HISTORY BASICS  

THE NATURE OF HISTORY History is the study of change over time. The task of historians is to gather information from a particular time period when a significant change or development took place. They try and answer two important questions: Why did this change take place? What effects did this change have on the people who experienced it?

Getting a complete picture To create a complete picture of a particular time, the historian must gather material related to four specific developments: Political- operation and decisions of the government Economic- ways in which the people survived or made a living Social- relate to people’s homes and their culture Geographic- the ways in which the environment affected human actions or conditions The farther back we go in our investigations, the more difficult the gathering of historical data becomes.

History Basics When studying early humans and civilizations, we traditionally date from the birth of Jesus Christ (BC and AD) What do BC & AD stand for? BC = Before Christ AD = Anno Domini (which means “in the year of our Lord," and is used for dates after Jesus's birth. Now we use these two important expressions: BCE = Before Common Era ( was BC) CE = Common Era ( was AD) Historians focus on putting things in chronological order - putting events in the order in which they happened.

Timeline Exercise – Put the following events in chronological order on a timeline Japanese attack Pearl Harbour – 1941 CE JFK assassinated – 1963 CE World Trade Center attacked – 2001 CE Battle of Thermopylae – 480 BCE Korean War Begins – 1950 CE Queen Elizabeth II is crowned – 1952 CE Dinosaurs disappear – 65,000,000 BCE Fall of Rome – 476 CE Battle of Zama – 202 BCE World War I begins – 1914 CE Donald Trump becomes President of the United States – 2017 CE Ms. Dowling is born – 1981 CE Civilization begins in Mesopotamia – 12,000 BCE Construction of Stonehenge begins – 3000 BCE Hammurabi codifies laws - 1785 BCE Assassination of Julius Caesar – 44 BCE Battle of Hastings – 1066 CE Death of King Tutankhamen – 1323 BCE Trojan War Begins – 1194 BCE Newfoundland joins Canada – 1949 CE Battle of Waterloo – 1815 CE Canada becomes a country – 1867 CE

Basics continued… Historians must find evidence to help them answer their questions. There are two basic types of evidence: Primary evidence – (primary sources) They come from the time period being examined. They were created when the event took place. Ex. Artifacts (fossils, bones, arrow heads, tools), photographs, legal documents, diaries, and newspapers. Artifacts – Human made objects such as tools, shards of pottery, or ruined buildings. Fossils – the remains of a prehistoric animal preserved in rock

Basics continued… The second type is: Secondary evidence – (secondary sources) These are written documents created by experts who have studied a historical topic. Ex: history books, textbooks, websites

Historians and Bias Since historians are rarely able to discover ALL the facts in their investigations, they must make educated guesses. Historians call this bias. Bias: making a judgment based on personal knowledge, experience, and attitudes, and not just on facts and data. Reconstruction of history always involves some bias because they base their explanations on their interpretations of the evidence. Historians attempt to recreate the past as accurately as possible so they research the past and examine evidence, often their findings are influenced by their own beliefs, values, experiences and point of view.  Historians see and analyze from their own point of view. They interpret evidence according to their own perspective, experience, values and beliefs.

Branches of history Historians – work primarily with written documents, letters, diaries, newspapers, laws, regulations, books etc… to answer their questions. Archaeologists – they study the physical remains of ancient people and the materials they leave behind like pottery, buildings, garbage, etc… They work primarily with artifacts dug out of the ground as there are few written sources from these eras.

Branches of History Anthropologists – study the origin, development, distribution, social habits, and culture of humans living.

Branches of History Paleontologists- examine the fossil remains of animal and plant life. Paleoanthropologists – combine the work of the paleontologist and the anthropologists to learn about how they affected early human civilizations.