Description:

Many students begin their study of ancient history with classical Greece and Rome. But there were vast, influential civilizations and significant human history well before these Euro-centric antiquities. This class will travel the ancient world to examine the Most Ancient History. This unique exploration will be enlivened by rich class discussions, projects, artifacts, and the instructor's personal experience at significant historical sites throughout the ancient world.

First semester, the class will explore the first known human civilizations around eastern Mediterranean region often referred to as the Fertile Crescent in areas now known as Syria, Jordan, Iraq, Iran, and Turkey. The class will examine the end of the Neolithic Age with the rise of agriculture, sedentism (settling down), and the domestication of crops and animals. From there, the class will look at the rise of early cities, some dating to 9500 BC, such as Catalhoyuk and Abu Hureyra. Next, the group will learn about the growth of the economies and laws that led to the ancient empires of Akkad, Babylon, Assyria, and the Hittites, and the wars they waged. Topics also include the first writing systems from Sumerian cylinder seals to cuneiform tablets. The class will consider the effects of long distance trade, such as the Assyrian Trading colonies along with the Bronze Age collapse and re-start of the Iron Age.

Levels:This course is offered at two levels, On-Level and Honors. They levels will meet together and use the same textbook, but have different workloads. Honors students will be given additional reading and will be expected to complete a semester project. The Most Ancient History curriculum will be over the course of four semesters (two years) in order to appreciate the depth and complexities of the topic. However, any student with an interest in only one or more distinct regions may enroll in any semester.

Topics in this Series: The Near East (Semester 1); The Americas (Semester 2); Africa (Semester 3, Fall 2022); and the Far East (Semester 4, Spring 2023)
Workload: Honors students should expect to spend 2-3 hours per week outside of class; on-level students should expect to spend 1 hour outside of class.
Assignments: The Canvas online class management system will be used to post assignments, quizzes, and scores. Students should have their own e-mail address to be set up as users of the Canvas system. Parents can also be set up as Canvas guests/observers for purposes of tracking the student's progress and workload.
Assessments: Points will be assigned for projects, quizzes, chapter summaries, and exams, and parents may use the total points earned to assign a class grade. Quizzes will be administered through Canvas.
Textbook: Students should purchase or rent Ancient Near Eastern History and Culture (3rd edition) by Stiebing and Helft (ISBN#: 978-1138686410.) Other class readings will be uploaded to the Canvas system as pdfs.
Registration: All students will register online for the same course. Students must designate their intent to take the On-Level or Honors after the first week of class. Once the course has begun, students may move down a level (from honors to on-level) at any time. However, once classes have begun, students may not "bump up" a level.
Credit:Homeschool families may wish to count this course as a component (partial) credit in World History for purposes of a high school transcript.

10.06.23.06