Teaching Program Select Units

for the New South Wales Ancient History Higher School Course

using the

Heinemann Ancient and Medieval History series

and

Heinemann Ancient and Medieval History

Teacher’s Resource and Assessment Disk 2

By Vicki Greer

Unit 1: Core Study: Cities of Vesuvius: Pompeii and Herculaneum

Targeted Outcomes
Students:
H 1.1 describe and assess the significance of key people, groups, events, institutions, societies and sites within their historical context
H 2:1 explain historical factors and assess their significance in contributing to change and continuity in the ancient world
H 3.1 locate, select and organise relevant information from a variety of sources
H 3.2 discuss relevant problems of sources for reconstructing the past
H 3.3 analyse and evaluate sources for their usefulness and reliability
H 3.4 explain and evaluate differing perspectives and interpretations of the past
H 3.5 analyse issues relating to ownership and custodianship of the past
H 3.6 plan and present the findings of historical investigations, analysing and synthesising information from a range of sources
H 4.1 use historical terms and concepts appropriately
H 4.2 communicate a knowledge and understanding of historical features and issues using appropriate oral and written forms. / Principal Focus
Students learn to:
• comprehend and analyse a range of archaeological and written sources relevant to the core study of the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum
use sources to reconstruct aspects of life in Pompeii and Herculaneum in AD 79
• evaluate the implications of gaps in the evidence for reconstructing life in Pompeii and Herculaneum in AD 79
• describe and assess different methods used by archaeologists, historians and other specialists to investigate the sites over time
• evaluate different representations of Pompeii and Herculaneum over time
• discuss relevant issues of conservation and reconstruction; custodianship of the sites and the display of human remains
• present the findings of investigations of key features or issues relevant to the study of Pompeii and Herculaneum
• communicate effectively in oral and written forms to describe and analyse features and issues of the study. / Selected Resources
Heinemann Ancient and Medieval History: Pompeii and Herculaneum
Heinemann Ancient and Medieval History Teacher’s Resource and Assessment Disk
Websites located in www.hi.com.au/ancient
Students Learn About:
Non-examinable background
• stages of occupation
• brief historical overview up to and including the eruption of AD 79
• early discoveries and brief history of the excavations
• representations of Pompeii and Herculaneum over time / TEACHING AND LEARNING STRATEGIES (incorporating students learn to) :
Examine key events in the settlement and occupation of Pompeii and Herculaneum and construct a chronology of stages of occupation
Source Study : Sulla’s attack on Pompeii
Source Study: The Campathian earthquakes
Examine the early explorations of Pompeii and Herculaneum
Case Study: The age of antiquarianism – Sir John Sloane (1778-1823)
Critical Inquiry: techniques of early digs by Prince D’Elbeuf, Alcubierre, Wincklemann, Weber, La Vega, Fiorelli, Mau, Spinazzola, Maiuri
Locate Anglo American Project in Pompeii website to assess the ways in which improvements in archaeological methods have changed the way archaeology is practised at either Pompeii or Herculaneum.
Examinable content:
1 Geographical context
• the physical environment: the geographical setting, natural features and resources of Pompeii and Herculaneum
• plans and streetscapes of Pompeii and Herculaneum / Map study: location, setting and geographical features of Pompeii and Herculaneum.
Use excerpts from Tactitus and Statius to describe what the Vesuvius area might have looked like before the eruption of AD 79.
Critical Inquiry: Compare Strabo and Florus’ descriptions of Mount Vesuvius.
Draw up chart which lists the resources/produce of Pompeii and Herculanuem with archaeological and written evidence for each.
Write a one page letter from a wealthy Roman living in a villa in Pompeii or Herculaneum encouraging a friend to move to the area.
Plan studies of townscapes of Pompeii and Herculaneum.
2 The nature of sources and evidence
• the range of available sources, both written and archaeological, including ancient writers, official inscriptions, graffiti, wall paintings, statues, mosaics, human and animal remains
• the limitations, reliability and evaluation of sources
• the evidence provided by the sources from Pompeii and Herculaneum for:
– the eruption
– the economy: trade, commerce, industries, occupations
– social structure; men, women, freedmen, slaves
– local political life
– everyday life: leisure activities, food and dining, clothing, health, baths, water supply and sanitation
– public buildings – basilicas, temples, fora, theatres, palaestra, amphitheatres
– private buildings – villas, houses, shops
– influence of Greek and Egyptian cultures: art, architecture, religion
– religion: temples, household gods, foreign cults, tombs. / Read Pliny the Younger’s description of the AD 79 eruption.
