HISTORICAL METHOD

Historical Sources

Outline of Discussion

I. History as Reconstruction

II. The Historical Method

III. Historical Sources [Written and Nonwritten;

Primary and Secondary]

IV. Historical Criticism [External and Internal)

Introduction: History as Reconstruction

the historian is many times removed

from the events under investigation

historians rely on surviving records

Introduction: History as Reconstruction

“Only a part of what was observed in the past was

remembered by those who observed it; only a

part of what was remembered was recorded; only

a part of what was recorded has survived; only a

part of what has survived has come to the

historian’s attention.”

 Louis Gottschalk, Understanding History

Introduction: History as Reconstruction

Only a part of what is credible has been

grasped, and only a part of what has

been grasped can be expounded or

narrated by the historian.”

Louis Gottschalk, Understanding History

What is the Historical Method?

Historians have to verify sources, to date

them, locate their place of origin and

identify their intended functions

In short, the Historical Method is…

The process of critically examining and

analyzing the records and survivals of

the past

 Louis Gottschalk, Understanding History

Historical Sources

Sources – an object from the past or testimony

concerning the past on which historians depend

in order to create their own depiction of that

past.

Howell and Prevenier, From Reliable Sources an Introduction to Historical Method

Tangible remains of the past

Anthony Brundage, Going to Sources

Written Sources

1. Published materials

 Books, magazines, journals,

 Travelogue

 transcription of speech

2. Manuscript [any handwritten or typed record that has not

been printed]

 Archival materials

 Memoirs, diary

Non - written Sources

 Oral history

 Artifact

 Ruins

 Fossils

 Art works
 Video recordings

 Audio recordings

What are Primary Sources?

Testimony of an eyewitness

A primary source must have been

produced by a contemporary of the

event it narrates

Louis Gottschalk, Understanding History

What are Primary Sources?

A primary source is a document or physical object

which was written or created during the time under

study.

These sources were present during an experience or

time period and offer an inside view of a particular

event.

http://www.princeton.edu/~refdesk/primary2.h

What are Primary Sources?

Primary sources are characterized by their

content, regardless of whether they are

available in original format, in

microfilm/microfiche, in digital format, or

in published format.

Four Main Categories of Primary

Sources

1. Written sources

2. Images

3. Artifacts

4. Oral testimony
What are Secondary Sources?

A secondary source interprets and analyzes

primary sources. These sources are one or

more steps removed from the event.

Secondary sources may have pictures,

quotes or graphics of primary sources in

them.

http://www.princeton.edu/~refdesk/primary2.html

What are Secondary Sources?

Examples:

History textbook

Printed materials (serials, periodicals

which interprets previous research)

What is Historical Criticism?

In order for a source to be used as evidence in

history, basic matter about its form and content

must be settled

1. External Criticism

2. Internal Criticism

What is External Criticism ?

The problem of authenticity

To spot fabricated, forged, faked documents

To distinguish a hoax or misrepresentation

Tests of Authenticity
1. Determine the date of the document to see

whether they are anachronistic

e.g. pencils did not exist before the 16th century

2. Determine the author

e.g. handwriting, signature, seal

Louis Gottschalk, Understanding History

Tests of Authenticity

3. Anachronistic style

e.g. idiom, orthography, punctuation

4. Anachronistic reference to events

e.g. too early, too late, too remote

5. Provenance or custody

e.g. determines its genuineness

Louis Gottschalk, Understanding History

Tests of Authenticity

6. Semantics – determining the meaning of a text

or a word

7. Hermeneutics – determining ambiguities

What is Internal Criticism

The Problem of Credibility

Relevant particulars in the document – is it

credible?

Verisimilar – as close as what really happened

from a critical examination of best available

sources.

Tests of Credibility

1. Identification of the author

e.g. determine his reliability; mental processes,

personal attitudes
2. Determination of the approximate date

e.g. handwriting, signature, seal

Tests of Credibility

3. Ability to tell the truth

e.g. nearness to the event, competence of

witness, degree of attention

4. Willingness to tell the truth

e.g. to determine if the author consciously or

unconsciously tells falsehoods

Tests of Credibility

5. Corroboration

Historical facts – particulars which rest upon the

independent testimony of two or more reliable

witnesses

Why Study

History?

