Annotated Resource Set (ARS)
Title / Content Area:
The Early History of Chile: Comparing Geography and Culture to the U.S.
Developed by:
Natalie Arsenault, Director of Public Engagement, Teresa Lozano Long Institute of
Latin American Studies, University of Texas at Austin
Grade Level:
Grades 2–3 (adaptable for use in Grades 6–12)
Essential Question:
What historical characteristics does the U.S. share with Chile?
Contextual Paragraph:
In elementary school social studies, students begin to learn about communities, time
periods, and primary sources. Primary source images from Chile that focus on
exploration, indigenous groups and their customs, hunting, farming, and emerging
towns depict a striking resemblance to images from our own history. Students can
identify common characteristics of our histories and communities, as well as compare
and contrast the two countries. This exercise will help students learn about a different
region of the world by placing it in the context of a culture with which they are familiar.
Note: All of the Chilean images come from the Atlas of the Physical and Political
History of Chile [Plates, Volume 1]: http://www.wdl.org/en/item/3979/
The atlas was produced by Claudio Gay, born in Provence, France, in 1800. In 1828
the adventurer Pedro Chapuis invited him to come to Chile to teach geography. Gay
accepted the offer, and lived in Chile until 1842, working as a teacher and participating
in scientific expeditions. Under a contract with the Chilean government, he embarked
on a 3 1/2-year expedition to build a registry of the country’s natural resources. The
success of this work, which he completed in 1841, earned him honorary citizenship..
Gay’s work earned him fame as a versatile scientist and a talented artist whose
etchings captured images of native Indians, landscapes, popular characters, and
previously unknown botanical species.
Teaching with Primary Sources - Annotated Resource Set
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Resource Set
Burial of Cacique Cathiji
in Guanegue, May 1835
A Machitún (Ceremony
to Cure the Sick)
Araucanians (Mapuche)
Game of Chueca among
the Araucanians
Valparaíso
Santiago
Burial of indigenous
leader among the
Araucanian (Mapuche)
people
Ceremony presided over
by a Mapuche shaman,
the key figure who dealt
with healing
Portrait of indigenous
people of northern Chile
A Mapuche game
played with clubs and a
wooden ball. Chueca is
the Spanish name for
the game; the Mapuche
call it Palín.
View of Valparaíso, on
Chile’s coast; the
Spanish arrived here in
1536, but it remained a
small village until Chile’s
independence from
Spain, when it became a
major port
Santiago, now the
capital of Chile, was
founded in 1541
http://www.wdl.org/en/ http://www.wdl.org/en/ http://www.wdl.org/en/ http://www.wdl.org/en/ http://www.wdl.org/en/ http://www.wdl.org/en/
item/3979/zoom/#grou item/3979/zoom/#grou item/3979/zoom/#grou item/3979/zoom/#grou item/3979/zoom/#grou item/3979/zoom/#grou
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View of the San
Fernando Volcano, lion
hunting guanacos
Aculeu Lagoon
The Pines of
Nahuelbuta, Birth
Laja Falls
Road from Valparaíso to
Santiago
Cogoti, 1837
Chile has hundreds of
active and dormant
volcanoes
Cowboy on lagoon
south of Santiago, now
a popular tourist
destination for water
sports and outdoor
activities
Mapuche people in
northern Chile;
Nahuelbuta is now a
national park
Waterfalls in southcentral Chile, with a
narrow canyon
It took two days to
complete the trip on
horse
Central Chile
http://www.wdl.org/en/ http://www.wdl.org/en/ http://www.wdl.org/en/ http://www.wdl.org/en/ http://www.wdl.org/en/ http://www.wdl.org/en/
item/3979/zoom/#grou item/3979/zoom/#grou item/3979/zoom/#grou item/3979/zoom/#grou item/3979/zoom/#grou item/3979/zoom/#grou
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Notes/Comments: http://www.treasurenet.com/images/
http://www.treasurenet.com/images/americanwest/WEST134.JPG
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Condor Hunt
Guanaco Hunt
La Cañada Path,
Santiago
Dance in the
Government House
(Casa del Gobierno),
Anniversary of
Independence (Sep. 18)
Death of the Sioux Chief
Crazy Horse, Nebraska,
Medicine Man
Administering to a
Patient
Traditional condor hunt.
A cow or horse is killed
and left in a closed area
to attract the condor.
The hunters let it eat, so
that it’s weighed down.
They then leave their
hiding place, and when
the hunters are close,
they lasso or throw a
net on the condor.
Guanacos, members of
the camelid family, are
native to the Andes.
They’ve been hunted
since pre-Colombian
times; here they are
hunted on horseback.
