Under the political successors of the Prophet Muhammad, an Islamic state expanded rapidly outward from Arabia in the seventh century CE. In the process, it became something of an empire, ruling over many distinct peoples and adopting strategies from the Byzantine and Persian empires whose territory it conquered. This state was called the Caliphate, and for a while it remained united. Then, like other empires before it, the Caliphate fragmented. What was left was a network of trade and belief that was the Muslim world.

The fall of the Roman Empire and the decline of Afro-Eurasian trade were two important stories early in Era 4. But was there a political recovery? Was there an economic or political restructuring? This article provides the evidence of the rise of the Caliphate – the Islamic state – which was in some ways a successor to Rome in the Eastern Mediterranean and beyond, and which also led to a recovery in trade. It is useful evidence for responding to the Era 4 Problem: “How do human systems restructure themselves after political, environmental, or demographic catastrophe?”

Preview – Skimming for Gist

Fill out the Skimming for Gist section of the Three Close Reads worksheet as you complete your first close read. As a reminder, this should be a quick process!

Key Ideas – Understanding Content

For this reading, you should be looking for unfamiliar vocabulary words, the major claim and key supporting details, and analysis and evidence. By the end of the second close read, you should be able to answer the following questions:

1. What reasons does the author give for the success of Arab armies in conquering surrounding regions under the Rashidun Caliphate?
2. How did the Umayyad Caliphate learn to govern a large and diverse empire?
3. What were attitudes toward non-Muslims under Umayyad rule, according to the author?
4. How did the Abbasids transform who governed the Caliphate?
5. What does the author argue were attitudes toward women in the Caliphate?
6. What are some reasons the Caliphate broke into several parts between the tenth and thirteenth centuries?

Evaluating and Corroborating

At the end of the third close read, respond to the following questions:

1. The Caliphate is sometimes called a “successor to the Roman Empire,” along with western Christian (Catholic) and Byzantine communities. What evidence can you find in this article to support or refute this argument?
2. The Caliphate was both a religious community and a political state. Does it seem like this arrangement was effective? What are some ways it might have been an advantage or disadvantage?

The Islamic belief system was, for a time, closely tied to the state known as the Caliphate. But it also spread beyond the borders of a single state. Muslims moved around as religious pilgrims, as missionaries, and especially as traders. This makes sense, not only because Islamic societies occupied territory at the crossroads of Afro-Eurasian trade, but also because Islam was a portable congregational religion well designed for movement and commerce. The result was a network that moved ideas and technologies as well as goods, a network we know today as the Islamic world.

This article provides important evidence to help you to evaluate the recovery and restructuring of trade and the exchange of ideas in the central portion of Afro-Eurasia in the centuries following the collapse of the Roman Empire. This will help you respond to the Era 4 Problem: “How do human systems restructure themselves after political, environmental, or demographic catastrophe?” In addition, it provides a historical case study for understanding how networks of exchange work, which should help you test the claims made in the networks frame narrative.

Preview – Skimming for Gist

Fill out the Skimming for Gist section of the Three Close Reads worksheet as you complete your first close read. As a reminder, this should be a quick process!

Key Ideas – Understanding Content

For this reading, you should be looking for unfamiliar vocabulary words, the major claim and key supporting details, and analysis and evidence. By the end of the second close read, you should be able to answer the following questions:

1. What are some reasons that trade played such an important role in the spread of Islam in Era 4?
2. What were some technologies that promoted trade within Muslim communities?
3. Who were some key players in spreading ideas and beliefs across the Islamic world and to new areas, according to the author?
4. How did Islamic religious and legal thought develop in this period?

Evaluating and Corroborating

At the end of the third close read, respond to the following questions:

1. The author makes an argument for an Islamic “golden age” in this period. What evidence does she give for this golden age? Are you convinced?
2. This article focuses on trade through the networks frame. How does your understanding of this article change if you consider it through the communities frame or the production and distribution frame? In other words, how did trade in the Islamic world affect (or how was it affected by) changes in communities and how things were made?

Islam is practiced by nearly 2 billion people—that’s 1 in 4 people on the planet. It emerged in the seventh century, when Muslims believe the Prophet Muhammad received revelation from God, which was compiled into the Holy Qur’an. Islam spread rapidly after the Prophet’s death, mostly through the expansion Muslim-ruled empires. However, traveling merchants and mystics continued to spread Islam beyond these conquests in the centuries that followed. Today, Muslims and historians alike continue to think about the history of early Islam by studying the Qur’an and accounts about the Prophet and his companions called Hadith.

This video will give you a brief overview of Islamic beliefs and focuses on the early history of Islam. This history will help you to evaluate the many different narratives about Islam, which come from both Muslim and non-Muslim sources. This historical context is key for testing different claims about Islam’s origins, beliefs, and political history. This will also help you contextualize future lessons about empires, trade networks, and religion in the Islamic world.

Preview—Skimming for Gist

As a reminder, open and skim the transcript, and read the questions before you watch the video.

Key Ideas—Understanding Content

Think about the following questions as you watch this video.

