dig Parent's / Teacher's Guide

Secrets of Ancient Tombs (January / February 2002)

Teacher Guide prepared by: Karen E. Hong, who writes frequently for COBBLESTONE, CALLIOPE, FACES, and APPLESEEDS.
One way to find out the secrets of ancient tombs is by exploration. In this teacher’s guide, we’ll be exploring words, people, places, and periods to find the secrets.

EXPLORING WORDS
Knowledge of the following words will help your students understand this issue of DIG:

resin * renegade * shroud * excavation * po * bi * agate * terra-cotta * guerrillas * lichens * Neanderthal * terraced * ocher * pigment * sediment * tibiae * mosaic * mitochondria * DNA * articulated * sacrum * necropolis * decipher * Renaissance * sarcophagus * conservator * strappo * tundra * fibula * shanks * Kitoi * funerary * façade * murals * effigies * epitaph * embankments * mortuary * artifacts *cists * thunderbird * sherds * Egyptologist * corbel

EXPLORING PEOPLE
Have students select one of the following people to learn more about. Have them use the information available in this issue of DIG to begin building a verbal portrait of that person. Then have your students go beyond that information and search out additional facts and ideas to flesh out their knowledge and understanding of that person. Did they find conflicting facts and ideas? Is there an interpretation that they favor? Why? You may wish to have them present what they’ve learned by having them create a living biography in which them assume the identity of the person they explored and tell about themselves to the class.

• Ghengis Khan

  Also spelled Genghis Khan.
  Also known as Temujin, Chinggis Khagan, and Chingis Khan.

  Written resources:

  • Humphrey, Judy. Genghis Khan. New York: Chelsea House, 1987.
  • Demi. Chingis Khan: Story and Pictures. New York: Henry Holt, 1991.

  Online resources:

  • www.nationalgeographic.com/genghis/



• Midas

  Online resources:

  • www.museum.upenn.edu/Midas/intro.html



• Zhaomo, second king of Nanyue

  Also known as Zhao Mei.

  Online resources:

  • www.chinavista.com/travel/tomb/tomb.html



• Shi-Huangdi

  Written resources:

  • Paludin, Ann. Chronicle of the Chinese Emperors: The Reign-by-Reign Record of the Rulers of Imperial China. London: Thames and Hudson, 1998.
  • "China’s First Emperor: Shi-Huangdi," Calliope, October 1997.

  Online resources:

  • www.utexas.edu/courses/wilson/ant304/biography/arybios98/smithbio.html
  • www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/greatwall/Emperor.html



• William G. Quantrill

  Written resources:

  • Schultz, Duane P. Quantrill's war: the life and times of William Clarke Quantrill, 1837 - 1865. New York: St. Martins Press, 1996.
  • Leslie, Edward E. The Devil Knows How to Ride: The True Story of William Clark Quantrill and his Confederate Raiders. New York: Random House, 1996.

  Online resources:

  • www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/people/i_r/quantrill.htm
  • http://xroads.virginia.edu/~HYPER/HNS/Kansas/quantril.html



• Jim the Wonder Dog

  Online resources:

  • www.jimthewonderdog.com/memorial.htm
  • www.john-bauer.com/jim.htm
  • www.roadsideamerica.com/pet/jim.html



• Khufu

  Also called Cheops, Suphis.

  Online resources:

  • www.guardians.net/egypt/khufu.htm
  • www.angelfire.com/wy/theroyalflush/khufu.html

EXPLORING PLACES
Have students select one of the following places to learn more about. Have them use the information available in this issue of DIG to begin building a base of knowledge. Then have your students search out additional facts and ideas to add to their knowledge. Did they find conflicting facts and ideas? Is there an interpretation that they favor? Why? You may wish to have them present what they’ve learned by having them create a poster or diorama of their site.

• Hierakonpolis

  Online resource:

  • www.hierakonpolis.org



• Phrygia

  Online resources:

  • http://ancientneareast.tripod.com/Phrygia.html



• Teotihuacan

  Written resources:

  • Matos Moctezuma, Eduardo. Teotihuacan: The City of Gods. New York: Rizzoli International Publications, 1990.
  • Fisher, Leonard Everett. Pyramid of the Sun, Pyramid of the Moon. New York: Macmillan, 1988.
  • Arnold, Caroline. City of the Gods: Mexico’s Ancient City of Teotihuacan. New York: Clarion Books, 1994.

