Uses BC/BCE and AD/CE correctly, and counts backwards across the zero.
Places the major eras in order: prehistory, ancient civilisations, classical antiquity, the Middle Ages, the early modern period, the industrial age, the modern era.
Knows something substantial about at least three ancient civilisations (e.g. Egypt, Mesopotamia, Greece, Rome, China, the Indus Valley, Mesoamerica).
Knows why writing was invented and what it made possible.
Knows the outline of their own country's history — *local* — and its main turning points.
Distinguishes a primary from a secondary source.
Explains why two accounts of the same event can differ, without either being a lie.