1. ANCIENT HISTORY

7. 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.

8. 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.

9. 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.

10. 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

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

12. 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

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

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

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

17. America

18. Europe and
the Mediterranean

19. Mesopotamia

20. Central and
Southwest Asia

21. Saharan and
Sub-Saharan
Africa

22. East Asia

23. Printing Press

24. Dead Sea Scrolls