How do we know what we know about the past? EVIDENCE How do we know what we know about the past?

EVIDENCE History is interpretation based on inferences made from primary sources Asking good questions about a source will turn it into evidence Sourcing often begins before a source is read; who created it and when was it created? OPCVL Sources should be analyzed in relation to the context of its historical setting: the conditions and worldviews prevalent at the time in question Inferences made from a source can never stand alone- they must always be corroborated (checked against another source)

Evidence We can only know the history of what has been left behind and how that “history” has been interpreted…. Who started World War One?- think of all the potential variations to the answer- what would you base your answer on- good history is created by accessing what has been left behind and studying them, assessing them and inferring them

“I left a Trace” 1. Make a list of ‘traces’ that might have been left of your lives in the past 24 hours, digital included 2. Identify which traces were purposeful and which were accidental 3. Offer an opinion about whether the traces are likely to be preserved

“I Left a Trace” Were there any things you did that left no trace or that left only traces that would not be preserved? What did this suggest about the historical record? What would future historians think about you if they were able to study your traces? What if they could only study the traces left purposefully? If future historians only had your traces to study to try and understand this time period, what other kind of traces would be helpful for historians? What if historians wanted to study you? What other materials could they use?