Chapter 1 Section 1

 How do we learn about the past?

 But… How do we know if this information is accurate?  Find Evidence  Types of Evidence:  Written Sources  Artifacts  Media  Use multiple sources  Authenticate sources  Analyze author’s intent

 Types of Evidence Written Sources Primary Sources Secondary Sources Artifacts ObjectsFossils Media Types of Evidence

 Written Sources Primary Sources  Written during time period  Firsthand accounts of events/ people  Documents, photos, letters, diaries, etc. Secondary Sources  Written about time period  Created by people who didn’t (or couldn’t) witness event  Biographies, textbooks, Internet, etc.

 Artifacts Objects  Anything created/used by humans  Art, tools, weapons, etc. Fossils  Preserved organic (natural) matter  Human, animal, or plant remains

  Any information source Media

 Who is doing all of this?  Anthropology : the study of humanity; how past and present cultures live.  Archeology : study of past cultures using artifacts left behind.  History: study of past societies/events primarily using written records.

  What kind of evidence is this?  What does this object reveal about its owner?  What does it say about the society?  What can we speculate (educated guess based on evidence) about the values, traditions, society, etc.? Historical Questioning

 But beware of…  Assumptions : guesses made without evidence  Multiple Perspectives: two people can see one object in different ways  Bias : making a judgment based on YOUR beliefs

 Object 1

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  Spear head and arrow heads

 Object 2  Rosetta Stone  196 BCE  The same thing is written in three languages (Egyptian Hieroglyphs, Egyptian Script, and Greek)  Gave historians the key to understanding how to read hieroglyphs

 Object 3  Cave Painting from Lascaux, France.  Over 16,000 years old  Uses?  To tell a story  To record an event (history)  Religious purposes

 Object 4  An incomplete knife/sword with scabbard

 Object 5  Assyrian carving  Commemorating Assurbanipal (last king)  Inscriptions to describe

 Object 6  Roman box flue from England  Placed in floors or walls to allow hot air to rise from below to heat the room

 Object 7  Harappa stone seals (from 2500 BCE India)  Pressed into wax, etc. to leave a “signature”

 Object 8  Secondary Source about Egyptian sarcophagus.