THE MEANING OF HISTORY

 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. As time passed, the equivalent Latin word “scientia”, which is science
in English later was used more to designate non-chronological systematic accounts of
phenomena.
 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
 The process of critically examining and analyzing the records and survivals of the past. 
 To study objectively (intention of acquiring detached and truthful knowledge independent
of one’s personal reactions) a thing must first be an object and must have an independent
resistance outside the human mind). Most of history is based on the human mind since
most of history is based upon recollection (written 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 CRITICISM
- Settles matters on the form and content of a source
*External Criticism
     - Deals with the problem of authenticity
     - To spot hoaxes, fakes, forgeries and fabrications
     - Tests of Authenticity are:
          Determine the date if it is Anachronistic: a material, skill or culture does not exist at that
time
          Determine the author in the uniqueness of his handwriting or signature
          Determine the provenance or custody:  genuineness
          Determine the Semantics, meaning of a text or word
          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
 Official Reports
 Maps
 Memoirs or Autobiographies
  Personal accounts: record of interviews
 Newspapers and Magazines: reports of correspondents
 Legislative journals
 Court Records
 

REPOSITORIES OF PRIMARY SOURCES

 National Archives of the Philippines
 National Library of the Philippines
 National Historical Commission of the Philippines
 National Museum of the Philippines
 Other Repositories of Primary Sources are the libraries of various universities in
the Philippines such as the University of the Philippines, the Ateneo de Manila
Rizal Library and Museum, the American Historical Collection in ADMU, and the
University of Sto. Tomas Central Library and Museum.

 Other Repositories of Primary Sources are the libraries of various universities in

the Philippines such as the University of the Philippines, the Ateneo de Manila
Rizal Library and Museum, the American Historical Collection in ADMU, and the
University of Sto. Tomas Central Library and Museum.

SANTIAGO ALVAREZ
     - A revolutionary general and a founder and honorary president of the first
directorate of the Nacionalista Party
     - Also known as Kidlat ng Apoy because of his inflamed bravery and
dedication as commander of Cavite's famous battles
     - The only child of revolutionary general Mariano Alvarez
 
TEODORO AGONCILLO
      - A prominent 20th-century Filipino historian
     - He and his contemporary Renato Constantino were among the first Filipino
historians renowned for promoting a distinctly nationalist point of view of Filipino
history.
Robert Fox
     - An anthropologist and leading historian on the prehispanic Philippines
     - He led a six-year archaeological research project in Palawan, focusing mainly
on the caves and rock shelters of Lipuun Point in the southern part of the island.
Its most outstanding site is the Tabon Cave complex, the large main cave
delivered the only Pleistocene human fossils found in the Philippines to date. The
fossil finds include a skullcap, jaw bones, teeth and several other fragmented
bones. Dubbed as the "Tabon Man",  the finds represent more than just one
individual.
 
William Henry Scott
     - A historian of the Gran Cordillera Central and Prehispanic Philippines