PEMBLEWICK PRESS
Books About History for the Classroom
and the Homeschool
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The story of the first Americans is told in two volumes: Ancient Times and Native America On the Eve of Discovery. Each volume forms the basis of a major unit on Native American history, which can easily extend throughout a term or even an entire year. Selected chapters, such as those on Woodland Indians or the Maya, can also serve as basic texts for smaller units.
Ancient Times begins at the end of the Ice Age, when bands of nomadic tribesmen began migrating across the land bridge from Asia to North America. It traces the spread of human settlement across the American continents from the snowfields of Alaska to the mountains of Chile, focusing upon the types of communities that arose in a wide diversity of natural environments. Students discover why certain peoples remained nomadic hunters and gatherers until the dawn of the modern age, while others settled down in farming communities. Still others, such as the Maya of Central America, developed an intricate form of writing and built great cities with huge stone temples. Each chapter of this comprehensive volume of Native American history and culture contains multiple projects and activities. Table of Contents: Prologue: Setting the Stage Chapter 1: Man Arrives in America (People of the Ice Age, the Siberian Hunters, Beringia, the Clovis People, the Folsom People, the Plano People, Beyond the Plains) Chapter 2: Mesoamerica (Beginnings of Farming, the Olmecs, Teotihuacan, the Maya (the largest section of the chapter), the Toltecs) Chapter 3: Happenings in South America (Early Mountain Dwellers, Coastal Dwellers, Jungle Dwellers, Chavin du Huantar, the Nazca, the Moche, Tiahuanaco, the Chimu) Chapter 4: The American Southwest (Corn Arrives in the North, the Hohokam, the Mogollon, the Anasazi, Chaco Canyon, Mesa Verde) Chapter 5: The Mound Builders (the Adena, the Hopewell, the Mississippians, Cahokia, Moundville) Chapter 6: The Far North and the Northwest Coast (the Inuit, the Subarctic Wilds, the Coastal Dwellers) Epilogue: Glancing Back 184 pages ISBN 0965655776 Grades 6 and up Read excerpts from Ancient Times: The Story of the First Americans, Book I.
Native America on the Eve of Discovery focuses upon the cultures that were flourishing in America when the Europeans arrived. The first section focuses upon the tribesmen who lived in the major geographical sections of the present-day United States and Canada. The second section is devoted to the great civilizations of Central and South America: the Inca and the Aztec. Each chapter begins with a detailed description of the local environment, and emphasis is placed upon the ways that native cultures responded to that environment. Emphasis is placed upon Native American folklore (tales of Raven, the Corn Princesses, White Buffalo Woman, and many others) and such religious rituals as those performed by the False Face Society of the Iroquois, the Kachina dancers of the Hopi, and the feather-clad priests of the Aztec. Table of Contents: Prologue: The Skywatchers Part I: Tribesmen of North America Chapter 1: Villagers of the Northeast (the Algonquians and the Iroquois) Chapter 2: Farmers of the Southeast (the Natchez, the Cherokee, the Powhaten) Chapter 3: Buffalo Hunters of the Plains (the Mandan, the Lakota, the Blackfoot) Chapter 4: Dwellers of the Desert (the Hopi, the Zuni, the Navajo, the Apache) Chapter 5: Peoples of the Far West (Ozette, the Haida, the Kwakiutl, the Nootka, the Tlingit, the Makah) Part II: Civilizations of the South Chapter 6: The Inca (Pachacuti, Social Division, Keeping Track of Taxes, the Divine Emperor, the Mighty Army, Roads and Bridges, Farming in the Andes, Cuzco, Machu Picchu, Huacas and Oracles, Scientific Measures, Religious Festivals, Folklore, Law and Order, Master Weavers, Gold and Silver, Clash of Wild Turkey and Gentle Hummingbird) Chapter 7: The Aztec (A New Homeland, Floating Gardens, A Splendid Capital, Lonely at the Top, Running the Empire, Nobles, Commoners, and Slaves, Tribute and Trade, the Aztec Army, Gods and Goddesses, Folklore, the Legend of the Five Suns, the Temple of Death, Views of the Afterlife, Daily Living, Clothes Reflect Status, Aztec Cuisine, Law Courts, Keeping Records, Math, Calendars, the Eve of Destruction) Part III: Impact! The Conquest of America 232 pages ISBN 0965655792 Grades 6 and up Read excerpts from Native America on the Eve of Discovery: The Story of the First Americans, Book II HISTORY TEXTBOOKS FOR THE CLASSROOM AND THE HOMESCHOOL |
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Native Americans