  Online resources:

  • www.crystalinks.com/mexico.html
  • www.mexicocity.com.mx/teoti_i.html
  • www.archaeology.org/online/features/mexico/index.html
  • http://archaeology.la.asu.edu/teo/



• Spitalfields Market, London

  Online resources:

  • www.britannia.com/history/londonhistory/spitbod.html
  • www.museumoflondon.org.uk/MOLsite/forum/spit_qg1.html



• Osaka and Nara, Japan

  Written resource:

  • Kidder, J. Edward. Ancient Japan. New York: Day, 1965.



• Lagar Velho, Portugal

  Online resources:

  • http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2001/08/0802_neandertal.html



• Tarquinia, Italy

  Online resource:



• Indian Mounds

  Written resources:

  • Kennedy, Roger G. Hidden Cities: The Discovery and Loss of Ancient North American Civilization. New York: Macmillan International, 1994.
  • Birmingham, Robert A. Indian mounds of Wisconsin. Madison, Wis.: University of Wisconsin Press, c2000.

  Online resources:

  • http://ngeorgia.com/parks/etowah.html
  • www.library.wisc.edu/etext/WIReader/Galleries/First.html



• The Great Pyramid

  Written resources:

  • Mann, Elizabeth. The Great Pyramid. New York: Mikaya Press, 1996.
  • Martell, Hazel. The Great Pyramid. Austin, TX: Raintree Steck-Vaughn, 1998.

  Online resources:

  • www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/pyramid/explore/khufuall.html
  • www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/egypt/explore/khufutop.html

EXPLORING PERIODS
Have students select one of the following historical periods to learn more about. Have them use the information available in this issue of DIG to build a base of knowledge. Then have your students search out additional facts and ideas to add to their knowledge. You may wish to have them present what they’ve learned by having them create a timeline of the period.

• Pre- and Protodynastic period of Egypt (3800 - 3100 B.C.)

  Written resources:

  • Shuter, Jane. Ancient Egypt. Austin, Tex.: Raintree Steck-Vaughn, c2000.
  • Harris, Geraldine. Ancient Egypt. New York, N.Y.: Facts on File, 1990.

  Online resources:

  • http://nefertiti.iwebland.com/timelines/culture1.htm
  • http://history1900s.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm
    ?site=http://www.touregypt.net/ehistory.htm



• Kofun period of Japan (third through seventh centuries A.D.)

  Written resource:

  • Macdonald, Fiona. Ancient Japan. New York: Lorenz, 1999.

  Online resources:

  • www.japan-guide.com/e/e2131.html



• Han dynasty of China (206 B.C. - A.D. 220)

  Written resources:

  • Hall, Eleanor J. Ancient Chinese. San Diego, CA: Lucent Books, 2000.
  • Wang, Tao. Exploration into China. Parsippany N.J.: New Discovery Books, 1995.

  Online resources:

  • http://deall.ohio-state.edu/jin.3/c231/handouts/h8.htm



• Etruscan history

  Written resources:

  • Nardo, Don. The Roman Republic. World History Series. San Diego: Lucent Books, 1994.
  • Macnamara, Ellen. Everyday life of the Etruscans. New York: Putnam, 1973.

  Online resource:

  • www.geocities.com/Athens/Crete/4060/history.htm



• Old Kingdom of Egypt

  Written resources:

  • Steele, Philip. Ancient Egypt. New York: Lorenz Books, c1997.
  • Harris, Geraldine. Illustrated Encyclopedia of Ancient. Lincolnwood, IL: Peter Bedrick Books, 1999.
  • Clayton, Peter A. Chronicle of the Pharaohs: The Reign-by-Reign Record of the Rulers and Dynasties of Ancient Egypt. New York, N.Y. : Thames and Hudson, 1994.

  Online resources:

  • http://nefertiti.iwebland.com/timelines/culture2.htm
  • http://campus.northpark.edu/history/WebChron/Africa/OldKingdom.html

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