Changes

==Etymology==

==Etymology==

[https://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=English#ca._1100-1500_.09THE_MIDDLE_ENGLISH_PERIOD Middle English] ancien, from Anglo-French, from Vulgar [[Latin]] anteanus, from Latin ante before  

[https://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=English#ca._1100-1500_.09THE_MIDDLE_ENGLISH_PERIOD Middle English] ancien, from Anglo-French, from Vulgar [[Latin]] anteanus, from Latin ante before  

*Date: [http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/14th_Century 14th century]

*Date: [https://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/14th_Century 14th century]

==Definitions==

==Definitions==

*1 : having had an [[existence]] of many years

*1 : having had an [[existence]] of many years

*2 : of or relating to a remote period, to a time early in [[history]], or to those living in such a period or [[time]]; especially : of or relating to the historical period beginning with the earliest known [[civilizations]] and extending to the fall of the western [http://www.wikpedia.org/wiki/Roman_Empire Roman Empire] in a.d. 476

*2 : of or relating to a remote period, to a time early in [[history]], or to those living in such a period or [[time]]; especially : of or relating to the historical period beginning with the earliest known [[civilizations]] and extending to the fall of the western [https://www.wikpedia.org/wiki/Roman_Empire Roman Empire] in a.d. 476

*3 : having the [[qualities]] of age or long [[existence]]

*3 : having the [[qualities]] of age or long [[existence]]

==Description==

==Description==

'''Ancient''' [[history]] is the [[study]] of the [[written]] [[past]] from the beginning of recorded [[human]] [[history]] in the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_World Old World] to the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Early_Middle_Ages Early Middle Ages] in Europe.

'''Ancient''' [[history]] is the [[study]] of the [[written]] [[past]] from the beginning of recorded [[human]] [[history]] in the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_World Old World] to the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Early_Middle_Ages Early Middle Ages] in Europe.

The span of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recorded_history recorded history] is roughly 5,000 years, with [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuneiform_script Cuneiform script], the oldest [[discovered]] form of [[writing]], from the protoliterate period around the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/30th_century_BC 30th century BC]. This is the beginning of [[history]], as opposed to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prehistory prehistory], according to the definition used by most historians.

The span of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recorded_history recorded history] is roughly 5,000 years, with [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuneiform_script Cuneiform script], the oldest [[discovered]] form of [[writing]], from the protoliterate period around the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/30th_century_BC 30th century BC]. This is the beginning of [[history]], as opposed to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prehistory prehistory], according to the definition used by most historians.

The term [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical_antiquity classical antiquity] is often used to refer to ancient history since the beginning of recorded [[Greek]] [[history]] in 776 BC ([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympiad First Olympiad]). This roughly coincides with the [[traditional]] date of the founding of [[Rome]] in 753 BC, the beginning of the [[history]] of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Rome ancient Rome], and the beginning of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archaic_Greece Archaic period] in Ancient Greece. Although the ending date of ancient history is disputed, Western scholars use the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fall_of_the_Western_Roman_Empire fall of the Western Roman Empire] in AD 476, the [[death]] of the emperor Justinian I, the coming of Islam or the rise of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlemagne Charlemagne] as the end of ancient and Classical European history.

The term [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical_antiquity classical antiquity] is often used to refer to ancient history since the beginning of recorded [[Greek]] [[history]] in 776 BC ([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympiad First Olympiad]). This roughly coincides with the [[traditional]] date of the founding of [[Rome]] in 753 BC, the beginning of the [[history]] of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Rome ancient Rome], and the beginning of the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archaic_Greece Archaic period] in Ancient Greece. Although the ending date of ancient history is disputed, Western scholars use the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fall_of_the_Western_Roman_Empire fall of the Western Roman Empire] in AD 476, the [[death]] of the emperor Justinian I, the coming of Islam or the rise of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlemagne Charlemagne] as the end of ancient and Classical European history.

In India, the period includes the period of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_kingdoms_of_India Middle Kingdoms], and in China the time up to the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qin_Dynasty Qin Dynasty] is included.

In India, the period includes the period of the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_kingdoms_of_India Middle Kingdoms], and in China the time up to the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qin_Dynasty Qin Dynasty] is included.

==Study==

==Study==

A [[fundamental]] [[difficulty]] of [[studying]] ancient history is that [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recorded_history recorded histories] cannot [[document]] the entirety of [[human]] [[events]], and only a fraction of those documents have [[survived]] into the present day. Of those that have, the reliability of the [[information]] obtained from these records must be considered. Few people were capable of [[writing]] histories, as [[literacy]] was not widespread in almost any [[culture]] until long after the end of ancient history.

A [[fundamental]] [[difficulty]] of [[studying]] ancient history is that [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recorded_history recorded histories] cannot [[document]] the entirety of [[human]] [[events]], and only a fraction of those documents have [[survived]] into the present day. Of those that have, the reliability of the [[information]] obtained from these records must be considered. Few people were capable of [[writing]] histories, as [[literacy]] was not widespread in almost any [[culture]] until long after the end of ancient history.

The [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Empire Roman Empire] was one of the ancient world's most [[literate]] [[cultures]], but many works by its most widely read historians are lost. For example, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Livy Livy], a [[Roman]] historian who lived in the 1st century BC, wrote a [[history]] of [[Rome]] called [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ab_Urbe_Condita_(book) Ab Urbe Condita] (From The City Having Been Founded) in 144 volumes; only 35 volumes still exist, although short summaries of most of the rest do exist. Indeed, only a minority of the work of any major Roman historian has survived.

The [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Empire Roman Empire] was one of the ancient world's most [[literate]] [[cultures]], but many works by its most widely read historians are lost. For example, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Livy Livy], a [[Roman]] historian who lived in the 1st century BC, wrote a [[history]] of [[Rome]] called [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ab_Urbe_Condita_(book) Ab Urbe Condita] (From The City Having Been Founded) in 144 volumes; only 35 volumes still exist, although short summaries of most of the rest do exist. Indeed, only a minority of the work of any major Roman historian has survived.

Historians have two major avenues which they take to better [[understand]] the ancient world: [[archaeology]] and the [[study]] of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Source_text source texts]. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primary_source Primary sources] are those sources closest to the [[origin]] of the [[information]] or [[idea]] under [[study]]. Primary sources have been distinguished from [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secondary_sources secondary sources], which often cite, comment on, or build upon primary sources.[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient]

Historians have two major avenues which they take to better [[understand]] the ancient world: [[archaeology]] and the [[study]] of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Source_text source texts]. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primary_source Primary sources] are those sources closest to the [[origin]] of the [[information]] or [[idea]] under [[study]]. Primary sources have been distinguished from [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secondary_sources secondary sources], which often cite, comment on, or build upon primary sources.[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient]

[[Category: History]]

[[Category: History]]