Sequence and describe the events and phenomena experienced by Pliny the Elder.
Using Pliny the Younger’s accounts, create an annotated timeline of the events of the eruption of Vesuvius.
Assess the reliability of Pliny the Younger’s letters for our understanding of the destruction of Pompeii and Herculaneum.
Research Pliny the Elder’s life, character and interests. Write an account of the eruption that he might have written if he had survived.
Account for the difficulties faced by modern historians when trying to establish absolute dates for events recorded in ancient sources.
Examine the studies of Professor Haraldur Sigurdsson of the stratigraphical deposits at Pompeii and Herculaneum and his interpretation/timetable of the eruption and how the settlements were destroyed.
Compare the evidence from Pliny the Younger’s letters and Sigurdsson’s stratigraphical analyses to decide which provides the most reliable account of the eruption.
Examine evidence and artifacts from private houses (House of the Faun, House of the Vetti, House of the Surgeon, House of the Moralist, insulae, House of the Mosaic Atrium, House of the Wooden partition, The Trellis House).
Students construct a “social ladder” of Roman society, using status symbols used by Romans to illustrate the structure of society.
Examine the House of Stephanus the Fuller and the Bakery of Modestus as evidence for working and middle class Roman lives.
Create chart of the places in Pompeii and Herculaneum frequented by women and explain what the evidence reveals about the role of women in Roman society.
Case Studies of written and archaeological evidence on Eumachia, a prominent woman of Pompeii, priestesses, businesswomen, tradeswomen, prostitutes, slave and foreign women.
Examine the Forum complex of Pompeii:
Explain what evidence in the Forum shows the power of the emperor in Roman society.
Describe the activities that took place on a typical day at the Forum.
List the main buildings of the Forum of Pompeii (Temples, Commercial areas such as the macellum, building of Eumachia, civic buildings).
Explain what these buildings show us about religion, commerce and government.
Examine main buildings relating to public entertainment such as the ampitheatre of Pompeii, the large palaestra, the large Theatre, the Odeon, the Palaestra in Herculaneum.
Examine water towers and public fountains, public baths/thermae in Pompeii and Herculaneum such as the Stabian baths and the Forum baths to describe their purpose and functions.
Examine the Temple of Venus, the Temple of Isis, artifacts found in the House of Julia Felix to assess the influence of Egyptian and Greek culture on art, architecture and religion.
Assess what written and archaeological sources reveal about religious practices in Pompeii and Herculaneum, the role and importance of the Imperial Cult and foreign cults.
3 Investigating, reconstructing and preserving the past
• changing methods and contributions of nineteenth and twentieth century archaeologists to our understanding of Pompeii and Herculaneum
• changing interpretations: impact of new research and technologies
• issues of conservation and reconstruction: Italian and international contributions and responsibilities; impact of tourism
• ethical issues: study and display of human remains / Using the information in Chapter 3, choose which archaeologists belong in either The Archaeological Hall of Fame or The Archaeological Walk of Shame. Students must use evidence to justify their response.
Case study: the work of Australian researchers (The Australian expedition to Pompeii, Dr Penelope Allison, Dr Estelle Lazer, Jayne Pont, Steven Ellis) to illustrate the impact of changing new research and technologies on our understanding of Pompeii and Herculaneum.
Sequence and describe actions taken by international and national groups to preserve Pompeii and Herculaneum.
Examine conservation techniques, problems and issues highlighted in The House of the Coloured capitals, wall paintings, Villa of the Papyri, The papyrus scroll library, House of the Menander and the sanctuary of Artemis Orthia.
Summarize the main areas of debate and concern under the following headings: Custodianship, conservation issues, ethical issues.
Debate: Is Professor Guzzo right in declaring a moratorium on new excavation?
Class discussion: should the casts and skeletons of victims of the AD 79 eruption be displayed or be given a ‘proper’ burial? (If they should be buried, where and how?)
Unit 2: Ancient Society: Spartan Society to the battle of Leuctra 371BC
Targeted Outcomes
Students:
H 1.1 describe and assess the significance of key people, groups, events, institutions, societies and sites within their historical context
H 2.1 explain historical factors and assess their significance in contributing to change and continuity in the ancient world
H 3.1 locate, select and organise relevant information from a variety of sources
H 3.2 discuss relevant problems of sources for reconstructing the past
H 3.3 analyse and evaluate sources for their usefulness and reliability
