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De Soto’s expedition through the southeastern United States in 1539–43 was one of the earliest of the early contacts between Europeans and native peoples. Research on the expedition has contributed in no small way to the “quantum leap” in our understanding of the age. In a cluster of related projects that have drawn on an unusual cross-fertilization between historical and archaeological research, a group of scholars in the Southeast is attempting to plot the route that de Soto took, as a way of understanding the “social geography” of the native societies he met. The work on the de Soto expedition offers a revealing snapshot of the growing body of research on the earliest encounters between the civilizations of Europe and the Americas.

Hoping to find the riches that other Spanish explorers had discovered in Central and South America, de Soto landed in May 1539 near Tampa Bay, Fla., with about 600 men, a few hundred horses, packs of dogs, and a large herd of pigs. The army set out north and west through Florida.

The combination of good sailing and lousy farming tends to make Greeks try to get a living from the sea.

There are several active volcanoes, and earthquakes are also very common. There is a nervous feeling that there could be a natural disaster at any time. This got the Greeks interested in a particular kind of religion which we call oracles. Oracles are the gods speaking to people, often in the form of minor earthquakes, and the gods tell the people what is going to happen in the future.

There used to be quite a lot of trees on the hillsides of Greece, but people cut most of them down, and now the hills of Greece are mostly bare, or have little bushes on them.

The ancient Greeks developed new ideas for government, science, philosophy, religion, and art.

The influence of the Ancient Greeks are still felt by us today. The major impact in our lives today are in the arts, in philosophy, and in science, math, literature and politics. Trial by Jury Greek Myths Democracy The word 'democracy' is Greek. It means 'government by the people. We have a form of democracy in Britain, and this is a legacy of the Athenians and their assemblies and councils. Tragedy and Comedy

he first two letters of the Greek alphabet - alpha and beta - have given us the word 'alphabet'.

had been isolated from each other for 10,000 years.

the human inhabitants of the “old” and “new” worlds developed vastly different cultures, languages, and religions; they found different ways of adapting to their different envinronments; and their bodies over hundreds of generations became resistant to the diseases of their different worlds. When the two great land masses were rejoined by European exploration, the resulting exchange of people, crops, animals, ideas, and diseases — called the “Columbian exchange” — changed both worlds forever.

Within a hundred years this small European nation had claimed the better part of two continents

And that's what people have to do, too--make sure they don't beat themselves.

So many times you have fond here at the University people who were smarter than you. I found them all the way through college and in football: bigger, faster, harder.  They were smarter people than I.  But you know what they couldn't do?  They couldn't outwork me.  I ran into opposing coaches who had much better backgrounds than I did and knew a lot more about football than I did.  But they couldn't work as long as I did.  They couldn't stick in there as long as I could.  You can outwork anybody.  Try it and you'll find out you can do it.

And in the middle of the Classic Age of Greece, it was important for Greeks to travel and trade.

interest as each citizen grabbed a small stone from a large pile and started dropping it in two separate piles:

Besides the obvious differences in philosophies, there is a very big difference in geography that cause these differences. Ancient Athens was situated somewhat close to the coast; it was only about five miles to the port city of Piraeus (which became part of Athens with the building of the Long Walls), thus it was no more then a few hours of travel from Athens to the coast line, thus greatly increasing the ability to be a trade center. Ancient Sparta however is located at the shortest distance 40 miles from the coast, however the terrain is somewhat rocky and there is no real straight path to the coast line. This would have greatly impeded the ability for Sparta to become a major trading port

Spartan Government Typically classified as an "oligarchy" ( rule by the few), but had elements of monarchy, democracy, and aristocracy Two kings were usually generals who commanded the major Spartan armies. While both were capable military leaders one was usually considered the leader of the army. This was done mainly so that in times of war Sparta would still retain a leader if the other were to die in battle. The most famous example was King Leonidas, who famously was able to hold off the enormous Persian Army at the battle of Thermoplyae.Five overseers (ephors) ran the day-to-day operations of Sparta. These overseers held one year terms and were responsible for the education and conduct of all its citizens (The Essential World History, W. Duiker & J. Spielvogel, Second Edition, 2005, p. 76)Council or Senate (apella) of 28 councilmen. These men had to be over 60 years old and served lifetime terms. They acted as judges and proposed laws to the citizens' assembly.All Spartan males over age 30 could join the Assembly where they could show their support/dissent by shouting.

Athens Government Typically classified as a “limited democracy.” Also considered the “birthplace of democracy.” Athens held the first democratic state, developed in 507 BC.Principally made up of elected officials:Council of 500 made most of the main administrative decisionsThe Assembly was open to all citizens. This body passed laws and made policy decisions.Although many nations throughout time have modeled their governments on the principles of Athenian Democracy, it was not perfect. Only men were able to participate in the democratic assemblies, and this was only 10-20% of the population. Women, children, slaves and foreigners were not allowed to participate