1. Where does history start?
History of the World
Where does history start?

2. What is History for you?

3. HISTORY Historians are people who study events in the past
The past can be organized in two parts: history and prehistory
Prehistory: is the time before humans invented writing (around 5,200 years ago)
History: written records.
In our class, we will study both history and prehistory!

4. Using a Timeline
A timeline is a tool used by historians in which a line is marked off with a series of events and dates
A timeline puts events in chronological order, the order in which they occurred
A period is a length of time important because a specific event or development that occurred during that time. It can also be called an era or epoch.
Ex. The Lebron James Era in Miami: it is the period of time since Lebron James arrived to the Heat.

5. Timeline of your Life
Create a timeline depicting five important moments in your life.

6. How do we organize history?
We usually begin with a key event in the past.
In the timeline of your life, you usually begin with your birth date.
Today, much of the world uses the believed birth date of Jesus.
Events that happened before his birth date:
B.C. for “before Christ”
Or also called B.C.E. for “Before Common Era” (in our class)
Events that happened after his birth date:
A.D. for Anno Domini, “Year of Our Lord”
Or C.E. for “Common Era” (in our class)

7. How do we measure the passage of time?
Cultures use different calendars
Our culture, and many others around the world, use a Gregorian calendar, which has 365 days per year.
It is based on the movement of Earth around the sun.
Every four years we have one more day in the calendar because it takes the Earth ¼ of a day to go around the Sun.
February 29th!

8. Historical Sources
Primary Sources: information that comes directly from a person who experienced an event. It is what the person writes, says, or creates about the event.
Secondary Sources: information about an event that does not come from a person who experienced that event. These are sources that describe or make sense of the past. Some books, movies, or articles can be secondary sources.

9. Primary Sources Letters Diaries Speeches Photographs
Artifacts: object made by a human being, such as a tool, or a weapon.

10. Evaluating Your Sources
Be Careful!
Primary and Secondary sources can be misleading
Your interpretation can be wrong or the person who recorder information might have been wrong
You must evaluate your sources!!!!
Ask yourself these questions when evaluating material:
Who created the source material?
Is the information fact or opinion?
Does the information have a bias? Bias: an unfair preference for or dislike for something. Material with bias leaves out info that does not support the author’s point of view.

11. Who helps historians?
Archaeology: the scientific study of ancient cultures through the examination of artifacts and other evidence
They search for artifacts, such as tools, weapons, and pottery
They search for fossils: remains of living things (plants, bones, etc.)
They help us when we study prehistory
Anthropology: study of humankind in all aspects, especially development and culture.
Seek to understand origins of humans
They research oral tradition, which is a community’s cultural and historical background, passed down in spoken stories and songs
Geology: study the physical materials of Earth, like soil and rocks
Object found in lower layers are generally older
Geologists also examine the amount of radioactive material on living things
They also use DNA and genetic evidence to find more info.

12. The End – Day 1