1. According to the Islamic faith, who received messages from God?
2. What are the five pillars of Islam?
3. What are Hadith?
4. How far did Islam expand in the first century after the death of the Prophet? How was this expansion achieved?
5. How did Islam spread from 750 to 1700?
6. What do most historians agree on about early Islam?
7. What are important sources of Islamic history for Muslims?

Evaluating and Corroborating

1. Why do you think understanding Islamic history is important for practicing Muslims? In what aspects of your life is understanding history important for your own activities?
2. In this video, Nate Bowling talked about different narratives about Islam that may be politically motivated. Can you think of a politically-motivated narrative about a religion that you have heard? Do you think this narrative is credible? Why or why not?

There is an assumption that, in the early modern Islamic world, the two spheres of household and politics were separate. But the household often played a key role in governance and diplomacy. Understanding these connections can help us to more deeply understand how the state worked. It also reveals the role women often played in government and politics. The career of Timurid (Mughal) noblewoman Khanzada Begum is one example of how the lines between politics and the household often blurred.

For the era c. 1450–1750, we see the expansion of states—both in terms of geographic size and how much the government tried to control people’s lives. But what did these governments look like? You might think of them as being separate from the life of the household, but were they? You may also have been introduced to many, many male rulers and members of royal families. But what were the roles of their female family members? This biography is one example that may complicate the way you think about these states.

Preview—Skimming for Gist

Fill out the Skimming for Gist section of the Three Close Reads worksheet as you complete your first close read. As a reminder, this should be a quick process!

Key Ideas—Understanding Content

For this reading, you should be looking for unfamiliar vocabulary words, the major claim and key supporting details, and analysis and evidence. You should also spend some time looking at the images and the way in which the page is designed. By the end of the second close read, you should be able to answer the following questions:

1. How was Khanzada Begum related to the first Mughal Emperors, Babur and Humayun?
2. Why did Khanzada Begum marry Muhammad Shaybani Khan, and why were they divorced?
3. How did Khanzada Begum help her brother in his conflict with the Uzbeks after her divorce?
4. How did Khanzada Begum help her nephew rule?
5. How does the artist use art and design to demonstrate the power and authority of Khanzada Begum?

Evaluating and Corroborating

In this read, you should use the graphic biography as evidence to support, extend, or challenge claims made in the course.

1. How does this biography of Khanzada Begum support, extend, or challenge what you have learned about the “gunpowder empires,” and government generally, in this era?

Understanding claim testers is just the beginning! It is now time for you to support, evaluate, and refute claims. You will apply what you know about authority, logic, intuition, and evidence to write supporting statements for claims and analyze the quality of the statements put forth by your peers. In doing so, you will be gaining experience in supporting your own claims with evidence—which will promote your development as a reader, writer, and critical thinker.

Reading, writing
As readers, we need to be equipped with the tools required to be critical of the stories we hear and the narratives we accept and promote. You will practice reading for meaning while exploring the various claims—and you will engage with the claims by creating supporting statements. Next, you will analyze the supporting statements and determine the quality of such statements in collaborative conversation in small groups. Writing will be practiced in multiple parts of this activity, as you will write supporting and refuting statements in relation to the claims you were given.

In this claim-testing activity, you are given four claims about the Islamic world. You are asked to work with these claims in three different ways:

1. Find supporting statements for those claims.
2. Evaluate the strength of the supporting statements provided for those claims.
3. Provide statements that refute (argue against) the claims.

Get into small table groups. Each group should have a complete set of Claim Cards in the middle of their table. Listen for your teacher’s directions for when to start.

Round 1

1. Grab one Claim Card from the center of the table.
2. On the card, write down a statement that supports the claim. You can use prior knowledge or course materials for this.
3. Pass your Claim Card to the person to your right.
4. Write down a statement that supports the claim on the card that you now have. It can’t be the same as any of the supports already written on the card.
5. Repeat the process until each group member has written a supporting statement on each card.
6. Put the Claim Cards back in the center of the table.

Round 2

1. Grab one Claim Card from the pile and stand up.
2. Find at least three other students who have the same claim as you and get into a group with them (if there are more than six people in your group, let your teacher know).
3. Look at all the supporting statements that were written for your claim. Decide which supporting statements are strongest (that is, they best support the claim).
4. Write the strongest supporting statements on the whiteboard so everyone can see them.

Round 3

1. With the same group you were in for Round 2, consider any historical exceptions to your claim. What can you offer to refute the claim?
2. Add at least one refuting statement, what we often refer to as a counterclaim, on the board so everyone can see it.
3. Write both your strongest supporting statements and the exception to the claim as an exit ticket—be sure to explain your reasoning for choosing your supporting statements and refutations. Your teacher may also have you share your statements and counterclaim with the class.

The west African region south of the Sahara is known as the Sahel. By 800 or 900 CE, kingdoms began to emerge in this region, which had until then featured relatively decentralized communities. Within the Sahel, kingdoms competed, conducted diplomacy, and facilitated trade of goods and knowledge. This article outlines what these Sudanic states had in common (the Sahelian state model), while also introducing other (often overlooked) African states in existence across the continent at that time.

