RiverWeb Teachers Guide

The Teacher's Guide to RiverWeb

Section 6:

Early Cultures Along the Mississippi

PEDAGOGICAL APPROACHES:

Most American history texts devote only a few pages to the early cultures that flourished in North America prior to the arrival of European explorers and the advent of written history. The human legacy in the American Bottom spans over 12,000 years, but written history documents only the last 350 years of that time. Incorporation of information gleaned from the rich archaeological record in the American Bottom opens windows to the past and facilitates examinations of long-term changes in human cultures and human-land interaction.

EXPLANATION OF MATERIAL:

The saga of early Native American cultures in the American Bottom documents dramatic cultural changes as human societies evolved from family bands of hunters and gatherers of wild foods to politically complex agriculturalists living in large centers. The cultural history of these groups provides a truly long-term perspective on human interactions with the Mississippi River and the surrounding bottom lands.

The RiverWeb' CD-rom and Web site examine long-term changes in human-land interaction for each of the major cultural periods defined by anthropologists for the American Bottom region based on changes in lifeways. These temporal periods are relevant for much of the Midwestern and Eastern United States, although the timing and specific character of the adaptations vary based on environmental setting and specific cultural trajectories. A series of themes are explored for each of the major cultural periods: environment, settlement pattern, economy, technology, art, health, society, and religion for the cultures that thrived prior to the advent of written history. Particular detail is provided for the Mississippian Period. Vestiges of Mississippian culture are evident in the monumental earthworks that stand at the Cahokia site, an archaeological site near modern-day East St. Louis. This site represents the largest center in North America north of Mexico and is listed on the prestigious United Nations World Heritage list, but it is rarely mentioned in American history text books. The RiverWeb' CD-rom describes this important site within the broader context of early Native American lifeways.

The temporal and thematic organization permits examinations of continuity and change through time. The themes developed for early cultural history are of major concern to later groups and the modern inhabitants of the American Bottom as well. The interpretations of these themes are linked to "How Do You Know" components that allow teachers and students to examine the approaches used by archaeologists to study past cultures and environments. The "How Do You Know" vignettes provide teachers and students with the tools to do their own research and draw their own conclusions.

QUESTIONS TO THINK ABOUT:

Describe ways in which early Native American cultures influenced contemporary cultures in the American Bottom?
What does the distribution of human settlements in the American Bottom through time reveal about human-land interaction?
How has human-land interaction in the American Bottom changed over time?
What does the artwork of prehistoric peoples of the American Bottom tell us about human-land interaction?
How did specific technological innovations affect human-land interactions in the American Bottom?
What can objects tell us about social organization?
How are the approaches of archaeologists and historians similar? How are they different?.
Explore the difficulties in studying cultures that are not documented by written records.
Discuss some of the biases in understanding human cultures based solely on material remains.

POSSIBLE ASSIGNMENTS:

Using RiverWeb and other resources, how could you assess the importance of the Mississippi River and associated aquatic and wetland resources to early cultures?
Using RiverWeb and other resources, describe some of the major changes in human-land interactions in the American Bottom.
Using the RiverWeb and other resources, explore how aspects of human culture such as settlement pattern, economy, technology, health, society, and religion, are interrelated. You can select two or more aspects/themes (for example, settlement pattern and economy).
How would an archaeologist characterize your culture if there was no access to written records?