Australia's First Nations
For approximately how long have Aboriginal peoples lived in Australia?
At least 65,000 years
Between which two rivers did Mesopotamia develop?
Tigris and Euphrates rivers
Which river was essential to the survival of Ancient Egypt?
The Nile River
Which Chinese dynasty is known for its royal tombs, bronze vessels and oracle bones?
The Shang Dynasty
Name one major city of the Indus Valley Civilisation.
What type of evidence shows where First Nations peoples lived, travelled and gathered food in the past?
Archaeological evidence such as stone tools, hearths, shell middens and rock art
What was the wedge-shaped writing system used in Mesopotamia called?
Cuneiform
Why did ancient Egyptians mummify some people after death?
To preserve the body for the afterlife
What was a Shang ding, and what was it used for?
A bronze vessel used to prepare or present food during rituals and ancestor ceremonies
What feature of cities such as Mohenjo-daro provides evidence of advanced urban planning?
Name at least two features.
Planned streets (gridded)
Drainage systems
Wells
Brick buildings
What are shell middens, and what can they reveal about First Nations life?
Places where shells, animal bones, charcoal and other remains accumulated.
They provide evidence about diet, food gathering and how people used coastal environments.
What were cylinder seals rolled across wet clay used to create?
An image, signature, ownership mark or official seal
What was stored inside canopic jars during mummification?
The deceased person’s internal organs
What were oracle bones used for?
Shang rulers used them to ask ancestors or spiritual powers questions about events and decisions.
What animal commonly appears on Indus seals but cannot be confidently identified?
The so-called unicorn, usually shown as a one-horned animal.
What are songlines, and why are they significant?
Knowledge pathways expressed through stories, songs and ceremonies that connect places and preserve knowledge about Country, history, law and navigation
What can cylinder seals reveal about the people who owned them?
They can reveal a person’s identity, occupation, status, beliefs or involvement in trade and administration.
Which four organs were commonly placed in canopic jars?
The liver, lungs, stomach, and intestines
How do Shang tombs provide evidence of both social hierarchy and religious beliefs?
Wealthy tomb goods demonstrate differences in status, while ritual objects and offerings show belief in ancestors or an afterlife
What might the discovery of Indus seals in Mesopotamia suggest?
The two civilisations participated in long-distance trade or cultural exchange.
What do ancient stories about now-submerged coastal places suggest about First Nations history?
They may preserve memories of rising sea levels and environmental changes that occurred thousands of years ago.
Why are cuneiform tablets particularly valuable to historians compared with writing on materials such as paper?
Baked clay is durable, so many tablets survived and preserve direct written evidence
How did the design of canopic jars connect mummification with Egyptian religious beliefs?
Their lids represented the four Sons of Horus, who were believed to protect the deceased person’s organs.
How can Lady Fu Hao’s tomb challenge assumptions about women in ancient societies?
Its weapons, bronzes and inscriptions indicate that she held religious, political and military power.
Why would finding an Indus version of the Rosetta Stone help historians decipher its script?
A bilingual inscription could match Indus symbols with words written in an already-understood language.