← Ancient History syllabus

SAAncient History

Social Structures and Everyday Life

5 dot points across 5 inquiry questions. Click any dot point for a focused answer with worked past exam questions where available.

How was the Roman economy organised, and what was daily life like for people of different ranks in the Roman world?

Analyse the structure of the Roman economy and the patterns of daily life across the social orders, and evaluate the literary and archaeological evidence for them.
How the Roman economy worked through agriculture, slavery, trade and the city of Rome, and what daily life was like for senators, plebeians, freedmen and the enslaved, evaluated through literary sources and the archaeology of sites such as Pompeii and Ostia.
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How was society organised in New Kingdom Egypt, and how did the pharaoh, officials and ordinary people relate to one another?

Analyse the social hierarchy of New Kingdom Egypt, including the role of the pharaoh, the bureaucracy, priests, scribes, peasants and the enslaved, and evaluate the evidence for everyday life.
The social hierarchy of New Kingdom Egypt (about 1550 to 1070 BCE), from the divine pharaoh and the bureaucracy of viziers, priests and scribes down to peasants and the enslaved, with the archaeological and textual evidence for everyday life at sites such as Deir el-Medina.
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How were social structures and slavery organised in Classical Athens, and what evidence reveals the lives of those at the bottom?

Analyse the structure of Athenian society in the fifth and fourth centuries BCE, including the status of citizens, metics and slaves, and evaluate the ancient evidence for slavery.
The structure of Athenian society in the fifth and fourth centuries BCE, the legal status of citizens, metics and slaves, and how ancient sources let us reconstruct the lives of the enslaved.
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How was society and government organised in Han dynasty China, and what role did Confucianism and the bureaucracy play?

Analyse the social structure and system of government of Han dynasty China, including the emperor, the bureaucracy, Confucianism and the peasantry, and evaluate the textual and archaeological evidence.
The social structure and government of Han dynasty China (206 BCE to 220 CE), including the emperor and the Mandate of Heaven, the Confucian bureaucracy and scholar-officials, and the peasantry, evaluated through histories such as Sima Qian and archaeological finds.
6 min answer →

What were the roles, legal status and everyday lives of women and families in the ancient Greek and Roman worlds?

Examine the position of women and the organisation of family life in ancient Athens and Rome, and evaluate the source problems involved in recovering women's experience.
The legal status, household roles and daily lives of women and families in Classical Athens and ancient Rome, and the source problems involved in recovering women's experience from male-authored evidence.
6 min answer →