Name: KEY Period: Date: World History – Mrs. Schenck

Identifying Primary and Secondary Sources

Primary Source: a record made by people who saw or took part in an

event (originates from the past) – any ARTIFACT is a PRIMARY source

o artifact: an object made by a human being

Secondary Source: a record of an event written by someone not there

at the time

Is this an ARTIFACT from history? OR

Did the creator witness/make the item?

Yes = primary source

No = secondary source Directions: Determine whether the following are primary or secondary sources. Circle the letter indicating whether the item is a "P" primary source or "S" secondary source. For each one, explain your reasoning in COMPLETE SENTENCES.

(P)PRIMARY - (S)SECONDARY 1. The story your grandfather tells you about his experience during the Korean

War.

Primary Source – Your grandfather witnessed and took part in the Korean

war, so his story is a primary source.

2. Your World History textbook or an encyclopedia.

Secondary Source – The authors of a textbook or encyclopedia have not

taken part in the events they write about. Textbooks and encyclopedias are

almost always secondary sources.

3. The Diary of Anne Frank - the published diary of a teenage girl who experiences

the Holocaust first hand .

Primary Source - Anne Frank experienced the Holocaust and wrote about

her personal experience. Diaries are always primary sources.

4. A letter written by George Washington to his mother about the latest

developments in the Revolutionary War.

Primary Source – George Washington took part in the Revolutionary War

and wrote the letter about his personal experiences at the time. Letters are

always primary sources.

5. An article in National Geographic about life in ancient Rome.

Secondary Source – The author of the article did not witness life in ancient

Rome. He is using other sources to write his article.

6. A photograph of you and your friends at your 8th birthday party.

Primary Source – You took part in the birthday party and were a part of the

experience. Photographs are always primary sources.

7. The information from the museum tour guide who shows you around the

dinosaur exhibit and shares facts with you.

Secondary Source – The museum tour guide was not alive during the time

of the dinosaurs. She is gathering her information from other sources.

8. A mummy from ancient Egypt.

Primary Source – Ancient artifacts are always primary sources. They are

direct links to the past, and the maker of the mummy was alive and a part

of the making the mummy.

What might be some advantages and disadvantages to using only a

primary or secondary source?

Primary Source Secondary Source

Advantages Disadvantages Advantages Disadvantages

direct link to the past,

first hand account

we can touch and

analyze the

source/artifact directly

people’s opinions

can be biased or

someone may have

misinterpreted an event

artifacts can be

broken or missing – we

have to make educated

guesses about their

meaning and use

they are usually

print or other media

so they are easy to

find and use

not a direct link to

the past, so need to

check for author

bias or incorrect

information

history changes –

we need to look for

the most up to date

sources

Analyzing Primary and Secondary Sources

The actual bones of Ardipithecus Ramidus – Primary Source (artifact/fossil)

Compare Ardi’s bones to our skeleton on the board and make predictions about her.

A scientific article/drawing about Ardi’s bones. - Secondary Source

A video about archaeologists who found and examined Ardi. - Primary/Secondary Source

Big Discovery: Ardi was found in Ethiopia, Africa

Dating the Remains: Ardi is 4.4 million years old

What Ardi’s Bones Tell Us: - teeth: she was female (small canines), young

adult (adult molars were not very worn down)

- toe: she had an infection, but survived (bone was healed)

Did Ardi walk upright?: - yes! BIPEDAL = walked upright on two feet

- pelvis tells us she was human (bone for bipedalism only found

in humans present, very different in appearance from a chimp)

Ardi’s Skull:

Ardi’s Hands and Feet : she is NOT chimp or human – own species

- feet: grasping big toe (chimplike), but bipedal (humanlike)

- hands: wrists and fingers too flexible, showing she did not knuckle walk

like chimps

Ardi’s World:

- forest/woodlands: lots of trees

- found fossils of pigs, monkeys, birds, etc. there also

What did Ardi look like?:

- apelike appearance and very hairy

- apelike hands with long fingers

- grasping toe on foot to hold things, climb trees,

but also walked upright

- only 4ft. tall

Origins of Bipedalism:

Evolutionary Advantages of Walking Upright:

INFERENCE = logical

conclusion based on

facts/evidence

Name:

Period:

Date:

Identifying Primary and Secondary Sources Homework

1. Draw or cut and paste a primary source that would tell historians something

significant about your life.

Primary Source: Why this is a primary source:

What this primary source would tell

historians about me:

2. Create a secondary source about your life. One hundred years from now, someone

writes a book about your life story. What would the title and synopsis of the book be?

Secondary Source – title of my

biography:

Why is this a secondary source:

Synopsis of my biography:

Name:

Period:

Date:

History Essential Question

#2 Exit Slip How do historians use primary/secondary sources to learn about history?

Name two pieces of primary source evidence archaeologists used to learn more

about Ardi, and explain what inferences archaeologists made using this evidence.

Make sure to explain how they were able to make the inference using their evidence.

Use multiple and complete sentences.

1. Evidence Inference

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2. Evidence Inference

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