Fernando M. Reimers et al.

2. Students will articulate the role of archaeology in developing an un—
derstanding of the past through the close examination of archaeo—
logical sites and artifacts.

3. Students will evaluate the link between ancient and modern cul—
tures in China.

Overview

This unit covers the first ancient civilization and modern civilization that
will be studied this year, and students will be introduced to the components
of a civilization (government, religion, economy, arts, technology, settle—
ment, and system of writing) as a framework for understanding civilizations
both ancient and modern. This unit relies heavily upon a partnership with
Primary Source, and in particular upon Primary Sources collaboration with
the Harvard University Asia Center and the unit “China Source.”

Note that there are many additional links that can be made to the art cur—
riculum (e.g., Chinese art and calligraphy), the literacy curriculum (poetry in
particular, and tales are included here), the language curriculum, the music
curriculum (e.g., Chinese opera and traditional and contemporary music), the
math curriculum (e.g., the abacus), and the science curriculum (http://asiasoci—
ety.org/education—learning/resources~schools/elementary—lesson—plans/chinese—
inventions). Ideally, multiple departments at the school will take part in the
study of ancient and modern China as well as in the following unit on Egypt.

ACEiVity 4.2.1

Ancient Bronzes and Bronze Vessels in the Shang and
Zhou Dynasties: An Archeologist’s Notebook

For this unit, it is recommended that the school purchase a bronze replica (http://
www.galleriapangea.com/bronze_vessel_ritual_bronze_vessel_fu~xin_jue/
productwdetailshtml) for the students to handle while they make observations.

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