HISTORY, THE SOURCES, AND HISTORICAL

METHOD
selected from what is available and
HISTORY from how they interpreted it.

It is derived from the Greek word

“istoia” meaning learning.
HISTORICAL METHOD

According to Aristotle, it is the The process of critically examining

systematic account of a set of natural
phenomena whether chronological
ordering was a factor in an account,
and this is considered as natural
history. As time passed, the equivalent
Latin word “scientia”, which is
science was later was used more to
designate non-chronological systematic
accounts of phenomena.
and analyzing the records and
survivals of the past.
To study objectively, a thing must first
be an object and must have an
independent resistance outside the
human mind. Most of history is based
on the human mind since most of
history is based upon recollection.

Presently, it means the “past of

mankind”. It is the study of past
events, particularly in human affairs.
History in German is “Geschichte”,
meaning, “that which has happened”.
This means that the word implies that
we may learn from the lessons of
history.
History cannot be reconstructed, that
the past of mankind, much of it, is
beyond recall.
In reconstruction, only a part of what
was observed is remembered, only a
part of what was remembered is
recorded, only a part of what was
recorded survives, only a part of what
survived comes to the historian’s
attention.
Only of a part of what is credible has
been grasped, only a part of what has
been grasped can be expounded and
narrated by the historian.

The reconstruction of the total past of

mankind is the total goal of historians
which, however, is unattainable.
Historians will never really know
everything that happened in the past.

Every historian confronts that the

evidence they rely on is likely to be
fragmented, incomplete and even
contradictory. Conclusions are
influenced by the evidence they have
 HISTORY, THE SOURCES, AND HISTORICAL
METHOD
HISTORICAL SOURCES
Objects from the past or testimony
concerning the past which historians
use to create their own depiction of
the past.
According to Form
Written Sources
Published materials and manuscript.
Non-written Sources
Oral history, artifacts, fossils, etc.
According to Origin
Primary Sources
• Testimony of an eyewitness
• It must have been produced by a
contemporary of that is narrated. It is a
document or physical object written or
created during the time under study.
Secondary Sources
• Interpret and analyze primary sources
• They are one or more steps removed
from the event. Ex: Textbooks
Kinds of Primary Sources
• Social & cultural observations
• Chronicles
• Human Fossils
• Artifacts
• Records of Detective Investigations
• Royal Decrees and Laws
• Official Reports
• Maps
• Memoirs or Autobiographies
• Personal accounts
• Newspapers and Magazines
• Legislative journals
• Court Records
REPOSITORIES OF PRIMARY
SOURCES
National Archives of the Philippines
The task of guaranteeing that
documents and records are preserved
and accessible to the public lies with
this.
It is the home of about 60 million
documents from the centuries of
Spanish, American and Japanese
occupations, as well as the years of the
Republic. It is also the final repository
for the voluminous notarized
documents of the country. The Treaty
of Paris (December 10, 1898)
established the Office of Archives under
the Americans.
National Historical Commission of
the Philippines
Formerly known as the National
Historical Institute (RA 10086). It is
tasked to promote Philippine history
and cultural heritage through research
and dissemination, management and
conservation of historical sites, and
heraldry works.
The NHCP was established in 1972 as
part of the reorganization of
government after President Ferdinand
Marcos' declaration of martial law, but
the roots of the institute can be traced
back to 1933, when the American
colonial Insular Government first
established the Philippine Historical
Research and Markers Committee
 HISTORY, THE SOURCES, AND HISTORICAL
METHOD
(PHRMC). willingness to tell the truth

■ Determine the Corroboration,

National Library of the Philippines historical facts rest upon the testimony
National Museum of the Philippines of two or more reliable witnesses
University Of Santo Tomas Miguel
Benavides Library
Ateneo University Rizal Library
Portal De Archivos Españoles

HISTORICAL CRITICISM
Settles matters on the form and
content of a source.

External Criticism

• Deals with the problem of authenticity

• To spot hoaxes, fakes, forgeries, and

fabrications

• Tests of Authenticity are:

■ Determine the date if it is

Anachronistic: a material, skill or
culture does not exist at that time
■ Determine the author in the
uniqueness of his handwriting or
signature
■ Determine the provenance or
custody: genuineness
■ Determine the Semantics,
meaning of a text or word
■ Determine the Hermeneutics,
the ambiguities

Internal Criticism

• Deals with the problem of credibility.

• Tests of credibility are:

■ Determine the Character of the

Author, his reliability, and his ability and