Pre-Columbia Essential Questions and Inquiry Stems

• How have the contributions and accomplishments of Pre-Columbian civilizations influenced the development of the culture?
• Why are the contributions and accomplishments of Pre-Columbian Civilizations still relevant today?
•How were the Pre-Columbian civilizations dependent on their natural environment?
• How did the Pre-Columbian civilizations adapt to or change their natural environment?
​• How do shared beliefs and values shape a culture?

Questions to investigate

* The Mayan's had an amazing calendar.   What can you learn about it? How is it similar to ours?  How is it different?

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* The Maya, Inca, and Aztecs were amazing builders.  They built roads, buildings and much more.  Look in to CHINAMPAS, or another structures that they built,  what are they and what significance did they serve? Why is this important to us today?

* Check out the writing system of an ancient culture.  How did they write?  How were there numbers different? 

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* Water is an important part of EVERY society.  How did water play a part in this area?  Pick a major river/body of fresh water (Amazon, Euphrates, Tigris, Ganges, Nile, Indus, Chang Jiang (Yangtze), Huang (Yellow) River Valley, Gulf of Mexico) and an ancient culture.  Compare their lives to your own.  What do you notice?