Sources of History

Historical sources are tangible remains of the past. It is an object from the past or testimony concerning
the past on which historians depend in order to create their own depiction of the past. There are three
kinds of sources namely: primary, secondary, and tertiary sources.

Learning Objectives, each student should be able to:

1. Know the difference between primary and secondary sources;
2. Examine and assess critically the value of historical evidences and sources; and
3. Appreciate research method in history.

Primary sources
A primary source is a testimony of an individual who was a participant in or a direct witness to the
event that is being described. It is a document or physical object which was written or created during
the time under a study. Those sources were present during an experience or time period and offer an
inside view of a particular event.

Primary sources are characterized by their content, regardless of whether they are available in original
format, in microfilm, in digital format or in published format.
There are five main categories of primary sources. It includes written sources, numerical records, oral
statements, relics, and images. The most common are written sources or documents. They are written
or printed materials that have been produced in one form or another sometime in the past. They may be
published materials such as travelogue, transcription of speech, autobiographies, journals or
newspapers (La Solidaridad). They can be also in manuscript form or any handwritten or type record
that has not been printed. Example of these is archival materials, memoirs, diary, personal letter or
correspondence. The next category is the numerical records which include any type of numerical data
in printed or handwritten form. The third category is oral statements which include any form of
statement made orally by an eyewitness. It maybe through video recordings, audio recordings, or
transcribed. Another category is the relics or any objects whose physical or visual characteristics can
provide some information about the past. These include artifacts, ruins and fossils. The last category of
primary sources is the images. It includes photograph, posters, paintings, drawing cartoons and maps.
Primary sources: Written sources

Travelogue

Newspaper
Archival material

Memoir
Primary source: Numerical Records

Printed numerical graph

Primary source: Oral statements

“My first day was a scary one. There was a patient whose earlobes were so long…he had no nose, only
two holes on his face, and no fingers, only the palm of his hands…the other patients were in different
stages of deformity.”
Sr. Maria Luisa Montenegro, SPC 1940

Oral statement of an eyewitness to the Culion Leper Colony

A person interviewing an eyewitness

Primary source: Relics

Artifacts (Balanginga Bells)

Ruins
Fossil (Callao man)
Primary sources: Images

Photograph (Bud Dajo Massacre)

Painting
Cartoon

Map (Murillo Velarde map c.1734)

Secondary Sources
A secondary source interprets and analyzes primary sources. These sources are one or more steps
removed from the event. It is prepared by an individual who was not direct witness to an event,
but not who obtained his or her description of the event from someone else. Secondary sources
may have pictures, votes or graphics of primary sources in them. Some types of secondary sources
are history textbook, printed materials (serials or periodicals which interpret previews research),
biographies, nonfiction text such as newspaper, magazine, journals, works of criticism and
interpretation.

Tertiary Source
The last kind of sources is the tertiary source. It provides third hand information by reporting ideas
and details from secondary source. An eyewitness is more reliable than testimony at second hand,
which is more reliable than hearsay or tertiary sources. This does not mean that tertiary sources
have no value, merely that they include potential for an additional layer of bias. Some examples
of this kind of source are encyclopedia, almanac, Wikipedia, YouTube, dictionaries, message
boards, social media sites and other search sites.

References
Gottschalk, Louis. A Primer of Historical Method. Alfred A. Knopf 1950
Howell, Martha and Walter Prevenier. From Reliable Sources: An Introduction to Historical
Method. Cornell University Press 2001
Navarro, Atoy M. Ang Bagong Kasaysayan sa Wikang Filipino. Palimbagan ng Lahi.
2000 Orillos-Juan, Florina. Historical Method. Commission on Higher Education. Aug. 12, 2016.
De La Salle University -Manila
Severino, Howie (Feb.27, 2016) Savage: Juan Luna in Paris. I-Witness, GMA 7 retrieved
Aug.10, 2020 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54R1nWALZFw&t=706s Scott, William
Henry. Prehispanic Source Materials for the Study of Philippine History. New Day
Publication 1984