G9 History: The Discipline of History and Human Evolution PDF

1 | Unit 1 The Discipline of History and Human Evolution Unit THE DISCIPLINE OF HISTORY AND HUMAN...

1 | Unit 1 The Discipline of History and Human Evolution Unit THE DISCIPLINE OF HISTORY AND HUMAN EVOLUTION Unit Introduction This unit intends to familiarize you the emergence of states. In order to with the elementary methodology of facilitate your learning and to make history which helps you to learn the it interesting to you, major points subsequent units more successfully. and arguments are illustrated with Accordingly, the lessons in this unit examples and images. The unit closes cover meaning of pre-history and with a summary of the main points history, the discipline of history, evolution human beings, theories on of each lesson, followed by review the origin of human beings, Africa questions that enable you to measure and human evolution, Stone Age and your achievements all through the unit. Unit learning outcomes At the end of this unit, learners will be able to: discuss the main objectives of studying history. evaluate the place of Africa and Ethiopia in human evolution. summarise the theories on the origin of state and its major features. 🔑 Key Terms Prehistory Human Evolution State History Chronology 1 History Grade 9 Student Textbook 1.1 Meaning of Prehistory and History Lesson learning outcomes At the end of this lesson, learners will be able to: define the discipline of History. explain the difference between prehistory and history Brainstorming Discuss in group prehistory and history. The term history, derived from the Greek word Istoria, means “inquiry” or “an account of one’s inquiries.” History is the study of humans in the past. It tells what they did and what happened to them. Historians are people who study and write about the human past. They tell us that history began about 5,500 years ago when people first began to write. However, the study of human past begins in prehistory. Prehistory is the study of the distant past. Prehistory was the time before people developed the art of writing. Archaeologists and Anthropologists have worked to find clues about early human life. Only a small part is studied of these events and deeds of the past. This small part, which is studied, is also called history. Unlike prehistory, however, the subject of history mainly deals with the past, beginning from when writing and recording started. History is about human interaction, the growth of civilizations, the invention of new technology, man’s relationship with the environment etc. One of the significant concerns of history is the study of humans’ interaction with the natural environment in the past. However, the other disciplines do it in the present. Man interacts with the natural environment to produce his primary needs, such as food, shelter, and cloth. In the production process, human beings improved the production tools and the quality and quantity of the produce. 2  | Unit 1 The Discipline of History and Human Evolution  1. How do you differentiate prehistory from history? 2. Explain the term ‘Istoria’. 3. Referring to different history books or exploring the internet, write a half-page essay describing the relationship between man and the natural environment and present it to your class. History as a body of knowledge is an account of the past based on historical facts and evidence. Historical fact refers to information or statement about the past that is known or proven to be true. History is all about providing an interpretation of what happened, why it happened, and how it happened based on sources. Therefore, history is both the facts of the past and inquiry made into the past facts. Thus, history is not an opinion or novel writing. Identifying historical facts from opinion requires critical thinking. Distinguishing between fact and opinion is one of the most important skills you can learn from studying history. A fact is a statement that can be proved with supporting information. On the other hand, an opinion is what a writer believes based on his or her viewpoint. History writers can keep their opinions with facts, but an opinion is something that cannot be proved.  1. How can you distinguish facts from opinion? Explain it by giving an example. 1.2 The Discipline of History Lesson learning outcomes At the end of this lesson, learners will be able to: describe the importance of learning history. identify different sources of history. examine pieces of historical sources closely. appreciate the role of history in understanding societal development. discuss the level of accuracy of data obtained from other sources. 3 History Grade 9 Student Textbook Brainstorming How can we study history? As a body of knowledge, History is a branch of social science that deals with what human beings did in the past. It studies changes in the development of past societies’ political, economic, social, and cultural life. 1.2.1 The Importance of History History helps us know about the past, understand the present, and foresee future developments. It also allows us to understand national and international issues, including democratic principles and nationalism. History can also help us develop the necessary skill for collecting and analysing information to reach conclusions. So, it helps us live our lives as conscious citizens actively participating in shaping our future. History teaches us critical skills. Studying History helps students to develop essential research skills. History helps us understand the present better and provides a sense of identity. 1.2.2 Historiography and Historical Interpretations A. Historiography Historiography studies how knowledge of the past is attained and transmitted. The world’s oldest written History comes from China. Archaeologists have discovered records of Chinese History written before 1000 BC. Ancient Greek historians, notably Herodotus and Thucydides, introduced the organized study and narration of the past. The term’s first use is attributed to Herodotus (c. 484-425 BC), who is often the “father of history. ” Thucydides wrote critically and accurately. History emerged as an academic discipline in the second half of the 19th century, first in Europe and then other parts of the world. Leopold Von Ranke (1795-1886), the German historian, established History as an independent discipline. Ranke is considered the “father of modern historiography” for his effort to the scientific study of the past. Ethiopia had an indigenous tradition of history writing. It made some changes from the chronicle tradition in the early 20th century. History emerged as an academic discipline in the 1960s. This decade is vital in the growth of Ethiopian historiography. B. Historical Interpretation What happened in the past is endless. Thus, historians select topics or problems they desire to study. History is a systematic and objective study of the past as a field of 4  | Unit 1 The Discipline of History and Human Evolution discipline. It is a systematic study because historical study follows established rules, procedures, and standards. Historians use specific basic methods in writing History. The study of History also refers to the objective pursuit of truth. In principle, historians are expected to avoid bias though it is difficult in practice. Historical interpretation is the process by which we describe, analyse, evaluate, and create an explanation of past events. We base our interpretation on primary or secondary, or both sources. 