Earlier in this era, you learned about Afro-Eurasian trade and networks, and how network ties connected vast regions and spurred production of goods even after the fall of the Roman Empire and China’s Han Dynasty. This article zooms into a specific region, the west African Sahel, to provide evidence that will help you to respond to the Era 4 Problem: “How do human systems restructure themselves after political, environmental, or demographic catastrophe?” Also, because west African states were unique, this evidence will help you evaluate the communities frame narrative for this era.

Preview—Skimming for Gist

Fill out the Skimming for Gist section of the Three Close Reads worksheet as you complete your first close read. As a reminder, this should be a quick process!

Key Ideas—Understanding Content

For this reading, you should be looking for unfamiliar vocabulary words, the major claim and key supporting details, and analysis and evidence. By the end of the second close read, you should be able to answer the following questions:

1. Who was Mansa Musa, and why might he have had a problem with his portrayal in the first photo?
2. Examine the map shown in the article. What does it tell us about settlements of communities in the Sahel?
3. What is the Sahelian state model? What is its significance?
4. What is religious pluralism? How is it relevant to understanding west African communities?
5. What are some of the arguments for and against considering Mali an empire?

Evaluating and Corroborating

At the end of the third close read, respond to the following questions:

1. Can you think of other societies you’ve learned about in which the state supported religious pluralism? Which societies, and when?
2. How does this article support, extend, or challenge your understanding of the “state” when viewed through the filter of the communities frame?

In this activity, you’ll continue to develop your contextualization skills by considering the conditions that existed that allowed Mansa Musa to embark on a 3,000-mile journey in the fourteenth century. This will help you learn that context may not just be about the events of the historical time, a common misconception, but that it can involve other factors and underlying causes.

Causation, reading
You’ll use your causation skills to examine the time period in which Mansa Musa lived and traveled and determine what historical events or processes allowed for his wealth and his journey from Mali to Mecca. In addition, you’ll use your close-reading skills to pull out the necessary information from the video and primary source excerpt.

In this activity, you’ll watch the Crash Course World History video about Mansa Musa and read the primary source excerpt to pull out information about Mansa Musa and his travels. You’ll use this background information along with the event cards to complete the Contextualization Tool.  Note that the Contextualization Tool and the source excerpt are included in the Contextualization – Mansa Musa worksheet.

First, a thought experiment:

Imagine that you live in Los Angeles, California, and you want to take a once-in-a-lifetime road trip to Disney World in Florida. Oh, and along the way, you want to pick up your best friend, who lives in Chicago. So, what do you need to make road trip, which is over 3,000 miles? You want to travel in style, so you buy a Tesla Model X SUV. In fact, you have so much style, you buy 80 of them just to haul your stuff. And you also have an entourage of 12,000 people to help you along the way! Expensive trip, right? No worries—you happen to be the richest person who ever lived, worth about $400,000,000,000. No, that’s not a typo: that’s FOUR HUNDRED BILLION dollars! If you were a country, you would be twenty-eighth in terms of GDP (gross domestic product) all by yourself. That would put you ahead of countries like Norway, the United Arab Emirates, and Singapore. How’s that for some contextualization! We won’t even talk about the impact your spending spree had on Chicago—it was LEGENDARY! Fun to imagine, isn’t it? But the truth is, Mansa Musa, the king of Mali, made a trip just like this in the early fourteenth century. How was such a thing possible?

After reading through the paragraph above, your teacher will either hand out or have you download the Contextualization – Mansa Musa worksheet. Then, as a whole class you’ll watch Crash Course World History: Mansa Musa and Islam in Africa. As you watch the video, take brief notes on the life of Mansa Musa, including information about his reign, his faith, and his travels. Next, you’ll read the primary source excerpt that is included in the worksheet with your class. As you read or listen, think about the geographic and cultural factors that enabled Mansa Musa to embark on his journey.

Then, using your notes from the video and readings, you’ll work together in small groups to complete the Contextualization Tool. First, write the date and location of the historical event and then divide the event cards between broad and narrow context. You’ll share your broad and narrow context with the class by placing your event cards on the funnel on the board. Be sure to share your reasons for categorizing your event cards as broad or narrow context. You are allowed to move any event cards that you think were placed incorrectly by the prior group, but you must provide justification for doing that. After your group has moved any of the previous group’s event cards, you can place two of your event cards that are not already up on the funnel and explain your reasoning to the class. Then, return to your group to answer the remaining questions on the tool.

Finally, you will use your descriptions of broad and narrow context on the tool and information from the video and excerpt to either individually or in your small group write a one-paragraph response to the following question:

What historical context related to the time period, location, and culture enabled Mansa Musa to travel when and where he did?

Your teacher will collect your worksheets to assess how your contextualization skills are progressing.

The growth of trade routes and exchange in Afro-Eurasia helped to stimulate the development of additional states in several parts of Africa. Many of these states were tied to Islamic trading networks, and they combined local political ideas with thoughts and technologies coming from other parts of the Islamic World. Some states, like Mali and the city-states of east Africa, had a huge impact on those growing trading networks.

