reconstruct the past
TRANSCRIPT
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…