Jump to content

Menu

First Grade - Books about Africa/Australia?


Guest slayergrl99
 Share

Recommended Posts

Guest slayergrl99

I have books that cover the Ancient Americas, Ancient Europe (Boudica and her Barmy Army looks awesome, I can't wait to dig in!) and Asia. However, I'm having a hard time finding good books for Australia and Africa. Anyone have any good suggestions?

 

I have books covering Ancient Egypt up to the Roman period. However, the cultural differences between Egypt, Saharan, and Subsaharan Africa, to me as a trained archaeologist, are worth at least reading different tales and seeing the art from the different regions. Any recs?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The southern hemisphere does not have much ancient history - almost nothing was recorded from those times, so reading fairy tales are fine, perhaps read stories about animals of the regions which presumably would have been there in ancient times.

 

Here are some articles on Subsaharan Africa discussing rock paintings and certain dates which could possibly be used with younger children:

http://www.ezakwantu.com/Gallery%20Brandberg%20-%20The%20White%20Lady%20-%20Namibia.htm

http://www.wits.ac.za/academic/science/geography/rock%20art/aboutrockart/14758/about_rock_art.html

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

Australia does have ancient history! Unfortunately it has never been taught until very recently, so adult Australians still tend to think of our history as beginning with the exploration and colonization eras.

 

A great resource for discovering Australian history is First Footprints, which was a television series covering Indigenous Australians from ancient times and can now be bought on DVD. The DVD is family friendly as long as you're OK with a very small amount of non-sexual nudity. There is also an accompanying book suitable for adults and teens. It is quite up to date and dispels many myths about the first Australians. (Covers 50,000 years so probably not YEC-appropriate.)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I assumed people were meaning history in the sense of written records, not that people weren't doing stuff around here.

 

Thanks for the dvd rec!

Exactly what I meant...there is no recorded history before the English arrival. Aboriginals have been living here for 60 000 years...their history was passed down through oral methods. If you want ancient history you will need to read stories of the Aboriginal Dreaming. Also look for books that have recorded oral stories told by Aboriginals of their history and traditions.

 

A great book rec is The First Australians...it also comes in DVD version. It's an adult book but gives a good overview of our history and also Aboriginal pre history.

 

Also worth doing is comparing scientific evidence of creation and origin to Aboriginal stories of the same. DNA research has linked Aboriginal origin to be from Africa...most closely related to Indians. Their blood types indicate European descent as well.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...