H 3.4 explain and evaluate differing perspectives and interpretations of the past
H 3.6 plan and present the findings of historical investigations, analysing and synthesising information from a range of sources
H 4.1 use historical terms and concepts appropriately
H 4.2 communicate a knowledge and understanding of historical features and issues using appropriate oral and written forms. / Students learn to:
• ask relevant historical questions
• locate, select and organise information from a range of sources to describe and analyse the key features of the ancient society
• describe and evaluate the role and nature of key features of the ancient society
• explain and assess the significance of historical factors contributing to change and continuity within the ancient society
• evaluate the usefulness and reliability of sources
• explain and evaluate differing perspectives and interpretations of the ancient society
• plan and present the findings of investigations on aspects of the ancient society, analysing and synthesising information from a range of sources
• communicate an understanding of relevant concepts, features and issues using appropriate oral and written forms. / Selected Resources
Heinemann Ancient and Medieval History: Spartan Society to 371BC
Heinemann Ancient and Medieval History Teacher’s Resource and Assessment Disk
Websites located in www.hi.com.au/ancient
Students Learn About:
1 The geographical setting
• the geographical setting, natural features and resources of ancient Sparta
• significant sites: Sparta / TEACHING AND LEARNING STRATEGIES (incorporating students learn to) :
Map study: landscape, climate and resources.
2 Social structure and political organisation
• the issue of Lycurgus (the Great Rhetra)
• roles and privileges of the two kings
• government: ephorate, gerousia, ekklesia
• social structure: Spartiates, perioeci, ‘inferiors’, helots
• role of the Spartan army
• control of the helots: the military, syssitia, krypteia
• artisans, helots
• educational system: agoge
• role and status of women: land ownership, inheritance, education / Examine written sources (Herodotus book I, 66, Plutach Lives: Lycurgus) to debate: Lycurgus, Man or Myth?
Describe the roles and responsibilities of the kings, Ephors, Gerousia and Ekklesia.
Create a diagram or graphic representation that shows the structure of Spartan Society.
Class discussion: how did the need to control the helots affect Spartan life and social organization?
Source studies:, the Spartan military, syssitia, krypteia, the agoge.
Read Xenophon Polity of the Lacedaemonians I, Plutarch Sayings of Spartan Women Moralia III, 241 to describe the differences between the lives of Spartan women from those who lived in other parts of Greece.
3 The economy
• land ownership: agriculture, kleroi, helots
• technology: weapons, armour, pottery
• economic roles of the periokoi (‘dwellers around’) and helots
• economic exchange: use of iron bars, trade / Create mind maps on the Spartan economy.
Read and discuss Plutarch’s account of Lycurgus’ division of the land of Sparta. Explain the aim of this division.
Create a PowerPoint presentation or small group oral presentation on Spartan technology.
Compare Tytraeus’ and Plutarch’s accounts of the economic obligations of the helots.
Source study: Spartan trade.
4 Religion, death and burial
• gods and goddesses: Artemis Orthia, Poseidon, Apollo
• myths and legends: Lycurgus and the Dioscuri
• festivals: Hyakinthia, Gymnopaedia, Karneia
• religious role of the kings
• funerary customs and rituals / Source Studies: gods of Mount Olympus, the significance of Poseidon, Apollo and Artemis for Spartans.
Explain the significance of the Dioscuri and the Heraclidae.
Create illustrated programs of events for the Karneia, Hykathia and Gymnopedia.
Extended response: describe the religious roles of the Spartan kings.
Read Herodotus Book V, 58 to list the main rituals observed on the death of a Spartan king and Plutarch Lives: Lycurgus to describe burial customs for ordinary Spartans.
5 Cultural life
• art: sculpture, painted vases, bone and ivory carving
• architecture: Amyklaion, Menelaion, the Sanctuary of Artemis Orthia
• writing and literature: Alcman and Tyrtaeus
• Greek writers’ views of Sparta: Herodotus, Thucydides, Xenophon, Aristotle, Pausanias, Plutarch / Examine Spartan artefacts (The Laconian Rider, laconain black figure pottery, ivory carvings) to assess the traditional view that Sparta lacked a rich cultural life.
Site Studies: the acropolis of Sparta, the Sanctaury of Apollo, the Menelaion and the Sanctuary of Artemis Orthia.
Read excerpts of the poetry of Alcmann and Tyrtaeus. Describe what they reveal about the narure of Spartan literature: are they poetry or propaganda?
Account for the usefulness and reliability of ancient writings on Sparta.
6 Everyday life
• daily life and leisure activities
• food and clothing
• marriage customs
• occupation / List FIVE pieces of archaeological evidence that have been used by historians to discover what life was like in Ancient Sparta. Under each item, explain what has been learned or surmised from it.