← Ancient History syllabus

SAAncient History

Sources and Historiography

3 dot points across 3 inquiry questions. Click any dot point for a focused answer with worked past exam questions where available.

How do historians analyse and evaluate ancient sources to reconstruct the past reliably?

Apply the skills of source analysis and evaluation to ancient primary and secondary evidence, assessing origin, purpose, perspective, reliability and usefulness.
The skills of analysing and evaluating ancient primary and secondary sources, including assessing origin, purpose, perspective, reliability and usefulness, applied to literary, archaeological and epigraphic evidence.
6 min answer →

How do archaeology and material culture provide evidence for the ancient past, and what are the strengths and limits of physical remains?

Explain how archaeological evidence and material culture are excavated, dated and interpreted, and evaluate what physical remains can and cannot tell historians about ancient societies.
How archaeological evidence and material culture are recovered, dated and interpreted, including stratigraphy, typology and scientific dating, and a critical evaluation of what physical remains can and cannot reveal about ancient societies.
6 min answer →

What is historiography, and how and why do interpretations of the ancient past change over time?

Explain the nature of historiography in ancient history, analyse how ancient and modern historians have interpreted the past differently, and evaluate why those interpretations change.
The nature of historiography in ancient history, how ancient and modern historians from Herodotus and Thucydides to today have interpreted the past differently, and why interpretations change with new evidence and perspectives.
6 min answer →