Ancient Civilizations

Professor Robert Winston meets Lucy, the first upright ape, and follows her ancestors on the three-million-year journey to civilization. Broadcast in 2003, Walking with Cavemen combined special effects with the latest scientific theories, to show us what it really means to be human.

The Neanderthal people were believed to have died out about 35,000 years ago, at a time when modern humans were advancing across the continent. The new evidence suggests they held on in Europe's deep south long after the arrival of Homo sapiens.

Find out about early man.

Find out about prehistoric humans

Timeline of who's who of early man-- indicates development of early man

This multimedia presentation designed by 6th graders  is one of many ways that students demonstrate their knowledge of their specific civilization. Includes culture, daily life, geography, government, industry, and social levels.

Mesopotamia, an ancient Greek term meaning "the land between rivers," is considered to be the cradle of civilization because this is where we find the origins of agriculture, written language, and cities.Chosen from the Mesopotamian collection of the Oriental Institute Museum of the University of Chicago, this website tells the story of ancient Mesopotamia now present-day Iraq

Here you will learn about women's lives in Mesopotamia. During this time, women did not have the same rights as men. Over time, women's positions and rights changed. Women with high status, like members of the royal families, could learn to read and write. Lean more about women in ancient world history by visiting this informative website.

This web site provides a map of ancient Mesopotamia. Did you know that Mesopotamia is modern day Iraq? Do you know what the word "Mesopotamia" means? It is a Greek word that means "two rivers." Can you locate the Tigris River and the Euphrates River on the map? This map is brought to you by the University of Chicago. You can easily copy the map onto a new document and print it for future reference.

A written language was developed in Mesopotamia. The language began as a picture language. Using reeds, pictures were written on small clay tablets. The Mesopotamians wrote on the clay tablets while the clay was still wet. Then, when the clay dried, they had a written record. The word "cuneiform" comes from two Latin words, "cuneus" which means "wedge" and "forma" which means "shape." This language was similar to Egyptian hieroglyphics. Log onto this web site and learn more about cuneiform.

Although archeologists have not been able to answer all the questions about the relationships of the very Indus river valley civilization, some things are known through the study of artifacts found in this area. For example, the same size bricks were used in the cities of Harappa, Mohenjo Daro, and Dholavira are the same. Also, items produced in Harappa have been found in Mesopotamia. What does this information reveal? There are several links to more information about this ancient civilization.

Timeline of historical events in Mesopotamis

Learn what happens when a society collapses and how archaeologists find and interpret evidence.

Learn about Ancient Sumer as presented by students

Learn about Sumer, Babylon, Assyria and Persia

During the ancient times, the people of Mesopotamia lived under the rule of the Babylonian king, Hammurabi.  Hammurabi created his code of laws, which consists of 282 laws, in the year 1750 BC.  Find out more about these early laws.

Discover Ancient Egypt at History for Kids, a great source of information about the culture of Ancient Egypt. You'll find a detailed history accompanied by an interactive timeline, and articles about Egypt's geographical features, religion, clothing, food, writing, games, art, and architecture. Numerous photographs and links to supplemental articles are scattered throughout the text.

Prepare a mummy for burial,  find images on a tomb, learn about ancient Egyptian artwork, and view a timeline.

Artifacts from more than 4000 years ago can tell us much about the people and life in ancient Egypt. The collection from the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago allows you to explore by theme. For each theme, there is an artifact and an explanation that tell important details. Themes include daily life, farming, the land, famous pharaohs, writing, religion, burial customs, warfare, and art. For each artifact, you will also find the date it was created.

Discover what mummies are, how they were made and who they were while viewing this web site.

What was it like to live in Ancient Egypt?

Learn about Ancient Egyptian life, geography, gods and goddesses, mummification, the pyramids, trades, writings and more.

Egypt Secrets of the Ancient World explores many of the different pyramids in Egypt providing background information about each of them.

PBS web site about Ancient Egypt

Learn about life in the Indus River Valley thousands of years ago from this site created by sixth graders. The two greatest civilizations of Ancient India are described at this virtual museum. Find out about their culture, including the Great Baths, arranged marriages, and their main religions. Their daily life and plumbing systems are described. The government and the industry of the Indus Valley people are explained. Social levels of the people are also described.

Information from Kidipede includes Indian History with timeline, Indian Environment with maps, Indian Religion, Indian Clothing, Indian Games, Indian Literature, Indian Food, Indian People, Indian Art, Indian Science, and Indian Architectue.        

The Indus civilization is examined at this web site. The main page contains a menu with five links. They include more details on the geography and origins of the people, the cultural elements including a timeline of their development and a third section on their arts, technology and trade practices. 

Vedas are the ancient most books of India. They are four in number called Rigveda, Yajurveda, Samaveda and Atharvaveda.

The China Museum focuses on the Shang Dynasty (1700- 1027 B.C.) in this site created by sixth graders. Includes information  about culture, daily life, geography, government, industry, and social levels.

Crafts and artisans, geography,time, tombs and ancestors, and writings.

A general name for the ancient strategic transportation channel which started from China and passed through Central Asia, West Asia, Africa and Europe.

Explains the symbols used on Chinese robs and why they are valued

Photos of the warriors taken in 2002

Ancient Greece for kids

The Greek world, Growing up in Greece, Athens, The Olympic Games Greeks at war, Home life, Gods and heroes, Sparta, Arts and theatre, Sea and ships

Background information about the Acropolis and the Parthenon

Learn about gladiators, the army and Roman life

Find out about some of the history surrounding the Colosseum

Enactment of gladiators fighting at the Colosseum and their history

From the website Kids Past learn all about the ancient Romans.

Water supply to the city

Leran about the three Punic Wars

Cortes and how the conquistadors contributed to the fall of the Aztec Empire

An overview of who the Aztecs were and their way of life

Site created by an elementary school about the Aztecs

A web site with all types of information about the Incas created for students and teachers.

Information about the Mayan calendar and includes a calculator to convert current date to Mayan date.

Learn about how the writings of the Mayans were deciphered

Interactive activity to learn about the Mayans

Mayan legends and stories

PBS Nova site