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Sourc e s
What are Historical Sources?
What are Historical Sources?
Any leftover of the past can be considered a source. It
might be a document, a building, a piece of art or an
ephemeral object – a train ticket, say, or perhaps a
pair of shoes. These are all 'sources' because they all
provide us in different ways with information which
can add to the sum of our knowledge of the past.
Sources only become historical evidence when they
are interpreted by the historian to make sense of the
past.
Primary sources
Primary sources refer to documents or other items
that provide first-hand, eyewitness accounts of
events.
Examples of primary sources include diaries,
journals, speeches, interviews, letters, memos,
photographs, videos, public opinion polls, and
government records, among many other things.
Secondary sources
They offer an analysis, interpretation or
a restatement of primary sources and
are considered to be persuasive. They
often involve generalisation, synthesis,
interpretation, commentary or
evaluation.
 SOURCE CRITICISM

Source criticism helps the historian to find out a reliable account of the
past. The aim of historical criticism is to establish the authenticity and
reliability of a historical document.
There are two levels of source criticism:
External Characteristics: Out of which material is it made? Which
format does it follow? Is it handwritten or printed?
a) Authorship: Who wrote, made or painted the document? What do we
know about this (or these) person(s)?
b) Context: What role did the historical (social, political, economic)
context in which the source was written play in its creation?
 INTERNAL CRITICS

The aim is to analyse the information of the source:

What?
When?
Why?
We also identify historical figures, facts and events.