The recovery of Afro-Eurasian trade and networks of exchange that accompanied the growth of the Caliphate helped to draw together many parts of the world. African states and societies played a large role in this network, and provide evidence for understanding recovery and restructuring, which are key elements of the Era 4 Problem: “How do human systems restructure themselves after political, environmental, or demographic catastrophe?” In addition, studying varieties of African political structures in this period can help us evaluate the communities frame narrative for this era.

Preview – Skimming for Gist

As a reminder, open and skim the transcript, and read the questions before you watch the video.

Key Ideas—Understanding Content

Think about the following questions as you watch this video:

1. John Green points out that most sub-Saharan African histories were preserved by oral tradition rather than written down. He also says there is a prejudice against oral tradition. What evidence does he use to argue that oral tradition is in fact important?
2. Who was Mansa Musa, and why was his hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca) so significant?
3. What was Mali like when Mansa Musa ruled it, in terms of both politics and religion?
4. What kinds of states were built along the eastern coast of Africa at this time, and how were they linked?
5. For a long time, scholars incorrectly believed the Swahili city-states in east Africa must have been founded by Arabs, rather than local Africans. Why did they believe that, according to John Green?
6. What kinds of goods and other resources were traded through the Swahili city-states?

Evaluating and Corroborating

1. Why do you think two different kinds of states formed in different African regions (large empires in the interior of west Africa and city-states along the coast of east Africa)?
2. How is Ibn Battuta’s life evidence of the Islamic World as a network?

The 400 years that separated the fall of the Han dynasty and rise of the Tang dynasty might not seem particularly noteworthy at first glance. However, there were innovations and cultural movements developed during that time span that laid the foundation for economic and political developments to come.

This article provides evidence to respond to the era problem using the example of China after the collapse of the Han Dynasty. Does the collapse of a dynasty always have to mean the slowing of social or cultural progress? What could a period of restructuring look like, and what could be its lasting impact?

Preview – Skimming for Gist

Fill out the Skimming section of the Three Close Reads worksheet as you complete your first close read. As a reminder, this should be a quick process!

Key Ideas – Understanding Content

For this reading, you should be looking for unfamiliar vocabulary words, the major claim and key supporting details, and analysis and evidence. By the end of the second close read, you should be able to answer the following questions:

1. What was Chinese life like immediately following the fall of the Han dynasty?
2. How was Chinese identity and culture formation impacted by migration of new groups into China?
3. What made Buddhism appealing to a wide array of people at the time?
4. What factors contributed to the rise of the Sui Dynasty?
5. What led to the fall of the Sui, and how did its legacy continue into the Tang Dynasty?

Read 3 – Evaluating and Corroborating

At the end of the third close read, respond to the following questions:

1. Based on this article, how would you describe China’s recovery or restructuring following the collapse of the Han Dynasty?

3x5 note cards or cut up paper

This sourcing collection, along with the Quick-Sourcing Tool, gives you an opportunity to practice a quicker kind of sourcing than you do in the sourcing practice progression. The tool and the process for using it—specifically designed for unpacking document collections—will help you be successful when responding to document-based questions (DBQs).

If you are unfamiliar with the Quick-Sourcing Tool or the process for using it, we recommend reviewing the Quick-Sourcing Introduction activity in Lesson 3.5.

The Quick-Sourcing Tool can be used any time you encounter a set of sources and are trying to respond to a prompt or question, as opposed to the deeper analysis you do when using the HAPPY tool that is part of the sourcing progression.

First, take out or download the sourcing collection and review the guiding question that appears on the first page. Then, take out or download the Quick- Sourcing Tool and review the directions. For Part 1, you’ll write a quick summary of each source in terms of how it relates to the guiding question (we recommend using one note card or scrap of paper for each source).

For Part 2, which uses the first four letters of the acronym from the HAPPY tool, you only have to respond to one of these four questions. You should always include the historical significance or “why” (the “Y” in “HAPPY”) for any of the four questions you choose to respond to.

In Part 3, you’ll gather the evidence you found in each document and add it to your note cards so you can include it in a response later. Once each document is analyzed, look at your note cards and try to categorize the cards. There might be a group of documents that support the claim you want to make in your response, and another group that will help you consider counterclaims, for example. To wrap up, try to respond to the guiding question.

This collection explores the political decentralization, expansion of religious authority, and transformation of trade networks that took place from c. 200 to 1500 CE.

The sources in this collection will help you understand how societies in this era overcame challenges and transformed. In addition, you will work on your sourcing skills using the Quick-Sourcing Tool.

We recommend using the accompanying Quick Sourcing activity (above) to help you analyze these sources.

In this vocab activity, you’ll be given a stack of vocab words to “sneak” into a conversation with a classmate. This is probably the most difficult—and perhaps silliest—of all the vocab activities. You have to incorporate Era 4 vocabulary as seamlessly as possible into a conversation. Although difficult, this is one of the best ways to use and apply new vocabulary – in context.

You’re going to play the word sneak game. You will be given four Era 4 vocab words, and asked to have a casual conversation with a classmate. Your job is to use your vocab words as part of that conversation, sneaking them in wherever appropriate.

