Test tasks
1. Christopher Columbus was from
a) Italy
b) Spain
in Portugal
d) France
Answer a) Italy.
2. The purpose of Columbus's voyage was
a) circumnavigation of the world
b) reaching the shores of India or Japan
c) discovery of a new continent
d) crossing the Indian Ocean
Answer b) reaching the shores of India or Japan.
3. One of Columbus's ships was named
a) "Nostromo"
b) "Salvador"
c) "Pinta"
d) "East"
Answer c) “Pinta”.
4. How many voyages did Columbus make to the shores of the new continent?
at four
The answer is c) four.
5. When was the 500th anniversary of the discovery of America celebrated?
6. Fill in the gaps in the text.
At the beginning of August 1492, a flotilla of three ships left the port of Paloe: Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria. Columbus crossed the Atlantic Ocean and discovered several islands, which he believed were somewhere off the coast of India. Most likely, the name of the new continent came from the name of the Italian traveler Amerigo Vespucci.
Thematic workshop
Read the text and answer the questions.
On October 12, a plane landing on a regular flight from New York landed at Madrid airport. Among the other passengers who descended the gangplank, a tall Indian, dressed in a beaded robe of buffalo skin and a magnificent headdress of eagle feathers, especially stood out. Having descended to earth, he announced that he had arrived as an envoy of the North American Indians and that today, on the day of the 500th anniversary of the discovery of America by Columbus, he was announcing his discovery.
1. What do you think I discovered? North American Indian?
Answer. An Indian discovered the Old World. When Europeans discovered America (the New World) and began to create colonies, the Indians did not go on ships to Europe, but lived in their ancestral territories until they were expelled from there or completely exterminated. Therefore, they could only accidentally hear about the existence of Europe (the Old World) from the stories of Europeans.
2. Why did the Indian have the right to announce this discovery?
Answer. Because the first native of America set foot on territory previously unknown to his fellow tribesmen. Therefore, he had the right to announce his discovery.
3. In what year did this discovery take place?
Answer. In 1992.
Cartographic workshop
Use atlas maps to find place names associated with Christopher Columbus. They can be like South America, and in Northern. Do not forget also that maps are not only physical, but also political.
Answer. The following geographical names are associated with the name of Christopher Columbus:
North America - federal district Colombia (USA)
North America - British Columbia (Canada)
North America - Columbia River (USA and Canada)
North America – several settlements Colombia or Columbia. Columbia, South Carolina, Columbia, Missouri, Columbia, Maryland, Columbia, Pennsylvania, Columbia, Tennessee, Columbus, Ohio.
South America - Colombia
South America - highest mountain Colombia Cristobal Colon (5775 m)
Central America - the town of Colon (Panama)
Central America - Province of Colon (Panama)
Central America - Colon Department (Honduras)
“Colon” is the name of Christopher Columbus in Spanish.
A little over ten years ago - on October 12, 1992, one of the most significant dates in human history - the 500th anniversary of the discovery of America. There are many hypotheses about when man appeared in the Western Hemisphere, in North and South America, on numerous islands, and when people came to the American continent. For the fifth century now (since the 16th century), pundits have been debating this issue. In numerous studies on this topic, among the first inhabitants of America are people from the Canary Islands, Phoenicians and Carthaginians, ancient Greeks and Romans, Jews, Spaniards, Egyptians and Babylonians, Chinese and even Tatars and Scythians.
Science developed, and as new discoveries were made, knowledge accumulated and hypotheses were selected. Today there is no longer any doubt that the part of the world marked on the world map as America was inhabited by people from other continents. However, from which ones exactly has not been finally decided. Nevertheless, scientists were able to identify many common features inherent in all Indians, bringing them closer to the Mongoloid peoples of Asia. Appearance The appearance of the original inhabitants of America at the time of their first meetings with Europeans was as follows: a stocky figure, short legs, medium-sized feet, rather long arms but with small hands, a high and usually wide forehead, poorly developed brow ridges. The Indian's face had a large, strongly protruding nose (often, especially in the north, the so-called eagle nose), and a rather large mouth. The eyes are most often dark brown. The hair is black, straight, thick.
