You read in A People and a Nation about the English arrival in the Chesapeake (what will become the Southern Colonies.)  You also read about the founding of the first settlement: Jamestown. 

These readings/links will help you understand who first settled in Jamestown and why present-day historians and archaeologists face challenges in learning more about the location.

1.  Read this list of the original settlers.  What do you note about what types of people came to Jamestown?  What kind of work did they do?  If you were settling in Jamestown, which occupations would you prefer to have along with you?

2.  Brief history of Jamestown (optional; read here and/or in P&N to get a sense of the very first English settlement.)

3.  Read this link to get a sense of how excavating Jamestown to learn about its history has been quite challenging, then click on one of the links here (opening up a new page) to read about one of the locations they're working on.

4.  Read this account of early Jamestown: “The Starving Time”: John Smith Recounts the Early History of Jamestown, 1609