Books: Non-Fiction

Before Columbus: The Americas of 1491

Book — Non-fiction. By Charles C. Mann. 2009. 128 pages.
An illustrated book for young readers based on 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus.

Time Periods: 1492
Themes: Food, Native American
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A well-illustrated companion book for young readers based on 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus, the groundbreaking bestseller by Charles C. Mann.

In this groundbreaking work of science, history, and archaeology, Charles C. Mann radically alters our understanding of the Americas before the arrival of Columbus in 1492.

Contrary to what so many Americans learn in school, the pre-Columbian Indians were not sparsely settled in a pristine wilderness; rather, there were huge numbers of Indians who actively molded and influenced the land around them.

The Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan had running water and immaculately clean streets, and was larger than any contemporary European city. Mexican cultures created corn in a specialized breeding process that it has been called human’s first feat of genetic engineering.

Indeed, Indians were not living lightly on the land but were landscaping and manipulating their world in ways that we are only now beginning to understand. [Publisher’s description.]

ISBN: 9781416949008 | Atheneum Books for Young Readers

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Related Resources
The People vs. Columbus, et al. (Lesson) | Zinn Education Project
Teaching Activities (Free)

The People vs. Columbus, et al.

Teaching Activity. By Bill Bigelow with contributions from members of the Taíno Community. Rethinking Schools. 13 pages.
A trial role play asks students to determine who is responsible for the death of millions of Taínos on the island of Hispaniola in the late 15th century.

Rethinking Columbus: The Next 500 Years (Teaching Guide) | Zinn Education Project: Teaching People's History
Teaching Guides

Rethinking Columbus: The Next 500 Years

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Readings and lessons for grades 5 to 12 about the impact and legacy of the arrival of Columbus in the Americas.

Articles

Christopher Columbus: No Monuments for Murderers

Article. By Bill Bigelow. If We Knew Our History series.
As the debate about taking down statues and monuments grows, we also need to challenge the fundamental structures of ownership, power, and privilege that have given us such a skewed constellation of heroes and holidays.

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If We Knew Our History

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This erasure of huge swaths of humanity is a fundamental feature of the school curriculum, but also of the broader mainstream political discourse. We usually think about the curriculum as what is taught in school. But as important — perhaps more important — is what is not taught, which includes the lives rendered invisible.