts on Poverty Point. Have the students include metaphors, similes, and personification to enhance the descriptive aspect. MATHEMATICS: Seventy-one metric tons of foreign was found at the Poverty Point site. If a Native American raft or can carry 200 pounds of flint, how many trading trips would 100 have to make? TECHNOLOGY/SOCIAL STUDIES: Research other early civilizations, basics about their culture, and how long each lasted. Make parallel time lines in order to compare and contrast civilizations and explore the meaning of B.C. and A.D. Make a trading card with a draw program by copying pictures from the internet and writing pertinent facts. VISUAL ARTS: Make a relief map of the Poverty Point Area. Design jewelry from clay similar to the jewelry of these Native Americans. Construct a village on an earthform where it will be safe from flooding.

COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS: • Field trip to Poverty Point • Visit a local museum to investigate an evidence of ancient people from the immediate area. • Invite archaeologists, geologists, and historians to speak to the class about the migration and development of ancient peoples in the Americas.

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