Exploring Ancient History on the Web

Using the major search engines to search for ancient history Web sites for the classroom may produce overwhelming results. For example, a search on AltaVista for the phrase "ancient history" will result in a lengthy list of over 37,000 Web pages. A better route may be to begin with a database of educational sites such as Awesome Library at http://www.awesomelibrary.org/. Although the Awesome Library consists of 14,000 sites, each one is carefully reviewed, briefly annotated, organized under classroom subject headings, and searchable by keyword. The Ancient Civilizations section is neatly arranged by culture subtopics, including the Ancient Chinese, Ancient Greeks, and Ancient Mayans. Users can look for the best sites for teachers, kids, teens, parents, librarians, or the community depending on their individual needs. The sites listed below can aid students and teachers in uncovering images, articles, activities, virtual tours, timelines, and downloadable maps to supplement the study of ancient history.

Mr. Donn's Ancient History Page
http://members.aol.com/donnandlee/index.html

This site is an excellent starting point for both teaching and learning about ancient history. Mr. Donn offers units, lesson plans, activities, and resources for the following countries and cultures: Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, Rome, China, India, Africa, the Incas, the Mayans, and the Aztecs. Special sections by Mrs. Donn include "The Life & Times of Early Man," "Daily Life in Ancient Civilizations," "Ancient Roots, Modern Holidays", and "Deep in the Tombs of Egypt." Lin and Don Donn provide links to the units that they have compiled as well as units found at other sites.

Other ancient history sites that discuss several different cultures include:

• Ancient Civilizations: Virtual Museum
  http://www.penncharter.com/Student/index.html
  (China, Canaan, India, Mesopotamia, Maya, and Africa)
• Empires Past
  http://library.advanced.org/16325/indexns.shtml
  (Egypt, Aztec, China, and Rome)
• Exploring World Cultures
  http://eawc.evansville.edu/
  (Near East, India, Egypt, China, Greece, Rome, Early Islam, and Medieval Europe)

A clear presentation of the art, architecture, geography, history, mythology, Olympics, people, and wars of ancient Greece can be found at this site. What's particularly nice about Ancient Greece is that along with a general directory of related sites, the links are organized under each of the main topics. For example, the history links are arranged by various time periods between 6000 BC and 146 BC, and brief descriptions of the Roman wars are followed by related links. The Arts and Architecture section illustrates the three architectural systems developed by the Greeks with links to information on structures designed with each of the styles. In the mythology section, students can click the names on a family tree to find out about the main characteristics of gods and goddesses. The geography section mainly focuses on Athens, Sparta, and Olympia, while the people section is on Aeschylus, Euripides, Sophocles, Alexander the Great, and Archimedes.

Forum Romanum
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Forum/6946/rome.html

The center of Roman society was the Forum Romanum - the Roman Forum. Made by David Camden of Heritage High School in Virginia, this site explores the architecture, mythology, history, daily life, and language of ancient Rome. Students can explore the splendors of Roman architecture through a virtual tour of the Forum Romanum that consists of 80 images of various structures with the histories of the Forum's 22 major buildings. The Dictionary of Mythology section contains a genealogical chart of descendants of the gods as well as a list of meanings of names found in mythology. A thorough chronology of events that shaped the Roman world can be found in the Roman History section, as well as articles discussing the eruption of Vesuvius and the deaths of important historical figures. Students can learn about togas, Roman superstitions, the present-day names of Roman cities, ancient Roman coin exchange, and the major Roman festivals in the Roman Life section. The site also serves as an introduction to the Latin language with a vocabulary lesson, translations of Latin phrases, and links to Latin literary works and their translations available online. Other features of this site include a map of the growth of the Roman Empire, a 25-question online quiz called "How well do you know Romulus?" and an archive of "strange facts" on ancient Rome.

Mysteries of Egypt
http://www.civilization.ca/civil/egypt/egypt_e.html

The Canadian Museum of Civilization offers this site to supplement the film Mysteries of Egypt. The architecture section in the Egyptian Civilization area provides information on ancient tombs, temples, and palaces with five articles on pyramids: "The First Pyramids," "Giza Pyramids," "Pyramid Construction," "The Last Pyramids," and "The Pyramid: Metaphor of the Human Psyche." Also notable is a religion section that has descriptions of 31 Egyptian gods and goddesses as well as articles on kingship, priests, mummification, the soul, and life after death. Other sections in the Egyptian Civilization area cover the geography, government, writing, and sciences of ancient Egypt. A separate section devoted to the pharaoh, Tutankhamun, consists of articles discussing his life and times, his tomb, his treasures, and "The Mummy's Curse." In the VR Gallery, students will find an excellent virtual reality tour of Tutankhamun's tomb as well as two image galleries with links back to information in the Egyptian Civilization area.

Mystery of the Maya
http://www.civilization.ca/civil/maya/mminteng.html

Also from the Canadian Museum of Civilization is this online exhibit created to support the film Mystery of the Maya. Most of the information on ancient Mayan history is in the Maya Civilization area. The links to "backgrounders" lead to illustrated articles on Mayan peoples, geography, languages, cities, society, cosmology, religion, writing, hieroglyphics, mathematics, calendars, and astronomy as well as the Maya today. In addition, there is a glossary of Mayan terms and a timeline with items that link back to the backgrounders and glossary. Apart from the Maya Civilization section, there is an area called "People of the Jaguar" with images of Mayan pottery and brief descriptions of the figures and glyphs that decorate the pottery. The museum provides a guide for using this site in the classroom with objectives, questions for classroom discussion, activities, and research projects.

Xiang Qi - The Art of Chinese Chess
http://library.advanced.org/12255/

Although the Chess Tutorial and GameChat sections may not function properly on this site, it serves as a good introduction to the study of ancient Chinese history, art, and religions. Designed by students Ben Chen, Dan Daly, and Sonny Louie for ThinkQuest, the site is cleverly organized into a library, temple, museum, and schoolhouse. In the library, students can read several Chinese mythological stories, learn about Chinese dynasties from 1994 BCE to 1912 AD, and find out a little about religion in China. For more detailed information on Chinese religions, students can enter the temple where they will find articles on Buddhism, Christianity, Confucianism, Feng Shui, Islam, Martial Arts, Chinese medicine, Syncretization, and Taoism. The museum is a gallery of captioned images divided into a section on crafts, paintings, and sculptures and a section on architecture and landscapes. At the schoolhouse, students can find descriptions of Chinese instruments, a brief article on calligraphy, and a handful of Chinese recipes.