Continue reading “The Andes, the Inca, the Spanish, and the Making of Modern South America”
Tag: inca
A Guided Tour of Bolivia, 2016.
A Guided Tour of Peru, 2016.
What if people told European history like they told Native American history?
The first immigrants to Europe arrived thousands of years ago from central Asia. Most pre-contact Europeans lived together in small villages. Because the continent was very crowded, their lives were ruled by strict hierarchies within the family and outside it to control resources. Europe was highly multi-ethnic, and most tribes were ruled by hereditary leaders who commanded the majority “commoners.” These groups were engaged in near constant warfare.
Pre-contact Europeans wore clothing made of natural materials such as animal skin and plant and animal-based textiles. Women wore long dresses and covered their hair, and men wore tunics and leggings. Both men and women liked to wear jewelry made from precious stones and metals as a sign of status. Before contact, Europeans had very poor diets. Most people were farmers and grew wheat and vegetables and raised cows and sheep to eat. They rarely washed themselves, and had many diseases because…
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Potosi and the Globalization of an Empire
Globalization is nothing new – the indigenous peoples slaving away in the Potosi mines 500 years ago could tell you all about it, while Europeans cracked the whip in order to buy Asian-made goods at affordable prices. Add in the fact that the mines were supplied with food and coca by African slaves laboring away in the low lands, and you have a template for the modern integrated global economy – exploitation, unequal rewards, and all. Continue reading “Potosi and the Globalization of an Empire”
The Inca: Church, State, and the Arc of History in the Realm of the Four Parts
July 27, 2016: New Horizons in South America and Beyond
This may have looked like a blog about some dude’s vacation. And I won’t lie, I’ve absolutely enjoyed myself out here. But it has been so much more than just a trip through South America… The reason I wanted to be here – and the reason that Fund for Teachers so generously funded my research – is that there is something seriously lacking in the historical and cultural education of our students, at least in the United States where I teach. Continue reading “July 27, 2016: New Horizons in South America and Beyond”
July 26, 2016: Tiwanaku, Aliens in Ancient Bolivia, and the Ruins of an Old World
Author Charles C. Mann has called Tiwanaku a combination of the Vatican and Disney World, and he may be spot on in that description. Just check out the stone megaphones for working the massive crowds of pilgrims that, in pre-Inca times, once trekked here to pay their dues, or the 25 foot tall megalithic being recovered from the ruins here, only to spend decades as a target for beer bottles in front of La Paz’s soccer stadium, rescued only when he achieved UNESCO statues along with the rest of Tiwanaku. Now that is religious entertainment…. Continue reading “July 26, 2016: Tiwanaku, Aliens in Ancient Bolivia, and the Ruins of an Old World”
July 18, 2016: A Morning with the Shoeshines, An Evening with the Dead
On my last full day in Peru, I took a moment to slow down. Continue reading “July 18, 2016: A Morning with the Shoeshines, An Evening with the Dead”
July 15, 2016: The Lake at the Top of the World
I spent last night on the floor of Lima’s Jorge Chavez International Airport. Now that Jasmine has gone home, I’ve pretty much given up on all of those silly frills and perks that girls like, like beds or showers. Continue reading “July 15, 2016: The Lake at the Top of the World”
open ended social studies 
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