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Listed under:  History  >  Historical periods  >  Ancient history
Video

Ancient Roman Empire

This unit of work is organised around four inquiry questions about life in the ancient city of Pompeii based on the archaeological findings and evidence of the times. The unit includes five animated videos supported by structured inquiry questions and activities.

Online

Ancient China: staff room

This is a rich teacher resource about ancient China. It contains 15 background information sheets; 11 lesson plans for whole-class discussions to introduce particular topics; four inquiry grid worksheets for gathering information; and nine follow-up lesson plans for activities that extend the content. The staff room resource ...

Audio

Radio National: Stand and deliver: public speaking and democracy

Have you ever heard the words 'Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears'? They come from the great orator Mark Antony talking about the death of Caesar in Shakespeare's play 'Julius Caesar'. Listen to this audio interview with classics scholar Dr Kathryn Welch to find out what we can learn from the first public speakers, ...

Interactive

Laptop wrap – critiquing Carter

In this laptop wrap resource students research, describe and evaluate the discovery and excavation of the tomb of Tutankhamun by Howard Carter and his team.

Interactive

Syllabus Bites: Ancient India

This resource is a webpage with information, study guide and resources on the depth study, The Asian world: India, to support the Australian Curriculum in History.

Interactive

Laptop wrap: Conservation of Pompeii and Herculaneum

This resource is a page with a focus on the issues of conservation as relating to Pompeii and Herculaneum with supporting activities and links to resources.

Video

Foreign Correspondent: Mayan heritage

Discover ruins of a lost civilisation of the Maya at Tulum, on the Yucatán Peninsula in south-eastern Mexico. See what has become of the civilisation's cenotes, its ancient water resources, as a Maya descendant speaks of his sadness at what has happened to the land of his forebears.

Online

The development of farming in Ancient Societies

This is a unit of work about the development of technologies in farming from ancient societies to present day. Topics explored include: technology in the ancient world; life in Mesopotamia; agricultural changes in Australia; and timeline of technology used in agriculture. The resource includes: a teacher guide; an extract ...

Interactive

Laptop wrap: Historical investigation

This resource is a page with a focus on conducting historical investigation, focusing on defining a topic, and including supporting activities and links to resources.

Interactive

Ancient Egypt

This is an online interactive resource about ancient Egypt developed by the British Museum. The resource has ten sections: Egyptian life; geography; gods and goddesses; mummification; pharaoh; pyramids; temples; time; trades; and writing. Each section contains three elements: 'Story', 'Explore' and 'Challenge'. The 'Challenge' ...

Video

River Valley Civilisations: Ancient Chinese civilisation

The basin of Huang He, or the Yellow River, is considered the birthplace of Ancient China. What did this ancient civilisation have in common with other ancient civilisations? New advances in science and technology are traits of a civilisation. How did iron smelting revolutionise farming for the ancient Chinese?

Video

River Valley Civilisations: Mesopotamia, the world's first civilisation

Considered the birthplace of human civilisation, Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq, and parts of Kuwait, Turkey and Syria) was situated in the fertile valley between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. What do we know of this ancient civilisation? What characteristics did Mesopotamia have that made it a civilisation?

Video

River Valley Civilisations: The role of the Nile in Ancient Egypt

Like other early civilisations, the rise of Ancient Egypt was dependent on the fertile land around a river. By learning about and adapting to the conditions of the Nile River, ancient Egyptians were able to increase their agricultural productivity to support a large population. Why was this vital for a civilisation to flourish?

Video

Systems of Exchange and Trade

This short (4 minute) video offers an overview of the history of world trade, focusing on the beginnings during the time of agrarian civilisations. The four great civilisations of the Romans, the Kushans, the Parthians and the Han Chinese were the key players, with their development of roads, ports and coin systems. The ...

Interactive

Ages of treasure timeline

This is an illustrated and annotated timeline of the Ancient World, from the Palaeolithic era to the Norman era. The timeline moves through seven distinct eras: Palaeolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic, Bronze Age, Iron Age, Roman, Anglo-Saxon, Viking and Norman. It includes images of the key sites and treasures from Britain's ...

Video

Threshold 7: Agriculture

This is a short video offering an overview of the developments from the end of the Ice Age, to the establishing of farming practices. Increasing knowledge about the environment, combined with increasingly dense human communities, led to increasing competition for resources. This in turn led to practices such as irrigation ...

Video

How did the first humans live?

This 10 minute video in three parts offers an overview of what life was like in the ancient world. Part 1 introduces the Palaeolithic era, marked by the use of stone tools, focusing on Homo Sapiens, and the tools used to study this era - archaeology and anthropology. Part 2 discusses human foraging and the specialist techniques ...

Video

Where and why did the first cities appear?

This 10 minute video in three parts offers an overview of the development of the agrarian civilisations in the ancient world. Part 1 looks at how, as peasant villages spread, farmers developed more productive methods of farming, particularly the use of large animals for ploughing and transport, and irrigation. Part 2 looks ...

Text

Ancient China: geography

This is a rich online resource about the geography of China. It consists of four sections: a Geography section that summarises China's geographical features; a Story section that features myths about Nu Gua, the creator of humans; an Explore section that includes maps of ancient China; and a Challenge section where the ...

Text

Ancient China: crafts and artisans

This is a resource titled Workshop Alley, produced by the British Museum, in which the viewer explores three ancient Chinese workshops making jade, bronze and ceramic objects. Each workshop contains: an introduction to the material being worked; an illustrated description of the processes used; one or two questions and ...