Refine your search

Education Standards

Subject Area

Education Level

Material Type

Conditions of Use

Content Source

Primary User

Media Format

Educational Use

Language

Providers

Open filters Close filters

Search Results (113)

View
Selected filters:
  • Ancient History
10. Japan: An Island Nation
Conditions of Use:
No Strings Attached
10. Japan: An Island Nation
Rating

Japan's location just off the fringe of continental Asia made it an ideal place for its unique culture to develop. The islands are situated close enough to China and Korea to benefit from the cultural and technological innovations of those great civilizations, but far enough removed across perilous seas to resist significant political and military domination from the two powers.

Subject:
Ancient History
Material Type:
Diagram/Illustration
Reading
Provider:
Independence Hall Association
Provider Set:
Ancient Civilizations
Date Added:
12/05/2014
MoreLess
10a. Japanese Religion and Spirituality
Conditions of Use:
No Strings Attached
10a. Japanese Religion and Spirituality
Rating

Since ancient times, Japanese philosophers have pondered basic, unanswerable questions about their natural environment. The early Japanese believed that the world around them was inhabited by gods and spirits, from streaks of mist obscuring jagged mountain peaks to water cascading over secluded waterfalls. Almost every aspect of Japan's stunning natural beauty evoked a sense of awe and wonder among its people.

Subject:
Religious Studies
Ancient History
Material Type:
Diagram/Illustration
Reading
Provider:
Independence Hall Association
Provider Set:
Ancient Civilizations
Date Added:
12/05/2014
MoreLess
10c. Feudal Japan: The Age of the Warrior
Conditions of Use:
No Strings Attached
10c. Feudal Japan: The Age of the Warrior
Rating

Being a warrior in feudal Japan was more than just a job. It was a way of life. The collapse of aristocratic rule ushered in a new age of chaos — appropriately called the Warring States period (c.1400-1600) — in which military might dictated who governed and who followed.

Subject:
Ancient History
Material Type:
Diagram/Illustration
Reading
Provider:
Independence Hall Association
Provider Set:
Ancient Civilizations
Date Added:
12/05/2014
MoreLess
10e. Life During the Edo Period
Conditions of Use:
No Strings Attached
10e. Life During the Edo Period
Rating

For the first time in centuries, Japan was relatively peaceful. The strict political and social policies of Ieyasu and subsequent shoguns ushered in a golden age of economic and cultural prosperity.

Subject:
Ancient History
Material Type:
Diagram/Illustration
Reading
Provider:
Independence Hall Association
Provider Set:
Ancient Civilizations
Date Added:
12/05/2014
MoreLess
11. Central and South American Empires
Conditions of Use:
No Strings Attached
11. Central and South American Empires
Rating

In the 1500s, when Spanish conquistadors appeared, two vast empires, those of the Aztecs and the Incas, dominated Central and South America. Both possessed divine kings, both were fractured by internal dissent, and both quickly succumbed to the Spanish onslaught. The physical remains of all these cultures lay dormant for centuries, until science and curiosity demanded their exploration.

Subject:
Ancient History
Material Type:
Diagram/Illustration
Reading
Provider:
Independence Hall Association
Provider Set:
Ancient Civilizations
Date Added:
12/05/2014
MoreLess
11a. Blood of Kings: The World of the Maya
Conditions of Use:
No Strings Attached
11a. Blood of Kings: The World of the Maya
Rating

The Maya were a collection of people clustered in city-states. What united them was an idea. For the Maya the world of ordinary living and the Otherworld populated by gods, ancestors, and monstrous things, were equally real. There existed three regions, intricately bound together: the heavens, the earth, and the waters of the Underworld.

Subject:
Ancient History
Material Type:
Diagram/Illustration
Reading
Provider:
Independence Hall Association
Provider Set:
Ancient Civilizations
Date Added:
12/05/2014
MoreLess
11b. Deciphering Maya Glyphs
Conditions of Use:
No Strings Attached
11b. Deciphering Maya Glyphs
Rating

In the past 25 years archaeologists have learned to read what the Mayas wrote. Today we know the names of kings and queens, how they lived, and when they died, transforming our view of Maya culture.

Subject:
Ancient History
Material Type:
Diagram/Illustration
Reading
Provider:
Independence Hall Association
Provider Set:
Ancient Civilizations
Date Added:
12/05/2014
MoreLess
11c. The Inca Empire: Children of the Sun
Conditions of Use:
No Strings Attached
11c. The Inca Empire: Children of the Sun
Rating

The Inca called their empire Tahuantinsuyu, or Land of the Four Quarters. It stretched 2,500 miles from Quito, Ecuador, to beyond Santiago, Chile. Within its domain were rich coastal settlements, high mountain valleys, rain-drenched tropical forests and the driest of deserts. The Inca controlled perhaps 10 million people, speaking a hundred different tongues. It was the largest empire on earth at the time. Yet when Pizarro executed its last emperor, Atahualpa, the Inca Empire was only 50 years old.

