ANCIENT HISTORY

Ancient history is history from when human history began until the early Middle Ages or the end of the Roman Empire in about 476 AD. The word "antiquity" usually means ancient history that is before the start of Ancient Greek history in about 776 BC. Ancient Rome also began at about this time.

Finding facts about ancient history is difficult because people wrote less in those times and some of what they did write has been lost. Not many people could read and write in ancient history so people did not write about history then. There were very small numbers of copies made because there was no printing press. What people wrote they wrote by hand. More people could read and write in Ancient Rome than in other places but much of what they wrote is now lost. Historians look at things that were made and used in ancient history to learn more about it.

Primary sources These are things written by people who lived in ancient history. They tell us most of what we know about ancient history. But people in ancient history may have believed different things from each other. They may also be wrong. Some famous people who wrote in ancient history are: Herodotus, Josephus, Livy, Polybius, Suetonius, Tacitus, Thucydides and Sima Qian.

Europe and the Mediterranean Some groups of people in ancient history Europe and the Mediterranean Ancient Greece Ancient Rome Carthage Etruscans Israel (history) Palestine (history) Phoenicia Scythians

Mesopotamia Some groups of people in ancient history Akkad Assyria Babylonia Elam Hittites Kassites Sumer

Central and Southwest Asia Some groups of people in ancient history Central and Southwest Asia Ancient India Ancient Persia Indus Valley civilization Medes (Ancient Iran) Mitanni Urartu

Saharan and Sub-Saharan Africa Some groups of people in ancient history Saharan and Sub-Saharan Africa Ancient Egypt Axumite Kingdom Kush

East Asia Some groups of people in ancient history Ancient China Ancient Japan Ancient Korea Mongols Ancient Turks Huns

America Adena Aztecs Incas Mayans Mississippian people Native America Olmecs Poverty Point Civilization

America

Europe and the Mediterranean

Mesopotamia

Central and Southwest Asia

Saharan and Sub-Saharan Africa

East Asia

Printing Press

Dead Sea Scrolls