Globe Lesson 2 - An Early American Culture - Grade 4-5

Skills used

  • Latitude & Longitude
  • Using scale to measure distance
  • Critical thinking

Vocabulary

cultures, archaeologists, technology

Materials Needed

Globe in Horizon Ring Mounting

Lesson 

By the time Christopher Columbus came to the Americans in 1492, millions of people and hundreds of diverse cultures could be found throughout the Western Hemisphere. In this activity you will learn something about one of those cultures that was called Hopewell. 



Place a small "X" on your globe at 39N/84W. The location is in southeastern Ohio. Around 300 A.D. the Hopewell culture was centered in this area.


The Hopewells were excellent traders and maintained trade contacts over much of what is now the United States. The Hopewells made some of their spear points and knives from a type of stone called obsidian. Archaeologists have found evidence that much of this obsidian came from the Rocky Mountains. Approximately how far is the Hopewell location from these mountains? Use Denver, Colorado at 40N/105W as a Rocky Mountains location.
(1)__________________________


Listed below are two other materials that the Hopewells used and the distant locations with which they traded to obtain them. Determine the distance these materials traveled to the Hopewell site.


Material
Source
Trade Distance
2. Seashells
Gulf Coast at 30N/88W
_______________________________
3. Copper
Great Lakes at 49N/85W
_______________________________

At the time of the Hopewells, Native Americans did not yet have horses, nor were they aware of the technology of the wheel. What other methods of transportation were available to this culture for transporting trade items over such long distances? (4) _____________________________
_______________________________________

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