What Is History? Handouts PDF

# What is History? Derived from the Greek word *historia* which means "knowledge acquired through inquiry or investigation." Historia is known as the account of the past of a person or a group of people through written documents and historical evidences. - is the study of the past, especially the...

# What is History? Derived from the Greek word *historia* which means "knowledge acquired through inquiry or investigation." Historia is known as the account of the past of a person or a group of people through written documents and historical evidences. - is the study of the past, especially the past of human beings. - the study of or a record of past events considered together, especially events of a particular period, country, or subject - Cambridge Dictionaries Online - a branch of knowledge that records and explains past events – Merriam Webster ## Why do we study history? - To know more about the roots of our current culture. - To learn about the mistakes of those who have gone before us. ## Why is this important? - To learn about human nature in general by looking at trends that repeat through history. - To learn historical facts. - To learn about how different factors shape society e.g., religion, greed, the intersection of different cultures, technology, etc. ## Archaeology Archaeology is the study of the past by looking at what people left behind. Anarchaeologist digs in the earth for artifacts. - An artifact is an object made by people. Tools, pottery, weapons, and jewelry are artifacts. They help archaeologists learn what life was like in the past. ## Paleontology Paleontology studies prehistoric times. Paleontologists study fossils. - Fossils are the remains of plant and animal life that have been preserved from an earlier time. ## Anthropology Anthropology is the study of human culture. Anthropologists study artifacts and fossils, too. They look for clues about what people valued and believed. - Evidence is proof that something is true. Evidence might be an object, such as a soldier's uniform or a scrap of pottery. Evidence might also be a document or book that was written during a historical event. ## Primary Source - considered as the lifeblood of history. - sources are created by people who saw or were part of an event. ### Kinds of Primary Sources 1. Human fossils 2. Artifacts 3. Royal Decrees & Laws 4. Official Reports 5. Chronicles 6. Friar Accounts 7. Maps 8. Memoirs 9. Personal Account 10. Newspaper 11. Magazines 12. Legislative Journals 13. Court Records 14. Speeches 15. Personal Letters 16. On-line databases 17. Blogs 18. Documentary Films 19. Recorded Interviews 20. Eye witness ## Secondary Sources - documents or works made by individuals who are not directly involved to the events - are created after an event - a secondary source interprets and analyzes primary sources **✓ Textbooks** **✓ Encyclopedia** ## Sources that historians use - Written at the time of the event. - Eyewitness to history - Reliable source for historians - Includes letters, diaries, tools, and clothing - Written after an event - Author did not witness the event - Contains facts about an event - Includes textbooks and encyclopedias ## What is Prehistory? The term prehistory literally means before history. Prehistory can be defined as a time period where no written records exist or time before writing systems were introduced. It refers to the period from the time human-like beings first appeared on earth to the period time where writing was introduced, developed and used. Since the evolution of human civilizations differs from civilization to civilization, the time limits of prehistory differ according to different civilizations. Though there are no written records of the past, information can be collected about the prehistory by studying ancient artifacts, drawings, carvings, etc. Prehistory can be divided into three periods based on their principal tool-making technologies. They are namely Stone Age, Bronze Age, and Iron Age. Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia were the first to develop writing scripts. This happened in the early Bronze Age; most of the other civilizations reached the end of prehistory during the Iron Age. Human prehistory is the period between the use of the first stone tools c. 3.3 million years ago and the invention of writing systems. The earliest writing systems appeared c. 5,300 years ago, but writing was not used in some human cultures until the 19th century or even later. The end of prehistory therefore came at very different dates in different places, and the term is less often used in discussing societies where prehistory ended relatively recently. ## Measuring Time - A group of 10 years is called a decade. - A group of 100 years is called a century. - Ten centuries grouped together is called a millennium, which is a period of 1,000 years. - A period of several centuries is sometimes called an era. - The earliest era is called prehistory. Prehistory is the time before people invented writing. - The next period is called Ancient History. - Then come the Middle Ages. Sometimes the Middle Ages are called the medieval period. - The era after the Middle Ages is Modern History. We live in the era of Modern History. - Decade = 10 years - Century = 100 years - Millennium = 1,000 years - Era = Several centuries