Last summer I went a little nutty. See, I was SO excited that our curriculum recommended a timeline. SO SO excited that timeline figures came with it.

Until ...

I opened the packaging.

The timeline figures were ... not well done.

Like a coloring book. Humans with limbs and facial features out of proportion, oddly different line weights from one to the next, some tiny, some huge, some with pictures, some without. If I ran across the figures free on some website, I’d … keep looking. The fact that they came with a purchased curriculum still makes me shake my head.

So I asked myself the logical question: would I really want to laminate these and look at them on my family room wall FOREVER?!

Um. No.

I searched Google for ones I liked better.

I found these, which are super cute and have almost all the ancients I could want, plus a few our particular curriculum didn’t include. But the figures that were missing, well, they were missing. (They were free when I first wrote this post—sadly, the days of free resources are over. Almost. Keep reading!)

Plus, plus I was getting an idea.

Always dangerous.

I was having a vision of The Ultimate Timeline Figures. They would include all the ancients. They would feature classic art. They would be informational. And beautiful!

I searched. They didn't exist.

So OF COURSE I had only one option. I had to make my own.

So I did.

I printed them on paper and laminated them (cardstock would work too, but I found it unnecessary). We've been using them all year. See?

And you can too! Scroll down for the free download! (An actual FREE resource? Yes!)

Ancient History Timeline Figures Using Classic Art

That's right, classic art. I lovingly created all the cards I'd need, doing my best to ensure all images were public domain. And since it seemed silly to keep them all for myself, I thought I'd share them with everyone.

So here they are!

Each card has:

• one key person and/or event with date (if available—i.e., I did not “date” creation because that can be touchy. Add or adjust dates with Sharpie as needed.)

• a classic image

• title/date of the historical painting

These are compatible, more or less, with My Father's World (I have used), Tapestry of Grace (what I have also used in the past and may return to because it’s my first, truest curriculum love), Mystery of History, Story of the World, Classical Conversations, RC History and more.

As you can see below I also used the super cute ones linked above. Because, hey, they're adorable and why not?

Organize Your Timeline With Washi Tape

The one problem we ran into consistently: too little wall space. We ran out of wall loooong before we ran out of history. If we relocate, we’d use a long hallway rather than the family room wall.

Ancient History Timeline Figures Downloadable PDF

Click below to download, and be sure to leave me a comment because I'd love to see how you put the cards to use. Really! (And thanks to those who have commented! You are awesome! Nobody comments on blogs anymore because they’re almost all infomercials full of ads and links to other people’s content. Not me, though!) Plus, you can now follow my timeline board on Pinterest if you want the scoop on new figures the moment I find (or make) them!

What do you say? Would you like these free printable timeline figures?

Since first designing this resource, I’ve added a shop. You can support this site and purchase the 84-Card, Updated and Redesigned set here, or sign up below for the FREE 66-Card set (still fully redesigned and updated!).

So, what do you think?

So all this is to say: download, print, share! Just pretty, pretty please don't re-post the PDFs themselves. Link back to this page instead, ok? Because I worked really, really hard on these.

If you’re loving this resource, you can support this site by purchasing the file from Teachers Pay Teachers. I only get a fraction of the cost, but my goal with the profits is to one day be able to … buy a cup of coffee for a friend. I have a long ways to go, and saying “no” to advertisers who want to turn my site into a pop-up-advertising nightmare isn’t helping, but someday, I know it’ll happen. The coffee part, not the pop-up part. ;-)

Update: I'm currently (2024) preparing to do a year of US History and will slowly build Exploration to Modern cards as time allows! I’m not a “professional printable creator” so “as time allows” really means: when all the other things are done!

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