QCAA Ancient History key terms

An object, text, building or image made during the period being studied, such as a coin, inscription or pot, offering direct though often partial evidence about past people and events.

A later work that interprets and analyses the past, such as a modern history book or journal article, shaped by the author's own questions, methods and selection of evidence.

The study of how history has been written, including changing interpretations, methods and debates among scholars over time, and the assumptions that shape their accounts of the past.

The documented history of ownership and find location of an object, used to judge whether it is authentic and whether its context of discovery can be trusted.

The physical setting of a find, including its layer, position and association with other objects, which gives artefacts much of their meaning and dating value.

The study of layered deposits at a site, based on the principle that lower layers are generally older, allowing archaeologists to establish relative sequences and date associated finds.

The controlled, recorded removal of soil and deposits at an archaeological site to recover structures, objects and their contexts in a systematic and reversible-on-paper way.

Writing carved or cut into durable material such as stone, metal or clay, often preserving official decrees, dedications, names and dates that survive better than texts on perishable materials.

The scholarly study and decipherment of inscriptions, including their letter forms, language, placement and purpose, used to reconstruct political, religious and social history.

The study of coins, including their metal content, weight, imagery and legends, which provides evidence for economy, trade, rulers, ideology and dating.

A systematic slant in a source or account caused by the author's interests, audience, culture or purpose, which can distort what is included, emphasised or omitted.

The extent to which a source can be trusted as accurate evidence for a particular question, judged by its origin, purpose, audience, corroboration and internal consistency.

The value of a source for answering a specific historical question, which depends on relevance and content rather than on whether the source is simply true or false.

The process of checking one piece of evidence against other independent sources to test whether claims are consistent and better supported.

Deliberately biased communication designed to promote a ruler, regime or cause and shape public opinion, often through monuments, coinage, speeches and official art.

The arrangement of events and periods in order of time, providing the framework historians use to sequence causes, developments and consequences.

Establishing the order of events or objects without assigning calendar years, for example by stratigraphy or by changes in artefact styles.

Methods that assign calendar ages or date ranges to objects and events, such as radiocarbon dating, dendrochronology or dated inscriptions and coins.

The division of the past into named periods, such as the Bronze Age or Classical period, using criteria that historians choose and that can be debated.

A political unit consisting of an urban centre and its surrounding territory, governing itself independently, as seen in Greek poleis and Mesopotamian cities.

The ancient Greek city-state, understood as a community of citizens with its own laws, cults, territory and institutions rather than merely a town.

The formal membership of a political community that carries rights, duties and privileges, which in ancient states was usually restricted by descent, gender and status.

A system in which citizens hold political power, in Athens through assemblies, councils, sortition and juries, though participation was limited to adult male citizens.

Rule by a small group, often wealthy or aristocratic families, exercising power through councils and restricted political rights, as in Sparta or many Greek city-states.

Selection for public office by lottery rather than election, a central Athenian democratic practice intended to give ordinary citizens an equal chance to serve.

A resident foreigner in an ancient Greek city, especially Athens, who lived and worked there but lacked citizenship rights and often paid a special tax.

A system in which people are treated as property and forced to work, which underpinned ancient economies and households and shaped social hierarchies.

A relationship in which a more powerful individual provides protection and benefits to a weaker client in exchange for loyalty, service and political support.

The ranked ordering of groups in a society by status, wealth, birth or legal rights, which determines access to power, resources and honour.

The alliance of Greek states led by Athens from 478 BCE, originally formed against Persia, which Athens increasingly controlled and turned into an empire.

The conflict between Athens and its allies and Sparta and its allies from 431 to 404 BCE, which reshaped the Greek world and ended Athenian dominance.

The extension of power over other peoples or states through conquest, tribute, alliances or settlement, often justified by ideology and producing resistance.

The Roman state from about 509 to 27 BCE in which power was shared among magistrates, the senate and citizen assemblies, with competition between elite families.

The advisory council of Rome, dominated by former magistrates, which controlled finance, foreign policy and elite careers and became the main arena of political competition.

The title 'first citizen' adopted by Augustus and later emperors, presenting personal rule in republican language while concentrating real power.

A territory outside Italy administered by a Roman governor with military and judicial authority, whose revenues and administration shaped imperial government.

A local ruler who retained power over his own people while acknowledging Roman supremacy, paying tribute and providing military support.

The set of ideas, images and rituals used to justify and sustain imperial rule, presenting the ruler as divinely favoured, victorious and beneficial to subjects.

The first-person account of his achievements and benefactions that Augustus composed for public display, presenting his rule in carefully chosen, self-justifying terms.