When studying primitive history at school, methodological difficulties arise in explaining the process of emergence of social differentiation and formation of elites in ancient societies. This article presents a variant of using mythological and linguistic sources to reconstruct these processes on the example of the professional group of blacksmiths. The results of the research allow us to define the main type of their activity as religious.

This article discusses the potential of strategic board games in the educational process in history classes on the example of a strategic board game "The Road to Victory. Battle for Moscow". The article analyzes the game, identifies technical and methodological problems arising in its use, notes the strengths and weaknesses of the educational potential of the game content. The authors focus on the problem of matching the gameplay of the board game "The Road to Victory. The Battle for Moscow". and historical reality.