1. Tools to Organize and Analyze the Past –
Unit 1 – Lesson 9
Tools to Organize and Analyze the Past –
Space
(Spatial Scale)

2. When something happened Being worthy of a historian’s attention
Historian Tools
Significance
Social
Institutions
Time
(Temporal Frame)
Space
(Spatial Scale)
When something happened
Being worthy of a historian’s attention
Education
Religion
Government
Family
Economy
Language
Where something happened
How and why do historians organize their accounts by space, or location?

3. What challenges do historians face in using maps created in the present
to study the past?

4. What challenges do historians face in using old maps to study the past?

7. In the past the sea levels were much lower than today
In the past the sea levels were much lower than today. The features in light blue were once above sea level.

8. In the past the sea levels were much lower than today
In the past the sea levels were much lower than today. The features in light blue were once above sea level.
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9. Map 3: The Rivers of Africa
Map 1: Afroeurasia
Map 3: The Rivers of Africa
Map 2: Medieval Europe

10. ACTIVITY

11. Are any of the three maps more correct than the others? Explain.
DISCUSSION
Which map(s) might a historian use to understand ancient trade routes in Africa? Explain your reasoning.
What are some problems that historians might find if they were using Map 2 to understand ancient trade routes in Africa?
 What are some problems that historians might find if they were using Map 1 to understand ancient trade routes in Africa?
 If you were interested in understanding how early humans spread across the earth, which map might help you the most? Why?
Are any of the three maps more correct than the others? Explain.

12. ACTIVITY

13. Afroeurasian Trades Routes in the 14th Century

14. https://www. google. com/search

15. Lesson Summary
Four tools that historians use to organize information include significance, social institutions, time, and space.
Historians and geographers use different spatial scales or “containers” to organize their investigations of human activities.
Different sizes of spatial scales or “containers” allow us to compare events and analyze how they connect to each other and to the environment.
Studying ancient history using modern maps and names are often inaccurate ways of looking into the past.