LESSON 1.

1 MEANING AND RELEVANCE for determining the magnitude and significance of

OF HISTORY
History
- as a study of the Past
- as “a chronological record of significant events (such
as those affecting a nation or institution), often
including an explanation of their causes.
- Dates, Places, Names, Events from distant eras
- shallow understanding of history’s relevance to their
lives and to their respective contexts.
- 2,400 Years, and as old as mathematics and
philosophy.
change, for some changes are more fundamental than
others.
Historians - duty-bound to write about the lives of
important individuals like monarchs, heroes, saints,
and nobilities.
- wars, revolutions, and other important
breakthroughs.
No Document, No history?
Valid historical sources which were not limited to
written documents:

- covers information derived from largely written - government records

records of past experiences.
Historia (Greek word)
- “knowledge acquired through inquiry and
investigation”
- was then adapted to classical Latin where it acquired
a new definition.
- Historia became known as the account of the past of
a person or of a group of people through written
documents and historical pieces of evidence.
- chronicler’s accounts
- personal letters.
Progress of history
- giving premium to written documents essentially
invalidates the history of other civilizations that do
not keep written records.
- restricting historical evidence as exclusively written
is also discrimination against other social classes who
were not recorded in paper or any other medium of
documentation.

Why study history? (Peter N. Stearns) - Nobilities

- monarchs
1. History helps us understand people and societies. - elite
- middle class
2. History helps us understand change and how the
society we live in came to be. - Birth
- education
3. History contributes to moral understanding
- marriage
4. History provides identity. - death

5. Studying History Is Essential for Good Citizenship. - Peasant Families

- Indigenous Groups
- Lower Class
Skills that a student may develop in studying history. Valid historical evidences
1. The ability to assess evidence. - Oral traditions (Epics, Songs)
- dealing with and assessing various kinds of evidence - Artifacts
- develops the ability to make coherent arguments - Architecture
based on a variety of data. - Memory

2. The ability to assess conflicting interpretations.
- gaining some skill in sorting through diverse, often
conflicting interpretations.
3. Experience in assessing past examples of change.
- Analysis of change means developing some capacity
With the aid of archeologists, historians can use
artifacts from a bygone era to study ancient
civilizations that were formerly ignored in history
because of lack of documents.
Linguists - flow of cultural influence by studying their 2. The Neolithic Age,
language 3. The Age of Metals
Biologists & biochemists - genetics & DNA patterns of
human societies
Paleolithic Age (old stone)
- hunters and collectors,
History VS Historiography
- wild berries, deer, mammoth
History - study of the past
- lived in tribes, caves, nomads.
Historiography
- Fire, first stone stools
-The study of history, the study of events that
happened in history itself the past. It investigates the
following: Neolithic Age (new stone)
- how was a certain historical text written?
- who wrote it? - First men perfecting tools, this was how neolithic age
- what was the context of its publication? initiated. 10,000 years ago.
- what particular historical method was used? - Began with practice of agriculture, cattle raising.
- what were the sources used?
- Human Beings started domesticating animals and
- also refers to the theory and history of historical cultivating lands
writing.
- Stopped being nomads lifestyle transitioned to
- refers to how, what, and why history is written. It is sedentary
about the methods and practices used in producing
history, the development of history as a discipline, or - Marked by first settlements. Lived near fertile lands
the philosophy or significance of historical writing. and needed water for animals and crops.
- as the writing of history based on the critical - Improved their diet, population grew
examination of sources, the selection of particular
Important discoveries
details from the authentic materials used in those
- wheel made things easy for agriculture,
sources, and the synthesis of the details into a
- pottery
narrative that stands the test of critical examination.
- plow
- sail.
Role of History - Human beings continued progressing and started
using weapons and metals tools.
- tool to legitimize regimes.
- forge a sense of collective identity through collective
memory. Age of Metals
- lessons from the past can be used to make sense of - Allowed men to hunt and cultivate hand easier
the present
- Population increased
- Copper, bronze, iron, gold discovered
Prehistory
- craftmanship and transportation improved
- refers to that period where information of the past
- commerce and trading / barter
were recorded in materials other than written
documents or the time before human civilization - Ended with invention of writing
developed and started writing things down.
- Time before history
- Before the invention of writing
Prehistory of Philippines