1. History helps us to understand people and societies.

2. History helps us to understand change and how the society we

live in came to be.

3. History contributes to moral understanding

“Understand the world and appreciate man as a human being”

FRAGMENTATION

Geographical

 archipelagic, made up of 7,100 islands

FRAGMENTATION

Geographical

 dependent on air travel, boats and bridges for physical and geographical
integration

FRAGMENTATION

Ethno-Linguistic

 more than 100 language groups

FRAGMENTATION

Ethno-Linguistic

 slowly being diminished through movies and

television

FRAGMENTATION

Religious

 majority-minority religions

FRAGMENTATION

Religious

 balanced by respect for other religions (declaration of Islamic

holiday, Eid al-fitr)

FRAGMENTATION

Colonial Mentality

 love for foreign culture

FRAGMENTATION

Filipino Diaspora

Filipinos

 a people in transit

Filipino Values

 What are Filipino Values?

 What is distinctly Filipino in our value system?

Close Kinship

Politeness/Respect for the Elders

Hospitality
Strong Faith in God

Flexibility/Adaptability/Resiliency

Gratitude/Utang na Loob

Historical Sources

(Visual Images)

Historical Sources

materials used for the writing of history.

They are classified into two:

1. Primary Sources

2. Secondary Sources

Another type of classification are:

1. written and non-written,

2. published or unpublished,

3. textual, oral or visual sources

Primary Sources

- materials produced by people or

groups directly involved in the event or topic

being studied.

- they are either participants or

witnesses.

- these sources range from

eyewitness accounts, diaries, letters, legal

documents, and official documents

(government or private) and even photographs

Four examples of primary sources

related to visual imagery are the

following:

1. Maps

2.Photographs
3.Sketches, Drawings, Paintings

4. Cartoons

Maps

- generally used to indicate

locations as well as topography

- reveals how space and

geography were being used to

emphasize trade routes, travael

routes, structural build up, etc.

Sketches and drawings that

may indicate the conditions of

life of the past societies

 Tipos del País works by

Justiniano Asuncion

Cartoons for political expression or

propaganda also indicates the

temper of the times.

Militarism with Marcos in collusion with US

government officials and protested against

military abuses using a symbol of a giant

boots crushing the masses.

Illustration, pen-and-ink 1971-1972

By Danilo Dalena

Paintings and other art works are

visual representations based on the

artist’s expression or interpretation of

events and ideas. These become

useful historical sources when we

have to know or understand the

context of the period in which they

are made.

Spoliarium (Juan Luna, 1884)

Itak sa Puso ni

Mang Juan by

Antipas Delotavo

1977

Photographs reflect social conditions of

historical realities and everyday life.

It also gives us visual ideas of places,

historical events as well as people.

It is said that pictures tell a thousand words.

Today, however, with the advent of technology,

pictures can easily be made to lie.

But photographs still tell stories and from it we

can distinguish details that tell the other side of a

story or something beyond texts.

It is also a record of the past that is useful for

historians.

"Water Cure" to extract information during the

Philippine-American War

Objects and Artifacts

The Manunggul Jar

- recovered at

Chamber A of Manunggul
Cave in Palawan.

- an elaborately

designed burial jar with

anthropomorphic figures on

top of the cover that

represent souls sailing to

the afterworld in a death

boat.

- It is dated to as early

as 710 - 890 B.C. The

Manunggul jar was

declared a National Cultural

Treasure.

Calatagan, Batangas

Excavated by Dr. Robert Fox

in 1958, the burial site of

Calatagan yielded 505 burials

and 521 associated ceramics,

porcelains and stoneware jars

from China, Thailand, and

Vietnam, as well as hundreds

of local earthenware and iron

tools.

The Asian tradeware ceramics

of the site date to the early to

mid-Ming Dynasty (14th-15th

centuries AD).

In 1966

archeological
excavations in

Santa Ana church

revealed pre

Spanish, preChristian graves

filled with ceramics

buried as "pabaon"

Document

written in

baybayin

Philippine Social Life

19th century photograph showing women vendors in a public market.

Recuerdos de Patay (souvenirs of

the dead) is a very Pinoy keepsake

that went out of fashion after

World War 2

Events

Personalities

Historic Structures