Here are the steps:

1. Get your vocab cards.
2. Partner with someone else in the class. Do not show them your cards or tell them your words.
3. Have a five-minute conversation, and see how many words you can sneak into the conversation while you’re chatting. There are two things you need to know for your conversation:
   • You have to integrate your words in a legitimate way that makes sense.
   • You may need to steer the conversation in a different direction as a way to get to use your words. One good way to do this is by asking your partner questions.
4. Be prepared to debrief your conversation with the class.

Large west African states like Mali and trading cities like those of the Swahili in east Africa were connected to a network of societies across the continent. Many of these societies lived in regions that did not have environments or native crops that were easily domesticated. But by sharing technologies and languages, these communities created a vast network linked by similar languages—a Bantu-speaking world. But how did this network come into being, and how did it spread so far? This article presents three theories.

This article provides evidence of a large network of communities (speaking related languages) that developed in sub-Saharan Africa over thousands of years, culminating in Era 4. This case study provides an interesting contrast to other regions studied in this period. By looking at three theories for the origins of this network, you can practice your causation and sourcing skills.

Preview – Skimming for Gist

Fill out the Skimming for Gist section of the Three Close Reads worksheet as you complete your first close read. As a reminder, this should be a quick process!

Key Ideas – Understanding Content

For this reading, you should be looking for unfamiliar vocabulary words, the major claim and key supporting details, and analysis and evidence. By the end of the second close read, you should be able to answer the following questions:

1. When did the Bantu migration begin, and by what time did it extend across the “trunk” of Africa?
2. What technologies spread through the Bantu migration?
3. How does archaeology help us determine the routes and dates of the Bantu migration?
4. How does linguistics (the study of language) help to establish routes and dates of the Bantu migration?
5. How does the study of genetics help to establish routes and dates of the Bantu migration?
6. What are three theories for how language, technology, and people moved through the Bantu migration, according to the author?

Evaluating and Corroborating

At the end of the third close read, respond to the following questions:

1. This article presents three theories for how Bantu technologies and society spread so far. What kind of evidence is available to support these theories? Which theory do you think is the most likely? Which one do you think the author wants you to believe?
2. The Bantu migrations transformed communities, networks, and production and distribution across sub-Saharan Africa. Think about the language you speak. How do you think it spread? How do you think its spread reshaped the world?

This article covers only a small part of the vast Pacific Ocean. And yet, that small part is by itself huge! Humans migrated to the islands of Oceania—including Melanesia, Micronesia, Polynesia, and Australasia—thousands of years ago. But they are often left out of world-historical narratives. These societies developed innovations that allowed them to cross ever-larger spans of open ocean, eventually migrating to even the most distant and isolated of island chains. Despite the vast distances that separated them and diverse societies they developed, many of these societies remained in contact and retained cultural practices and social organization.

The peoples of Oceania developed technologies that allowed them to move vast distances across the open ocean—a feat not achieved by Afro-Eurasians until much later. This article provides an overview of a people often left out of the world historical narrative, and it will provide you with evidence to challenge these narratives. As you read, think about how the story of Oceania challenges the three frame narratives of this course.

Preview—Skimming for Gist

Fill out the Skimming for Gist section of the Three Close Reads worksheet as you complete your first close read. As a reminder, this should be a quick process!

Key Ideas—Understanding Content

For this reading, you should be looking for unfamiliar vocabulary words, the major claim and key supporting details, and analysis and evidence. By the end of the second close read, you should be able to answer the following questions:

1. How do historians believe that humans ended up settling the islands of Oceania? What debate surrounds this question?
2. What were the most important innovations that allowed migrations across Oceania?
3. In general, how did communities in this region organize themselves?
4. How does the article describe gender relations in societies in Oceania?
5. What evidence do the authors use to argue that Oceania was not separated from the rest of the world?

Evaluating and Corroborating

At the end of the third close read, respond to the following question:

1. The production and distribution frame narrative asserts that humans have grown more sophisticated in the way we make and use the things we need over time. Does the evidence presented in this article support, extend, or challenge this narrative? How?

Kupe the Navigator is sometimes seen as the first Polynesian to settle in Aotearoa (New Zealand), perhaps in the fourteenth century. But his story is actually much more important than a myth or history of settlement. It helps to make the past usable for Māori people today.

Polynesian societies are often left out of the networks used to describe connections around the world in this period. Stories of Kupe the Navigator, retold as oral tradition in Māori society, help us to understand the historical connections between the people of Aotearoa (New Zealand) and other Polynesian communities, as well as their significance for Māori communities in the present.

Preview—Skimming for Gist

Fill out the Skimming for Gist section of the Three Close Reads worksheet as you complete your first close read. As a reminder, this should be a quick process!

Key Ideas—Understanding Content

For this reading, you should be looking for unfamiliar vocabulary words, the major claim and key supporting details, and analysis and evidence. You should also spend some time looking at the images and the way in which the page is designed. By the end of the second close read, you should be able to answer the following questions:

1. Who was Kupe?
2. How is the story of Kupe normally told in Polynesian society? How have European historians tried to tell it?
3. How does the author argue that the Māori make this story a usable past? What meanings do they take from it?
4. How did the artist use art and design to demonstrate the theme of connectedness?

