Debating ancient histories

Year level Year 7 – 12
Duration 90 minutes
Cost $240 per group (up to 32 students)
Audience Secondary

In this hands-on workshop, students will unpack multiple perspectives on history, using objects and artefacts to piece together facts and events.

Using real and replica objects from the Museum’s collections, students will learn techniques used by experts like archaeologists, historians and Aboriginal knowledge holders and debate ethical concerns associated with the treatment, display and interpretation of collections.

Student experience

Students will:

View and handle significant and replica objects and artefacts from the Museum’s collections
Use inquiry-based learning to better understand professional investigation techniques
Consider what makes an object an artefact
Encounter challenging questions around authenticity
View a presentation about a significant Western Australian case study
Interrogate issues around collecting cultural artefacts and human remains

Skills development

This program links to the following strands of the Western Australian Curriculum:

Year 7

History

How historians and archaeologists investigate history, including excavation and archival research (ACDSEH001)
The range of sources that can be used in an historical investigation, including archaeological and written sources (ACDSEH029)
The importance of conserving the remains of the ancient past, including the heritage of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples (ACDSEH148)

Year 11

Ancient History General

Unit 1 – Ancient civilisations and cultures

Elective: Ancient Australia and the First Peoples

Ancient History ATAR

Unit 1 – Investigating the ancient world

Students investigate the significant issues related to at least one of the following topics:

Historical authentication and reliability

Preservation, conservation, and/or reconstruction of ancient sites
Cultural heritage, ownership and the role of museums
Treatment and display of human remains

Year 12