Historical Sources

Using what history has left us…

Whether conducting research in the social sciences, humanities (especially history), arts, or natural sciences, the ability to distinguish between primary and secondary source material is essential. -Sources of information that give us the complete historical story…or at least parts of the story.

PRIMARY SOURCES

SECONDARY SOURCES

Primary Sources-Primary Sources are pieces of information (tangible or not) that are directly from that period of history we are looking at. It was present at the time history took place. Unedited, firsthand access to words, images, or objects created by persons directly involved in an activity or event or speaking directly for a group.

Examples:

-WWII Veteran

-Civil War Diary

-Dinosaur Bone Diary of Anne Frank

Examples of Primary Sources• This image of an unidentified dead

Confederate soldier conveys powerfully the war's impact and brutality.

• Fanny Waddell of Nash County made and used this pincushion circa 1863-1865.

The item also relates something about the user's daily life, as sewing was an important activity during the Civil War.

Examples of Primary Sources• The Gilgamesh Epic – Tablet #11 Trepanning Trephine

For boring hole in skull.

Civil War Medicine

Secondary Sources-Secondary Sources are pieces of information (tangible or not) that are not directly from that period of history we are looking at. It was not present at the time history took place. It is “second hand” information. Commentary upon, or analysis of, events, ideas, or primary sources.

Examples:

-History Textbook

-Civil War Reenactment

-Informative Speech on Dinosaur Bones

Classify These Sources

• History Textbook• Dec. of Independence• WWII Uniform• Diary• Autobiography• Biography• Ancient Burial Site• Religious Temple

• A story passed down• Teacher• Colonial Map • Stone Age Art• Student’s History Essay• The Pyramids• A One Room School

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