Ancient History

Social Studies Practices

Human Origins and Early Civilizations: Prehistory to 1000 BC: Students will examine the emergence of early civilizations and the social, geographic, and cultural aspects of ancient civilizations.

Early Civilizations and the Rise of Religious Traditions: 1000 BC-500 AD: Students will examine various early civilizations in terms of chronology, geography, social structures, government, economy, religion, and contributions to later civilizations.

The Classical Civilizations of Greece and Rome: 1000-500 BC: Students will examine Greece and Rome during the classical period in terms of chronology, geography, social structures, government, economy, religion, and contributions to society.

Post-Classical Civilizations: 300-1000 AD: Students will examine post-classical civilizations, including the Byzantine Empire, the Gupta Empire, and Islamic civilizations during the Early Middle Ages, and their impact on Western civilization.

Regional Interactions: 1000-1500 AD: Students will examine civilizations and empires of this time period, including interactions through regional trade patterns, social, economic, and political changes, cultural achievements, and developments that impacted each region.

Collect data and information from a variety of primary and secondary sources, including:

Critically examine a primary or secondary source in order to:

Synthesize data from a variety of sources in order to:

Construct and communicate arguments by citing supporting evidence to:

Develop historical awareness by:

Develop geographic awareness by:

Explain the human-environment interaction within hunter-gatherer societies.

List characteristics typical of hunter-gatherer societies, including their use of tools and fire.

Describe how the domestication of plants and animals gave rise to stable communities.

Explain how archaeology and new technologies (e.g., 3D imaging and dating tools) inform our understanding of the past.

Identify and locate on a map early civilizations (e.g., China, Egypt, Indus-Sarasvathi River Valley, Mesopotamia), and explain why civilizations arose in those places.

Compare and contrast the rise of early civilizations (e.g., China, Egypt, Indus-Sarasvathi River Valley, Mesopotamia) in terms of social, political, and economic development.

Describe the origins and central features of Hinduism and its distinctions from other early religious traditions:

Describe the origins and central features of Judaism and its distinctions from other early religious traditions:

Describe the diffusion of Judaism, and analyze its religious, social, and legal contributions.

Describe the origins and central features of Zoroastrianism:

Describe the characteristics of early civilizations in Persia, including the impact of Zoroastrianism.

Describe the characteristics of early American civilizations, with emphasis on the Olmecs and Nazcas, in terms of geography, society, economy, and religion.

Describe the origins and central features of Shintoism:

Describe the origins and central features of Buddhism

Describe the characteristics of early civilizations in Japan, with emphasis on the impact of Shinto and Buddhist traditions and the influence of Chinese culture.

Describe the characteristics of early civilizations in China, with emphasis on the development of an empire, the construction of the Great Wall, and the Han Dynasty.

Compare and contrast the impact of eastern religions (e.g., Confucianism, Taoism) on cultural traditions and social relationships.

Describe the characteristics of early civilizations in India, with emphasis on the Aryan migrations and the caste system.

Describe the geographic, social, economic, and religious characteristics of the ancient African civilization of Axum, including its replacing Kush.

Analyze the role geography played in the rise of Greek city-states, including their political and economic interactions.

Describe early Greek society, with an emphasis on social classes, cultural traditions, and religious beliefs.

Compare and contrast the city-states of Athens and Sparta, explaining social structures, the significance of citizenship, and rise of early democracy.

Evaluate the significance of the Persian and Peloponnesian Wars.

Explain the conquest of Greece by Macedonia and the formation and spread of Hellenistic culture by Alexander the Great.

Identify the significant developments and contributions of Greece to the following:

Analyze the role and influence of geography on Roman economic, social, and political development.

Explain the social and political structures of the Roman Republic, including enslavement, the significance of citizenship, and the development of democratic features in government.

Explain the spread of Roman culture and the rise of Roman military, and the impact of conquests on political affairs, the economy, and social structures, including the Pax Romana.

Assess the roles of Julius and Augustus Caesar in the collapse of the Roman Republic and the rise of imperial monarchs.

Describe the origins, central features, and diffusion of Christianity:

Explain the development and significance of the Christian Church in the late Roman Empire.

Identify the significant developments and contributions of Rome to the following:

Analyze the fall of the Western Roman Empire, including difficulty governing its large territory, political corruption, economic instability, and attacks by Germanic tribes, and identify the continuation of the Eastern Roman Empire as the Byzantine Empire.

Explain the reasons for establishing Constantinople as the capital of the Roman Empire (i.e., the Byzantine Empire) in the East.

Describe the contributions of Justinian (e.g., the codification of Roman law) and the economic and political expansion of the Byzantine Empire.

Compare and contrast Byzantine art and architecture with previous Greek and Roman traditions.

Explain disputes that led to the split between the Roman Catholic Church and the Greek Orthodox Church.

Analyze the Golden Age of India under the Gupta Empire.

Describe the origins, central features, and diffusion of Islam:

Analyze the role geography played in the economic, social, and political development of Islamic civilizations.

