Ancient Americans From A to

Transcription

1 20-1 (98) Especally for and ther famles e By BETY DEBNAM from 1he Mn Page by Betty Debnam C 1998 Unversal Press Syndcate Our Neghbors to the South Ancent Amercans From A to Ancent peoples of the Amercas had cvlzatons as advanced as any n the world. These cvlzatons ncluded the Maya, Aztec, nca and Olmec. The ancent Amercans developed advanced systems of wrtng, engneerng, archtecture, art and agrculture. Some of ther ctes were as large and n many ways more effcent than those n Europe. The Aztecs (about ) lved n what s now Mexco. Ths warlke people had advanced art, lterature, musc and scentfc knowledge. They bult a complcated system of canals connectng parts of ther captal, Tenochttlan (tay-noch-tee-tlan) wth more than 100,000 people. Mexco Cty s now on that ste. Beautful art s typcal of Amercan cultures. The Olmec were great sculptors. The Maya drew huge murals, or pantngs covenng entre walls. The nca were masters Th 01 ted tho 10 e mecsscup S ld t d a go an ton stone head about slver work. years ago. ' L The Calendar Stone s a famous sculpture wth the Aztec sun god Tonatuh n the center. Drums and dance were mportant n festvals and relgous ceremones. Emperor Montezuma, the Aztec ruler, welcomed Spansh explorer Hernando Cortes wth rch gfts. He thought Cortes mght be a god. Montezuma was mprsoned by the Spansh and later klled whle fghtng for freedom. Feathers of colorful tropcal brds were of great value. They were used to make headdresses and cloaks. Gold and the promse of wealth attracted Europeans to the Amercas. Dseases and l harsh treatment by the! conquerors brought f the great Amercan empres to an end. Gold ' and slver works of art were a specalty of the Brd-shaped nca. They called gold gold rtual vessel the sweat of the sun, and slver the tears of the moon. The Spansh destroyed most of the ncan artworkby me'. down or t he bng t precous metal.! Z Human sacrfce was practced by the Olmecs, Maya, Aztecs and nca to gan favor wth the gods. The nca (about ) lved along the western coast of South Amerca. They were outstandng at buldng roads, brdges, rrgaton systems and stone buldngs. They were also great weavers, goldsmths, farmers, astronomers and pottery-makers. The nca were sklled warrors who conquered and absorbed many other trbes. They set up common standards of law for everyone. Jade was made nto fne sculptures and masks by the Olmecs. They traveled as many as 500 mles seekng ths green gemstone. The Maya valued jade for jewelry, art and to fll ther teeth! Keroswere decorated drnkng cups made by people of the Andes, ncludng the nca. Some were made of wood, others of slver lned wth turquose.

2 20-2 (98) Mysteres of Ancent Amerca Sudden dsappearance One of the greatest mysteres s the dsappearance of the Maya. From about 250 A.D., they had a thrvng cvlzaton wth advanced ctes. Then, suddenly, ther cvlzaton vanshed. Some Maya are stll lvng n Central Amerca, but ther ancent ctes le n runs. By 900 A.D. they had abandoned many of ther ctes, even though t appears that they were rght n the mddle of expandng them. We do not know why ths happened. Plagues, war or drought mght have caused the Maya to leave. t s a mystery that has puzzled people for many years. Huge heads Gant pctures The Olmecs sculpted huge stone statues usng only prmtve stone tools. Ther most famous statues are heads weghng as much as 20 tons each. n order to make these statues, the Olmecs had to move tons of volcanc rock 60 to 80 mles from a mountan quarry to the statue ste. They had to do ths wthout wheeled vehcles or pack anmals. t s a mystery how they moved all ths heavy stone so far. They mght have needed as many as 1,000 men to do the movng. Another mystery s why they bult these ggantc statues. The Olmec left no wrtng, so we can only guess what the statues meant to them. The Nazca drew ths gant hummngbrd on the ground. The Nazca made huge pctures n the ground that can be seen only from the ar. The Nazca people lved before the ncas, from about 300 B.C. to 600 A.D., n what s now Peru. These drawngs n the desert show brds and anmals natve to the Andes Mountans. But the Andes are hundreds of mles from the desert pctures! When the Nazca made these pctures about 1,500 years ago, they would not have been able to vew them as a Whole. They had no way of gettng up that hgh. No one knows why the Nazca made pctures they would never be able to see. t's fun to thnk about why ther pctures seem to be only for people flyng overhead. Ths statue s probably of an Olmec ruler. He s wearng a helmet for protecton. '0 j 8 j B S from The Mn Page by Betty Debnam C 1996 Unversal Press Syndcate {." :$. m\luancent'";;'; from The Mn Page by Betty Debnam C 1996 Unversal Press Syndcate Mn Spy... Mn Spy and her frends are vstng some ancent Amercan runs. See f you can fnd: letter C dog teapot letter D heart allgator bowl letter L mushroom key word MN bell apple letter B AMERCANS \\0 FND Words about people n ancent Amerca are hdden n the block below. Some words are hdden backward or dagonally. See f you can fnd: NCAS, AZTECS, MAYAS, OLMECS, MATH, ADVANCED, ART, PYRAMDS, GOLD, MURALS, STONE, SCULPTURE, SCULPTOR, GODS, EMPEROR, WEAVERS, JADE. PAR T N ROT P L U C S A S YDLOGNRMAYASVZC R C S L A RUM S GOD STU AMATHDAGBTMWAE L MF H E DA J NXB0 C HC P GSREVAEW ENQST DSCEMLO JRYREEU S J KS Z A DVANC E D F R E M PER 0 R LN CAS L E

