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Overview:
This lesson will introduce students to the ancient Inca people. Students will explore pictures of various artifacts discovered from the Inca civilization. They will work in pairs to draw or recreate one artifact and present it to the class, sharing what that artifact reveals about the Inca culture.
Connections to the Curriculum:
Geography, world history, art
Connections to the National Geography Standards:
Standard 10: "The characteristics, distribution, and complexity of Earth's cultural mosaics"
Time:
Two to three hours
Materials Required:
- Books and Web sites with pictures of Inca artifacts
- Materials to recreate an artifact (paper, crayons, pens, clay, paint)
- 4 X 6 note cards (one for each pair of students)
Objectives:
Students will
- review important information about the Inca civilization and find the area where the Inca lived on a map of South America;
- look at pictures of Inca artifacts;
- work in pairs to learn about one artifact and recreate it in an image or model; and
- present the artifact to the class, sharing any important information about the artifact.
Geographic Skills:
Acquiring Geographic Information
Answering Geographic Questions
S u g g e s t e d P r o c e d u r e
Opening:
Remind the class that civilizations thrived in North and South America for thousands of years before Christopher Columbus or any European explorers arrived on the shores of the New World. Just as Native Americans lived in North America, different civilizations lived in Central and South America. Some of the most famous ancient civilizations include the Maya, Aztec, and Inca. In this lesson, students will be looking at some of the unique artifacts from the Inca civilization.
Development:
Explain to the class that people lived in the Andes mountains of South America as far back as 5000 B.C. (To put that into historical perspective, you could tell them that the Egyptians built the famous pyramids around 2500 B.C.—2,500 years later.) For thousands of years, these people lived in separate tribes. Then, around A.D. 1200, a powerful tribe began to conquer the weaker tribes and united them into the Inca Empire.
The Inca Empire was large and successful, stretching along the western part of South America, down the Andes mountains, from what is now Colombia to Chile. Point out this area on a map of South America.
Share some important facts about the Inca with the class:
- The Inca Empire was ruled by a succession of kings.
- The Inca built huge stone monuments and cities in the mountains.
- Most families farmed, cutting terraces or "steps" into the mountainside where they grew corn and potatoes.
- Higher up in the mountains, the Inca herded llamas and alpacas (animals similar to sheep). These animals provided wool and food.
- The Inca built long roads along the mountains to connect the villages. Special runners sent messages along these roads.
- The Inca temples and fortresses were made of huge stones. Their houses were made of stone and mud, with grass roofs.
- The Inca were very religious and believed that gods or goddesses were responsible for everything in nature. They believed the sun god was the father of man.
Next, explain that the Inca people were skilled craftsmen. They made pottery, jewelry, tapestries, masks, musical instruments, baskets, and other crafts. Artifacts such as these have been discovered by archaeologists and tell us much of what we know about the Inca way of life.
Have students work with a partner to explore images of Inca artifacts. They may use books or Web sites, such as:
Ask each pair to choose one artifact. On a note card, have them write what it is, what it's made of, its purpose, and one other interesting fact. Then have students recreate the artifact, either in a drawing or a model.
Closing:
Have partners present their artifacts to the class, using facts from their note cards. Also encourage them to share what the artifact tells us about Inca life. Finally, have each pair display the artifact, with its note card, in the classroom.
Suggested Student Assessment:
Have students take World Magazine's interactive Mysterious Inca Brainteaser Quiz to review what they have learned, and pick up a few new facts along the way. Using their new knowledge, ask each student to write one paragraph about what a day in the life of an Inca person may have been like. What were the most important aspects of life? What may have been some of the challenges?
Extending the Lesson:
Have students think of one item from their own daily lives and ask them to imagine an archaeologist finding that item 500 years from now. What might he or she learn about our civilization through that artifact? Do you think he or she would be able to determine its purpose? Write a journal entry in the voice of the archaeologist and include a sketch of your artifact.
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