MAP

MAP

MapMaker: Early U.S. Cultural Landscapes

MapMaker: Early U.S. Cultural Landscapes

What can we learn about people from their food? From the names they give places?

Grades

4 - 12

Subjects

Anthropology, Human History and Cultures, Geography, History, Social Studies



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Learning materials

Instructional Links

In the early United States, Indigenous, European and African cultures traded ideas and words. The traditional foods and the modern place names in some of these regions provide clues about the people and cultures that came before.

In this activity, students will use maps to investigate the cultural heritage of four different borderland locations in the United States: Santa Fe, New Mexico; Albany, New York; New Orleans, Louisiana and Charleston, South Carolina. By learning more about the foods and place names, students can trace the cultural heritage of these unique American locations.


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Producer
Bayan Atari, National Geographic Society
Project Coordination
Dan Byerly, National Geographic Society

Curriculum Content Team

Anita Palmer - National Geographic Explorer, Project Leader and GIS Education Specialist

Barbaree Duke - Project Leader and GIS Education Specialist

Chris Bunin - National Geographic Explorer, Subject Matter Expert and GIS Lead Designer

Peter Trentacoste - Subject Matter Expert and GIS Designer

Georgeanne Hribar - GIS Designer and Reviewer

Tama Nunnelley - GIS Designer and Reviewer

Judith Painter - GIS Designer and Reviewer

Ashley Melville - Social Studies Program Specialist, Georgia

Last Updated

July 9, 2026

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