3 Prehistoric Periods: The events until 21 April 900 (equivalent on

1. Paleotlethic Age,
the Proleptic Gregorian Calendar, the date events
5. Allows the students to share the author's
indicated on the perspectives
Laguna Copperplate Inscription - The earliest written
document known in the Philippines today and is
considered to be the first legal document recorded in EXTERNAL AND INTERNAL CRITICISM
the Philippines. - Being able to identify primary sources from
secondary sources is the first step of the historical
- contain the release of the children of Namwaran, the method.
bearers, from their obligation.
Historical method refers to the process of probing
- very instrumental in identifying the demarcation line primary sources that will be used in writing history.
between the Philippine’s prehistory and history. This includes source criticism which studies the
external and internal validity of sources.

READINGS IN PHILIPPINE HISTORY PRIMARY AND - Historians and students of history need to
SECONDARY SOURCES thoroughly scrutinize historical sources to avoid
deception and to come up with historical truth. So the
Primary Sources - are original records of a certain historian should be able to conduct an external and
event by people who have actually experienced or internal criticism source, especially primary sources
witnessed it. which can age in centuries.
- e.g. original works such as letters, legislations, According to Gilbert J. Garraghan and Jean Delanglez
newspaper articles, diaries, interviews, government in 1946, source criticism asks the following questions:
documents, reports, photographs, literature and other 1. When was the source, written or unwritten,
creative outputs. produced?
Secondary Sources - Records based on primary 2. Where was it produced?
sources. Certain event of the past through evaluation 3. By whom was it produced?
and interpretation of the records created during a 4. From what pre-existing material was it produced?
historical period. e.g. researches, textbooks, journals, 5. In what original form was it produced?
commentaries, biographies, and criticism or reviews 6. What is the evidential value of its contents?
of literary and creative works. - Historians determine the authenticity of sources by
Primary and Secondary Sources examining the date, locale, creator, analysis and
- Primary and secondary sources are both important integrity of the historical sources.
in studying history. However, it is preferred that
students use primary sources in their analysis and
synthesis of the past events. External Criticism
The use of primary sources is important because of the following reasons: - The first five questions are considered to be part of
1. Direct contact with the original records and artifacts invites students to explore the content with external criticism. Historians determine the
active and deeper analysis, and to respond thoughtfully
authenticity of sources by examining the date, locale,
2. Critical thinking is developed as students probe the context, purpose, meaning, bias, and
perspectives in their analysis of the past creator, analysis and integrity of the historical
3. In the interaction with the various sources from the past, a learn-led inquiry is being fostered.
sources.
4. There is a realization that history is a reflection of various perspectives of those who interpret the - These information must be consistent with each
past events
other. It means, for example, that the materials used
5. It brings back to story to history allowing students to share the author’s perspectives.
in a source must match the time and place when it
REASONS FOR THE IMPORTANCE OF USING PRIMARY was produced.
SOURCES
- Examples of the things that will be examined are the
1. Explore the content with active and deeper
quality of the paper, type of ink, language, words
analysis, and to respond thoughtfully
used, among others.
2. Critical thinking is developed (context, purpose,
meaning, bias, and perspectives in their analysis of the - In sum, External criticism is the practice of verifying
past) the authenticity of evidence by examining its physical
3. In the interaction with the various sources from the characteristics, consistency with historical
past, a learn-led inquiry is being fostered characteristics of the time when it was produced, and
4. There is a realization that history is a reflection of the materials used for evidence
various perspectives of those who interpret the past

