History deals with the study of past events.

Individuals who write about history are

called historians. They seek to understand
the present by examining what went
before. They undertake arduous historical
research to come up with a meaningful and
organized reconstruction of the past
The practice of historical writing is called
historiography. Traditional method in
doing historical research focuses on
gathering of documents from different
libraries and archives to form a pool of
evidence needed in making a descriptive
or analytical narrative.
 Sources of History

Basic to historical research is utilization of sources. There are diverse

sources of history including documentary sources or documents,
archaeological records, and oral and video accounts. To date, most of
our historical sources are documents. These refer to handwritten,
printed, drawn, designed, and other composed materials. These
include books, newspapers, magazines, journal, maps, architectural
perspectives, paintings, advertisements, and photographs. Colonial
records such as government reports and legal documents form a
significant part of our collection of documents here and abroad,
particularly in Spain and the United States
On the other hand, archaeological records refer to preserved remains
of human beings, their activities, and the environment where they
lived. In the Philippines, the most significant excavated human remains
include the Callao Man’s toe bone (dated 67 000 BCE) and the Tabon
Man’s Torrentira (22 000 BCE).

Aside from human remains, other archaeological records are

generally
categorized as fossils and artifacts. Fossils are remains of animals,
plants, and other organisms from the distant past, while artifacts are
remnants of material culture developed by human beings. These
include clothing, farm implements, jewelry, pottery and stone tools.
Oral and video accounts form the third kind of historical source. These
are audio-visual documentation of people, events, and places. These
are usually recorded in video and audio cassettes, and compact
discs. Aside from scholars, media people also use oral and video
accounts as part of their news and public affairs work.
 Primary and Secondary Sources

There are two general kinds of historical sources:

primary and secondary.

Primary Sources refer to documents, physical

objects, and oral/video accounts made by an
individual or a group present at the time and
place being described. These materials provide
facts from people who actually witnessed the
event. Secondary sources, on the other hand, are
materials made by people long after the events
being described had taken place.