g4_people_of_long_ago_all_student_resources_[1]

During the 1940s, land in the southern region Beginning around 2,200 years ago, native
artists cut large pieces of volcanic stone. The
of Costa Rica was being cleared. A company stone came from quarries that were far away
wanted to use this land to grow from where the spheres were found. The artists
bananas. Hundreds of round probably used other hard stones to create
stone spheres, or balls, were the perfectly round spheres. This meant that
dug up. The spheres range in they spent a lot of time chipping, scraping, and
size from only a few inches smoothing the large stone balls. Scientists know
to about 6 feet in diameter. that the artists did not have metal tools to help
Many of them are as tall as them with this work. They certainly did not have
the humans who dug them
up. The largest ones weigh laser technology like we do
over 16 tons! The workers soon today. This would have made
learned that they had stumbled their job a lot easier!
onto a mystery. Who made
these giant spheres? What Scientists do know something
were they used for? about the people who probably
made the spheres. This is
© Learning A–Z All rights reserved. information they got by studying
www.readinga-z.com archeological sites near the
spheres. The makers of the
giant stone balls probably lived

PLATZin small villages. They were

farmers as well as fishermen
and hunters. Their houses were
usually round in shape.

Credits: © Luis Marden/National Geographic Society/Corbis

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Trying to learn more about DID YOU Others believe that they acted like a compass
the everyday life of the pointing out north, south, east, and west. So
culture is important. It is KNOW? many of the balls have been moved. It is nearly
one way scientists might find impossible to tell what their real purpose might
clues to solve the mystery. In 2001, over 80 tons have been. The government of Costa Rica is
of the giant spheres trying to create a museum for the spheres.
Scientists remain unsure were moved back to
their original location. Studying these old spheres helps us
Here they are being understand another civilization. We can compare
stored and protected. our lives to their lives. The mystery of the giant
spheres of Costa Rica may never be solved. The
about what the giant spheres stone spheres stand tall, guarding the secrets we
hope to someday understand.
were used for. The people who made them left no
Credits: © Buddy Mays/Corbis
written record of their purpose. Their civilization
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was wiped out by an enemy. Scientists are left

to research the area around the stones. Then

they make informed decisions about them. One

of the biggest problems, though, is that most of

the stones have been moved from their original

locations. Many of the mysterious stone balls have

become lawn decorations. Some of them can be

found in front of office buildings. Sadly, some of

the spheres were blown up because they were

thought to have treasure in the middle of them.

It is believed that the placement of the
original spheres is important. The labor needed to
move the spheres shows that the civilization was
advanced. Some people believe that the stones
may have been an earthly map of the night sky.

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How Were The pyramids of Egypt are the oldest of the
Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Each
the Pyramids pyramid has a square base and four triangular
sides. The Egyptian civilization worshipped a sun
of Giza Built? god named Re. The shape of their pyramids may
represent rays of sun shining down on Earth.
Generations have come and gone, but the Giza Some of the newer pyramids in Egypt contain
hieroglyphs, or pictures. The hieroglyphs explain
pyramids still stand. Built near Cairo, Egypt, the who, when, and why they were built. However,
pyramids are some of the most recognizable the pyramids of Giza contain no hieroglyphs, so
structures in the world. They also have been scientists continue to investigate how they came
carefully studied by many scientists and to be. Learning about the people who lived
archeologists. People want to learn more about during this time gives scientists clues about the
the mysteries of these monuments. How and why history of the pyramids.
were they built?
The oldest Giza pyramid is the Great
Pyramid. It was built for an Egyptian king named
Khufu. Taking over twenty years to build, it is
also the largest pyramid. Scientists know that the
workers started by making sure the ground was
level. They used rope to measure the four sides.

How did the workers transport the two million
stones thought to make up the pyramid? Keep in
mind that the average weight of each stone was
about three tons! Some scientists believe that the

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1

stones were taken by boat DID YOU Many of the burial objects were stolen. The
to the worksite. Then they pyramids became targets for people looking for
were shaped and dragged KNOW? treasure. Some pyramids have long passageways
on log rollers from the river that lead to different places inside. Some of the
Some pyramid passageways are dead ends. These false paths
workers were paid were built to confuse the robbers.
in loaves of bread.
Research continues on the history of the
to the building area. Some Giza pyramids. Technology such as robots are
used to search inside the narrow passages.
people believe the workers used a long ramp to Studying the mystery of the pyramids helps

drag the stones up to the pyramid. Others believe people learn about what was
important to past civilizations.
that there was a system of ramps spiraling around
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the outside of the pyramid. Whichever way the
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pyramids were built, one thing is for sure. It took

many strong workers to complete the

pyramids. Estimates of the number of

workers is between 20,000 to 30,000.