Many early European documentary and literary sources indicated that the Indians were Redskins. This is actually not true. The skin of representatives of various Indian tribes is rather yellow-brown. According to modern researchers, the name “Redskins” was given to them by the first settlers. It did not arise by chance. The North American Indians once had a widespread custom of rubbing their faces and bodies with red ocher on special occasions. That's why Europeans called them redskins.
Currently, anthropologists distinguish three main groups of Indians - North American, South American and Central American, whose representatives differ in height, skin color and other characteristics.
Most researchers believe that the settlement of the American continent came from Asia through the Bering Strait. Scientists believe that four great glaciations helped ancient people overcome the expanse of water. According to this hypothesis, during the glaciations the Bering Strait froze and turned into some kind of huge bridge. Asian tribes who led a nomadic lifestyle freely moved along it to the neighboring continent. Based on this, the time of the appearance of man on the American continent was determined - this happened 10-30 thousand years ago.
At the time of the arrival of the Spanish caravels under the command of Christopher Columbus off the eastern coast of the New World (October 1492), North and South America, including the islands of the West Indies, were inhabited by many tribes and nationalities. WITH light hand the famous navigator, who assumed that he had discovered new lands of India, they began to be called Indians. These tribes were on different levels development. According to most researchers, before the European conquest, the most advanced civilizations of the Western Hemisphere developed in Mesoamerica and the Andes. The term “Mesoamerica” was introduced in the 40s of the 20th century by the German scientist Paul Kirchoff. Since then, in archeology it has been used to designate a geographical region that includes Mexico and most of Central America (up to the Nicoya Peninsula in Costa Rica). It was this territory that, at the time of its discovery by Europeans, was inhabited by many Indian tribes and presented a motley picture of the cultures that they represented. According to the correct definition of the Czech Americanist Miloslav Stingl, “these cultures were at different stages of development of tribal society, and the general laws of evolution characteristic of the primitive communal formation manifested themselves here in many local variants and forms.” To the most vibrant and developed civilizations Ancient America(pre-Columbian period) scientists include such cultures as Olmec, Teotihuacan, Mayan, Toltec and Aztec.
The study of the art of Ancient America and its history is relatively young. It dates back a little over a hundred years. American studies researchers currently do not have such rich material and achievements as are available today in the field of studying ancient art. They also experience great difficulties due to the fact that to support their conclusions obtained as a result of archaeological excavations and discoveries, they do not have as many written monuments as are, for example, at the disposal of researchers of the Ancient East. The ancient Americans developed writing much later and never reached high development. The written monuments of the peoples of Mesoamerica that have reached us have not yet been sufficiently studied. Therefore, most of the information concerning political history, social system, mythology, conquests, titles and names of rulers, are based only on Indian legends. Many of them were recorded after the Spanish conquest and date back to the first half of the 16th century. It is also important to remember that until this time, ancient American civilizations developed without any influence from European or Asian centers. Until the 16th century, their development proceeded completely independently.
The art of Ancient America, like any other art, has a number of features and characteristic features that are unique to it. In order to comprehend this originality, a dialectical approach is necessary, taking into account the historical conditions under which art and culture developed ancient civilizations Mesoamerica.
Scientists attribute the highest flowering of the culture of the Mayan Indian tribe to the 7th-8th centuries. The Aztec Empire reached the apogee of its development at the beginning of the 16th century. Very often, in the works of archaeological scientists and researchers of ancient cultural civilizations, the Mayan Indian peoples (as older people) are called by analogy “Greeks,” and the Aztecs (as they existed later) are called “Romans” of the New World.
The cultural traditions of the Mayan Indians had enormous influence in the Yucatan Peninsula, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras and El Salvador, as well as in several states of modern Mexico. The geographical boundaries of the distribution of this civilization were 325,000 km 2 and covered the habitat of several dozen, and possibly hundreds of tribes. In general, the tribes inherited a single culture. However, in many ways it naturally had regional characteristics.
The Mayan civilization stood out primarily for its achievements in construction and architecture. Representatives of this nation created exquisite and perfect works of painting and sculpture, had unique masters in stone processing and manufacturing ceramic products. The Mayans had deep knowledge of astronomy and mathematics. The greatest achievement is their introduction of such a mathematical concept as “zero”. They began to use it hundreds of years earlier than other highly developed civilizations.