Evaluating and Corroborating

In this read, you should use the graphic biography as evidence to support, extend, or challenge claims made in the course.

1. How does this biography of Kupe support, extend, or challenge what you have learned about networks and connections in this era?
2. In what ways does this biography lead you to think differently about what it means for a history to be “usable”?

After the split of the Roman Empire, three successors to the territory emerged: Islam, the Empire of Byzantium, and Latin Christendom. This article highlights how Byzantium and Latin Christendom, while both organized as communities of faith around Christianity, developed different ways of living and thinking.

When an empire “falls,” how are communities and networks in the region impacted? Do they completely disappear, or do they undergo a restructuring? These questions are central to the Era 4 Problem: “How do human systems restructure themselves after political, environmental, or demographic catastrophe?” Through this article, you will use the community and networks frames to explore how two neighboring regions could develop very different structures and identities, despite both being linked by their acceptance of Christianity.

Preview—Skimming for Gist

Fill out the Skimming for Gist section of the Three Close Reads worksheet as you complete your first close read. As a reminder, this should be a quick process!

Key Ideas—Understanding Content

For this reading, you should be looking for unfamiliar vocabulary words, the major claim and key supporting details, and analysis and evidence. By the end of the second close read, you should be able to answer the following questions:

1. What were the three successors of Rome the author describes?
2. How did the eastern and western branches of the Christian Church differ in their beliefs and rituals?
3. Why did the ban on religious icons stir up such a strong response from Byzantine communities?
4. How did religious enthusiasm during this period in Christendom endanger religious minorities?
5. What were the Crusades and how did they impact networks?

Evaluating and Corroborating

At the end of the third close read, respond to the following questions:

1. What does the evidence from this article suggest about ways in which belief systems and state structures were related in this era and region?
2. What does the evidence from this article tell us about how these two societies recovered or restructured after the fall of the Roman Empire?

Extensive trade routes developed across the Americas before 1500. For a long time, historians assumed that these networks were quite small. In recent decades, however, scholars have uncovered evidence that long-distance trade was common, especially in Mesoamerica. This article explores trade linkages in the cities of Teotihuacan and Tenochtitlán, which were located in the same region at different times. Luxuries were the most common goods to travel long distances because they were light, and Mesoamerican merchants had to carry their goods on their backs. Despite barriers to trade, Mesoamerica formed the center of extensive long-distance trade networks—probably.

With its focus on the networks frame, this article provides a comparison to the developments you’ve read about in Afro-Eurasia. As you read, think about the similarities and differences between trade in the Americas and in Afro-Eurasia. Several societal collapses took place in Mesoamerica during the period covered in the article. This article will provide you with evidence for evaluating how trade helps systems restructure and recover after collapse.

Preview – Skimming for Gist

Fill out the Skimming section of the Three Close Reads worksheet as you complete your first close read. As a reminder, this should be a quick process!

Key Ideas – Understanding Content

For this reading, you should be looking for unfamiliar vocabulary words, the major claim and key supporting details, and analysis and evidence. By the end of the second close read, you should be able to answer the following questions:

1. What were some barriers to trade in Mesoamerica?
2. What made Teotihuacan an important trading center?
3. What sort of goods traveled across long-distance routes in the Americas?
4. Why don’t we know very much about merchants in Teotihuacan? Why do we know more about merchants in Tenochtitlán?
5. What was life like for merchants in the Aztec Empire? What roles did they play in the empire, other than trade?

Evaluating and Corroborating

At the end of the third close read, respond to the following questions:

1. Think about the region you live in. What environmental features would have made it easier or harder for you to trade with other regions if you had to carry all your trade goods only on your back or in a canoe?
2. How does the evidence in this article support, challenge, or extend what you have already learned about the Americas in the period prior to about 1500?

From 850 to 1150 CE, an Indigenous American people called the Ancestral Pueblo made Chaco Canyon the center of their cultural world. For hundreds of miles in every direction, other communities emulated the ideas and architecture of Chaco. Archaeologists have found surprising evidence of long-distance trade networks linking Chaco Canyon with societies thousands of miles away. Why did the Ancestral Puebloans choose to live in Chaco Canyon, and how did they learn to thrive in this challenging environment? To find answers to these questions, we spoke with archaeologist Kurt Anschuetz and Brian Vallo, the former governor of Acoma Pueblo.

This video provides you with evidence to evaluate state formation and long-distance trade in the Americas. It will help you respond to the Era Problem by providing new details on the development of ancient complex societies and the ways they interacted with each other. Finally, by listening to interviews with an archaeologist and a Pueblo leader, you will gain an understanding of how this history remains important to descendant communities today.

Preview – Skimming for Gist

Remember to open and skim the transcript, and then read the questions below before you watch the video.

Key Ideas – Factual

Think about the following questions as you watch this video.

1. What sorts of buildings were constructed at Chaco Canyon and who built them?
2. What are kivas and what are outliers?
3. How many people lived in the Chaco Canyon region? Why did this number change?
4. According to Kurt Anschuetz, why is it wrong to think of Chaco as a center?
5. According to Kurt Anschuetz, why is it important that some Pueblo peoples today describe themselves as being “of Chaco”?
6. According to Brian Vallo, what sort of trade and long-distance connections did the people at Chaco Canyon have?

