Students explore the rise and fall of major civilizations in the ancient world. The subject surveys empires from Europe to East Asia. The subject surveys the transition from hunter gatherers to the age of agriculture and the rise of city states, and vast empires with far-flung trading networks. It also looks at the impact of ancient pandemics, technology and alcohol, mythology, religion and philosophical ideas. The subject allows students to explore how ideas of nature and spirituality defined imperial power centres and how these empires in turn drove trade and created vast cultural zones that still impact the world today. Students will read and respond to the voices of the past and forge their own interpretation of the broad outline of the ancient world.