3 20-3 (98)! 1 c ;:) 0 E.c,.,.. The Mn Page Body Parts Book s an nformatve, attractve gude for kds learnng about the body n terms that are easy to read and understand. Body systems, parts and functons are featured, accompaned by many llustratons. To order, send check or money order for $3 plus $1 postage and handlng per copy to: Mn Page Body Parts Book, P.O. Box , Kansas Cty, MO Make checks payable to Andrews McMeel Publshng. Go dot to dot and color. Corn was an mportant food for the ancent Amercans. t could be dred and stored easly or made nto breads. Corn was not rased n Europe. Whle European explorers were searchng for gold, they dscovered an even greater treasure... corn! lf 3 '" :e :: 2" ll '1 --- The Mn Page Rooke Cooke Cookbook recpes desgned especally for kds! snacks ngredents: casseroles soups ) Step-by-step drectons man salads 2) Measurng tps dshes sandwches 3) Utensl gude mcrowave 4) Cookng terms dshes breads S) How to set a table desserts beverages 6) Table manners gude To order. send $8.95 plus $1.50 postage and handlng for each copy. Send only checks or money orders payable to: Andrews McMeel Publshng, P.O. Box , Kansas Cty, MO Please send copes of The Hn Page Rooke Cooke Cookbook (tem #4206-8) at $10.45 each. ndudng postage ' and handlng. (Bulk dscount nformaton avalable upon request) Name Address L Cty State lp Food of the Maya The Maya ate a mostly vegetaran det. The man food was maze, or com. Many " dshes, ncludng tamales \ and tortllas, were made from t. Kdney beans were the man source of proten. Other foods ncluded sweet 'c potatoes, squash, chl peppers, tomatoes, pumpkns and avocados. Cacao beans, used to make cocoa, were also used E as a form of money. g Many Mayan famles kept anmals for food eaten only on specal occasons. These ncluded turkeys, ducks, dogs and deer. Hves of stngless bees were kept for honey. Arts of the nca Arts and crafts were mportant to the nca. Almost everyone n ther socety dd some knd of craftwork. One of the most mportant crafts was makng cloth. Most of the cloth was made from wool. t was spun and dyed. Some was even te-dyed. Most of the dyes came from plants or nsects. The nca were also known for ther clay pottery. t was panted, carved or stamped wth dfferent shapes or anmal desgns. The most beautful pottery was used by the rch or for specal ceremones. Pottery for everyday use was more plan-lookng. They also made jewelry and objects from stones, gold and slver. Games of the Aztecs There were two man games played by the Aztecs, patoll and ulama. Patoll was played on a board and was lke our game of backgammon. Dred beans and stones of dfferent colors were used as game peces. Ulama was a type of ball game smlar to basketball. Only the upper class were allowed to play. The game was played on a court usng a hard rubber ball. Players wore helmets, gloves, knee pads and hp protectors, and A statue of a man playng ulama. tred to ht the ball through a rng. They could use only ther hps and knees; hands and feet were not allowed. People would place bets on who would wn the game. The losng players were sometmes klled!

