What are the SOURCES of HISTORY

Practically all knowledge that we have from history is born from historical sourcesThese being the basis of this social science, thanks to which we can learn about and investigate the enormous amount of historical facts. We must bear in mind that not all these sources are the same, so in this lesson from a TEACHER we are going to talk about what are the sources of the story.

Index

1. What are the sources of history?
2. The different types of sources in history and their classification
3. Examples of sources from history

We can define historical sources as the raw material on which the social science of history is sustained, being from these sources emanates all historical knowledge. The sources can be of many types, be they written, oral, physical and electronic documents, which provide us with a information on events that occurred in the past of our history, serving both as a way of narrating the life of man and to be a basis on which to make hypotheses.

History is one of the most complex social sciences, since it seeks an absolute truth, needing the most contrasted data possible and totally truthful information. This social science accepts theories and hypotheses of fact, but only through the use of a series of sources, expanding the information when they do not make a total information of the reality.

The historical sourcesthey can be of a great variety, there being many examples of them and all fulfilling some role in the great map of history. The preservation of all these sources are key to knowing the history, and therein lies their great relevance.

The sources of history can be of various kinds, depending mainly on its origin, being able to vary between primary, secondary and tertiary sources. We must bear in mind that the traditional division of the sources has always been that of the first two, and that it has not been until In recent years the concept of tertiary source has been added, due to the great progress that the study of the story.

Primary or direct sources

Primary sources are all those direct historical sources that we consider to be from first hand, being all those documents written contemporaneously with the facts that count, and that therefore belong to the time of the information that is received from them.

For many historians these types of sources are the most important, since their contemporaneity with narrated facts makes them much more faithful to the truth than all sources made in a way later. Even so, we must bear in mind that even though they are more objective forms, they are still sources created by human beings, and there will always be a certain subjectivity in their information.

Secondary or indirect sources

The secondary sources are all those who are in charge of collect and review the different historical events, being therefore the result of a study of the primary sources and therefore being considered much more subjective sources than the primary ones.

Tertiary or mixed sources

It is the last of the classes of historical sources, being almost not used by historians and its mentions being very recent. Tertiary sources are a compiled set from a large number of primary and secondary sources, bibliographies or art books being clear examples, although we must bear in mind that until the arrival of the tertiary word these documents were considered as sources high schools.

Image: The Athenaeum

To conclude with this lesson on what are the sources of history, we must comment on the different classes that exist, dividing them depending on their format, to better understand the great variety of existing sources. Here are some examples of sources from the story that can help you better understand this lesson:

Written

The sources written or verbatim They are the most common of all those that exist, being able to find endless examples of them. Historical texts can be both primary and secondary, with documents being examples of the former. official newspapers or newspapers of the press, while the texts of the press are examples of secondary written sources. historians.

Iconographic

Are iconographic sources all those images that provide us with information about history, being able to find examples such as drawings, paintings or photographs. In this case, it is much more common to find this type of source as primary than secondary.

Oral sources

Until a few years ago these types of sources were only possible thanks to the transcripts of interviews or speeches, but the arrival of video cameras and recorders have allowed them to recordings of these facts become historical sources as well.

Cartographic

Cartographic sources are all those maps, whether current or old, that are used for the study history, with examples of maps being much more common as a secondary source than as a source primary. Historical maps can give us a lot of information about the influence of a certain civilization.

Archaeological remains

Archaeological finds are one of the main historical sources, since they are one of the elements that give us the most information about a certain culture. Archaeological remains are always primary sources, since they are still remains of ancient cultures.

Currencies

Both coins and medals are considered as two important historical sources, since in their material and drawing we can find important information related to the region where they were created.

Ethnographic

We consider ethnographic sources to all those clothes or instruments that help us understand the behaviors or rituals followed by different cultures.

Image: History Notes

If you want to read more articles similar to What are the sources of the story, we recommend that you enter our category of Story.

• Serrano, J. S. (2014). High School Textbooks and Historical Sources: A Missed Opportunity to Teach Historical Thinking Competencies. ESSAYS. Magazine of the Faculty of Education of Albacete, 29 (1), 83-99.
• Cairampoma, M. R. (2015). Types of Scientific Research: A Complicated Simplification of Inconsistent Nomenclature and Classification. Redvet. Electronic journal of veterinary medicine, 16 (1), 1-14.
• Delgado García, G. (2010). Concepts and methodology of historical research. Cuban Journal of Public Health, 36 (1), 9-18.