Reconstructing History

Reconstructing History

Learning ObjectivesLearning Objectives1. How do we find out about the past?

2. What are sources?

3. How do historians ensure that their sources are reliable?

4. How is time measured in the study of History?

5. Why is the study of History dynamic?

What kinds of questions did you have when you saw the photograph above? How do we find answers to

our questions?

What Are Sources?What Are Sources? Sources are collections of evidence or

proof.

Historians study various sources to help them reconstruct or put together an accurate picture of the past.

Sources can be divided into two groups.

Primary sources are information provided by people who were involved in historical events or who witnessed the events.

Secondary sources are the records of people who did not participate directly in or witness the events they described. These records are the study and investigation of primary sources.

Sources can be further divided into four groups:

i. Written evidence — official records, newspapers, personal letters, folk stories, messages carved in stone

ii. Pictorial evidence — paintings, posters, photographs, maps

iii. Oral evidence — spoken words of eyewitnesses, usually recorded on tape and put in writing

iv. Artefacts — items used by people of the past, e.g. tools and jewellery

A war survivor showing television crew his torture wounds

Students participating in a archaelogical dig at Fort Tanjong Katong

RECAP!!RECAP!!

1. What is the difference between primary and secondary sources?

2. Give some examples of primary and secondary sources.

Reliability of SourcesReliability of Sources

Question: How do historians make sure that their sources can be trusted to be true and not biased?

Three 3Cs test -Credibility-Consistency-Corroboration

Fact — information that is true

Opinion — what a person believes to be true, which others may not agree with

Propaganda — ideas and news meant to influence the way people think and behave

Even if the evidence is not a fact, historians can make use of them to show how people in the past thought

The Language of Time

The Language of Time

5th

century CE

4th

century BCE

3rd

century BCE

2nd

century BCE

1st

century CE

2nd

century CE

3rd

century CE

4th

century CE

1st

century BCE

Before Common Era

Common Era

Periods – different blocks of time

Dynasties – i. line of rulers who belong to the same family

Century – 100 years

Mauryan period (c. 323–185 BCE)

Golden Age (c. 320–550 CE)

Circa – c., ‘around’

– ii. refers to the years when a region is continuously ruled by members of the same family

Learning OutcomesLearning Outcomes

1. Historians reconstruct the past by using…

2. Sources are…

3. Historians ensure that their sources are reliable by…

Learning OutcomesLearning Outcomes

4. The terms we use to refer to time in the study of History are…

5. Our views of the past can change constantly when…