4 20-4 (98) from The Mn Page by Betty Debnam C 1998 Unversal Press Syndcate Ancent Amercans Here s more about the ancent cvlzatons of the Amercas. Llamas were so w ::E f n the Andes and around lakes n Mexco. People lvng on the coasts ate many knds of seafood. Next week The Mn Page celebrates the Year of the Ocean. ste of Mayan runs deep n the jungle. The runs nclude a rare rounded pyramd. potatoes were natve to the Andes t Mountans. Ths pyramd at Chchen tza (chuh-chenuhsaw) probably served as a temple and an elaborate Mayan calendar. On the frst day of sprng and fall, the sunlght makes a pcture of a snake gong down the steps. Pyramds were bult as part of worshp ceremones by many Amercan peoples, ncludng the Maya, nca and "" Aztecs. Worshppers clmbed steps to temples bult on top of the pyramds. l They often used pyramds as bural chambers. a These huge pyramds, some larger than those n Egypt, were bult wthout! wheels, metal tools or anmals to pull the heavy stones. Thousands of undscovered pyramds may stll be hdden n the t jungles. 1 Nets were mportant fshng tools Uxmal, Mexco, s the j chocolate Vanlla, (from cacao beans) and As n many nca ctes, houses n Machu Pcchu were made of stones ftted closely together. These buldngs could survve earthquakes. were very sklled. They used the jaws of bg ants to hold wounds closed. They knew how to sterlze wounds and gve blood transfusons. The Toltecs (TOLE-teks) (about A.D.) lved n what s now Mexco. They bult gant. statues of warrors on top of pyramds. The Olmecs (about 1200 to 300 B.C.) lved n what s now Central Amerca. They were skllful farmers who nvented ther own calendars, numbers and wrtng. These amazng sculptors carved huge stone statues. They were strong nfluences on later cultures such as the Maya. mportant to the nca that they often made gold or slver llama sculptures. They ate llamas and wove ther wool nto cloth. Llamas also served as pack anmals. The Maya (MYuhs) (about A.D.) lved n what s now Central Amerca. They were excellent ' ' artsts, archtects, farmers, potters, mathematcans and astronomers. They had very advanced pcture wrtng. Ther ctes were abandoned suddenly, and no one knows what wped out such a great cvlzaton. Machu Pcchu, a cty hgh n the Andes Mountans, was hdden for almost 400 years. The nca hd there to escape the nvadng Spansh. Surgeons of the nca Quetzalcoatl (KETsal-kwat-ul) was a feathered snake god worshpped by many Amercan peoples ncludng the Toltecs, Maya and Aztecs. Rubber was used by the Olmecs to make balls for games much lke soccer and football. Olmec (( )) means "people from the rubber country." Weavng wth colorful fbers was an art n the Maya, Aztec and nca cultures. Mayan women embrodered beautful pctures on ther clothng. Xochquetzal was a goddess whose name meant "Precous Flower." The Yucatan area of present Mexco s the home of one of the Maya's greatest ctes, Chchen tza. Zero, a very dffcult mathematcal dea, was known to the Maya hundreds of years before Europeans understood t. Look through your newspaper for stores about Mexco, Central and South Amerca. :

5 ,",; ,--.,. --., 20-5 (98) Learn about ancent Amercans ll ' htaa.:.ftj:: 0 1",_, _9cm by Betty Debnam Appearng n your newspaper on _ from The Mn Page by Betty Debnam o 1998 Unversal Press Syndcate ' hfa' «> 1998 Unversal Press Syndcate Teacher's Gude For use by teachers and parents at home and at school. For use wth ssue: Ancent Amercans From A to Z Man dea: Ths ssue s about ancent Amercans. The followng s a lst of actvtes to be used wth ths ssue. They are lsted n order of dffculty, wth the easer pre-reader assgnments lsted frst. Most of the actvtes are for younger readers. Ask the chldren to do the followng: 1. Draw a pcture of a scene the llustrates some aspect of the lves of ancent 1 Amercans.! 2. Pretend you could go back to the tme of ancent Amercans. What fve questons would you ask someone about what lfe s lke? ;; 3. Rubber was used by the Olmecs. See how many thngs you can fnd n your E classroom made of rubber. j 4. Dscuss the followng: What do you thnk t would have been lke to lve n the tme of the ancent Amercans? What would you lke the most, and least, about f t? Whch of the products that the ancent Amercans used do you use today? (For example, vanlla.) 5. Fnd Mexco, Central and South Amerca on a map. :s 6. Fnd the followng words n ths ssue: sculptures, ancent, nfluences, ceremones, surgeons, sacrfce, abandoned, conquerors, goddess, turquose. Defne and make up a new sentence for each one. f E g re MflTlf cjj@k r WHERE D JOHN HANCOCK $(JN THE DEClARATON OF NDEPENDENCE? Q: What dd one tonsl say to the other? A: "Better dress up - the doctor s takng us out tonght!" Q: What has four wheels and fles? A: A garbage truck! (sent n by Sherry Hahn) from The Mn Page by Betty Debnam Unversal Press Syndcate (Note to Edtor: Above s camera-ready, one columnby-4%-nch ad promotng ssue 20.) (Note to Edtor: Above s the Teacher's Gude for ssue 20.) (Note to Edtor: Above s copy block for Page 3, ssue 20, to be used n place of ad f desred.)