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Black Death

This resource is about the plague that broke out in England from 1348-49. It provides an overview of the plague in the British Isles beginning with the initial outbreak in Dorset, which then spread to England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. The resource includes many contemporary descriptions of the plague, the death toll ...

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Transition to Agriculture

This 6 minute video explains how agriculture drove change and why humans took the risk of abandoning foraging. As farming technologies improved, populations increased, which led to the growth of villages and then cities. This in turn enabled collective learning, so that farming regions got a head start on other regions. ...

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Why did civilisations expand?

This short video offers an overview of why civilisations expanded, by looking at the past for commonalities and patterns. The need to expand is one such pattern with massive empires growing then collapsing. Expansion was necessary to pay for increasing infrastructure, government and the military, and internal resources ...

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Intro to Archaeology

This is a 5 minute video by a professor of archaeology who explains the work of an archaeologist. Archaeology is divided into two types - historical archaeology which is the study of written records left behind by civilisations, and prehistoric archaeology which is before written records eg the stone age. Archaeologists ...

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The Mongols in world history

This rich online resource is about the Mongol empire viewed in the context of the beginnings of world history. It provides a comprehensive set of materials about the Mongol culture and its history during the period from the birth of Temujin - later Chinggis (Genghis) Khan - in about 1162 to the end of the empire in 1368. ...

Interactive

Paint the cathedral

This simple interactive game is about the medieval cathedral of Wells in England. It includes an image of the west front of the cathedral today, some background information about the cathedral and its decorations in medieval times, and instructions on how to 'paint' the west wing.

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Naachtun: lost city of the Maya

This resource is about the Mayan city of Naachtun rediscovered by archaeologists in 1922. It provides background material on the archaeological visits to the Mayan site from 1922 through to 2002, and describes the remnants of the structures and artefacts of the city, including stone monuments carved with hieroglyphic inscriptions ...

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Black Death: the disease

The resource is about the plague, the disease known as Black Death in 14th-century England. It describes the three variations of the disease: bubonic, pneumonic and septicaemic, and the causes and symptoms of the disease. It also considers the origins of the bacteria, the conditions needed for an epidemic to occur and the ...

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Ancient China: geography - challenge

This is a game entitled 'Where do I live?' in which the user matches a set of four people and animals to the areas in China where they live. The challenge is based on understanding the different geographical features of seven regions and two river basins in China and identifying which of these matches the habitats of the ...

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Ancient China: geography - how Nu Gua created human beings

This is an animated text accompanied by notes that recounts two myths about the goddess Nu Gua and the Yellow River. The first describes how Nu Gua created human beings, first by making models of the gods from the yellow clay of the river to create the rich and fortunate, and then by flicking droplets of clay to create ...

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How did change accelerate?

This 12 minute video is divided into two parts and presents an overview of the rapid development of the modern world. Part 1 presents reasons for the exponential growth in the world's population over the last 500 years including the development of global networks and commerce and the discovery of fossil fuel energy, which ...

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How did the world become interconnected?

This 10 minute video in 3 parts offers an overview of the growth of information networks through developments in the technologies of communication and transportation. Part 1 discusses how writing, inventions of paper and printing improved communication between societies and the development of transport and courier systems ...

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The Mongols' mark on global history

This resource, a component of the online resource The Mongols in world history, focuses on the contribution of the Mongol empire during the 13th and 14th centuries to world history. It examines the stereotype of the Mongol empire as being peopled by barbarians and juxtaposes it with the contributions of the Mongol empire. ...

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The Mongol conquests

This is an illustrated four-part historical account of the rise and fall of the Mongol Empire, the largest contiguous land empire in history. It includes sections on: factors leading to the Mongol conquests; the role of Chinggis (Genghis) Khan; how a small group of Mongols succeeded in conquering a vast domain; and the ...

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Ancient China: geography

This is a rich online resource about the geography of China. It consists of four sections: a Geography section that summarises China's geographical features; a Story section that features myths about Nu Gua, the creator of humans; an Explore section that includes maps of ancient China; and a Challenge section where the ...

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Medieval stonemasons

This resource is about the medieval stonemason. It includes text and some images. The resource is organised under four topic headings: A mason's craft; Soaring monuments; Heavenly Jerusalem; and Find out more. Interposed in the text are images of Ely Cathedral, Salisbury Cathedral and Wells Cathedral.

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The Mongols in China

This is an illustrated four-part historical account of Mongol rule in China. It includes sections on: the Mongol influence on China; Khubilai Khan in China; life in China under Mongol rule; and the beginnings of the Mongol collapse. The life in China section describes the effects of Mongol rule on peasants, artisans, merchants, ...

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Key figures in Mongol history

This resource, a component of the online resource The Mongols in world history, focuses on key figures in Mongol history. It includes biographical data on Chinggis (Genghis) Khan, his son Ogodei and grandson Khubilai Khan, and Khubilai's wife Chabi. It also gives an account of Marco Polo and Phags-pa, a Tibetan Buddhist ...

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The Mongols' pastoral-nomadic life

This resource, a component of the online resource The Mongols in world history, details the nomadic lifestyle of the Mongols and the rise of Temujin (Genghis Khan). It includes a list of the animals upon which the precarious pastoral-nomadic life of the Mongols depended. It describes the various uses of the animals by the ...

Interactive

Ancient Greeks: Greeks at war

This is a multi-layered resource about the ancient Greeks at war. The text is divided into four sections covering historical facts about who the Greeks fought, The Battle of Marathon, the Greek method of fighting and their armour. It includes a quiz, fun facts, photographs, factsheets, links, and a range of extension activities.