What was the purpose of the
pyramids? Most scientists believe that
they served as burial places for Egyptian
kings and queens. The culture believed
that in order to be happy after you died,
you needed to be buried with many
things. This included clothing, furniture,
and games. Archeologists even found a
wooden barge buried next to the Great
Pyramid. It probably carried Khufu’s
body along the Nile to its resting place.

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What Happened in Chaco Canyon has thirteen Great Houses,
or large pueblos. Pueblo Bonito is the largest.
Chaco Canyon? It probably took over 200 years to build this
pueblo. It was four stories tall in some places
In the summer of 1849, the United States Army and had over 800 rooms. Wooden beams
supported the floors and roofs of the pueblos.
sent out troops to map good railroad routes in The desert environment does not supply enough
northwestern New Mexico. When they reached water to grow trees. This means that the Ancient
an area called Chaco Canyon, they made an Puebloans had to travel about 40 miles to find
amazing discovery. Carved out of the sandstone the pine trees needed to make the beams.
plateau near the canyon stood the remains of a
string of pueblos, or villages. The officers could How do scientists know how old the ruins
see large pueblos on the valley floor and many are? They can tell the age by looking at the
more perched on the rim of the canyon. The
troops had stumbled upon the 1,000-year-old Credits: © DLILLC/Corbis
ruins of the Ancient Puebloans civilization.
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Studying archeological sites such as
Chaco Canyon reveals information about the
people who lived there. Scientists know that
the Ancient Puebloans lived on thousands of
different sites around this area. Chaco Canyon
is the largest site.

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growth rings on the trees used to make the pottery designs, which help DID YOU
beams. They can tell the year when a tree started scientists track visitors to
growing and when it was cut down. The tree rings Chaco Canyon. KNOW?
can also tell scientists about what the weather
was like during this time. After about 250 years, Chaco Canyon is now
Chaco Canyon was empty. a national park. It has
Many people question why the Ancient The Ancient Puebloans left an observatory for
Puebloans chose this site to build a community. no written records. Sickness visitors to gaze at the
The area is cold in the winter. It is very hot same stars that were
and dry in the summer. Yet scientists believe viewed by the Ancient
that around 10,000 people lived in these desert Puebloan civilization.
“apartment buildings.” The people made the most
of what they had. They made large or war do not appear to be
tanks to store water from the little
rainfall they got. They also stored reasons the people left. However, the growth rings
food to use during the dry years.
They even grew cotton crops. on the trees indicate a long period of time with
They used cotton to make clothing.
Despite their efforts, water, food, no rain. There were water and food shortages.
and firewood were scarce.
Scientists believe that the people
Some scientists think that
Chaco Canyon was more of a spread out in smaller groups.
meeting place for different ancient
people to gather and trade goods. Many traveled south where their
Each group of people developed
descendants still live today.
© Learning A–Z All rights reserved.
www.readinga-z.com The architectural site of
Chaco Canyon gives scientists
many clues about the past.
Scientists apply this information to
create new inventions. Think about
ways that our new technology
could have helped the Ancient
Puebloans of long ago.

Credits: © Mark Karrass/Corbis

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How were the homeland, now called Easter Island, to try and
solve this mystery.
Easter IslAnd
About sixteen centuries ago, a small group
Statues Moved? of people arrived to the island in double canoes.
They established homes and a way of life. This
How do you move a stone statue that weighs culture lasted about a thousand years. But
over time, scientists have discovered that this
about 14 tons across an 11 mile course of rugged civilization used up their natural resources of
land? Did I mention that wheels or large animals water and rich soil. Soon the islanders were
like horses and oxen aren’t available for you starving, fighting disease, and battling each other.
to use? This would be a difficult task no matter
how strong you are. Somehow the civilization These people left behind almost 900 giant
who lived on a small island in the Pacific stone statues called moai. They look like they
Ocean figured it out. Today scientists visit their are standing guard over the island. The moai
are quite an accomplishment because the only

