Some Important Definitions for Studying the Past History, Historian, Prehistory, Archeology, Archeologist, Artifact, Fossil, Primary Source, Secondary Source, Anthropologist, Paleontologist, Geologist

Join Barney in exploring different Fields of History!

It is the period of time after people began writing History The study of the past. It is the period of time after people began writing things / information down.

People who study the past Historian Archeologist Anthropologist Paleontologist Geologist

Historian Definition: A person who studies and writes about the human past, trying to give an objective interpretation of it. This area is more general

Before written history. Prehistory The period of time before events were recorded in writing. Before written history. The time before there was writing.

Adventures in Archeology

Archeologist Studies the past by using artifacts to discover clues to ancient civilizations and mysteries. Individual who hunts for evidence buried in the ground where settlements (communities, civilizations) might once have been.

ARCHAEOLOGY The study of the past based on what people left behind.

Artifact An object (weapon, tool, or other things) created and used by humans in the past.

Fossil A part of or an imprint of something that was once alive (plants or animals) and has been preserved (in rock).

Primary Source A first hand account of an event by someone who took part in or witnessed the event OR an artifact created during a period of history. (Copies of the original also count) Includes diaries, letters, editorials, speeches, and legal documents. Newspaper articles, autobiographies, personal memoirs, photographs, paintings, political cartoons.

Primary Sources Continued Primary Sources provide a way to understand more directly what people of a particular time period were doing, thinking, eating,and believing. Primary sources are VALUABLE TOOLS

Secondary Sources Information gathered by someone who did not take part in or witness an event. These are descriptions or interpretations of events. However, they were written after the events took place and by people who did not witness the events.

Secondary Sources Continued EXAMPLES: Book about a topic – Ancient China, your textbook. Writers of secondary sources have the advantage of being able to see what happened after the time period being studied. They can also provide a wider perspective than any ONE participant or witness to an event can.

Anthropologist Studies the past by looking at the culture of a specific group or civilization

Paleontologist Studies the past by examining fossils to discover and reconstruct the past

Geologist Studies the past by examining rocks and minerals to identify climate and other natural patterns of the past

Why are these people and fields of study important? What do you think???????????

Here are a few ideas Helps us understand who we are today, by knowing where we come from. Insights to how the ancient cultures worked and functioned, so we may apply this information to ourselves. Because it is fun to learn about.

That’s It For Now