Internal Criticism
- The last question is treated as internal criticism as it
helps the historians determine the credibility of the
source.
- It studies the content of the source to know its
truthfulness.
- For a source to be valid, its content must be
reasonable and historically precise. One should now
rely on data which is not supported by evidence.
- In other words, internal criticism is the examination
of the truthfulness of evidence. It looks at the content
of the source, factuality of evidence, the agenda
behind its creation, intended purpose, etc.
- Historians also acknowledge and analyze how
reports can be manipulated to be used as war
propaganda. That's why evaluating and validating
historical sources is important. Because the use of
unverified, falsified sources can lead to false
conclusions. Deceptions and lies will be highly
probable.
Code of Kalantiaw
- One of the disputed documents which may illustrate
the application of external and internal criticism is the
Code of Kalantiaw. The Code was introduced as
written by Datu Kalantiaw of Negros in 1433.
However, in a study presented by William Henry Scott,
it was found out to be a hoax - a forgery written by
Jose E. Marco in 1913.
- It was only in 1968 that it was proved a hoax, when
William Henry Scott, then a doctoral candidate at the
University of Santo Tomas, defended his research on
pre-Hispanic sources in Philippine history. He
attributed the code to a historical fiction written in
1913 by Jose E. Marco titled LAS ANTIGUAS LEYENDAS
DE LA ISLA DE NEGROS
- Today, history books no longer include the said
Code. But Atty. Cecilio Duka, in 2018, has interestingly
provided the 18 articles of the Code in his book,
Struggle for Freedom, to be critically examined by the
students and conclude its truthfulness.
Code of Kalantiaw
Article I - Ye shall not kill, neither shall ye steal nor
shall ye hurt the aged, lest ye incur the danger of
death. All those who this order shall infringe shall be
tied to a stone and drowned in a river or in boiling
water.
Article II - Ye shall punctually meet your debt with
your headman. He who fulfills not, for the first time
shall be lashed a hundredfold, and If the obligation is
great, his hand shall be dipped threefold in boiling
water. On conviction, he shall be flogged to death.
Article III - Obey ye: no one shall have wives that are
too young, nor shall they be more than what he can
take care of, nor spend much luxury. He who fulfils
not, obeys not, shall be condemned to swim three
hours and, for the second time, shall be scourged with
spines to death.
Article IV - Observe and obey ye: Let not the peace of
the graves be disturbed; due respect must be
accorded them on passing by caves and trees where
they are. He who observes not shall die by bites of
ants or shall be flogged with spines till death.
Article V - Obey ye: Exchange in food must be carried
out faithfully. He who complies not shall be lashed for
an hour. He who repeats the act shall, for a day be
exposed to the ants.
Article VI - Ye shall revere respectable places, trees of
known value, and other sites. He shall pay a month's
work, in gold or money, whoever fails to do this; and if
twice committed, he shall be declared a slave.
Article VII - They shall die who kill trees of venerable
aspect; who at night shoot with arrows the aged men
and the women; he who enters the house of the
headman without permission; he who kills a fish or
shark or striped crocodile.
Article VIII - They shall be slaves for a given time who
steal away the women of the headmen; he who
possesses dogs that bite the headmen; he who burns
another man's sown field.
Article IX - They shall be slaves for a given time, who
sing in their night errands, kill manual birds, tear
documents belonging to the headmen; who are evil-
minded liars; who play with the dead.
Article X - It shall be the obligation of every mother to
show her daughter secretly the things that are
lacivious, and prepare them for womanhood; men
shall not be cruel to their wives, nor should they
punish them when they catch them in the act of
adultery. He who disobeys shall be torn to pieces and
thrown to the caymans.
Article XI - They shall be burned, who by force or
cunning have mocked at and eluded punishment, or
who have killed two young boys, or shall try to steal
the women of the old men (agurangs).
Article XII - They shall be drowned, all slaves who
assault their superiors or their lords and masters; all
those who abuse their luxury; those who kill their
anitos by breaking them or throwing them away.
Article XIII - They shall be exposed to the ants for half
a day, who kill a black cat during the new moon or
steal things belonging to the headmen.
Article XIV - They shall be slaves for life, who having
beautiful daughters shall deny them to the sons of
Article XV - Concerning their beliefs and superstitions:
they shall be scourged, who eat bad meat of
respected insects or herbs that are supposed to be
good; who hurt or kill the young manual bird and the
white monkey.
Article XVI - Their fingers shall be cut off, who break
wooden or clay idols in their olangangs and places of
oblation; he who breaks Tagalan's daggers for hog
killing, or breaks drinking vases.
Article XVII - They shall be killed, who profane places
where sacred objects of their diwatas or headmen are
buried. He who gives way to the call of nature at such
places shall be burned.
Article XVIII - Those who do not cause these rules to
be observed, if they are headmen, shall be stoned and
crushed to death, and if they are old men, shall be