Identify historical turning points that affected the diffusion and influence of Islam, with emphasis on the Sunni-Shi’a division and Battle of Tours.

Describe cultural and scientific contributions and achievements of Islamic civilizations.

Explain how the diffusion of Christianity throughout Europe influenced its development after the decline of the Roman Empire.

Explain the structure of feudal society and its economic, social, and political effects.

Explain the rise of Frankish kings, the Age of Charlemagne, and the revival of the idea of the Roman Empire.

Examine the invasions, settlements, and patterns of interaction of migratory groups, including Angles, Saxons, Magyars, and Vikings.

Describe the characteristics of civilizations in the Americas, with emphasis on the Incans, in terms of geography, society, economy, and religion.

Describe the characteristics of civilizations in the Americas, with emphasis on the Maya, in terms of geography, society, economy, and religion.

Describe the characteristics of the continuation of civilizations in Africa, with emphasis on Axum, Ghana, and Mali, in terms of geography, society, economy/trade, and religion.

Describe the development of monarchies (e.g., England, France, Russia, and Spain) as foundations for the later emergence of nation-states.

Analyze the causes, experiences, and consequences of the Crusades during the medieval period.

Explain later conflicts in the Eurasian region, with emphasis on the Mongol conquests, the Hundred Years War, and the fall of Constantinople.

Identify patterns of crisis and recovery related to the Black Death (i.e., Bubonic Plague).

Describe social, political, and religious developments in the later medieval period (e.g., Magna Carta, decline of feudalism, and church-state conflicts).

Describe how preservation and integration of Greek, Roman, Chinese, and Arabic knowledge influenced developments in Western Europe (e.g., philosophy, medicine, and technology).

Explain the rise of Italian city-states and their political development, including Niccolo Machiavelli’s theory of governing as described in The Prince.

Examine how economic growth in the Italian city-states enabled patronage for the arts.

Describe how Renaissance art, literature, and philosophy (e.g., Petrarch) differed from those in the medieval period.

Compare and contrast the Italian and the Northern Renaissances, citing the contributions of writers and artists.

Describe how economic and technological advances led to networks of trade and cultural interactions between major European civilizations.

Printed materials

Graphic representations

Field observations/Landscape analysis

Artifacts

Media and technology sources

Oral History

Extract, summarize, and paraphrase significant ideas and relevant information

Discern differences between evidence and assertion

Recognize the significance of author’s purpose, point of view, and bias

Draw logical inferences and conclusions

Assess the strengths and limitations of arguments

Establish accuracy and validity by comparing sources to each other

Recognize disparities among multiple accounts

Frame appropriate questions for further investigation

Demonstrate and defend an understanding of ideas

Compare and contrast viewpoints

Illustrate cause and effect

Predict likely outcomes

Devise new outcomes or solutions

Engage in appropriate civic discourse

Recognizing how and why historical accounts change over time

Perceiving and presenting past events and issues as they might have been experienced by the people of the time, with historical empathy vs. present- mindedness

Evaluating how unique circumstances of time and place create context and contribute to action and reaction

Identifying patterns of continuity and change over time, making connections to the present

Analyzing and determining the use of diverse types of maps based on the origin, authority, structure, context, and validity

Using the geographic perspective to analyze relationships, patterns, and diffusion across space at multiple scales

Analyzing locations, conditions, and connections of places and using maps to investigate spatial associations among phenomena

Examining how geographers use regions and how perceptions of regions are fluid across time and space

Analyzing interaction between humans and the physical environment

Key Person(s): origins in Aryan traditions

Sacred Texts: The Vedas

Basic Beliefs: dharma, karma, reincarnation, and moksha

Key Person(s): Abraham, Moses

Sacred Texts: The Tanakh (i.e., Hebrew Bible, including the Torah)

Basic Beliefs: monotheism, Ten Commandments, emphasis on individual worth and personal responsibility

Key Person(s): Zoroaster

Sacred Texts: the Avesta

Basic Beliefs: monotheism, dualism, and humanity

Key Person(s): No singular founder

Sacred Texts: No sacred text

Basic Beliefs: localized tradition that focuses on ritual practices that are carried out with discipline to maintain connections with ancient past; animism

Key Person(s): Siddhartha Gautama (Buddha)

Sacred Texts: Tripitaka

Basic Beliefs: Four Noble Truths, Eightfold Path, Nirvana

Architecture

Art/Drama

History

Language

Law

Literature/Poetry

Medicine

Philosophy

Religious Institutions

Science

Technology

Key Person(s): Jesus, Paul

Sacred Texts: The Bible

Basic Beliefs: Triune monotheism, sin and forgiveness, eternal life, Jesus as the Messiah

Architecture

Art/Drama

History

Language

Law

Literature/Poetry

Medicine

Philosophy

Religious Institutions

Science

Technology

Key Person(s): Mohammad

Sacred Texts: The Quran and The Sunnah

Basic Beliefs: monotheism, Five Pillars