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Websites
Ancient Egypt
Mark Millmore’s Ancient Egypt ★★★★★
Mark Millmore’s fun and educational site is comprehensive, updated regularly, and features several great sections. Major sections include Hieroglyphs, Numbers and Egyptian Maths, Pyramids and Temples, Kings & Queens, Rebuilding Ancient Egyptian Temples in 3D, Ancient Egyptian Videos and Documentaries, The Discovering Egypt Newsletter, and Ancient Egyptian Quizzes. The Hieroglyphics section contains Ancient Egyptian Mathematics Problems to see if you could “survive” in the world of Egyptian numerals and mathematics. The Pyramids and Temples section is a virtual tour featuring plenty of great pictures of the temples at Karnak, Luxor, Dendara, Philae, and Ramses II. The Kings and Queens section is more essay format, but again features excellent images. Hatshepsut (“The Woman who was King”), Thutmose III (“The Napoleon of Ancient Egypt”) and and Ramses II (“The Last Great Pharaoh”) figure prominently in this section. Embedded YouTube video and 3D multimedia play a key role at the site, especially in the engaging Rebuilding Ancient Temples exposition and the Ancient Videos section. keep up-to-date on Ancient Egypt news and website updates via Mark’s bi-monthly newsletter and take your hand at some of his quizzes. Finally, the site has a Discovering Ancient Egypt shop where you can download games and educational software, books, posters, art prints and photos with an ancient Egyptian theme. You can even get a downloadable version of Senet, the ancient Egyptian board game!
The Art of Ancient Egypt ★★★★★
This 184-page document is a free educator’s guide by the Metropolitan Museum of Art all about the history of Ancient Egyptian art. Resources include a glossary, maps of the Northern and Southern Nile Valley, worksheets for teachers on Egyptian deities, pose and gesture, royal regalia, symbols, and hieroglyphics, a bibliography for both students and teachers, external links, and plenty of lesson plans.
Ancient Egypt at National Geographic ★★★★☆
National Geographic hosts a well-sized collection of photos, biographics, videos, and other resources for exploring the world of Ancient Egypt. Of particular note are the articles, which are offered at a variety of reading levels, from 3rd grade to 12th grade.
Note: Related National Geographic articles and videos include:
Egypt’s Golden Empire ★★★★☆
The New Kingdom resources offered at this site are designed to help you use the PBS “Egypt’s Golden Empire” video series and companion Web site in secondary social studies, civics, religion, and language arts classes. Mind you, there is no need to buy the video to make good use of the online materials! Special features include a clickable virtual tour of the New Kingdom with 360 degree panoramas including the West Bank of Thebes, Abydos and Karnak; a clickable virtual tour of New Kingdom primary source art; a dozen video clips from the series; a timeline of 500 years identifying major events of the New Kingdom; a tour of a day in the life of Ancient Egyptians; and an exploration of hieroglyphics. There are also discussions of powerful Egyptian women, pharaohs, and Egyptian society. There are eight lesson plans for educators.
Ancient History: Egyptians ★★★★☆
This is an impressive introduction to Ancient Egypt aimed at students from BBC. Major categories include Pyramids and Monuments, Mummification, Gods and Beliefs, Pharaohs and Dynasties, Daily Life, Hieroglyphs, a Timeline, and Related Links. Highlights from The Pyramids and Monuments section include an image gallery of the “top ten” Ancient Egypt sites, and an interactive diagram of Khufu’s Pyramid complex. The Mummification section features an animated “Mummy Maker” embalming game, and The Gods and Beliefs contains a photo gallery of both Egyptian sacred animals and the ‘Death in Sakkara’ game. The Pharaohs and Dynasties contains various essays, including a discussion of Hatshepsut, Ramses II, and photo gallery of Tutankhamun tomb and great dynasties. Special features include an Ancient Egypt Timeline and the animated games Death in Sakkara: An Egyptian Adventure. A nice mix of essays, images, and active-learning multimedia.
The British Museum: Ancient Egypt ★★★★☆
The British Museum site offers good images, simulations, and games to make the study of Ancient Egypt enticing for students. Topics include Egyptian Life, Geography, Gods and Goddesses, Mummification, Pharaoh, Pyramids, Temples, Time, Trades, and Writing. You can view various museum artifacts related to life as a nobleman or farmer, take a virtual tour of pyramids and temples and view a series of political, social, and natural maps –though the maps are not interactive. Clickable mummies guide students through the Mummification process, with explanations of embalming and wrapping. Shockwave-generated activities include an exploration of the underworld, a map reading challenge, an Egyptian numerals test, a hieroglyphics challenge, a time-keeping challenge, a match-tool-to-craftsman challenge, and a challenge to figure out the find out the height, area and weight of the Great Pyramid. Visitors to the site can also examine a wall relief in the Pharaoh section and try to identify objects in a museum. Finally, there is a “staff room” to help teachers use the site. Overall, a great introduction to ancient Egypt for kids, though the layout and multimedia are not as fresh and enticing as what can be found at other sites aimed at children.