Evaluating and Corroborating

1. How was Chaco Canyon similar to other complex societies you’re learning about? How was it different?
2. All three speakers in this video argue that the history and memory of Chaco Canyon remains important to Pueblo communities in the present. Can you think of other histories or historical sites that have similar importance for people today in other parts of the world?

The Han Dynasty’s management of the Silk Road helped link together smaller regional networks and support trade across Asia. But when the Han Dynasty fell, the Silk Road did not collapse. Many of the traders at the time came from Central Asia and operated in smaller circuits, and other empires stepped in to provide stability until the Tang Dynasty, when Chinese imperial power recovered and a golden age was launched.

In watching this video, you will explore how the fall of empires may (or may not) have greatly impacted the vast networks linking different routes on the Silk Road. This video will provide you regional evidence to evaluate the networks frame. It will also help you answer the question posed in the Era 4 Problem: “How do human systems restructure themselves after political, environmental, or demographic catastrophe?” Remember to look for how the collapse of political communities affected or did not affect trade networks.

Preview – Skimming for Gist

As a reminder, open and skim the transcript, and read the questions before you watch the video.

Key Ideas—Understanding Content

Think about the following questions as you watch this video:

1. The term Silk Road is commonly used. Why does this video argue that the name is somewhat misleading?
2. What were some of the commonly traded items on the Silk Road?
3. How did the Han Dynasty “manage” the Silk Road? What were the economic impacts of this management?
4. What was the impact of the fall of the Han Dynasty on the Silk Road?
5. What is the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative and how does it relate to the Tang “golden age”?

Evaluating and Corroborating

1. The video says that the Tang Dynasty created a golden age across the Silk Road, starting in 626 CE. But the Tang Dynasty gained power in 618 CE. What’s going on here? What does this suggest about the effects of collapse and recovery on large networks?
2. This video focuses on how the collapse and rise of political communities can affect networks. What are some ways that the expansion or contraction of networks might affect production and distribution? Think about the ancient Silk Road as well as modern China’s Belt and Road Initiative.

The demand for Chinese silk in the Roman Empire drove its trade between China, India, and many places in between. Using camels on land and ships on water, traders traveled along the Silk Road exchanging valuable items like silk, but things like disease and ideas, as well. These connections between communities and expanded regional networks had a huge cultural impact on societies across Asia and Europe.

The story of the Silk Road in Era 4 is central to any history of restructuring and recovery following the collapse of China’s Han Dynasty and later the Roman Empire. This article provides background on the Silk Road that is further developed, for this era, in the Silk Road video. The evidence from this article will help you evaluate the production and distribution and network frames narratives.

Preview—Skimming for Gist

Fill out the Skimming for Gist section of the Three Close Reads worksheet as you complete your first close read. As a reminder, this should be a quick process!

Key Ideas—Understanding Content

For this reading, you should be looking for unfamiliar vocabulary words, the major claim and key supporting details, and analysis and evidence. By the end of the second close read, you should be able to answer the following questions:

1. How did the growth of imperial power expand trade, according to the author?
2. What were the Pax Sinica and Pax Romana, and how did they impact trade?
3. Why were camels the best way for traders to move their goods on land?
4. What was the role of women in silk production, and why is that role significant?
5. According to the author, what were some things the Silk Road spread without even trying?

Evaluating and Corroborating

At the end of the third close read, respond to the following question:

1. What would you expect to happen along the Silk Road during a period in which the Roman Empire, and then the Han Dynasty, collapsed? What evidence would show whether this was, in fact, happening?

In this simulation, you will learn how the Silk Roads connected Afro-Eurasian societies through the exchange of goods. The Silk Roads represented one of the first steps toward globalization, economically and culturally tying together communities from different continents and regions. By actively participating as merchants in the Silk Roads simulation, you will witness firsthand how goods and services were moved across regions and discover why individuals took financial and personal risks in order to make a profit. You will also discover how the Silk Roads affected communities, production and distribution of luxury goods, and led to an increase in networks of exchange across Afro-Eurasia.

In this activity, you will take part in three rounds of a simulation that should help you better understand the Silk Road and the impact it had on the communities of Afro-Eurasia.

You are going to act like merchants on the Silk Road. Over the course of three rounds, you will engage in trade with different regions to get a better sense of what it was like to be a part of this new, global system. The ultimate goal is for you to try to collect the most technologies, beliefs, and goods that originated outside of your home region.

Before you are assigned a region or goods to trade, your teacher will give you a quick overview of the trading zones and regions that will be involved in the simulation, as well as a preview of the different types of goods that each region has. Make sure to pay attention to this part—you will eventually be trying to trade for goods that other regions have so it’s good to preview what you might be trying to trade for. Once you’ve previewed, get into your regional groups.

