Unit 1: Indigenous People & the Age of Exploration

Unit Description

In this unit, students will learn about the first people in North and South America, also known as indigenous people. These native, or original, people living in the Western Hemisphere came here long before Columbus or any Europeans. The development of Native American civilizations were shaped by their land and environment. The culture and way of life of these people were defined by their environment. In return, these people impacted the land around them as well.

Students will learn about various indigenous civilizations by researching and analyzing primary sources and artifacts. By the end of this unit, students will understand how and why humans migrate, as well as understand what role geography and the environment has on groups of people. The indigenous people of the Americas eventually developed technology that allowed them to organize themselves, develop systems that helped them efficiently meet the needs of their community, and evolve into civilizations.

Then, students will learn how, on the other side of the world, Europeans were setting sail to try and find new land, new trading routes, and new ways to make money. When the indigenous and Europeans civilizations collided, it changed the world forever.. The indigenous civilizations would never again be the same.

In the second half of this unit, students learn what exactly happened when the indigenous and European civilizations collided in the Americas, what the Europeans were after, and how the Age of Exploration changed our world and the country we live in today. Studying this time in history will help us to understand how people around the world began to interact with each, for better or worse.

This unit will set the foundation for a year long exploration of how cultures evolve, change, interact, thrive, and survive. Future units will consistently come back to the role of geography, human impact, conflict, cooperation, and multiculturalism in history.

Essential Question

What happens when civilizations collide?

Themes

    • Historians must challenge the dominant historical narrative because it is often told from the perspective of the oppressor.
    • Humans use the environment to support settlement and civilization.
    • Nations expand their land in order to increase power and improve their lives, which often has negative consequences on the lives of oppressed people.
    • The beliefs and values of a society shape the decisions they make and how they use political and economic power.
    • Economic greed and limited resources may result in the urge to explore and colonize foreign land and conquer indigenous people.
    • Societies enter conflicts to increase their power and defend their way of life.
    • Human societies must determine how they use their technological developments and power they acquire

Standards Addressed

    • 5.1.1 - Create a timeline of key events in early American history from pre-Columbian civilizations to 1763
    • 5.2.1 - Describe the origins, characteristics, and expansion of indigenous cultures and groups that existed in the Americas prior to European exploration
    • 5.2.2 – Identify early explorers and their motivations, challenges, and achievements
    • 5.2.3 - Describe the Spanish conquests in the Americas including the impact on the Aztecs, Incas, and other indigenous peoples
    • 5.3.2 – Describe cooperation and conflict among Native Americans, Europeans, and Africans
    • 5.3.3 - Identify the major European powers that colonized North America and explain their goals, challenges, and achievements
    • 5.4.1 – Differentiate between various types of maps using characteristics, functions, and applications.
    • 5.4.2 - Analyze a map using a variety of tools
    • 5.5.1 - Describe ways in which location and environment influenced the settlements and land use in colonial America (adaptation: students will apply this standard to pre-colonial America)
    • 5.5.2 - Identify natural resources used by people of colonial America and describe the impact of human action on the physical environment (adaptation: students will apply this standard to pre-colonial America)
    • 5.8.1 – Cite evidence of the economic motivations for European exploration and settlement in the Americas using economic concepts such as supply and demand, and scarcity

Unit Outcomes

Students will know:

    • The first Americans migrated to the Americas
    • Different groups of people adapted to their specific environments in order to survive
    • The characteristics of each civilization
    • Different technologies and advancements that helped these civilizations meet the needs and wants of their societies
    • Examples of when scarcity influenced the choices groups of people made
    • The early explorers and their motivations, challenges, and achievements in exploring the New World.
    • The economic motivation for European exploration and settlement in the Americas.
    • The impact European conquest had on the Native population
    • The major European powers that colonized North America and their goals, challenges, and achievements.
    • How to analyze maps from the Age of Exploration to 1763
    • The importance of technology in fostering conquest
    • The roles of religion and the desire for natural resources play in conquest.

Students will be able to:

Historical Thinking:

    • Annotate documents
      • Use the different steps for different types of documents when analyzing their contents
    • Source documents
      • Identify author’s point of view/position on a historical event
      • Identify author’s purpose in producing the document
      • Consider the source’s audience
    • U1: Strong body paragraphs
      • TOSEEC
      • Topic Sentences
      • 2 types of evidence

Unit Vocabulary

  1. indigenous - native; originally from a place
  2. Mound Builders – early native tribes who built religious hills and traded along rivers
  3. nomadic – to move from place to place following food source
  4. teepee – temporary shelter of the Plains tribes
  5. adobe – another word for clay; used by Southwest tribes
  6. scarcity- in short supply; not enough to meet the demand
  7. surplus – to have more than needed; an extra amount of food allows specialization to develop
  8. agriculture - farming; the production of food
  9. longhouse – homes of Northwest tribes; permanent and held multiple families
  10. environment – the land and weather in an area; the natural surroundings
  11. adaptations – changes made to survive
  12. civilization – complex societies with large populations, government, and art
  13. specialized jobs – when people focus on one job or skill
  14. social classes – division of society based on wealth and power
  15. terrace farming – technique of farming in mountains by cutting steps
  16. chinampas – floating farms in Aztec civilization
  17. Tenochtitlan – important advanced city in Aztec
  18. aqueduct – method to bring water to crops far from rivers
  19. Olmec - first civilization in Mesoamerica
  20. The Aztecs - an empire in Mexico with their capital city, Tenochtitlan, located on an island.
  21. The Inca - an empire in the Andes Mountains known for terrace farming and road system
  22. The Mayans - a civilization in Mexico known for creating the 365 calendar and using the number zero
  23. Age of Exploration- time period when Europeans explored the world
  24. colonize - establish political control over the indigenous people of an area
  25. trade route - paths on land or water used to transport goods from one place to another
  26. Europe- a continent where explorers from the Age of Exploration came from
  27. continent- a large landmass that contains many countries
  28. Spain- a European country that sent conquistadors to South America
  29. France- a European country that sent fur-trappers to Canada
  30. Great Britain- a European country that created the 13 American Colonies
  31. raw materials- materials that come from the earth and can be used
  32. New World - the Americas; this land was new to the Europeans
  33. Old World - Europe, Africa, and Asia; this land was old news to the Europeans
  34. Northwest Passage- mythical all-water trade route from Europe to Asia
  35. Christopher Columbus- first European to “discover” America; sparked Age of Exploration
  36. Hernando de Soto- Spanish Explorer; first European to explore the Mississippi River
  37. immune- resistant to a particular infection or disease
  38. Cortés- a conquistador who conquered the Aztecs in Mexico with guns, trickery, and disease
  39. Pizarro- a conquistador who conquered the Incas in Peru after capturing Atahualpa.
  40. convert - to change something or someone (ex: change people’s religion)
  41. missionaries- people who spread their religion to others.
  42. Columbian Exchange- the trade of goods, ideas, and diseases between Europe and the Americas
  43. plantations – large pieces of land where cash crops were grown
  44. Encomienda System- a system in which Spanish nobles owned the land and forced Natives to work it.
  45. biological- relating to living beings
  46. cultural diffusion- the spreading and sharing of a group’s way of life