LESSON BOX
 OVERVIEW ANDCONTENTS
ARTIFACTS
PRIMARY SOURCES 
REGIONAL GRID MAP
HISTORIC MAPS
BACKGROUND
POSTER ACTIVITY 
TRADE 
SIMULATION 
IMPORTS/
EXPORTS
EXTENSIONS
VOCABULARY
REFERENCES/
LINKS
Monsoon Winds 

to the "Land of Gold" 

ARTIFACT BOX ACTIVITY
ARTIFACT BOX
Artifact Box The second introductory activity creates anticipation and gives the class some hints about what they're about to learn.  Open your "artifact box" (which you've prepared in advance) that contains the following: 
Objects you can
bring from home. 
 One packet of cloves or peppercorns,
Incense,
An Egyptian glass bead, 
A roll of papyrus, 
A piece of silk. 
Artifact B: Photo of Roman Coin
Artifact C: Egyptian Bronze Vase 
Artifact D: Excerpt from Periplus Maris Erythraei
Guided Discussion As you reveal each item, have the students consider   the collection. Ask your students to pretend that they are archaeologists. Tell the class that this mysterious box, found buried along the Malabar coast in Southwest India, has come to your classroom; for analysis.
  • What "story" does this box tell? 
  • What does the Roman coin reveal? 
  • What does the text tell? 
  • Where did silk originate? 
  • Why are the items together?
  • Why were they found in India?
The teacher should encourage ideas that mention a range of goods from different, distant cultures. The map indicates incomplete knowledge of geography; travel by ship, coastal geography and monsoon winds are revealed by the Periplus. Focus student inquiry on these questions: 
  • What was carried by sea?
  • What is the meaning of the spices? 
  • How were these items used? 
  • Might the items indicate the barter or trade? 
  • Who were the traders or sailors?
  • What cultures would be involved in moving goods? 
  • How far did they travel?
  • How far did the goods travel?
  • Was this the final destination
Writing Prompt After the students express their various ideas, ask them to write an imaginary story that explains the "find." (The discovery of this collection of artifacts is fictional; they cannot be identified precisely. This "into" activity is designed to interest and inspire the class for the investigation that follows). 
ORIAS

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