placed in rivers to be eaten by sharks and crocodiles.
Principles of source criticism for determining
reliability (Olden-Jørgensen, 1998 and Thurén, 1997):
- Human sources may be relics such as a fingerprint;
or narratives such as a statement or a letter. Relics are
more credible sources than narratives.
- Any given source may be forged or corrupted. Strong
indications of the originality of the source increase its
reliability.
- The closer a source is to the event which it purports
to describe, the more one can trust it to give an
accurate historical description of what actually
happened.
- A primary source is more reliable than a secondary
source, which is more reliable than a tertiary source,
and so on.
- If a number of independent sources contain the
same message, the credibility of the message is
strongly increased.
- The tendency of a source is its motivation for
providing some kind of bias. Tendencies should be
minimized or supplemented with opposite
motivations.
- If it can be demonstrated that the witness or source
has no direct interest in creating bias then the
credibility of the message is increased.
What if there are two or more sources to prove a
certain historical event? Bernheim (1889) and
Langlois & Seignobos (1898) have presented the
following procedures to examine contradictory
sources:
1. If the sources all agree about an event, historians
can consider the event proved;
2. However, majority does not rule; even if most
sources relate events in one way, that version will not
prevail unless it passes the test of critical textual
analysis;
3. The source whose account can be confirmed by
reference to outside authorities in some of its parts
can be trusted in its entirety if it is impossible similarly
to confirm the entire text;
4. When two sources disagree on a particular point,
the historian will prefer the source with most
"authority"—that is the source created by the expert
or by the eyewitness;
5. Eyewitnesses are, in general, to be preferred
especially in circumstances where the ordinary
observer could have accurately reported what
transpired and, more specifically, when they deal with
facts known by most contemporaries;
6. If two independently created sources agree on a
matter, the reliability of each is measurably enhanced;
7. When two sources disagree and there is no other
means of evaluation, then historians take the source
which seems to accord best with common sense.
Primary sources are mostly accounts of
eyewitnesses. As proposed above, they are generally
preferred. In history, however, one should not
immediately accept statements of an eyewitness
without evaluation. RJ Shafer had suggested that we
ask the following questions:
- Is the real meaning of the statement different from
its literal meaning? Are words used in senses not
employed today? Is the statement meant to be ironic
(i.e., mean other than it says)?
- How well could the author observe the thing he
reports? Were his senses equal to the observation?
Was his physical location suitable o sight, hearing,
touch? Did he have the proper social ability to
observe: did he understand the language, have other
expertise required (e.g., law, military); was he not
being intimidated by his wife or the secret police?
- How did the author report and what was his ability
to do so?
 Regarding his ability to report, was he biased?
Did he have proper time for reporting? Proper
place for reporting? Adequate recording
instruments?
 When did he report in relation to his
observation? Soon? Much later? Fifty years is much
later as most eyewitnesses are dead and those
who remain may have forgotten relevant material.
 What was the author's intention in reporting?
For whom did he report? Would that audience be
likely to require or suggest distortion to the
author?
 Are there additional clues to intended veracity?
Was he indifferent on the subject reported, thus
probably not intending distortion? Did he make
statements damaging to himself, thus probably not
seeking to distort? Did he give incidental or casual
information, almost certainly not intended to
mislead?
- Do his statements seem inherently improbable: e.g.,
contrary to human nature, or in conflict with what we
know?
- Remember that some types of information are easier
to observe and report on than others.
- Are there inner contradictions in the document?
In some cases when there is no primary source
available to confirm the happening of one event or
history, indirect eyewitnesses or secondary sources
may be inquired from. In these cases, Gottschalk has
suggested to ask the following:
1.From whose primary testimony does the secondary
witness base his statements?
2.Did the secondary witness accurately report the
primary testimony as a whole?
3.If not, in what details did he accurately report the
primary testimony?
- Having reasonable answers from these
questions will give the historian a source, which may
be considered original and reliable.
Historians may also look into oral traditions as a
source of history. These traditions, however, may
only be accepted if they satisfy the following
conditions:
1. Broad conditions:
a. The tradition should be supported by an unbroken
series of witnesses, reaching from the immediate and
first reporter of the fact to the living mediate witness
from whom we take it from, or to the one who was
the first to commit it to writing.
b. There should be several parallel and independent
series of witnesses testifying to the fact in question.
2. Particular conditions:
a. The tradition must report a public event of
importance, such as would necessarily be known
