History and historical sources

History is a Social Science whose object is the study of The indirect knowledge of
humanity's past. Using a specific work methodology,
historians formulate hypotheses, select information, analyze, History
corroborate, compare and classify the material. Finally, they Historical knowledge is
publish their results from which the scientific community generally indirect; because its
can formulate new hypotheses. For their research, historians
object of study is "the past" of
can resort to the testimonies produced by a society selected
humanity, it is not possible to
according to the interest of their research and turn them into
sources for their analysis. The sources of the story can be observe it directly, unless it is
primary or secondary. The former are contemporary to the a contemporary event.
facts studied, including official writings, coins and paintings.
The secondary sources instead are the investigations carried out by other historians.

Analysis of primary and secondary sources

1. Determine whether these are primary or secondary sources. Justify your
answer.

Source A
“As the 20th century historian approaches the present, he relies more and more
on two types of sources: the daily press and publications, periodic reports on the
one hand, economic and other studies, statistical complications, and other
publications of national governments and international institutions, on the
other.”

Hobsbawm, Eric. History of the 20th century 1914-1991, Barcelona, Crítica, 2012

Source B Source C

The movie “La Patagonia Rebelde” (1974),

directed by Héctor Olivera, portrays the
repression that took place against the laborers
and workers of the Patagonian ranches between
1921 and 1922.

The Gazeta de Buenos Aires was a

newspaper founded in 1810 and the main
communication means for the Primera Junta.
 The continuous and discontinuous texts of history
History is a narration of the events of the past. The historical account itself or the
narration that the historian makes is a continuous text. However, on many occasions,
historians accompany their story with discontinuous texts, that is, information that
does not have a paragraph structure and that require non-linear reading strategies for
their understanding, for example, tables, statistics, maps and forms.
Analysis of continuous and discontinuous texts
1. Observe the following fragments and classify them as continuous or
discontinuous:

“During the first years of the 19th

century, the registration of the years
1806 and 1807 was carried out. In
1810, two surveys were carried out:
the first in April, under the mandate
of Viceroy Cisneros, and the second in
August, by order of the Provisional
Government Board and inspired by
Dr. Mariano Moreno. Of this last
registration, fourteen barracks were
preserved out of a total of twenty.
Both registers had a military
objective, so the information is more
complete for men of service age than
for the rest of the population.”
García Belsunce, César. Buenos Aires
and its people 1800-1830, Buenos
Aires, 1976.

Create continuous and discontinuous texts to study

Both continuous and discontinuous texts are useful for study. Many times, when creating our own study tools,
we turn a continuous text into a discontinuous one.

For example, to extract the main ideas from a continuous text, one can highlight the most important concepts
and write them down in the margin, then translate them into a conceptual web or in a double entry box. It is
essential that the relationships between the extracted concepts are clear: if they are establishing temporal
relationships, causes and consequences, or comparisons.

The same can happen in reverse: sometimes, it is necessary to develop a continuous text from a discontinuous
text; for example, when we have to draw conclusions from a graph or a table with statistical data.
Historical time and space

All historical events take place in a specific time and space that conditions them.
Knowing the historical time allows elaborating chronologies, recognizing changes and
permanence, analyze the causes and consequences of the event. In general,
researchers use linear chronology or timeline to represent events. This can be divided,
for example, into years, decades or centuries. This type of tool can also show other
elements, such as synchrony (a "vertical cut" in time, which shows various events that
happened in parallel) and diachrony (horizontal time sample, that is, the succession of
events that occur in the same space)
One way to represent the spaces where the events occurred are historical maps, for
which we need the expertise of cartographers.
Diachronic and synchronic analysis
1. Read and identify in which of the following text there is a prevalent synchronic
or diachronic analysis of the information. Justify your answers.

“The agrarian problem was fundamental in the world of 1789, and it is easy to
understand why rent from the land was the only source of income. The property
relationships could be divided depending on the area of the globe where we were. In
America, the importance of minerals and other extractions was highlighted, as well as
slaves, much more than agricultural products. In this period, cotton was more
precious, to the detriment of sugar.”
Hobsbawn, Eric. The era or revolutions. 1789-1848, Barcelona, Crítica, 2009

Friday 18. Viceroy Baltasar Cisneros publishes a statement in which he asks the people
to remain faithful to Spain, which had been invaded by the French.
Saturday 19. The criollos ask the authorities to allow them to hold an Open Town Hall
to discuss the situation.
Sunday 20. The viceroy receives officials from the Cabildo, military chiefs and Creoles,
with whom he prepares the call for the Open Cabildo.

Efemérides culturales argentinas, Ministerio de Educación de la Nación, 2015.