1.2.3 Sources of History History is the study of the past supported by evidence arising from sources. Where there are no sources, there is no history. Sources are, therefore, key to the study and writing of History. Most commonly, historians divide sources into two broad groups. These are primary and secondary. Primary sources are those that are contemporary with the events under study. They are original materials that have direct relations to the events they describe. Examples of primary sources are Monuments, tools, ornaments, artifacts (coins, fossils, inscriptions, weapons, utensils, and ruins of buildings), written materials (manuscripts or handwritten materials, chronicles, diaries, letters, minutes, codes of laws, court records and administrative files, travel documents), photographs, maps, video and audiovisual materials. a) b) Figure 1.1 a) Silver Coins of Enudybis, b) Archives Secondary sources are sources that contain information that is derived from primary sources. In addition, they provide us with second-hand or indirect information. Examples of secondary sources are articles, books, textbooks, biographies, oral traditions and published stories or movies about historical events.Oral traditions are historical sources transmitted by word of mouth from one generation to the next. History can only be written based on data collected from the abovementioned sources. However, whatever the source of information, it should be subjected to critical evaluation 5 History Grade 9 Student Textbook before being used as evidence. Primary sources have to be verified for originality and authenticity to avoid forgery. Secondary sources have to be examined for the reliability of their reconstructions. Oral data should be cross-checked with other sources such as written documents to determine its truth; because it may lose its authenticity due to distortion through time.  1. Explain why we bother about the past while living in the present and anticipate what is yet to come. 2. In a group, search the importance of learning history from the internet and present it to the class. 3. Answer the following question based on the below case study. A case study on car accident Assume yourself as a judge entitled to administer a traffic accident in which a teenager was a victim and died 13 months ago. You were provided with information about it from the following sources. The first is the driver of the car and a passenger who was in the vehicle during the car accident. The second is parents of whom a victim had talked to them just before death and a police report with possible details. A. Which ones do you believe are primary, and which is secondary sources? 1.2.4 Dating in History In recording the past, historians try to determine the exact time when events occurred. That is what we call it dating. Dating is figures or numerical statements that express the time of historical events or processes. The duration in time could be short or long. There- fore, historians describe the period of events by using certain subdivisions or units of time. Hence, the figurative expression expresses the exact dates on which events occurred. For example: the battle of Adwa took place on March 1, 1896 Ethiopian Renaissance Dam was initiated on April 2, 2011. 6  | Unit 1 The Discipline of History and Human Evolution Dating in history is expressed in numerical statements such as a decade, century, and millennium. A decade refers to a period of ten years. A century is one hundred years, whereas a millennium refers to a thousand years. For example: The years from 1900 to 1909 are the first decade of the twentieth century. The years from 1900 to 1999 are the twentieth century. The years from 1000 to 1999 are the second millennium. The primary purpose of dating in history is to organise past events according to their sequence of occurrence by using calendars. This is what we call chronology. The two widely used calendars worldwide are the Gregorian and Islamic. According to the Gregorian calendar, time is counted forward and backwards from the time of the birth of Jesus Christ. The time before the birth of Christ is referred to as BC (Before Christ), whereas the time after the birth of Jesus Christ is expressed in AD (anno Domini), a Latin term meaning “The Year of the Lord”. Ethiopia uses its calendar and periodization. The Ethiopian Calendar is seven to eight years behind the Gregorian calendar. The Islamic Calendar follows the event called the Hijra to count time forwards and backwards. The Hijra was the flight of the prophet Mohammed and his early followers from the town of Mecca to Medina in 622 AD. Hence, BH stands for the years before the Hijra, and AH refers to the years after the Hijra.  1. Discuss in pairs and explain the difference between decade, century and millennium. 2. Referring to a primary or secondary sources, write a paragraph about the arrival of Christianity and Islam in Ethiopia and present it to your class. Historians sometimes use a timeline. A timeline is a graphic representation of events in chronological order or periods of history. It is a horizontal or a vertical lineup of historical events. Historical timeline enables quick visualization and forms a clear idea of the passage of time about events. 7 History Grade 9 Student Textbook In addition, the timeline shows you when and where events happened during the discussion period. See the timeline below. Figure 1.2 Historical timeline Because of the length of time, historians organise the human past into separate periods after identifying significant developments and giving a label to each period. This is what we call periodisation in history. Accordingly, history is conventionally divided into ancient, medieval and modern history.  1. Working in pairs or small groups, read the following events. Then put them in chronological order and show it on a historical timeline. A. Cities built on Indus valley B. Democracy evolved C. Pyramid Age begins D. Rise of Chinese Civilization E. Romans set up a Republic F. Sumerians developed cuneiform 2. Explain why the Ethiopian calendar lags 7 or 8 years behind the Gregorian calendar. 8