Fish for Cotton: A Journey Up the Supe Valley

Follow a described map and an imagined trip from the coast to Caral to link surplus to jobs, classes and trade.

The map card

Read the map card. Then answer the questions.

Map card: the Supe River valley, Peru, about 2500 BCE
• The Pacific Ocean lies along the west edge of the map. Its cold coastal waters are full of small fish such as anchovies and sardines.
• Áspero, a fishing town, sits on the shore near the mouth of the Supe River.
• The Supe River starts in the Andes Mountains, at the east edge of the map, and flows southwest down to the ocean.
• A narrow strip of farm fields, watered by canals from the river, lines both banks. Beyond the strip on each side rise bare desert hills, where almost no rain falls.
• Caral sits on a dry, rocky terrace at the edge of the valley, about 14 miles up the river from Áspero.
• Rain and snow fall high in the Andes. That water feeds the river all the way to the sea.

A traveler walks from Áspero to Caral. Which description of the trip fits the map card?

A. Northeast up the valley, with the river's current
B. Northeast up the valley, against the river's current
C. Southwest along the shore, with the river's current
D. East across the desert hills, far from the river

Why were the farm fields of the Supe valley only a narrow strip?

A. Crops grew only as far as canals could carry river water.
B. Fishers from Áspero claimed the land farther from the river.
C. Cold ocean winds froze crops planted far from the river.
D. Heavy rains washed away fields on the hillsides each year.

Caral's builders put the city on a dry, rocky terrace instead of on the valley floor. What is the most likely reason?

A. To keep the watered land free for crops
B. To hide the city from traders on the coast
C. To be closer to the fish in the ocean
D. To catch more rain on the high ground

The journey

Read the journey. The trip is imagined, and the name Tani is made up, because no one knows the language people spoke at Caral. The places, crops and finds come from archaeology. Then answer the questions.

Up the Valley to Caral, About 2500 BCE

1Before dawn in Áspero, Tani and her uncle tie baskets of dried anchovies onto their backs. This month the boats brought in more fish than the town could eat, so families spread the extra on the beach to dry in the sun. The fishers' nets are knotted from cotton string, and dried gourds keep the nets afloat. Tani's family grows no cotton, and their old nets are wearing thin.

2The path follows the river inland. Within an hour, the hills on both sides are bare and brown, yet the riverbanks are green. Farmers lead water through canals to fields of cotton, squash, beans, gourds and guava trees. One farm family has stacked far more cotton than its members could ever spin into cloth. Tani's uncle trades a basket of anchovies for a large bundle of cotton string.

3Late in the day they reach Caral, one of the oldest cities in the Americas. Six huge platform mounds of stone rise above the terrace. On the largest one, workers are adding a new layer. They fill bags woven from reeds with stones and lay the bags into the mound. None of these builders spent the day fishing or farming.

4Near the mounds stand large houses with plastered, painted walls, where leaders and their families live. Archaeologists think these leaders ran ceremonies and decided how stored food was shared. At the edges of the city stand many small houses of reed and mud. In one workshop, a craftsman carves a flute from a pelican bone. Tani's uncle trades his last baskets of fish for squash and a finished length of cotton cloth.

5Archaeologists working at Caral have found bones of anchovies and sardines, even though the city is far from the sea. At sites on the coast, they have found fishing nets made of cotton. They have found dozens of flutes carved from pelican and condor bones. People at Caral made no pottery, and no writing from the city has been found.

Circle the sentence from paragraph 1 that best explains why Tani's family needed to trade with the valley.

Before dawn in Áspero, Tani and her uncle tie baskets of dried anchovies onto their backs.This month the boats brought in more fish than the town could eat, so families spread the extra on the beach to dry in the sun.The fishers' nets are knotted from cotton string, and dried gourds keep the nets afloat.Tani's family grows no cotton, and their old nets are wearing thin.

Use the map card and the journey. Sort each good by where its surplus came from.

Dried anchoviesCotton string for netsSquashSardinesGourds used as net floatsGuava

The coast at Áspero	The watered fields of the valley

Draw a line from each find or scene to the change it is the best evidence of.

Anchovy bones found at Caral, far from the sea
Large painted houses near the mounds; small reed houses at the edges
Dozens of flutes carved from bird bones
Mounds built from thousands of stone-filled reed bags

A. Many workers fed while they built instead of farming
B. Social classes: some families had more wealth and power
C. Skilled craft workers who made special objects
D. Trade between the coast and the inland city

Surplus, jobs, classes and trade

Use the map card and the journey to answer.

Which chain of causes best explains how the builders on the mound could spend their days building?

A. Rain fell on the terrace → builders grew their own squash → they built after harvest
B. Builders traded stones for fish → fishers grew cotton → farmers built the mounds
C. Leaders built the mounds → farmers dug canals → fishers caught more anchovies
D. Canals watered fields → farms and boats made extra food → others fed the builders

Archaeologists think Caral's leaders decided how stored food was shared. Why would this most likely give the leaders power over others?

A. Farmers in the valley were not allowed to keep any crops.
B. The leaders caught most of the fish for the whole valley.
C. Builders and craft workers depended on that food to eat.
D. Stored food could be used as stamped coins in the market.

Suppose dry years in the Andes made the Supe River run low for a long time. What would most likely happen at Caral?

A. Fishers at Áspero would stop needing cotton for their nets and floats.
B. Farmers would plant new fields in the desert hills, where rain would water them.
C. Fewer builders and craft workers could be fed, and there would be less to trade.
D. The city would grow faster, since builders would have more free time.

10.

How did trade between Áspero and the Supe valley help both places?

A. The fishers learned to farm cotton and stopped fishing.
B. Each place got a good that it could not easily produce itself.
C. Each place paid the other in coins that could buy anything.
D. The farmers moved to the coast to be near the fish.

11.

Claim: Surpluses from the sea and from the valley's fields made a city like Caral possible. Do you agree? Use at least one detail from the map card and two from the journey or the archaeologists' finds as evidence, and explain how the surplus connects to specialized jobs, social classes or trade.