Emory University
Emory University: Odyssey Online
Odyssey Online is a resource for both students and teachers as they explore world mythology in reading, writing, history, and art classes. Providing sections on Near Eastern, Egyptian, Greek, Roman, and African mythology, Odyssey uses...
Georgia Department of Education
Ga Virtual Learning: Ap World History: Pre History to the Early Civilizations
AP World History learning module covers Pre-History to Early Civilizations. Complete set of materials, interactive lessons, and assessment.
PBS
Pbs Nova: Secrets of Lost Empires
NOVA ferrets out long-forgotten secrets of architects and engineers of the early civilizations. Content focuses on the trebuchets of medieval Europe, the pharaoh's obelisks of ancient Egypt, the moai statues of Easter Island, the...
Other
Bradshaw Foundation: Journey of Mankind
An interactive map that shows how early humans traveled out of Africa and spread throughout the world. Starts from pre-150,000 B.C. and shows the history of how humans were able to populate the world. At each step there is information...
Other
University of North Carolina at Pembroke: Lecture Notes: Ancient India and China
Lengthy illustrated notes, to accompany a university-level course, on the rise and spread of civilization in India and China.
Other
University of North Carolina at Pembroke: Lecture Notes: Ancient Civilizations
Lengthy illustrated notes, to accompany a university-level course, on the first civilizations in the ancient Near East: Sumer and Egypt.
Smithsonian Institution
National Museum of American History: Parthia: The Forgotten Empire
The Parthian Empire lasted for five hundred years and have been mostly forgotten, despite their prowess in the Middle East. Their kingdom began in 247 BC when Arsaces I was elected as King of Parni. They were the only civilization that...
Annenberg Foundation
Annenberg Learner: Collapse: Why Do Civilizations Fail?
Explore different ancient civilizations to learn about some of the reasons these civilizations collapsed. Looks at Maya, Mesopotamia, Chaco Canyon, Mali and Songhai. Includes interactive activities.
Metropolitan Museum of Art
Metropolitan Museum of Art: Art of the First Cities
Learn about art history in Mesopotamia and its surrounding regions, circa 3000 B.C. Explore the history of the region through various topics including cities, rulers and religious vestments.
Other
Archaeological Legacy Institute: Archaeology Channel: Video Buffet
This site has a large collection of free videos featuring various archaeology sites all over the world.
National Geographic
National Geographic: Civilization
A photographic history of civilization is captured in a collection of images gathered from around the world. Understand the characteristics of and the criteria necessary for civilizations to evolve as well as the ways they are destroyed.
Emory University
Emory University: Odyssey Online: Ancient Civilizations
Brief studies of the peoples, mythology, daily life, death and burial, writings and archaeology of civilizations in the Near East, Egypt, Greece, Rome, Africa, and the Ancient Americas.
Other
Ancient Scripts: Writing Systems
History and definition of writing, plus extensive information on the types, families, and regions of written languages. For each language, you'll find information on when and where it was used, the people who used it, and what it looked...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Neh: Edsit Ement: Life in Old Babylonia: The Importance of Trade
In this lesson plan, students will consider "Life in Old Babylonia: The Importance of Trade." The plan includes worksheets and other student materials that can be found under the resource tab.
University of Chicago
University of Chicago: Ancient Near East and the Mediterranean World
A collection of full-text research materials on the ancient Near East and Mediterranean World. Many texts are in French.
Other
Bradshaw Foundation: Volcanic Winter and Modern Humans
Explanation of the volcanic winter that happened about 20,000 years ago that destroyed most of the human population not living in Africa. Explains how these early people coped with this 1000 years of nuclear winter and how when it was...
Tom Richey
Tom Richey: Power Point: Hammurabi's Code
PowerPoint slideshow from Tom Richey on ancient Mesopotamia and Hammurabi's Code.
Other
Art History Worlds: Early River Valley Civilizations
Why did the first complex, politically centralized civilizations materialize along rivers? Find out here by taking a close look at the Nile River civilizations, Mesopotamia, the Harappan civilization and the Xia, the Shang, and the Zhou...
Metropolitan Museum of Art
Metropolitan Museum of Art: Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History
Interactive timeline of art history which can be searched either by geographical region or time period, provides viewers with a comprehensive chronological resource of genre and the art world.
Read Works
Read Works: Survivor
[Free Registration/Login Required] An informational text about the life of Cro-Magnon people. A question sheet is available to help students build skills in reading comprehension.
SMART Technologies
Smart: Ancient World Religions
Compare various religions and explore their similarities and differences in this SMART lesson plan. An opportunity to learn each religion's location of origin and basic tenets is provided as well.
University of Illinois
University of Illinois: World History Connected: Cynthia Stokes Brown: What Is a Civilization, Anyway?
A comprehensive article accounting the definition and defining characteristics of a civilization to better understand the early civilizations.
Utah Education Network
Uen: Ancient Civilizations and the Modern World
Learn how ancient civilzations developed based on the local physical features and how the boundaries of early civilizations compare to their modern counterparts.
Khan Academy
Khan Academy: Quiz: The First Cities and States Appear
Take this quick quiz over the establishment of early civilizations.