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Sources of History

The document discusses different types of historical sources that historians use to understand the past. It defines primary sources as artifacts or documents created during the time period being studied, and secondary sources as later analyses and interpretations of primary sources. The key types of sources discussed are written sources like narratives, diplomatic documents, and records, as well as unwritten sources like archaeological evidence and oral histories. Historians must carefully distinguish between information taken directly from sources and their own interpretations in order to understand the past accurately based on reliable evidence from the time period.

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489 views16 pages

Sources of History

The document discusses different types of historical sources that historians use to understand the past. It defines primary sources as artifacts or documents created during the time period being studied, and secondary sources as later analyses and interpretations of primary sources. The key types of sources discussed are written sources like narratives, diplomatic documents, and records, as well as unwritten sources like archaeological evidence and oral histories. Historians must carefully distinguish between information taken directly from sources and their own interpretations in order to understand the past accurately based on reliable evidence from the time period.

Uploaded by

ysa
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Sources of history

From the reading:


Howell, M. C., & Prevenier, W. (2001). From reliable sources: An introduction to historical
methods.

discussed by: Dr. Angela chamos-Tenorio, lpt


All photos used in this presentation are taken from the net
Learning objectives

• At the end of this unit, the students must be able to :


• Define the meaning and relevance of history and
differentiate between primary and secondary sources;
written and unwritten sources; external and internal
analysis.
WHAT IS A (Historical) SOURCE
“Sources are artifacts that have been left by the past”. They may be regarded
as relics or remains of the past simply because they exist.

the Golden Tara or the


Agusan image found in
1917at Agusan del Sur. It is
a 21 karat gold statuette
dating between the 9th
and 10th centuries. It is
currently housed in the
Field Museum of Natural
History in Chicago.
What is the relationship of the historian to
the source?
Sources are the materials from which historians construct meanings
but such sources must be read within the historiographical contexts.
“ A source is an object from the past or testimony concerning the past
on which historians depend in order to create their own depiction of
the past” (Howell and Pevenier 2001).

The outcome?
HISTORICAL WORK OR HISTORICAL INTERPRETATION
To illustrate further

SOURCE

HISTORICAL
INTERRETATION
A word of caution…
“It is thus one of the primary responsibilities of the historian to
distinguish carefully for reader between information that comes
literally out of the source itself (in footnotes or by some other means)
and that which is a personal interpretation of the material”. (Howell
and Prevenier, 2001)

This photo is just for comic relief.


Source TYPOLOGIES
PRIMARY SOURCES
SECONDARY SOURCES

WRITTEN SOURCES
UNWRITTEN SOURCE
WHAT ARE THE TYPES OF WRITTEN SOURCES?

1. NARRATIVE/ LITERARY SOURCES - They were written to impart a message


EXAMPLES: CHRONICLES, SCIENTIFIC ARTICLES, NEWSPAPER ARTICLES, EGO
DOCUMENTS, NOVEL, FILM

2. DIPLOMATIC SOURCES – They were written to document an existing legal


situation or create a new one.
These are regarded by professional historians as the purest and best source
EXAMPLES: LAW-GIVING, JUDGEMENTS, CONTRACTS , LICENSES

3. SOCIAL DOCUMENTS - documents for record keeping


EXAMPLES: reports, civil registries, tax rolls
WHAT ARE UNWRITTEN SOURCES
- MATERIAL OR ORAL SOURCE
EXAMPLES: ARCHAEOLOGICAL EVIDENCES

*ORAL SOURCES ARE IN THE FORM OF TALES AND SAGAS OF ANCIENT


PEOPLES
EXAMPLES: SPEECHES

* MOST HAVE BEEN PRESERVED THROUGH RECORDING , WHILE SOME


HAVE BEEN TRANSFORMED INTO “WRITTEN” SOURCES.
ADDITIONAL NOTES
In the study of history as an academic discipline, a primary
source (also called an original source or evidence) is an artifact,
document, diary, manuscript, autobiography, recording, or any
other source of information that was created at the time under
study.

Sreedharan believes that primary sources have the most direct


connection to the past and that they "speak for themselves" in
ways that cannot be captured through the filter of secondary
sources.

---Sreedharan, E. (2004). A Textbook of Historiography, 500 B.C. to A.D. 2000.


Orient Longman. p. 302. ISBN 81-250-2657-6.
Are quotes primary sources?
▪ NO
• They have been removed from the original document by
someone else.
• FIND THE ORIGINAL DOCUMENT

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