Subject:
Ancient History
Material Type:
Diagram/Illustration
Reading
Provider:
Independence Hall Association
Provider Set:
Ancient Civilizations
Date Added:
12/05/2014
MoreLess
11d. The Aztec World
Conditions of Use:
No Strings Attached
11d. The Aztec World
Rating

Huitzilopochtl, God of the Sun, was the Aztec principal god. He had an insatiable appetite for blood. Under his urging, the Aztecs rose from a band of primitive farmers to become the bloodiest civilization of the early Americas. Many Central America cultures indulged in human sacrifice. The Aztec practiced it on an industrial scale, sacrificing tens of thousands of victims each year.

Subject:
World Cultures
Ancient History
Material Type:
Diagram/Illustration
Reading
Provider:
Independence Hall Association
Provider Set:
Ancient Civilizations
Date Added:
12/05/2014
MoreLess
11e. Clash of Cultures: Two Worlds Collide
Conditions of Use:
No Strings Attached
11e. Clash of Cultures: Two Worlds Collide
Rating

In the wake of Columbus' historic voyage in 1492, expeditions, especially from Imperial Spain, swarmed into Aztec territory. They came in search of gold and souls — gold to enrich the coffers of the Spanish king (and their own), and heathen souls to rescue for Christianity. Within a generation, America's ancient civilizations were crushed. Both the Aztec and Inca Empires collapsed after campaigns lasting just a couple of years. How did they fall so fast? Historians suggest many causes.

Subject:
World Cultures
Ancient History
Material Type:
Diagram/Illustration
Reading
Provider:
Independence Hall Association
Provider Set:
Ancient Civilizations
Date Added:
12/05/2014
MoreLess
1c. Historians and Their Time
Conditions of Use:
No Strings Attached
1c. Historians and Their Time
Rating

Herodotus, the first historian, claimed modest goals for his work: "that the doings of men may not be forgotten." On the title page he wrote Historia, Greek for "inquiries" or "researches." Inquiring into the past has been called history ever since.

Subject:
Ancient History
Material Type:
Diagram/Illustration
Reading
Provider:
Independence Hall Association
Provider Set:
Ancient Civilizations
Date Added:
12/05/2014
MoreLess
1d. Geographers and Their Space
Conditions of Use:
No Strings Attached
1d. Geographers and Their Space
Rating

Humans are curious creatures, always wondering what lies beyond the horizon. Lewis and Clark did not describe themselves as geographers, but they might well have. Geography is the study of the surface of the earth. It is about people and places. It is about the physical character of a country, its climates and landscapes, and its biological environment.

Subject:
Ancient History
Physical Geography
Material Type:
Diagram/Illustration
Reading
Provider:
Independence Hall Association
Provider Set:
Ancient Civilizations
Date Added:
12/05/2014
MoreLess
2. Prehistoric Times
Conditions of Use:
No Strings Attached
2. Prehistoric Times
Rating

Digging into our ancestors' past is hard work. Records of human life were not kept millions of years ago. What was life like for cavepeople in the Stone Age? Did Fred Flintstone actually wear leopard skin suits and eat brontosaurus burgers?

Subject:
Ancient History
Material Type:
Diagram/Illustration
Reading
Provider:
Independence Hall Association
Provider Set:
Ancient Civilizations
Date Added:
12/05/2014
MoreLess
2a. "I Love Lucy"
Conditions of Use:
No Strings Attached
2a. "I Love Lucy"
Rating

Lucy belonged to genus Australopithecus and the species afarensis, but she also belonged to the the hominid family (hominidae) to which humans belong. Although humans are of the family hominidae, we are not of Lucy's genus or species. We are Homo sapiens. How then, can Lucy be our ancient ancestor if we belong to a different genus and species? It's because humans and Lucy share a taxonomy up to the point of genus and species; there are many shared characteristics, but there are differences and these differences place humans in our own genus and species.

Subject:
Ancient History
Archaeology
Material Type:
Diagram/Illustration
Reading
Provider:
Independence Hall Association
Provider Set:
Ancient Civilizations
Date Added:
12/05/2014
MoreLess
2c. A Page Right Out of History
Conditions of Use:
No Strings Attached
2c. A Page Right Out of History
Rating

Because there was no written language 50,000 years ago, we do not have much information on how a "modern stone age family" lived, what they ate, where they lived, what they wore, or even what they looked like. Like Fred Flintstone, did they have leopardskin suits, go barefoot, and use a boulder for a bowling ball?

