This hybrid institute, offered in collaboration with Harvard’s Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, will provide opportunities for teachers to deepen their knowledge of the early complex societies of South America, Central America, Mexico and the Caribbean.  Through exploration of the museum’s Ancient Americas galleries, presentations by scholars, and workshops with expert teacher-practitioners, this short program will provide an introduction to key themes for teaching the region’s early history, geography and culture. We’ll be encountering the remarkable artwork of the Olmec, the cosmology of Teotihuacan, the innovations of the Maya in architecture and writing, the seagoing practices of the Taíno, and much more. The middle day of the program will involve online coursework, delving into the rich digital resources available for these topics.

**This program aligns with the 6.T5 Unit from the forthcoming DESE open source curriculum**