Year 7 Humanities

Section 1

Time & Chronology

Anno Domini (AD)

"In the year of our Lord"; counts years after Christ’s birth.

Before the Common Era (BCE)

Marker for years before Christ’s birth; counts backward; no year zero.

Common Era (CE)

Marker for years after Christ’s birth; counts forward; no year zero.

Before Present (BP)

Counts years before today before the date 1950, this is because after 1950 is when radiocarbon was discovered

Chronology

Putting historical events in time order.

Circa

Latin for "around" or "approximately" (abbreviated as c.).

Deep Time

Giant scales of geological time used to study early human life and Earth's history.

Section 2

Historical Skills & Heritage

Primary source

Evidence created during the time being investigated (e.g., diaries, artefacts).

Secondary source

Evidence created after the time being investigated (e.g., textbooks, websites).

Evidence

Information from a source that supports an answer or an analysis.

Significance

How important something is based on its long-lasting change or what it reveals.

Dating methods

Techniques to find the age of remains

Absolute dating

Gives a specific age in years. It can usually be very expensive and it cannot be used on everything

Relative dating

Shows if something is older or younger than another object without giving an exact year.

Cultural Heritage

Traditions, art, and ways of life passed down through generations.

World Heritage

Places protected globally for their outstanding value to humanity.

Continuity and change

Continuity means how things stayed the same over time; change means how things altered over time.

Perspectives

The unique way a person or group views an event or issue.

Empathy

Historical empathy means understanding what life may have been like for people in the past.

Cause and effect

Cause

Why something happened.

Effect

What happened as a result.

Note

Historical events often have multiple causes and effects.

Contestability

Means that historians can disagree about interpretations of the past.

Section 3

Early Humans & Indigenous History

Homo sapiens

The scientific name for humans; means "knowing man". Characteristics

Evolution

The slow process where people developed from apelike ancestors over millions of years. To survive, they gradually developed key traits like walking on two legs, growing much larger brains, making stone tools, and using language to communicate.

Out of Africa theory

The idea that all humans originated in Africa 200,000 to 300,000 years ago and migrated outwards 100,000 years ago, proven through DNA studies and fossil records.

Sahul

The ancient mega-continent that included Australia, New Guinea, and Tasmania.

Traditional Owners

Original Indigenous owners with an ongoing cultural connection to their Country.

Mungo Man and Mungo Lady

Ancient skeletal remains of early Aboriginal Australians discovered at Lake Mungo; they prove to historians the occupation of Aboriginal Australians since a very long time ago.

The Great Flood of Australia (7,000 to 12,000 years ago)

At the end of the last Ice Age, rapid sea-level rise caused by warming global temperatures and melting ice sheets permanently reshaped the continent. As the advancing shoreline swallowed up to 20 metres of land every single week, ultimately swallowing about 25 percent of Australia. It separated Sahul into the separate countries it is today and created islands like the Kangaroo Islands and Tasmania.

Megafauna

Giant creatures that are significantly larger than the related animal species alive today. The term is most often used by scientists to describe the massive land mammals, birds, and reptiles that lived during the Ice Age and dominated their ecosystems until global climates changed. Indigenous peoples may have hunted them and shared the landscape with them for thousands of years.

Farming and Fishing Techniques

The First Australians used very clever and sustainable ways to live in harmony with the land for thousands of years. They only took what they needed, never wasted resources, and moved to different areas regularly so animals and plants could recover and grow back.

Aquaculture

The farming, breeding, and harvesting of water creatures and plants for food and human use. Instead of just catching fish in the open ocean, it involves raising animals like fish, eels, shellfish, and seaweed in controlled water environments like ponds, channels, or nets.

Dreaming stories

Creation stories where spirit ancestors came up from the earth and down from the sky to create the landscape, people, animals, and plants. They gave Aboriginal peoples their languages, ceremonies, laws, and customs. These stories developed into traditional rules called customary law, which teach important values. If an Aboriginal person breaks these laws, they can face punishments from their community.

Kinship

A social system that decides how people in a community are related to each other. It creates a large family network that includes blood relatives, other community members, and even the land and animals. This system tells everyone their specific roles, who they can marry, and how they must behave to keep the community organized and safe.

Section 4

Ancient Egypt

After Life

In the afterlife, Ancient Egyptians believed that a person's heart was weighed against the feather of Ma’at, the goddess of truth and justice. If the heart was lighter or equal in weight, the soul could enter the afterlife. If it was heavier (because of bad deeds), it was eaten by a fearsome creature called Ammit (female guardian demon in ancient Egyptian mythology) They believed that life on Earth was temporary – the afterlife was eternal. Egyptians believed that you would travel through the field of reeds to the underworld.

Core Concepts & Figures

Nile River

The spiritual lifeline of Ancient Egypt; it provides life, agriculture, crops, food, culture, and trading opportunities.

Inundation

The annual flooding of the Nile, which deposited fertile soil crucial for Egypt’s agriculture.

Afterlife

Eternal life through the underworld after death to the Field of Reeds, believed firmly by Egyptians.