In the time period directly following the conquest of the Americas by the Spaniards, beginning in 1519, the indigenous populations were drastically reduced by disease, violence and forced relocation and labour. As many as 85% of the indigenous peoples may have died from these and related causes. Not only was there a human toll, but also a radical, imposed change in traditional ways of life, which had immeasurable ramifications for native cultures. For example, the Spanish conquerors viewed the religious practices of the indigenous societies as ungodly and burned many of their records, including the Inka quipus and the Maya and Aztec books made of fig bark, known as codices.

Today, the descendants of the people who built the sophisticated, complex civilizations of the ancient Americas live and work in their homelands, like the weavers pictured (right) from the southern highland village of Aacha Alta in Peru. They communicate with the world over the Internet yet also live in direct contact with the beliefs and understanding of the world that guided the lives of their ancestors.

Classroom Activities and Projects (recommended ages are in italics and are approximate)

1. 9 -14 ญญ: Make a textile in the traditional indigenous American style with a backstrap belt loom: In Mexico, Central and South America, children learn to weave on these narrow looms, which work on the same principle as the backstrap looms that have been used for making textiles since ancient times. INSTRUCTIONS

2. 6 -12: Make a vessel in the traditional indigenous American style: following the descriptions in the Learn How section of CLOTH & CLAY, students can try building a pot by coiling and hand forming, and decorating it by incising, scraping and attaching pieces with slip. .If an air-drying material such as paperclay is used the dry vessels can then be painted.

3. 8 - 12ญญ: Combine CLOTH & CLAY in one piece: students can make clay beads, paint them when they are dry, and thread them on string, yarn or braid to make a CLOTH & CLAY necklace. Other ways to mix the two materials in one artifact: 1) roll clay out into a tile form and press different textured cloths (burlap, damask) on top to leave impressions; 2) make small figures and "dress" them by attaching pieces of clay with slip.

4. 10 - 16ญญ: Imagine you are living somewhere in the Americas in the present day and a group of people (where are they from?) appear and begin to take over your culture. They claim to come from a society that is superior to yours and therefore intend to transform your society to one just like theirs. You are suspicious though; they seem to place a high value on certain of your possessions and natural resources and ignore others that you believe to be valuable. Write a story based on this scenario, basing it on research into European colonization of the Americas.