This week in History, we have continued our learning about Ancient Greece. Earlier in the week, we explored two of the most famous Greek city-states: Athens and Sparta. We compared their similarities and differences, discussing everything from education and government to daily life and military training. After weighing up the evidence, we decided which city-state we would prefer to live in and explained our reasons.
Today, we became history detectives and investigated an ancient Greek artefact. Our challenge was to answer the question: How much information can we gather from a single artefact?
Using only a photograph of an ancient vase, we carefully observed what we could see and recorded our ideas. We looked for clues, made inferences, asked questions and considered whose perspective might be represented. We also thought about the limitations of the artefact and what it could not tell us about life in Ancient Greece.
There were lots of interesting observations and theories. Some of us noticed a figure carrying a shield and spear, while others spotted athletes taking part in a sporting event. We used these clues to make educated guesses about the purpose of the object and the people who may have used it.
After completing our investigation, we discovered that the artefact was a Panathenaic amphora, a special prize vase awarded to winning athletes at one of Athens’ most important sporting and religious festivals. This helped us to see how much information historians can gather from artefacts, but also how important it is to ask questions and consider different perspectives when studying the past.
We thoroughly enjoyed putting our detective skills to the test and discovering how a single object can reveal so much about Ancient Greek life.
If you were a historian, what questions would you still want to ask about the artefact after studying it?
