HOW DO HISTORIANS

USE SOURCES?

RELIABILITY Historians have to be very careful about whether or not they can trust their sources.

They want to know if the source is reliable.

Both primary and secondary sources can be unreliable.

HOW DO HISTORIANS CHECK PRIMARY SOURCES? They have two things to check. Did the person who wrote it actually

know what they were talking about? Which ideas did the person who

wrote the source have about the subject .

This is because some people may not tell the truth because of the way they feel about things, e.g think back to the football report.

HISTORIAN’S JOBA historian needs to work out what the source is saying.

Activity:What can you learn about the ancient Greeks from this vase?

EXAMPLES You can see what the clothes the

Ancient Greeks wore looked like. You can see that they were

warriors and fought on horseback.

You can see that they were able to make pottery that could last thousands of years.

You can see they they liked geometric patterns.

EVIDENCE When historians use sources to back up their statements it is called evidence.

From the vase a historian could make the statement. ‘Greek warriors rode on horseback.’

The vase would be used as evidence for this.

QUESTIONS Work out which statements are true or false. Copy out each statement and write a sentence

explaining why they are true or false.A ) A historian can only trust certain

sources.B) All primary sources are reliable.C) A primary source must be reliable if the

person was actually there when the event happened.

D) Secondary sources are never reliable.E) A source only becomes evidence when

a historian uses it to prove something.

GREEK VASE Explain how the vase can be used as

evidence to support the following statements.

A)The Ancient Greeks had highly developed painting skills.

B) The Ancient Greeks knew how to write.

C) The Ancient Greeks were brutal in battle.

D) The Ancient Greeks had contact with North Africa.