Today we will shift from the first people in the Americas to one of the earliest civilizations, the Olmecs.

First, we need to familiarize ourselves with the geography of North and South America.

Use the blank maps and your colored pencils to label all of the following areas. You will find this information in your Atlases.

• On the physical map locate and label the following:
Bodies of Water
– Pacific Ocean	– Gulf of Mexico
– Atlantic Ocean	– Caribbean Sea
– Arctic Ocean	– Mississippi River
– Bering Strait	– Amazon River
Lines of Latitude
– Equator
– Tropic of Cancer
	– Tropic of Capricorn
Landforms
– Appalachian Mountains	– Andes Mountains
– Great Plains	– Isthmus of Panama
– Rocky Mountains	– Yucatan Peninsula
– Sierra Madre Mountains
Cities
– Machu Picchu
– Cuzco	– Chichén Itzá
	– Tenochtitlan
Civilizations
(Shade in the area where each developed. Be sure to create a key for each symbol used.)
Use the the links for help
– Olmecs
– Mayans
– Aztecs
– Incans
On the political map, locate and label the following:
– Guatemala	– Colombia
– Mexico	– Ecuador
– Honduras	– Peru
– Belize	– Chile
– El Salvador	– Venezuela
– Nicaragua	– Brazil
– Costa Rica	– Argentina
– Panama	– Bolivia

Now, lets meet the first major civilization in the Americas.

Watch this short movie about the Olmecs.

Now, watch this short slideshow.

Next, follow this link for more information about the Colossal Heads.

Answer the following questions:

Where did the Olmec live, which modern country(ies), which region of the Americas?

When did the Olmec civilization thrive?

What did the Olmec leave behind.

Why are the Olmec important?

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