Subject:
Ancient History
Material Type:
Diagram/Illustration
Reading
Provider:
Independence Hall Association
Provider Set:
Ancient Civilizations
Date Added:
12/05/2014
MoreLess
2d. First Technologies: Fire and Tools
Conditions of Use:
No Strings Attached
2d. First Technologies: Fire and Tools
Rating

People of the Stone Age did not have the luxury of turning on the TV and watching Tim "Rock" Taylor host "Tool Time" or Bob Vilastone giving home-building tips in "This Old Cave." Nor could they dial 911 when a fire threatened them. Rather, they had to invent tools and harness the power of fire. But it was their experiments in tool-making that ultimately led to TV, cell phones, and computers.

Subject:
Ancient History
Material Type:
Diagram/Illustration
Reading
Provider:
Independence Hall Association
Provider Set:
Ancient Civilizations
Date Added:
12/05/2014
MoreLess
3. Ancient Egypt
Conditions of Use:
No Strings Attached
3. Ancient Egypt
Rating

The sands of the Nile River Valley hold many clues about one of the most mysterious, progressive, and artistic ancient civilizations. A great deal of evidence survives about how the ancient Egyptians lived, but questions remain. Even the wise sphinx would have trouble answering some of them. How were the pyramids built? Who came up with the idea for mummies and why? What was a typical day like for a pharaoh?

Subject:
Ancient History
Material Type:
Diagram/Illustration
Reading
Provider:
Independence Hall Association
Provider Set:
Ancient Civilizations
Date Added:
12/05/2014
MoreLess
3a. Life along the Nile
Conditions of Use:
No Strings Attached
3a. Life along the Nile
Rating

None of the achievements of the remarkable ancient Egyptian civilization would have been possible without the Nile River. There is always a connection between landscape and how a people develop. It does not take the wisdom of a sphinx to understand why.

Subject:
Ancient History
Material Type:
Diagram/Illustration
Reading
Provider:
Independence Hall Association
Provider Set:
Ancient Civilizations
Date Added:
12/05/2014
MoreLess
3b. Egyptian Social Structure
Conditions of Use:
No Strings Attached
3b. Egyptian Social Structure
Rating

Egyptian society was structured like a pyramid. At the top were the gods, such as Ra, Osiris, and Isis. Egyptians believed that the gods controlled the universe. Therefore, it was important to keep them happy. They could make the Nile overflow, cause famine, or even bring death.

Subject:
Ancient History
Material Type:
Diagram/Illustration
Reading
Provider:
Independence Hall Association
Provider Set:
Ancient Civilizations
Date Added:
12/05/2014
MoreLess
3e. Pyramids
Conditions of Use:
No Strings Attached
3e. Pyramids
Rating

One of the Seven Wonders of the World, the pyramids defy 21st-century humans to explain their greatest secrets. How could a civilization that lacked bulldozers, forklifts, and trucks build such massive structures? Why would anyone have spent the time and energy to attempt such a task? What treasures were placed inside these monuments?

Subject:
Ancient History
Material Type:
Diagram/Illustration
Reading
Provider:
Independence Hall Association
Provider Set:
Ancient Civilizations
Date Added:
12/05/2014
MoreLess
3f. Women of Ancient Egypt
Conditions of Use:
No Strings Attached
3f. Women of Ancient Egypt
Rating

Egyptian women could have their own businesses, own and sell property, and serve as witnesses in court cases. Unlike most women in the Middle East, they were even permitted to be in the company of men. They could escape bad marriages by divorcing and remarrying. And women were entitled to one third of the property their husbands owned. The political and economic rights Egyptian women enjoyed made them the most liberated females of their time.

Subject:
Ancient History
Material Type:
Diagram/Illustration
Reading
Provider:
Independence Hall Association
Provider Set:
Ancient Civilizations
Date Added:
12/05/2014
MoreLess
4. The Early Middle East
Conditions of Use:
No Strings Attached
4. The Early Middle East
Rating

In the ancient Middle East, many great civilizations rose and fell. The religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam each trace their origins back to this part of the world. All of these civilizations arose in the area known as the Fertile Crescent. The Fertile Crescent stretches from the Mediterranean Sea in the west to the Zagros Mountains in the east. It is bordered in the north by the Taurus Mountains and in the south by the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Desert. Its shape resembles a crescent moon.

Subject:
Ancient History
Material Type:
Diagram/Illustration
Reading
Provider:
Independence Hall Association
Provider Set:
Ancient Civilizations
Date Added:
12/05/2014
MoreLess
4a. Life in Sumer
Conditions of Use:
No Strings Attached
4a. Life in Sumer
Rating

Located in what the ancient Greeks called Mesopotamia, which literally means "the land between the rivers," Sumer was a collection of city-states that occupied the southernmost portion of Mesopotamia. Most were situated along the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, lying just north of the Persian Gulf.

