Peru

Main Content

GIFT image of a rotating potery

Archaeology In Peru's Northern Coast

Cultures that inhabited Peru’s northern coast over 1000 years ago still fascinate archaeologists today. The Moche, the Gallinazo, the Sicán—these are just a few of the civilizations that existed hundreds of years before the Incan Empire reigned over the western coast of South America. In these lessons, learners can explore collections from the Larco Museum, the Dumbarton Oaks Research Library, and even artifacts scanned from Dr. Izumi Shamada’s and Dr. Kayeleigh Sharp’s research projects with the Sicán National Museum in Ferreñafe, Peru.

Curriculum Forthcoming: Follow our Facebook Page for Updates   

Banner Stones and Indigenous Hunting Places in Southern Illinois

Banner-Stone.pngA key ingredient to hunting practices past and present. In this lesson, students learn how indigenous cultures used this ingenious innovation as an essential counterbalance weight, which allowed its users to stay poised for long periods of time before they struck their prey with an atlatl spear.     

Curriculum Forthcoming: Follow our Facebook Page for Updates         

High-Stakes Games with Indigenous Chunkey Stones in Southern Illinois

SO-IL-Page-Chunky-Stone-copy.png

Part bowling, part target practice. This indigenous game was popular, competitive, and even deadly as players wagered their possessions and even family members to beat their opponents. In this lesson, students identify what and how indigenous cultures used this carved stone in a high-stakes game of skill and luck.       

Introduction     Activity     Artifact 1    Artifact 2            

The Mysterious Hopewell Figurine in Indigenous Southern Illinois

SO-IL-Page-Hopewell.png

The Hopewell culture is not known to have existed in southern Illinois. So why was this figuring found here? In this lesson, students explore the meaning behind the discovery of this mysterious artifact.

 

Curriculum Forthcoming: Follow our Facebook Page for Updates 

Medicine Bottles in Antebellum Southern Illinois

SO-IL-Page-Bottle.jpg

Artifacts, or what archaeologists call “material culture,” found in an old trash pit can reveal a lot about a community’s daily practices, customs, and beliefs. In this lesson, students explore the meaning behind ordinary glass bottles found in and around Carrier Mills, Illinois.

Curriculum Forthcoming: Follow our Facebook Page for Updates          

African American Communities and the Underground Railroad in Southern Illinois 

SO-IL-Page-Underground-Railroad-copy.jpg

Written documents can have their limits, which is why sources such as Geographic Information Systems (GIS) maps, oral histories, and artifacts can offer more insights about the past. In this lesson, students have the opportunity to explore newspaper articles, GIS maps, and artifacts to piece together clues about African American communities and the Underground Railroad in southern Illinois.   

                       Activities Page     Artifacts Page