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1 11© HarperCollins Publishers 2010
Interpretation
How do historians use evidence?
2 22© HarperCollins Publishers 2010
Interpretation
Objectives
In this activity you will:
Take information from evidence.
Explain some problems when looking at a piece of evidence.
Explain a method for using sources to conduct an
enquiry.
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Interpretation
As historians, we use evidence to find out about the past. Each piece of evidence we call a ‘source’.
We need to be careful about how we use sources and what questions we ask of them.
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Interpretation
The following piece of evidence is an anachronism.
It is a page from a social networking site for a man called James Stuart, but the internet didn’t exist when he was
alive.
The point of the exercise is to give you an idea of how to look at evidence.
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Interpretation
James StuartRelationship status: James is married to
Anne of Denmark
Work: James is King of England, Scotland and Ireland.
Interests: Golf, horse racing, the theatre, the paranormal, religion.
Favourite books: The Bible – King James I edition
Favourite plays: Macbeth, the works of Inigo Jones.
Religious beliefs: Protestant, I believe in the Divine Right of Kings.
Political beliefs: Absolute Monarchy.
Last updated Nov. 1612
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Interpretation
What have you learned from the last screen about James Stuart?
What do you think about him?
What problems are there with this evidence? (It helps to ask yourself: Who wrote this?
When? Why and where?)
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Interpretation
Some extra facts about James:
James’s tongue was too big for his mouth.
James didn’t wash.
James wore padded clothes to stop assassins killing him.
James had affairs with both men and women and openly kissed people other than his wife in public.
James was intelligent and supervised the production of a new version of the Bible and other books.
James became senile at the end of his life.
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Interpretation
How does this add to what you know about James?
Why isn’t this included in the first source?
What does this tell us about how we should use sources to find out about the past?
