1. Chapter 1.4 – “How Historians study the past” Section 1: Understanding the past
Studying history involves the culture, religion, politics, and economics
Historians look for patterns
They look for causes & effects that explain events
They try to see the past through the eyes of the dead

2. Section 2: The Historian’s tools
Primary source: evidence from one who witnessed the event (letters, diaries, videotapes, photographs, etc)
Secondary source: evidence from one who did not witness the event (books, paintings, media reports, etc.)
-They can provide more balanced views of an event
Oral history: unwritten verbal accounts of events (stories, customs, songs, etc.)

3. Section 3: How knowledge of the past changes
Historians must sort through info & choose what’s most important & trustworthy as evidence
Ex. “mummy’s curse” was proven false
Historians can draw different conclusions based on the same facts
Ex. Stonehenge – Some thought it was a temple, later experts realized priests hadn’t lived in the area at the time