King Padibastet: The Virtual Egyptian Museum ★★★★☆
This collection of 60+ antiquities is a joint venture between The California Institute of World Archaeology and the Senusret Collection. A neat feature is the inclusion of multiple views of various objects. In addition to the artifacts, there is an interactive Timeline of Dynastic Egypt covering 4300 years of Egyptian dynastic chronology, political maps of Egypt. There is also a useful king tables list of “almost all” known kings from Dynasty 1 to the last of the Ptolemys that can be ordered chronologically, alphabetically, by dynasty, or by reign duration. Unfortunately the site has not been updated in years, yet it remains very useful.
ABZU: Egypt ★★★★☆
ABZU is a comprehensive scholarly guide to the Ancient Near East via the Internet. It provides a helpful index of resources for the study of ancient Egypt, including links to the latest news, publications, research archives, archaeological sites, maps and atlases. There is a handy search engine, a listing of publications by author, and a list of recently added to ABZU. A search (ex. “temples”) elicits a mix of books, articles, and websites.
Egyptian Antiquities ★★★★☆
The Louvre’s Department of Egyptian Antiquities presents artifacts in the Nile Valley from the late prehistoric era (c. 4000 BC) to the “Christian period” (4th century AD). There are 208 selected works here on display from The Louvre’s Department of Egyptian Antiquities. Each image is accompanied by a detailed description and there are teacher guides available for download. There is also a timeline and map.
Mr Dowling’s Electronic Passport: Ancient Egypt ★★★★☆
Mr. Dowling’s Electronic Passport helps kids browse the world in his virtual classroom. He introduces you to many civilizations with clear explanations, engaging graphics for kids, and “cool links”. His helpful study guides, homework assignments and exams are free and available for you to print or to edit. However, the site’s dated design and lack of interactivity are not so “cool.”
Guardian’s CyberJourney: Egypt ★★★☆☆
The CyberJourney layout and design are amateurish, but the section provides useful images, virtual tours, discussions, and commentary on Ancient Egypt. Of note are panoramic tours of Giza, Luxor, the Sphinx, and other locations. There are also several interviews of Dr. Hawass, director of the pyramids, the last in 2008. This section is part of The Guardian’s Egypt, a broad site with news, tours, a bulletin board, a kids section, features on pyramids, hieroglyphics, and mummies, and other features.
Online Egyptological Bibliography ★★★☆☆
The Online Egyptological Bibliography (OEB) holds the largest available collection of references in Egyptological literature and is updated nearly every day. It includes the records and abstracts from Annual Egyptological Bibliography (AEB, 1947-2001), combined with Bibliographie Altägypten (BA, 1822-1946), the Aigyptos database with keywords, and more than 40,000 further items. Coverage is from 1822 to the present.
Treasures of the Sunken City ★★★☆☆
This PBS Nova site examine the remains of sunken Alexandria. It chronicles the underwater discovery of the fabled Pharos lighthouse, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. A special feature is clips from the sunken treasure. It also includes a map of undersea Alexandria, a teacher’s guide, and more.
Pyramids — The Inside Story ★★★☆☆
This engaging PBS Nova site provides a nice blend of images and text to explain the history of Egyptian pyramids and offers insights into excavations and mysteries. The site opens with an introductory history of Egypt, Giza, and the pyramids, but of special interest is the interactive “scaling” of the pyramids, including a virtual tour, and video of Khafre’s Pyramid and The Sphinx. There is also a lesson on hieroglyphics, an interview of the director of the pyramids
Mysteries of the Nile ★★★☆☆
This PBS Nova site explores the Egyptian pyramids, temples, and other notable architecture of ancient Egypt through 360° photos shot during an NOVA/PBS “Online Adventure.” Site highlights include a self-guided QuickTime tour through the Land of the Pharaohs, a flyby video of Giza, panoramic images of Khufu, Karnak, Luxor, Tomb of Ramose, and world’s oldest planked vessel. The site also chronicles NOVA’s “search for clues” to obelisk-raising, and its own attempt to erect one. Site page design look a little dated, but strong content and multimedia features more than compensate.
The Ancient World Mapping Center ★★★☆☆
The Ancient World Mapping Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill offers a series of online resources related to the Barrington Atlas and other aspects of ancient geography and cartography. Go the Free Maps section for small-scale ancient geography reference maps for classroom and personal use. (A blank version of each map is usually available.) You can also find updates to the Barrington Atlas; free, downloable maps for educational use; and articles about new discoveries.
