SIGNIFICANCE
The importance that is assigned to particular aspects of the past, e.g. events, developments, movements and historical sites.
SIGNIFICANCE includes an examination of the principles behind the selection of what should be investigated and remembered and involves consideration of questions such as:
How did people in the past view the significance of an event? How important were the consequences of an event? What was the duration of the event? How relevant is it to the contemporary world?
NARRATIVE
A way of making sense of the past based on a selection of events.
There are different types of narrative such as accounts of the past that relate a story (for example personal, fictitious) and historical recounts (such as the course of events during the S
TERMS
A word or phrase used to describe abstract aspects or features of the past (eg. colonisation, revolution, imperialism, democracy) and more specific features such as a pyramid, gladiator, temple, rock shelter
ARTEFACTS
Something made or shaped by humans for their use, such as a stone tool, a metal sword, a plastic toy.
ORAL HISTORIES
People's spoken recollections of the past, recorded through an audio or video interview.
CONCEPTS
A concept refers to any general notion or idea that is used to develop an understanding of the past, such as concepts related to the process of historical inquiry (for example evidence, continuity and change, perspectives, significance) and concepts that
CAUSE & EFFECT
Used by historians to identify chains of events and developments over time, short term and long term.
CONTINUITY & CHANGE
Aspects of the past that remained the same over certain periods of time are referred to as continuities. Continuity and change are evident in any given period of time and concepts such as progress and decline may be used to evaluate continuity and change.
EMPATHY
Empathy is an understanding of the past from the point of view of a particular individual or group, including an appreciation of the circumstances they faced, and the motivations, values and attitudes behind their actions
TERMS
A word or phrase used to describe abstract aspects or features of the past (for example colonisation, revolution, imperialism, democracy) and more specific features such as a pyramid, gladiator, temple, rock shelter
ASIA
As defined in the Australian Curriculum: History, 'Asia' refers to the territorial area that extends from the western border of Pakistan, to the northern border of Mongolia, the eastern border of Japan, and that extends to the southern border of Indonesia
HISTORICAL INQUIRY
Historical inquiry is the process of investigation undertaken in order to understand the past. Steps in the inquiry process include posing questions, locating and analysing sources and using evidence from sources to develop an informed explanation about t
SOURCE
Any written or non-written materials that can be used to investigate the past, for example coins, photographs, letters, gravestones, buildings. A source becomes 'evidence' if it is of value to a particular inquiry.
ANCIENT
As defined in the Australian Curriculum: History, the Ancient period covers history from the development of early human communities (from 60 000 BCE) to the end of late antiquity (around 650 CE)
EVIDENCE
In History, evidence is the information obtained from sources that is valuable for a particular inquiry (for example the relative size of historical figures in an ancient painting may provide clues for an inquiry into the social structure of the society).
CONTESTABILITY
Occurs when particular interpretations about the past are open to debate, for example, as a result of a lack of evidence or different perspectives.
BCE
An abbreviation of 'Before the Common Era'. It is the same dating system as the traditionally used BC, meaning 'Before Christ'. Historical dates before the birth of Christ are classified as BCE. There is no year zero in this dating system, so the year CE
CE
An abbreviation of `Common Era'. It is the same dating system as the traditionally used AD, short for the Latin phrase Anno Domini, 'the year of our Lord'. Historical dates after the birth of Christ are classified as CE. There is no year zero in this dati