The Aztecs appeared in Central Mexico in the second half of the 12th century. No historical data about them has been found before this time. There are only a few legends and traditions from which it is known that they called the island of Aztlan (Aztlan) their homeland. One of the traditional descriptions of the supposed life of ancestors in Aztlan is known, allegedly compiled for the last of the pre-Hispanic rulers of the Aztec state, the famous Montezuma II the Younger, based on ancient manuscripts. According to this source, the ancestral home of Aztlan was located on an island (or was an island), where there was a large mountain with caves that served as dwellings. From this word, which denoted the location of the island (Aztlan), came the name of the tribe - Aztecs (more precisely, Aztecs). However, science has not yet established the exact geographical position of this island.
In the earliest stages of their existence, the Aztecs were dominated by a nomadic lifestyle; they were mainly engaged in hunting. This left an imprint on their character. By nature they were very warlike. For almost two centuries, the Aztecs waged wars of conquest and at the beginning of the 14th century, having conquered many other tribes living in Central Mexico, they created a powerful empire. Around 1325, the city they founded, Tenochtitlan (modern Mexico City), became its capital.
Currently, interest in the study of ancient Indian civilizations has not faded. Architectural monuments, sculpture, jewelry, household items discovered in places , Where several thousand years ago people lived who had an original, unique culture, there is still a lot of unsolved mystery. Understanding the history of pre-Columbian America, leading archaeologists and modern scientists are trying to find an explanation for many of the most important aspects of the life of ancient human communities.
Test tasks
1. Christopher Columbus was from
a) Italy
b) Spain
in Portugal
d) France
Answer a) Italy.
2. The purpose of Columbus's voyage was
a) circumnavigation of the world
b) reaching the shores of India or Japan
c) discovery of a new continent
d) crossing the Indian Ocean
Answer b) reaching the shores of India or Japan.
3. One of Columbus's ships was named
a) "Nostromo"
b) "Salvador"
c) "Pinta"
d) "East"
Answer c) “Pinta”.
4. How many voyages did Columbus make to the shores of the new continent?
at four
The answer is c) four.
5. When was the 500th anniversary of the discovery of America celebrated?
6. Fill in the gaps in the text.
At the beginning of August 1492, a flotilla of three ships left the port of Paloe: Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria. Columbus crossed the Atlantic Ocean and discovered several islands, which he believed were somewhere off the coast of India. Most likely, the name of the new continent came from the name of the Italian traveler Amerigo Vespucci.
Thematic workshop
Read the text and answer the questions.
On October 12, a plane landing on a regular flight from New York landed at Madrid airport. Among the other passengers who descended the gangplank, a tall Indian, dressed in a beaded robe of buffalo skin and a magnificent headdress of eagle feathers, especially stood out. Having descended to earth, he announced that he had arrived as an envoy of the North American Indians and that today, on the day of the 500th anniversary of the discovery of America by Columbus, he was announcing his discovery.
1. What do you think the North American Indian discovered?
Answer. An Indian discovered the Old World. When Europeans discovered America (the New World) and began to create colonies, the Indians did not go on ships to Europe, but lived in their ancestral territories until they were expelled from there or completely exterminated. Therefore, they could only accidentally hear about the existence of Europe (the Old World) from the stories of Europeans.
2. Why did the Indian have the right to announce this discovery?
Answer. Because the first native of America set foot on territory previously unknown to his fellow tribesmen. Therefore, he had the right to announce his discovery.
3. In what year did this discovery take place?
Answer. In 1992.
Cartographic workshop
Use atlas maps to find place names associated with Christopher Columbus. They can be in both South America and North America. Do not forget also that maps are not only physical, but also political.
Answer. The following geographical names are associated with the name of Christopher Columbus:
North America - District of Columbia (USA)
North America - British Columbia (Canada)
North America - Columbia River (USA and Canada)
North America - several settlements in Columbia or Columbia. Columbia, South Carolina, Columbia, Missouri, Columbia, Maryland, Columbia, Pennsylvania, Columbia, Tennessee, Columbus, Ohio.
South America - Colombia
South America - Colombia's highest mountain Cristobal Colon (5775 m)
Central America - the town of Colon (Panama)
Central America - Province of Colon (Panama)
Central America - Colon Department (Honduras)
“Colon” is the name of Christopher Columbus in Spanish.