Round 1–Within Group Trading

Read Regional Guide Card #1 in your small groups, and take a few minutes to trade. While you can’t collect anything from outside your home region for this round, you should be thinking about diversifying what you have so your basic needs are met. After a few minutes of trading, discuss the questions on Regional Guide Card #1. Then, discuss the following questions with your whole class:

1. Do you have everything you need to survive?
2. Do you have “extras” or luxury goods?

Round 2—Within Group and Next-Door Group Trading

Now, you can trade within your group and with the other group in your trade zone. You are not allowed to trade with groups outside of your trade zone. Your teacher will give you about five minutes for this round of trading. Don’t forget to try to get rid of your disease card, if you have one. Once you’re done trading, your teacher will hand out Regional Guide Card #2 to you. Read the contents and discuss the questions with your regional group. Then, discuss the following questions with your class:

1. Do you have everything you need to survive?
2. Do you have “extras” or luxury goods?
3. Was the trading difficult? Did you have trouble with communication?
4. Was it expensive or cheap? Have you been trading one for one, or trying to work out better deals?
5. Did you encounter new challenges?
6. What new things did you learn about your world?

Round 3—Multi-Regional Trade Using Intermediaries

For this round, trade has expanded and you can now trade with regions that are further away, but you cannot leave your own trade zone and will have to use intermediaries to help you trade (for example, the next-door groups can help with groups that are farther away). It was rare for any merchant to travel the entire Silk Road. Take about five minutes to trade. Once time is up, return to your home region and separate your cards on the table. Count the number of items on your table that did not originate from your home region and write down this number. Then, your teacher will give you Regional Guide Card #3. Take a few minutes to adjust your totals based on the directions in the card and also to answer the questions on the card. Then, discuss the following questions with your class:

1. Do you have what you need to survive?
2. Do you have “extras” or luxury goods?
3. Was it difficult? Did you have trouble with communication?
4. Were the goods cheap or expensive?
5. Did you encounter new challenges?
6. How did empires both help and hinder trading?
7. What new things did you learn about your world?

Wrapping Up

Now that the simulation is done, it’s time to share your final point totals to see how everyone fared. You’ll wrap up one of two ways: Either you’ll answer these questions in class or your teacher will have you answer them for homework:

• What is the purpose of passing the disease cards with each exchange?
• How would religions and beliefs actually have been transferred between the regions?
• How did the Silk Road impact communities at this time in history?
• How did the Silk Road impact production and distribution at this time in history?
• How did the Silk Road impact networks at this time in history?

In this activity, you’ll learn how to identify, categorize, and evaluate changes and continuities. By focusing on the changes and continuities that took place from one era to the next, you’ll further develop this historical thinking practice by applying your historical knowledge to formulate thesis statements for two CCOT prompts.

Comparison, causation, contextualization, writing
As with the other CCOT activities that you’ve encountered, this historical thinking skill combines elements of comparison, contextualization, and causation. You’ll compare events and processes that took place from Era 3: Cities, Societies, and Empires to Era 4: Regional Webs (c. 6000 BCE to c. 1500 CE); you’ll flesh out the context of this period; and you’ll begin to consider what caused these changes to take place. In addition, you’ll be writing thesis statements in response to two CCOT prompts.

By now, you should be familiar with the CCOT Tool (included in the worksheet) and practice. Your teacher will start by either handing out or asking you to download the CCOT – Empires to Regional Webs worksheet and breaking the class into small groups of three to four students. Once you’re in groups, follow the directions on the tool and start by adding the timeframe. Then, identify the continuities and changes that took place from Era 3: Cities, Societies, and Empires to Era 4: Regional Webs (c. 6000 BCE to c. 1500 CE). Remember that you can use any of the articles and videos from these units to help you identify continuities and changes—the Eras 3 and 4 overview articles are a good place to start!

Once your group has identified the continuities and changes, write these on sticky notes (one change or continuity per note). Then, decide if the continuities and changes you identified are positive or negative and place them on the graph in the tool.

Next, your group will join up with another group to share your continuities and changes and reasons for their positions on the graph. Members of each group are allowed to reposition the other group’s sticky notes as long as they justify their reasoning.

Then, return to your original group to complete the remaining questions on the tool. Be prepared to share your most significant continuity and change. Remember that you can use the acronym ADE to determine historical significance. Consider if most people’s lives were affected by these changes and continuities (amount); if people living in this time period were deeply affected by these changes and continuities (depth); or if these changes and continuities were long lasting (endurance).

After your group has completed the tool, work together to craft thesis statements in response to the following CCOT prompts:

• To what extent were the changes that occurred from c. 6000 BCE to c. 1500 CE positive?
• To what extent were the continuities that occurred from c. 6000 BCE to c. 1500 CE positive?

Write your thesis statements on a large piece of paper and post your paper on the board. Then, you’ll walk around the classroom and read other groups’ thesis statements. You’ll write at least two comments on the thesis statements of at least three other groups in the class. One comment should be a suggestion for how to improve the thesis statement and the second comment should be a counterclaim, or an argument against the thesis statement.

Finally, you’ll write down the thesis statement that you think best answered or addressed one of the prompts. Note that it cannot be your own group’s thesis statement. Then provide a one- to two-sentence explanation for why you believe the thesis statement you chose best answers the prompt. Hand this in as an exit ticket so your teacher can assess your understanding of CCOT and the content addressed in this activity.