Park in the capital city
Independence was
gained in 1810; this
celebration is from 1854
Sioux men and women
follow Crazy Horse's
body, wrapped in cloth
and tied to a travois, en
route to the grave site
near Camp Sheridan,
Nebraska.
A Sioux medicine man
sits inside a tepee
attending to a patient
who lies next to him
covered with a buffalo
hide. The medicine man
looks skyward while
holding a rattle in his
hand. A pipe is near his
feet.
http://www.wdl.org/en/ http://www.wdl.org/en/ http://www.wdl.org/en/ http://www.wdl.org/en/ http://cdm15330.conte
item/3979/zoom/#grou item/3979/zoom/#grou item/3979/zoom/#grou item/3979/zoom/#grou ntdm.oclc.org/cdm/singl
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eitem/collection/p1533
0coll22/id/38391/rec/3
http://cdm15330.conte
ntdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/
collection/p15330coll22
/id/38395
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Ute Indians
Ball games
San Francisco, 1851
City of Austin, the new
capital of Texas in
January 1, 1840
Elk and Buffalo Making
Acquaintance, Texas
Ute man wearing
beaded moccasins,
fringed leggings, hide
shawl, and beaded
headband with feathers.
A large group of Sioux
men and women carry
sticks and play a ball
game.
View of the port
An early view of the city
of Austin, looking north
across the Colorado
River. President Lamar's
house is on the right at
the top of the hill and
the temporary capitol is
at the top left. This
hand-colored lithograph
was based sketch by
Edward Hall, a
purchasing agent for the
Republic of Texas.
George Catlin Born:
Wilkes-Barre, PA 1796
Died: Jersey City, NJ
1872
http://cdm15330.conte
ntdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/
collection/p15330coll22
/id/23367
http://cdm15330.conte
ntdm.oclc.org/cdm/singl
eitem/collection/p1533
0coll22/id/35633/rec/1
Teaching with Primary Sources - Annotated Resource Set
http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.p
np/cph.3g07421
http://www.cah.utexas.
edu/exhibits/TexasExhib
it/large/cityof.htm
"The long detaching
rings again writhed in
mid-air, and softly
descended as he
thundered past"
Wood engraving from
Harper’s Weekly, 1885
oil on canvas 19 5/8 x 27
1/2 in.Smithsonian
American Art Museum
Gift of Mrs. Joseph
Harrison, Jr.
http://americanart.si.ed
u/collections/search/art
work/?id=4048
http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.p
np/cph.3c26054
5
Villa of Brule
Crossing the Platte
A Lakota tipi camp near
Pine Ridge, in
background; horses at
White Clay Creek
watering hole, in the
foreground. Ca. 1891.
Wood engraving of a
wagon train crossing the
river, 1859. From
Harper’s Weekly.
http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.p
np/ppmsc.02507
http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.p
np/cph.3a49253
Teaching with Primary Sources - Annotated Resource Set
Ox train used to
transport supplies to
Arizona Territory, 1883
http://commons.wikime
dia.org/wiki/File:Ox_trai
n_used_to_transport_s
upplies_in_Arizona_Terr
itory,_1883_-_NARA__530930.jpg
A View on the Mohawk
River
Hunting on the Plains
Bear Hunting: close
quarters
Print shows view of
mountains and farmland
along the Mohawk
River. 1793
Man on horseback with
rifle riding next to bison.
1871. Bison hunting
was a traditional activity
of the native groups on
the plains, and later
taken up by new
settlers.
Lithograph, 1850–1910
http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.p
np/cph.3a32336
http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.p
np/cph.3b50509
http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.p
np/cph.3b49876
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Central Park, the drive
A Presidential Reception
at the White House,
Washington
Lithograph from 1862
Illustration from
Harper’s Weekly, 1858
http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.p
np/cph.3a04850
http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.p
np/cph.3a04850
Foundations Annotations
Curriculum Connections
Social Studies: World Cultures, World History, World Geography, U.S. History
Curriculum Standards
Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills
§113.13. Social Studies, Grade 2
(2) History. The student understands the concepts of time and chronology. The student is expected to: (A) describe the order of events by using designations
of time periods such as historical and present times; (B) apply vocabulary related to chronology, including past, present, and future.
(3) History. The student understands how various sources provide information about the past and present. The student is expected to: (A) identify several
sources of information about a given period or event such as reference materials, biographies, newspapers, and electronic sources; and (B) describe various
evidence of the same time period using primary sources such as photographs, journals, and interviews.
