Historical Sources and Investigations

Repositories of Historical Sources

• History is a continuous process of understanding the past.
• Aristotle stated that history is a systematic account of natural phenomena.
• Zeus Salazar described history as a narrative meaningful to a specific group, rooted in their language and culture.

Theories in Investigating History

• Factual history presents basic information (what, when, and who).
• Speculative history explores the "why" and "how" behind events to understand cause and effect.

Published Documents

• Published documents are intended for public distribution and use.
• Examples include newspapers, magazines, books, laws, and literary works.

Unpublished Documents

• Unpublished documents are often kept private and are confidential.
• Locating them can be challenging.

Philippine Depositories

• The National Library of the Philippines (NLP) is a key repository for historical sources.
• The NLP has a Filipiniana Division and a Microfilm Section.
• The Archdiocesan Archives of Manila, located in Intramuros, is another significant depository.
• Local historical networks also hold historical materials.

Spanish Depositories

• The Spanish government offers free access to digitized copies of historical documents through the Portal de Archivos Españoles (PARES).
• Repositories include the Archivo General de Indias (Seville), Archivo Historico Nacional (Madrid), and Museo Naval (Madrid).

Mexican Depository

• The Philippines was once part of the Viceroyalty of New Spain, with its capital in Mexico.
• Ties between the Philippines and Mexico ended with Mexico's 1821 independence.
• Historical documents from this period might be found in Mexico's Archivo General de la Nación.

British Depository

• British occupation of Manila (1762-1764) led to some Spanish-era documents being transferred to the British Museum.
• Rizal researched at the British Museum to annotate the "Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas" by Antonio de Morga.

American Depositories

• Online archives are beneficial for researchers without access to physical repositories.
• Archives like archive.org and Project Gutenberg offer digitized historical materials.
• Major archives in the US include the National Archives and Records Service (NARS), Library of Congress, and Harvard and Stanford Universities.

Classification and Types of Historical Sources

• Historical sources include relics, remains, and testimonies from the past.
• Artifacts are silent witnesses to a time period.
• Excavations unearth evidence like natural remains.

Main Types of Written Sources

• Primary sources are firsthand accounts—original documents.
• Secondary sources analyze or interpret primary sources.

Unwritten Sources

• Unwritten sources include archaeological evidence, oral evidence, and material evidence.

Archaeological Evidence

• Archaeological evidence includes artifacts and ecofacts providing insights into past cultures.
• Artifacts reflect the lifestyle, artistic expressions, and tools of past populations.

Oral Evidence

• Oral sources—tales, myths, legends, folk songs, and rituals give clues to culture and social conditions.

Material Evidence

• Material evidence comprises tangible items like photos, artworks, videos, and sound recordings.

How to Analyze Primary Sources

• Content analysis is a research method studying primary sources (documents, communications, artifacts).
• Content analysis can study text, images, audio, video.
• Analysis may differ based on source location.

Klaus Krippendorff's Considerations

• Krippendorff defined crucial aspects in content analysis—data definition, population, relevant content, analysis limits and measurement methods.