Oriental Institute Ancient Egypt (Egypt and Sudan) Projects ★★★☆☆
The Oriental Institute Museum houses nearly 30,000 Egyptian artifacts and is one of the largest and most complete in the United States. The Oriental Institute Virtual Museum makes use of a series of Apple QuickTime VR panoramic movies to take you on a tour of each of the Museum’s galleries, accompanied by descriptions of each alcove and their artifacts. This link is to the Egyptian Galley and views of predynastic pottery, materials from the Late Pre-Dynastic and Early Dynastic periods, writing, daily life, art, and religion, mummies and Assyrian Bull, and private tombs. You can also view highlights from the Egypt collection by region or topic or read more information about the Egyptian gallery and its holdings. The Oriental Institute Museum site is updated regularly.
Odyssey Online ★★★☆☆
The Odyssey Online project was developed to help educators teach using works of art from the ancient Near East, Egypt, Greece, Rome and Africa. Designed for elementary and middle school-aged students, the major sections include People, Daily Life, explores archaeology, Mythology, Death and Burial, and Writing. Sections include games and puzzles for kids. Last updated 2005.
Ancient Egyptian Virtual Temple ★★★☆☆
There is a lot of information at this site to learn about Egyptian temples and ancient Egypt in general. There is much regarding Egyptian history, religion, pyramids, and many other topics. The strength of the site is its generous use of images and easily navigable sidebar, but unfortunately the site is dated and some key links are broken.
The University of Memphis Institute of Egyptian Art and Archaeology ★★★☆☆
The institute offers a tour of Egypt and an exhibit of their artifacts. Try the “Color Tour” to see images of ancient Egypt with descriptions. There is also a clickable map to learn more about ancient Egyptian sites.
The Pyramids and Temples of Gizeh ★★★☆☆
This site is the complete contents of Sir Flinders Petrie’s 1880–82 detailed survey of the Giza plateau, which included the Great Pyramid of Khufu and the relatively unknown Trial Site.
KMT: A Modern Journal of Ancient Egypt ★★★☆☆
Provides articles on the culture, history, arts, architecture, and monuments of ancient Egypt and features top Egyptologists.
Ancient Mesopotamia
The British Museum: Mesopotamia ★★★★☆
This British Museum site includes interesting images, simulations, and other resources to make the study of Ancient Mesopotamia enticing for students. Topics include Geography; Gods, Goddesses, Demons and Monsters; Time; and Writing. The Geography section includes a zoomable map and an illustrated story of Gilgamesh. The Gods and Goddesses section includes a comparison of gods, goddesses, demons and monsters of Mesopotamia, an illustrated story about gods and goddesses, and a challenge game to “get the gods” using a cuneiform tablet. The Time section includes a Mesopotamia timeline and a story of how the history, languages and culture of the peoples of Mesopotamia were rediscovered in the last two centuries. The section also includes Shockwave-generated challenge to figure out how the objects archaeologists find get under the ground. The Writing section explores how scribes worked and recorded information and presents the story of how one cuneiform symbol evolved. The challenge activity prompts students to put together a broken ancient tablet. Overall, a great introduction to ancient Mesopotamia for kids, though the hyperlinked stories design and multimedia are not as fresh and enticing as what can be found at some other sites aimed at children.
Internet Ancient History Sourcebook: Mesopotamia ★★★★☆
The Internet History Sourcebooks are wonderful collections of public domain and copy-permitted historical texts for educational use by Paul Halsall of Fordham University. The Internet Ancient History Sourcebook contains hundreds of well-organized sources and also includes links to visual and aural material, as art and archeology play a prominent role in the study of Ancient history. The Mesopotamia section is organized around ancient near Earst civilizations such as the Sumerian, Akkadia, Babylonia, Assyria, Chaldea, Syria, and features primary source works such as the Epic of Gilgamesh. The Sourcebook also has secondary source articles on various issues in Ancient Near East history, such as Mathematics, Gender and Sexuality, and Arts and Architecture. (The “Modern Perspective” link appears broken.) Last updated in 2007, so expect a few broken links.
Ancient Near Eastern Art: New Light on an Assyrian Palace ★★★★☆
The central gallery of the Raymond and Beverly Sackler Gallery for Assyrian Art recreates an audience hall in the palace of Ashurnasirpal II (r. 883-859 B.C.) at Nimrud in northern Iraq. Objects in an adjacent gallery illustrate the ivory carving and other art of the Assyrian empire and its neighbors. Learn more about the palace of Ashurnasirpal II, the city of Nimrud, and the stone reliefs and carved ivories of the Assyrian empire through the following sections: map of Assyrian empire, Excavations at Nimrud, Ivories from the Northwest Palace, and Releifs. View a virtual reality reconstruction and a drawn rendering of the interior of the palace.