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1

tools used to create them were made out of DID YOU
stone, bone, and coral. The statues may have
been carved to honor the spirits of the islanders’ KNOW?
ancestors or to demonstrate power. Made from
compressed ash, the moai were carved inside Around 50,000 tourists now
one of the island’s extinct volcanos. Details, like visit tiny Easter Island each
eyes, were added to each statue after it had year to see its famous statues.
been moved around the island. Scientists believe it
probably took a team of twelve people a year to to do a tug-of-war
produce a large moai. However, if they had used movement using
the technology and tools we have today, it might ropes tied to the
have taken less than an hour! top of the statue.
After several tries,
It was important to the islanders to move the movement
the statues around the island. They put them created by the
on special bases. How did they move the heavy teams caused the moai to move forward in a
objects? Scientists have performed research rocking motion—the statue walked! The islanders
about this mystery. They used pictures from would have called it neke-neke. That phrase
satellites in the sky to find the roads that were means “walking with no legs.”
used. They could see that the roads were fairly
level. They could also see many statues that had No one can be completely sure if this is
fallen along the roads as they were being moved. actually how the islanders moved the statues. By
studying the civilization, scientists do know a lot
The scientists did an experiment. They made a about how its people lived. They know that the
model of a moai that was the average size of one land was overused. Forests were cut down and
on the island. Two teams of people were trained not replanted. Studying the islanders’ civilization
helps us consider ways creativity and hard work
© Learning A–Z All rights reserved. can help us solve problems.
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Credits: © Danita Delimont/Alamy

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What is the lost city of They built complicated stone cities all without the
benefit of the wheel, the metal called iron, or a
MACHU PICHU? written language.

Imagine you are Hiram Bingham, an American Machu Picchu is named after one of the
mountain peaks it lies between. When Bingham
explorer. The year is 1911. You and your team discovered the city, the 200 buildings were just
are searching for an old Inca city in the Andes as the Inca had left them. The site shows that the
Mountains of Peru. A local farmer has told Inca were expert farmers. Growing crops on the
you that there are ruins of a city on a nearby side of a mountain is not easy. The Inca terraced
mountain. After a steep climb, you look over a the slopes, or created flat layers, in order to
stone wall and gasp in amazement. Before you grow their crops.
lies an ancient wonder in the form of a well
preserved city. Congratulations! You have just The Inca were also expert craftsmen. In
found Machu Picchu. Who built this city and why order to create their buildings, they had to bring
did they build it here?

The Inca civilization came to power in the
mid-1400s. Part of the reason they grew so large
was because they built good roads. The Andes
Mountains in South America are a rugged place
to live. Scientists who study Inca archeological
sites believe that the Inca were master engineers.

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1

huge blocks of granite to the site. They did not remain untouched?
use animals or wheels to help them. Instead they Evidence leads
pulled the blocks along on rollers and then raised scientists to believe
them using levers and ramps. Today’s builders that Machu Picchu
use mortar to glue bricks together. The Inca cut was a place for royalty to visit. It was a five-day
the blocks into irregular shapes. Then they put journey to get to Machu Picchu from the closest
them together like a jigsaw puzzle. The stones city. After the Spanish conquered other known
were locked together so tightly that even a knife Inca cities, no one was left to visit Machu Picchu.
could not fit between them. This made a sturdy The Spanish were unaware it existed. Machu
structure that could stand up to the earthquakes Picchu became a ghost town.
that strike the region.
Doing research on past cultures helps us
By studying this past civilization, scientists know understand how people used to live and die.
It also helps us solve more mysteries in the future.
that the Inca Empire only lasted about 100 years.

What caused this civilization to collapse? We know

that a disease called smallpox wiped out many of

the people. Then a civil war also reduced their

numbers. Last, the Inca Empire was conquered

by the Spanish who DID YOU
invaded the land and
KNOW?

destroyed the cities About 76 inches of
created by the Inca. rain falls each year on
Machu Picchu. The Inca
So the mystery still workers built over 100
stands. Why did the drains to help the water
city of Machu Picchu flow down the mountain.

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Student Response Sheet Individual Reading

Name

Key Question
Why do we still study people who lived a long time ago?

On Your Own
1. Read the Key Question. Then read the passage. Look for details in the text

that help you answer the Key Question. Circle or underline these details.
2. N ow look back at the passage. Write the details you circled or underlined

in the Web Wheel below.

Why do we
still study

?

3. T hink about the Key Question. Write your answer to the Key Question
using the details you found in the passage you read.

My First Answer

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Student Response Sheet Team Discussion

Name

Key Question
Why do we still study people who lived a long time ago?

Share Your Ideas
Meet with your team. Talk about each passage your team read.
1. Tell the team what you learned in the passage you read. Show your web.
2. Look at the Web Wheels your team made. Compare details in each of your

passages by looking at all the webs. Answer these questions together.
• Why do people still study each of these civilizations?
• What can people learn from studying past civilizations?
Next, write the details that answer
the Key Question in the Web Wheel
below. Write only the details
that are in every passage
your team read.

Why do we still
study people who lived

a long time ago?

Answer the Key Question
Review the details on your team’s Web Wheel. As a team, write an answer to
the Key Question. Use the details from the passages to support your answer.

Why do we still study people who lived a long time ago?
Our Team’s Answer

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