directly to a great number of persons.
b. The tradition must have been generally believed, at
least for definite period of time.
c. During that definite period it must have gone
without protest, even from persons interested in
denying it.
d. The tradition must be one of relatively limited
duration (Elsewhere, Garraghan suggests a maximum
limit of 150 years, at least in cultures that excel in oral
remembrance)
e. The critical spirit must have been sufficiently
developed while the tradition lasted, and the
necessary means of critical investigation must have
been at hand.
f. Critical-minded persons who would surely have
challenged the tradition – had they considered it false
– must have made no such challenge.
- Other traditions may also be proven by
presentation of comparable evidence such as
archeological records or remains.
- The guidelines presented above may help in
the examination of sources, which may be accepted in
writing history. These should be coupled by further
assessments using proper historical reasoning.
LESSON 1.4 KINDS AND REPOSITORIES OF PRIMARY
RESOURCES
Primary sources may be published or unpublished
documents.
Published documents
- are those that are intended for public distribution or
use.
- The fact that these documents are published does
not mean that they are reliable, accurate, or truthful.
- Newspapers, magazines, books, reports, government
documents, laws, court decisions, literary works,
posters, maps, and advertisements are some of the
examples.
Unpublished documents
- unlike published ones, may be difficult to locate as
they are kept in private and hence, may not be easily
accessed by the public. These documents are also
confidential and are restricted from public use like
personal letters, which are in the possession of the
recipients.
- Documents such as diaries, journals, letters, wills,
and other personal papers that are not published may
be used as primary sources.
Primary sources may also be unwritten. These may
include
Oral traditions, oral histories, artworks, and artifacts.
- Traditions and histories or stories transferred
through generations may tell us something about the
past.
- Accepted as primary sources of this kind are those
that come from people who have actually witnessed
or experienced the past events. Personal or first-hand
knowledge is necessary in considering these sources
as primary.
- Although some oral traditions (from some cultures)
that are still unwritten up to date may be used in
writing history, it is essential that that their reliability
is properly evaluated.
- Other unwritten sources include artworks and
artifacts. These are visual documents that tell us
several views of the past from the perspectives of
creators. Drawings, paintings, sculptures,
photographs, and artifacts are some of the visual
documents that may have captured historic moments
and provide evidence to changes that happened over
time.
The National Archives of the Philippines (NAP)
- Organized under Republic Act No. 9470 passed on
May 21, 2007
- was established to store, preserve, conserve, and
make available to the public the records, papers,
periodicals, books or other items, articles or materials,
that have been selected for permanent reservation.
- These materials may be in the form of electronic,
audio-visual or print, which by their nature and
characteristics have enduring value.
- holding about 60,000,000 archival documents with
Spanish Collection comprising an estimated
13,000,000 manuscripts from the 16th to 19th
Century with 400 titles on various aspects of
Philippine history under the
a) Spanish rule - such as royal decrees of Spanish monarchs, reports
of Spanish governors-general, documents on Filipino uprisings, records of
different provinces and pueblos, royal titles on lands and landed estates,
pastoral letters of the clergy, papers on churches and convents, maps and
architectural plans of buildings and houses, civil records like birth,
marriages death
b) American and Japanese occupation records including
Philippine National Guard records, civil service rosters, war trials; and
c) recent records composed of notarial documents, registers, civil
service records, and 1,000 cubic meter of inactive records of national/local
governments, including those of abolished, transferred or merged offices.
The National Library of the Philippines (NLP)
- is the repository of the printed and recorded cultural
heritage of the country and other intellectual, literary
and information sources.
- It was established by a royal decree on 12 August
1887 and named as the Museo-Biblioteca de Filipinas.
- Its mission is to acquire, organize, conserve, and
preserve Filipiniana materials and provide equitable
access to library resources through a system of public
libraries throughout the country
- has one of the largest collections of materials in
various forms in the country covering around 1.6 million books,
manuscripts, newspapers, theses and dissertations, government
publications, maps, and photographs. Some of the valuable pieces it holds
are Rizal’s novels, including the unfinished novels, and the Philippine
Declaration of Independence which are all kept in a special vault.
The National Museum of the Philippines (NM)
- As an educational, scientific, and cultural institution,
the National Museum operates the National Museum
of Fine Arts, National Museum of Anthropology,
National Museum of Natural History, National
Planetarium and other branch museums around the
country. Its collection covers fine arts, archeology,
ethnography, and natural history.