Contextualization

Antique history is a captivating field of study that allows us to delve into the past, to understand how our society has evolved over thousands of years. It is not only about artifacts and ruins, but about the stories they tell, revealing the beliefs, customs, and challenges that ancient people faced.

Antique history is a vast subject, covering a wide range of cultures and time periods. In this project, we will focus on three major civilizations: Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece, and Ancient Rome. Each of these societies made significant contributions to the world we live in today, from the development of democracy, to advancements in engineering and medicine.

Importance

Understanding antique history is crucial for several reasons. Firstly, it provides us with a sense of identity and roots. By understanding the achievements and challenges of our ancestors, we can better understand ourselves and our place in the world.

Secondly, antique history enables us to learn from the past. Many of the issues that plagued ancient civilizations, such as political corruption and economic inequality, are still relevant today. By studying how these issues were dealt with in the past, we can gain insight into how to address them in the present.

Finally, antique history is simply fascinating. It allows us to peer into a different world, to see how people lived, loved, and fought thousands of years ago. It is a testament to the ingenuity and creativity of the human spirit, and a reminder of the fragility of civilization.

Resources

For this project, you will need to conduct extensive research on the three civilizations: Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece, and Ancient Rome. Here are some resources to get you started:

1. Books:

   • "The Ancient Near East: A Very Short Introduction" by Amanda H. Podany
   • "Ancient Greece: A Political, Social, and Cultural History" by Sarah B. Pomeroy, et al.
   • "SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome" by Mary Beard

2. Websites:

   • Ancient History Encyclopedia
   • BBC History: Ancient History
   • Metropolitan Museum of Art: Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History

3. Videos:

   • Crash Course: Ancient History
   • The Great Courses: Ancient History

Your goal is not just to learn facts, but to understand the broader historical context and themes. Pay attention to things like social structure, religion, and the arts. Think about how these factors influenced and were influenced by historical events.

Practical Activity

Activity Title: "Journey Through Antiquity: An Exploration of Ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome"

Objective of the Project

The primary objective of this project is to create a visual and interactive timeline that highlights the key events, achievements, and cultural aspects of the Ancient Egyptian, Greek, and Roman civilizations. This timeline will help students to better understand the chronological order of these civilizations, their major contributions, and their impact on the world today.

The secondary objective of this project is to develop teamwork, research, problem-solving, and presentation skills among students.

Detailed Description of the Project

In groups of 3 to 5, students will research, collect information, and create a visual timeline that highlights the key events, achievements, and cultural aspects of the Ancient Egyptian, Greek, and Roman civilizations. The timeline should be interactive, allowing viewers to click on each event for more information.

Students will also create a museum-style exhibit showcasing artifacts and aspects of daily life from each civilization. Each group will be responsible for one civilization and will need to present their museum exhibit to the class, explaining the significance of each artifact and its role in daily life.

Necessary Materials

1. Computer with internet access
2. Office software or online tools for creating the timeline and museum exhibit
3. Art supplies for creating physical artifacts (if desired)

Detailed Step-by-Step for Carrying Out the Activity

1. Form Groups and Assign Roles (1 hour): Form groups of 3 to 5 students. Assign each group a civilization (Egypt, Greece, or Rome) and distribute the roles among group members (researcher, writer, designer, presenter, etc.).

2. Research and Plan (4-8 hours): Each group will conduct research on their assigned civilization, using the provided resources as a starting point. They should look for key events, significant people, cultural aspects, and major achievements.

3. Create the Timeline (4-6 hours): Using their research, each group will create a digital timeline. They can use tools like Microsoft PowerPoint, Google Slides, Timeline JS, or Canva. The timeline should be visually appealing and easy to navigate. Each event on the timeline should include a brief description and an image.

4. Create the Museum Exhibit (6-10 hours): Each group will also create a museum-style exhibit showcasing artifacts and aspects of daily life from their assigned civilization. This can be done physically with art supplies or digitally using the same tools as for the timeline. The exhibit should be informative and interactive, allowing viewers to learn more about each artifact.

5. Prepare the Presentation (2-4 hours): Each group will prepare a presentation to explain their timeline and exhibit. The presentation should include a brief overview of the civilization, a walkthrough of the timeline and exhibit, and a discussion of the significance of the artifacts and events.

6. Present (30 minutes per group): Each group will present their timeline and exhibit to the class. After each presentation, there should be a short Q&A session for students to ask questions and further discuss the civilization.

7. Reflect and Write the Report (4-6 hours): After the presentations, each group will reflect on their process, their findings, and their final product. They will then write the project report, following the given structure.

Project Deliverables

• A digital timeline (in PowerPoint, Google Slides, Timeline JS, Canva, or any other similar tool).

• A digital or physical (if created with art supplies) museum-style exhibit showcasing artifacts and aspects of daily life from the assigned civilization.

• A Class presentation on the timeline and museum exhibit.

• A project report that follows the structure below:

  Introduction: Contextualize the theme, its relevance, real-world application, and the objective of this project.

  Development: Detail the theory behind the project, explain the activities in detail, indicate the methodology used, and present and discuss the obtained results.

  Conclusion: Conclude the work by revisiting its main points, explicitly stating the learnings obtained and drawing conclusions based on the work done.

  Bibliography: Indicate the sources of information that were used to work on the project such as books, web pages, videos, etc.

This project should be completed within a time frame of one month, with each student expected to dedicate at least 15 hours to the project. The final delivery of the project will be the written report, along with the digital timeline and museum exhibit. The project report will assess the students' understanding of the subject, their ability to work in a team, their research and problem-solving skills, and their ability to present their findings in a clear and engaging way.