How Do We Know About the Past?
The methods historians and archaeologists use to investigate ancient civilisations, including artefacts, ruins, written records, and oral traditions.
Key Questions
- 1What types of evidence do historians use to learn about the ancient past?
- 2How reliable are different types of historical sources?
- 3Why is it difficult to reconstruct history from thousands of years ago?
ACARA Content Descriptions
Suggested Methodologies
Ready to teach this topic?
Generate a complete, classroom-ready active learning mission in seconds.
More in Investigating the Ancient Past
Deep Time: Australia's First Peoples
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have inhabited Australia for over 65,000 years, making theirs the longest continuous civilisation on Earth.
3 methodologies
Periodisation and Historical Thinking
How historians organise and make sense of the past, using timelines, periodisation, cause and effect, and continuity and change.
3 methodologies
Conservation and Preservation
The importance of preserving heritage sites and the ethical issues surrounding the ownership of ancient artefacts.
3 methodologies
Scientific Dating Techniques
An introduction to how science assists history through radiocarbon dating, DNA analysis, and stratigraphic dating.
3 methodologies