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NSW Education Standards Authority

11–12Ancient History 11–12 Syllabus

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Implementation from 2027
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Content

Year 11

Investigating ancient history – Case studies

Students study TWO case studies, choosing ONE from List A and ONE from List B. The studies may incorporate methods and issues involved in investigating the ancient past, as relevant.

Teachers may develop their own case studies. These may be designed to provide a context for options selected in the Year 12 course. However, case studies must not overlap with or duplicate significantly any option to be attempted in the Year 12 Ancient History or History Extension courses. Teacher-developed case studies must follow the geographical division indicated in Lists A and B.

List A: Case studies from Egypt, Greece, Rome and Celtic Europe

  • List A: Old Kingdom Egypt
  • List A: Tutankhamun’s tomb
  • List A: Deir el-Medina
  • List A: Alexandria
  • List A: Thera
  • List A: Troy
  • List A: The Roman games
  • List A: The Celts
  • List A: Boudicca

List B: Case studies from Australia, Asia, the Near East and the Americas

  • List B: Ancient Australia
  • List B: The Shang dynasty
  • List B: Ashoka
  • List B: Nineveh
  • List B: Persepolis
  • List B: Civilisations of the river – Mesopotamia and the Indus Valley
  • List B: Masada
  • List B: Palmyra and the Silk Road
  • List B: Teotihuacan

Other possible case studies related to List A could include:

  • the Valley of the Queens
  • Mycenae
  • Greek drama
  • the Etruscans
  • the impact of expansion on Rome
  • Tiberius Gracchus
  • the city of Rome
  • Roman Britain.

Other possible case studies related to List B could include:

  • Jericho
  • Lachish
  • the Akkadian Empire
  • Carthage
  • Hannibal and the Punic Wars
  • the Battle of Red Cliffs
  • the Moche
  • the early Maya.

Teacher-developed case studies must include the aspects of study identified in the following framework:

  • the geographical and historical context
  • the range and issues of sources
  • the historical features, people, places, events and developments of the ancient world selected for study
  • differing interpretations and representations.
List A: Old Kingdom Egypt
The geographical and historical context
  • The natural features, resources and key sites of Old Kingdom Egypt, such as Memphis, cemeteries of Saqqara, Giza and Dahshur

  • An overview of the Old Kingdom period, including its establishment

The range and issues of sources
  • Early excavations and archaeological discoveries

  • Written sources, such as the Narmer Palette and the Pyramid Texts

  • Archaeological sources, such as royal and noble tombs and the Giza pyramid complexes of Dynasty VI

Features of Old Kingdom Egypt
  • The roles and images of the king, the concepts of Ma’at and Isfet, the roles of the official class and the roles of women

  • Trade, commerce, industries and employment, and the significance of the Nile

  • Cults of Re and Osiris, cultural beliefs and practices, the sciences and literature

  • The nature of funerary customs, royal tombs and tombs of the nobility

  • The reasons for the collapse of Old Kingdom Egypt

  • Differing interpretations and representations of Old Kingdom Egypt

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