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(6) Geography. The student understands the locations and characteristics of places and regions in the community, state, and nation. The student is expected
to: (C) examine information from various sources about places and regions.
(7) Geography. The student understands how physical characteristics of places and regions affect people's activities and settlement patterns. The student is
expected to: (B) describe how natural resources and natural hazards affect activities and settlement patterns; (C) explain how people depend on the physical
environment and natural resources to meet basic needs; and (D) identify the characteristics of different communities, including urban, suburban, and rural, and
how they affect activities and settlement patterns.
(15) Culture. The student understands the significance of works of art in the local community. The student is expected to: (A) identify selected stories, poems,
statues, paintings, and other examples of the local cultural heritage; and (B) explain the significance of selected stories, poems, statues, paintings, and other
examples of the local cultural heritage.
(18) Social studies skills. The student applies critical-thinking skills to organize and use information acquired from a variety of valid sources, including electronic
technology. The student is expected to: (B) obtain information about a topic using a variety of valid visual sources such as pictures, maps, electronic sources,
literature, reference sources, and artifacts; (D) sequence and categorize information; and (E) interpret oral, visual, and print material by identifying the main
idea, predicting, and comparing and contrasting.
§113.14. Social Studies, Grade 3
(3) History. The student understands the concepts of time and chronology. The student is expected to: (A) use vocabulary related to chronology, including
past, present, and future times; (C) apply the terms year, decade, and century to describe historical times.
(4) Geography. The student understands how humans adapt to variations in the physical environment. The student is expected to: (B) identify and compare
how people in different communities adapt to or modify the physical environment in which they live such as deserts, mountains, wetlands, and plains;
(D) describe the effects of human processes such as building new homes, conservation, and pollution in shaping the landscape; and (E) identify and compare
the human characteristics of various regions.
(17) Social studies skills. The student applies critical-thinking skills to organize and use information acquired from a variety of valid sources, including electronic
technology. The student is expected to: (A) research information, including historical and current events, and geographic data, about the community and world,
using a variety of valid print, oral, visual, and Internet resources; (B) sequence and categorize information; (C) interpret oral, visual, and print material by
identifying the main idea, distinguishing between fact and opinion, identifying cause and effect, and comparing and contrasting; (E) interpret and create
visuals, including graphs, charts, tables, timelines, illustrations, and maps.
Content & Thinking Objectives
Content Objective 1: Students will describe aspects of Chilean geography and history.
Objective 2: Students will identify common traits in Chilean and U.S. geography and history.
Thinking Objective 1: Students will analyze historical images in order to describe geographic, economic, and cultural traits in Chile and the United States.
Objective 2: Students will compare and contrast the geographies and histories of Chile and the U.S.
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Inquiry Activities & Strategies
Begin with the images of Chile, but do not provide background information to students. Discuss images either in small groups or as a class (with images
projected on screen). Have students observe the image and describe it. Look specifically at the geography and describe what they see (mountains, trees,
volcanoes, etc.). Have them do the same for the people. What are they doing? Why? Have students address the following: How has the scene you see been
affected by human activities? How might these activities affect the environment of the place? What brings people to the place in the image? What do you think
these people are thinking? Ask students to guess the location and time period of these images, and to explain their answers. Do these images seem familiar
(i.e., do they remind us of images from our history)? If so, why?
Explain that the images are from Chile and give students a brief overview of Chile’s history.
Divide students into small groups. Provide each group with a Chilean image and its companion image from the U.S. (the images are in the same sequential order
in this resource set and each Chilean images has an American companion). Have students address: What is the same? What is different? What questions do
they have about what they see? How can we find more information that will help us to understand these images better?
Assessment Strategies
Ask students to create a short story about one of the images (either Chilean or American) they analyzed. They should incorporate what they learned about
geography and history.
Have students research the answer to one of their questions (e.g., what is a guanaco?; why did people hunt buffalo?) and write a short report on that topic.
As a class, create a Venn diagram comparing Chile and the U.S.
Other Resources
Web Resources
Spanish blog about the burial of Cacique Cathiji: http://culturalanco.blogspot.com/2011/02/entierro-del-cacique-cathiji.html
Website about the Mapuche: http://www.bariloche.com.ar/museo/MAPUING.HTM
Brief article, in Spanish, about the Claudio Gay’s work in Chile: http://apc.ubiobio.cl/noticias/view_vistas.shtml?cmd[18]=i-268b57eef8fcaeab62aafc5b8a173192c3
TIME for Kids, Chile Timeline: http://www.timeforkids.com/destination/chile; http://www.timeforkids.com/destination/chile/history-timeline
National Geographic Kids, Chile: http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/places/find/chile/
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