Diotima ★★★★☆
Diotima is an interdisciplinary scholarly resource on gender in the ancient Mediterranean world and as a forum for collaboration among instructors who teach courses about women and gender in the ancient world. Diotima offers course materials, essays, bibliography, images, good links to related sites, a search feature, and a section on biblical studies. Last update was in 2006.
Mr Dowling’s Electronic Passport: Mesopotamia ★★★★☆
Mr. Dowling’s Electronic Passport helps kids browse the world in his virtual classroom. He introduces you to many civilizations with clear explanations, engaging graphics for kids, and “cool links.” His helpful study guides, homework assignments and exams are free and available for you to print or to edit. However, the site’s dated design and lack of interactivity are not so “cool.”
The Ancient World Mapping Center ★★★☆☆
The Ancient World Mapping Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill offers a series of online resources related to the Barrington Atlas and other aspects of ancient geography and cartography. Go the Free Maps section for small-scale ancient geography reference maps for classroom and personal use. (A blank version of each map is usually available.) You can also find updates to the Barrington Atlas; free, downloable maps for educational use; and articles about new discoveries.
History Links 101: Ancient Mesopotamia ★★★☆☆
History Links 101 is a broad gateway to Ancient Mesopotamia web sties. You’ll find many links to Mesopotamian Art, Daily Life, Maps, Research, and Biographies. Unfortunately some of the links are to older web sites that are not actively maintained.
Ancient Near East and the Ancient Mediterranean World ★★★☆☆
The University of Chicago Library preserves deteriorated research materials relating to the history, art, and archaeology of the Ancient Near East and the ancient Mediterranean world. The project focuses on materials published between 1850 – 1950, drawn from two of the Library’s complimentary collections: the Ancient Near East and Classics Collections. This is an excellent research collection for primary source materials.
Mr. Donn’s Ancient History Page: Mesopotamia
Don Donn of the Corkran (Maryland) Middle School provides a complete unit with daily lesson plans and unit test for sixth graders. There are also links to multiple K12 lesson plans and activities.
You Be the Judge: Hammurabi’s Code
Using Hammurabi’s Code, you decide the proper punishment for shoddy workmen, straying wives, and abusive landlords.
Ancient China
Internet East Asia History Sourcebook
The Internet History Sourcebooks are wonderful collections of public domain and copy-permitted historical texts for educational use by Paul Halsall. The site and its documents are well organized and the breadth of materials is impressive. The Sourcebooks include an Ancient History Sourcebook, a Medieval Sourcebook, and a Modern History Sourcebook. The Internet East Asia History Sourcebook is a subset of texts derived from the three major online Sourcebooks, along with added texts and web site indicators.
Fairbank Chinese History Virtual Library
The Fairbank Chinese History Virtual Library was founded to facilitate easy access to sources of modern Chinese historical information on the internet. It covers the Qing Dynasty to the present and features outlines, articles, pictures, and more. Some links are broken.
This site features resources, cultural information, activities, links, and guides for educators and students alike.
Mr. Dowling’s Electronic Passport: Chinese History
Mr. Dowling’s Electronic Passport helps kids browse the world in his virtual classroom. He introduces you to many civilizations with clear explanations, engaging graphics for kids, and “cool links”. His study guides, homework assignments, and exams are free and available for you to print or to edit.
Takla Makan Mummies: Mysterious Mummies of China
In the late 1980’s, perfectly preserved 3000-year-old mummies began appearing in a remote Chinese desert. They had long reddish-blond hair, European features, and didn’t appear to be the ancestors of modern-day Chinese people. Archaeologists now think they may have been the citizens of an ancient civilization that existed at the crossroads between China and Europe. PBS NOVA Online presentation.
An interesting and broad site that includes Qs and As, historical background, vivid images, and more. BuddhaNet is a Buddhist information service and a communication link for Buddhists. It operates Australia’s first and only Buddhist bulletin board system (BBS).
Asian Studies WWW Virtual Library
A good gateway to resources on Asia
Academic Info: Chinese History
A helpful gateway to resources on Chinese history
A large site on China, it includes art, music, literature, and history.
The encyclopedia covers North Africa as well as the Middle East and includes several hundred topics in brief encyclopedia style. It also contains some useful teaching-level images and maps.
Brief overviews of Chinese dynasties and historical periods with links and color maps
Ancient India
Ancient India for Kids - www.historyforkids.org
MrDonn.org - Ancient India - india.mrdonn.org
Buddhism - Lessons, Activities, Online Games for Kids - ancienthistory.mrdonn.org
Ancient India - www.socialstudiesforkids.com
Ancient India, Facts, Pictures and Printables - cybersleuth-kids.com
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