Job of Historian

OInvestigating the Past

OChapter 1

OThe Job of the Historian

OWhat is history?

History is the story of the past based on evidence.

OWhat is evidence?

This is the information which proves or disproves the story of the past. Historians get their evidence from sources.

OWhat are sources?

1.Historians use primary and secondary sources.

2.They can be written, visual or oral.

OTypes of sources

1.Written sources

OManuscripts are books written by hand.

OAn autobiography is the story of a person’s own life.

OA biography is written by a historian about another person’s life.

OA census (of population) records information about families, businesses, housing, education.

ONewspapers are another kind of published source.

2.Visual sources

OPhotographs, paintings, documentaries

OCartoons and drawings

OMaps

3.Oral Sources

OInterviews

OWhat is a primary source?

A primary source comes directly from the time that is being studied.  Examples; a diary, a newspaper

OWhat is a secondary source?

1.A secondary source comes from after the time being studied.

2.Secondary sources are based on primary sources.

Examples: your history workbook

OWhat is prehistory?

Prehistory is the history of people before writing was invented.

OWhat is bias?

Historians are biased if they deliberately favour one side over the other.

OWhat is propaganda?

Propaganda is using information to influence people’s opinions or to convince people that a particular belief is true.

OWhere are sources stored?

1.An archive collects mainly written sources. Example: The National Archives in Dublin

2.A museum collects and stores objects for study and display. Examples: The National Museum in Dublin, local museums

3.A library stores books. Examples: The National Library in Dublin, county/city Library

4.Some of these sources are stored on microfilm or on computer.

OWhat is Chronology?

OChronology is putting events in order of time (when they happened).

Decade = 10 years

Century = 100 years

An Age    = a number of decades or centuries

BC          = they years before the birth of Christ

AD          = Anno Domini the years after the birth of Christ

OThe work of the archaeologist

OWhat is archaeology?

1.Archaeology is the study of the past from material remains.

2.Material remains are artefacts and buildings.

OWhat are artefacts?

Artefacts are objects made by people. Examples; spears, pots, coins and rings.

OHow do archaeologists find sites?

1.Above ground

OSome sites are above ground.

OExamples; castles, the pyramids.

OHow do archaeologists date objects?

2.Stratigraphy: When layers are laid down in the earth, the oldest layers and finds are at the bottom and the youngest layers and finds are at the top.

3.Tree-ring dating (also called dendrochronology): Archaeologists can tell when a tree was growing by studying the pattern of rings. The pattern of rings on a piece of wood is compared with the record of tree-ring growth in Ireland, which is held in Queen’s University, Belfast.

4.Carbon-14 dating: When a plant, person or animal was alive can be worked out by measuring the amount of carbon-14 remaining in the sample of wood, or in the human or animal bone which was found.