MODULE 1 - LESSON 2: HISTORICAL SOURCES
Historical Sources
1) Primary sources are those sources produced simultaneously as the
event, period, or subject being studied.
a) physical evidence in history such as artifacts, relics, remains,
fossils and even oral tradition.
2) Secondary sources are sources produced by an author who relied on
primary sources to write the material. In other words, secondary sources
are products of historical research that other historians use for additional
information or as background to their study.
a) Published Materials - newspapers, magazines, journals, etc.
b) Unpublished Materials - letters, biographies, theses written by a
scholar. (i.e. The Diary of Anne Frank)
Historical Documentation
“No documents, no history…,” Teodoro Agoncillo
• Historical Documentation is very important for biography in the sense
that it is proof that the person was existing during his time.
• Primary Evidence - records, letters, birth and death certificates, voice
recordings, paintings, etc.
Ex. In the case of Rizal - Noli Me Tangere & the Epistolario Rizalino
(Letters of Rizal)
Historiography - process of writing historical details. It narrates history in a
proper way according to the time, space and depth.
“Historical Imagination” - when the reader puts himself in the picture of
writing history. For example, reading biographies puts you in the same
person in order for that person to come alive.
By employing historical imagination, we make the story come alive.
READINGS IN PHILIPPINE HISTORY
Two Ways for Evaluating Historical Sources
1. External Criticism
a) Authenticity or originality by checking the validity of the source.
b) Physical characteristics
c) Consistency with the historical character of the time when it was
supposedly produced.
External Criticism
• Who wrote the document? For what purpose was the
document written?
• When was the document written?
• Is the date of the document accurate?
• Where was the document written?
• Do different forms or versions of the document exist?
2. Internal Criticism
a) Reliability or accuracy of an authenticated source
b) It has been subjected to external criticism
Internal Criticism
• Was the author present at the event?
• Was he a participant or observer of the event?
• Was the author competent to describe the event?
• Does the language of the document suggest a bias of any sort?
• Do other versions of the event exist?