Subject:
Ancient History
Material Type:
Diagram/Illustration
Reading
Provider:
Independence Hall Association
Provider Set:
Ancient Civilizations
Date Added:
12/05/2014
MoreLess
4b. Babylonia
Conditions of Use:
No Strings Attached
4b. Babylonia
Rating

The Babylonians used the innovations of the Sumerians, added to them, and built an empire that gave the world, among other things, codified laws, a tower that soared above the earth, and one of the Seven Wonders of the World.

Subject:
Ancient History
Material Type:
Diagram/Illustration
Reading
Provider:
Independence Hall Association
Provider Set:
Ancient Civilizations
Date Added:
12/05/2014
MoreLess
4c. Hammurabi's Code: An Eye for an Eye
Conditions of Use:
No Strings Attached
4c. Hammurabi's Code: An Eye for an Eye
Rating

Hammurabi is the best known and most celebrated of all Mesopotamian kings. He ruled the Babylonian Empire from 1792-50 B.C.E. Although he was concerned with keeping order in his kingdom, this was not his only reason for compiling the list of laws. When he began ruling the city-state of Babylon, he had control of no more than 50 square miles of territory. As he conquered other city-states and his empire grew, he saw the need to unify the various groups he controlled.

Subject:
Ancient History
Law
General Law
Material Type:
Diagram/Illustration
Reading
Provider:
Independence Hall Association
Provider Set:
Ancient Civilizations
Date Added:
12/05/2014
MoreLess
4d. Assyrians: Cavalry and Conquests
Conditions of Use:
No Strings Attached
4d. Assyrians: Cavalry and Conquests
Rating

Much of Assyria's history is closely tied to its southern neighbor, Babylonia. The two Mesopotamian empires spoke similar languages and worshipped most of the same gods. They were often rivals on the battlefield for influence in the ancient Middle East.

Subject:
Ancient History
Material Type:
Diagram/Illustration
Reading
Provider:
Independence Hall Association
Provider Set:
Ancient Civilizations
Date Added:
12/05/2014
MoreLess
4e. Persian Empire
Conditions of Use:
No Strings Attached
4e. Persian Empire
Rating

Rather than destroy local economies for their own selfish gain, the Persians worked to increase trade throughout their kingdom. They standardized weights, developed official coinage, and implemented universal laws.

Subject:
Ancient History
Material Type:
Diagram/Illustration
Reading
Provider:
Independence Hall Association
Provider Set:
Ancient Civilizations
Date Added:
12/05/2014
MoreLess
4f. Phoenicians: Sailing Away
Conditions of Use:
No Strings Attached
4f. Phoenicians: Sailing Away
Rating

The Phoenicians lived along the Mediterranean coast in what is now Lebanon. They inhabited a number of different city-states, the most famous of which were Tyre, Byblos, and Sidon. These Phoenician places were often in conflict with each other for domination of the region. Because of this lack of cooperation, the Phoenicians were conquered and forced to pay tribute to the virtually every empire in the region, including the Egyptians, Hittites, Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, and Greeks.

Subject:
Ancient History
Material Type:
Diagram/Illustration
Reading
Provider:
Independence Hall Association
Provider Set:
Ancient Civilizations
Date Added:
12/05/2014
MoreLess
4g. Hebrews and the Land of Milk and Honey
Conditions of Use:
No Strings Attached
4g. Hebrews and the Land of Milk and Honey
Rating

The Hebrew's early contribution to humankind was not wealthy empires or groundbreaking technology. Rather, it was the revolutionary idea that there was only one god, a belief known as monotheism. This one Hebrew god was called Yahweh. To the Hebrews, Yahweh was all powerful and all knowing, yet beyond human understanding. The religion based around this god influenced the founding of Christianity and Islam.

Subject:
Ancient History
Material Type:
Diagram/Illustration
Reading
Provider:
Independence Hall Association
Provider Set:
Ancient Civilizations
Date Added:
12/05/2014
MoreLess
4i. Muhammad and the Faith of Islam
Conditions of Use:
No Strings Attached
4i. Muhammad and the Faith of Islam
Rating

A man meditating alone in a cave near Mecca received a religious vision. This vision laid the foundations for a new religion. The year was 610 and the man's name was Muhammad.

Subject:
Ancient History
Material Type:
Diagram/Illustration
Reading
Provider:
Independence Hall Association
Provider Set:
Ancient Civilizations
Date Added:
12/05/2014
MoreLess
5. Ancient Greece
Conditions of Use:
No Strings Attached
5. Ancient Greece
Rating

Democracy. Philosophy. Sculpture. Dramatic tragedies. The Olympic Games. Many of the fundamental elements of Western culture first arose more than 2000 years ago in ancient Greece.

Subject:
Philosophy
Ancient History
Material Type:
Diagram/Illustration
Reading
Provider:
Independence Hall Association
Provider Set:
Ancient Civilizations
Date Added:
12/05/2014
MoreLess