THE MEANING OF HISTORY
most of history is based upon recollection (written
Lesson 1
● The English word history is derived from the
Greek word “istoia” meaning learning
● According to Aristotle, history is the systematic
account of a set of natural phenomena whether or
not chronological ordering was a factor in an
account, and this is considered as natural history.
Presently, the word “history” means the “past of
mankind”. History is the study of past events,
particularly in human affairs.
History in German is “Geschichte”, meaning, “that
which has happened”. This means that the word
implies that history teaches and we may learn from
the lessons of history.
With the definition of history, it brings man to a
recognition that history cannot be reconstructed,
that the past of mankind, much of it, is beyond
recall. And that even the best of our memories
cannot re-create our past.
The reconstruction of the total past of mankind is
the total goal of historians which, however, is
unattainable. Historians will never really know
everything that happened in the past.
The problem that every historian confronts is that
the evidence they rely on is likely to be
fragmented, incomplete and even contradictory.
The result is, each historian’s conclusions are
influenced by the evidence they have selected from
what is available and from how they interpreted it.
And from whatever a historian only has will be the
only thing that he can use to connect him to the
past.
HISTORICAL METHOD
Lesson 2
- The process of critically examining and analyzing
the records and survivals of the past. 
- To study objectively
- Most of history is based on the human mind since
or spoken history).
- In reconstruction, only a part of what was
observed is remembered, only a part of what was
remembered is recorded, only a part of what was
recorded survives, only a part of what survived
comes to the historian’s attention.
- Only of a part of what is credible has been
grasped, only a part of what has been grasped can
be expounded and narrated by the historian. 
HISTORICAL SOURCES
- Objects from the past or testimony
concerning the past which historians use to
create their own depiction of the past.
1.  According to Form
*Written Sources
     - Published materials (books, journals etc.) and
manuscript (handwritten and unprinted like
archival materials and memoirs)
*Non written Sources
     -Oral history, artifacts, fossils, etc.
2. According to Origin
*Primary Sources
     - Testimony of an eyewitness
     - It must have been produced by a
contemporary of that is narrated. It is a document
or physical object 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.
*Secondary Sources
     - Interpret and analyze primary sources
     - They are one or more steps removed from the
event. Examples are printed textbooks.
Historical Criticisms, Kinds of ●Official Reports
●Maps
Primary Sources and Repositories of
●Memoirs or Autobiographies
Primary Sources ●Personal accounts: record of interviews
Lesson 3 ●Newspapers and Magazines: reports of
correspondents
HISTORICAL CRITICISM ●Legislative journals
- Settles matters on the form and content of a ●Court Records
source
  REPOSITORIES OF PRIMARY SOURCES
*External Criticism
     - Deals with the problem of authenticity ●National Archives of the Philippines
     - To spot hoaxes, fakes, forgeries and ●National Library of the Philippines
fabrications ●National Historical Commission of the Philippines
     - Tests of Authenticity are: ●National Museum of the Philippines
          ●Determine the date if it is Anachronistic: a
material, skill or culture does not exist at that time Other Repositories of Primary Sources are the
          ●Determine the author in the uniqueness of libraries of various universities in the Philippines
his handwriting or signature such as the University of the Philippines, the
         ● Determine the provenance or custody:  Ateneo de Manila Rizal Library and Museum, the
genuineness American Historical Collection in ADMU, and the
         ● Determine the Semantics, meaning of a text University of Sto. Tomas Central Library and
or word Museum.
          ●Determine the Hermeneutics, the
ambiguities

*Internal Criticism
     - Deals with the problem of credibility.
     - Tests of credibility are:
        ●Determine the Character of the Author, his
reliability, and his ability and willingness to tell the
truth
         ●Determine the Corroboration, historical facts
rest upon the testimony of two or more reliable  
witnesses

KINDS OF PRIMARY SOURCES

●Records of social and cultural observations

●Chronicles
●Human Fossils (remains of ancient man imbedded
in the earth such as bones, hair, skin etc.)
●Artifacts (cultural evidences of man in the past
such as tools and implements)
●Records of Detective Investigations
●Royal Decrees and Laws