Sources of History

 
Historical writing entails interpretation of sources
available to the historian. Generally, there are two
types of sources in history. The first one is a
primary source. It refers to materials produced by
people or groups directly involved in the event or
topic being studied. A primary source, thus, must
have been produced by a contemporary of the
event/s it narrate/s. For example, if historians are
studying or conducting a research on the
Japanese occupation of Panay, their primary
sources can include testimonies of individuals
who are eyewitnesses of the event, photographs,
newspapers, diaries, letters, other archival
documents and artifacts, to name a few.
Archival documents found at the Philippine
National Archives such as erreciones de
pueblos (for those studying the foundation of
towns), sediciones y rebellions (for those
studying about the Philippine Revolution) and
asuntos criminales (for those studying about
crimes) are examples of primary sources.
 Primary sources may be grouped into specific
examples which may include, but is not limited
to the following:
• Photographs that may reflect social conditions of historical
realities and everyday life
•  Old sketches and drawings that may indicate the conditions
of life of societies in the past
• Old maps that may reveal how space and geography were
used to emphasize trade routes and structural build-up
• Cartoons for political expression and propaganda
• Material evidence of the prehistoric past
• Statistical tables, graphs and chart
• Published and unpublished primary documents and
eyewitness accounts
Here are some examples of primary sources:

Figure 1. An illustration of
Visayan tattooed couple
from the book Boxer Codex.
Figure 2. Photograph of Iznart Street in the late 19th
century by Felix Laureano.
Figure 3. Official report on the casualties in the
Province of Iloilo during WW II in Panay
Figure 4. T.H. Pardo de
Tavera’s book entitled
“The Medicinal Plants
of the Philippines.”
Figure 5. Martial law editorial cartoon from The
Philippine Free Press.
Secondary sources are produced using primary
sources as materials. It may also include the
testimony of anyone who is not an eyewitness
– that is, of someone not present at the event
of which he tells. This also includes, but is not
limited to, books, articles, scholarly journals,
film or museum that displays primary sources
selectively in order to interpret the past.
Here are some examples of secondary sources:

Figure 6. Book written by

Ma. Mercedes Planta on
the history of traditional
medicine in the
Philippines.
Figure 8. Historical
documentary film
on the 13 martrys
of Aklan, Daan
Patungong Tawaya.