Topic 3: The range of

sources that can be

used in an historical
investigation,
including
archaeological and
written sources.
 Using Historical Sources
• Historians use a variety of sources to generate theories
(known as hypotheses) about people and events from the
past.
• the process of investigating history therefore involves
finding sources, asking questions about these sources, and
then creating hypotheses.
• each source a Historian finds tells only one part of the
story and therefore represents a small piece of the puzzle
or one person’s perspective.
• To combat this problem, historians need to research
widely, recognise bias and accept that there are periods in
history for which we cannot gather evidence.
 Types of Historical Sources: (1) Primary
• Primary sources existed or were written
or made during the time being studied.
• Types:
(i) Written: official documents, newspapers,
letters, manuscripts, diaries, memoirs,
speeches.
(ii) Artefacts: bones, weapons, ruins, tools,
coins, artworks.
(iii) Visual: photographs, film footage, rock art,
cartoons, paintings, graffiti.
(iv) Oral testimony: first-hand accounts.
• Right: Martin Luther King, Jr. I Have a Dream
speech delivered 28 August 1963, at the Lincoln
Memorial, Washington D.C.
 Types of
Historical
Sources: Primary
ADVANTAGES:
• created by someone who
experienced the event.
• gives a direct insight and
link into the past.
DISADVANTAGES:
• may be inaccurate or
incomplete.
• may contain the bias of the
author.
Types of Historical
Sources: (2) Secondary
• Secondary sources have been created after the
time being studied.
• they often use or refer to primary sources and
present a particular interpretation.
• Types:
• (i) Textbooks: E.g. Oxford 7.
• (ii) Websites: E.g. Encyclopedia Britannica.
• (iii) Magazine articles: E.g. National
Geographic History
• (iv) Documentaries: E.g. Lost World of Pompeii
Types of Historical
Sources: Secondary
ADVANTAGES:
• has the advantage of hindsight by accessing
multiple sources.
• can fill in gaps about primary sources.
DISADVANTAGES:
• prepared after the time being studied so is not
a direct link.
• may contain the author’s bias.
Class Discussion
Is a painting (1988) a primary or secondary
source?

Now look at the following painting.

 Class discussion:
Primary OR Secondary
Source?: Painting The beach
at Anzac (1919) by Frank
Crozier
• This is a painting of the Anzacs at
Gallipoli in 1915 (WW1) completed
in 1919 by British artist Frank
Crozier.
• it’s a Primary Source if you are
studying the life of the artist Frank
Crozier because he painted it.
• it’s a Secondary Source if you are
studying the Anzacs at Gallipoli
because the painting was
completed in 1919 and the Anzacs
were at Gallipoli in 1915.
Using Slides 10-15 complete the table in your
Student Book (Activity 2).
 Determining FACT and OPINION (Bias)
• A FACT is something that can be • An OPINION is based on what a
proved. person, or persons, may believe
• For Example: ‘The West Coast to be true.
Eagles have won FOUR • For Example: ‘The West Coast
Premierships (1992; 1994; 2006; Eagles are the best team in the
2018)’. A.F.L.’
 Can we trust our
sources?

• You might think that a source you have

located about a topic should be reliable
evidence.
• but a source may be fact or someone’s
opinion – that is, it could be biased.
• when we use sources to try to find out
about the past, we have to ask some
questions.
 (1) What is the
ORIGIN of the
source?

• What type of source is it?

• Who wrote, produced or
made the source?
• When was the source
written, produced or made?
 (2) What is the PURPOSE
of the source?

• Why was it written or produced?

• What was the intended outcome of creating the source:
• to inform (reliable)?
• to persuade (unreliable)?
• Thinking about the audience of the source is useful
when considering its purpose.
• For example, a personal letter written to a friend may
have a higher level of reliability compared to an advert
published in a magazine.
• Left: Bronze statue of Julius Caesar, Rome, Italy (Roman
Forum)
 (3) Does the source contain
any BIAS?
• Bias occurs when a source is one sided and
presents an unbalanced view of the topic.
• this may be deliberate (such as in
propaganda, see opposite), or due to the
beliefs and values of the source’s creator.
• RIGHT: Nazi propaganda poster: ‘Our
Leader’
 (4) How USEFUL is the source to learn about
the
How useful is the source?
topic you are investigating?
Strengths
• informative
• factual
• relevant
• other?
Weaknesses
• contains bias/prejudice
• limited perspective
• unreliable origin
• other?

1825 painting by Vincenzo Camuccini, The Death of Julius Caesar

​

​
Read and discuss the analysis of the following FOUR
sources (A-D) about Julius Caesar.​

This will help you complete Activity 2 (b) in the

Student Booklet
 Read and discuss the analysis of the following FOUR sources (A-
D) about Julius Caesar.
This will help you complete Activity 2 (b) in the Student Booklet.

Julius Caesar
• born 100 BCE.
• Roman general and statesman.
• led the Roman armies in the Gallic
Wars before defeating Pompey in a
civil war and governing the Roman
Republic as a dictator from 49 BCE.
• assassinated by a group of senators in
44 BCE.

Although he had many
political enemies, Caesar
was popular with the
(Source A) ordinary people. He spoke
Extract from publicly to them, promising
to solve problems such as
Oxford 7 Big rising crime, higher taxes
Ideas, written and unemployment. In 42
BCE, he was officially
by Leo Conti deified (made a god) and a
and temple was dedicated to
him in Rome.
published in
2016.
• Origin: A secondary source, a
textbook, by Leo Conti
published in 2016.
• Purpose: To educate students
about Julius Caesar.
• Bias: Provides both a positive
and negative side of Caesar.
• Usefulness:
• Strength: provides a
balanced account of
Caesar.
• Weakness: does not
provide much factual
evidence.
 “Caesar subjected the • Origin: A primary source,
Roman people to a letter, written by Cicero
in 43 BCE.
(Source B) oppression... Is there
anyone, except • Purpose: To explain why
Extract from a Caesar had been killed.
Antony who did not
letter by Roman wish for his death or • Bias: Provides a negative
politician Cicero who disapproved of perspective towards
(written to what was done?... Caesar.
Some didn't know of
Trebonius who the plot, some lacked
• Usefulness:
was involved in courage, others the • Strength: Provides a
primary source
Julius Caesar’s opportunity. None
perspective of Caesar.
death) in 43 BCE lacked the will.”
• Weakness: Does not
provide much
evidence.
 (Source C) Coins portraying Julius Caesar issued
in 44 BCE, displayed at the Chicago Art Institute
Caesar was the first Roman leader to issue coins with • Origin: A primary source, a coin,
his own image in 45 BCE, while he was alive.
Previously coins were only of dead leaders. created in Ancient Rome in 44 BCE.
• Purpose: To glorify Emperor Julius
Caesar.
• Bias: Caesar is promoted as a living
hero and god like.
• Usefulness:
• Strength: Shows how powerful
Caesar had become.
• Weakness: Does not provide any
LEFT: Wreathed head of Julius Caesar
RIGHT: Juno Sospita (Roman goddess) wearing a goat-skin head evidence of his actions.
dress and holding a spear in right hand and shield in left, in a
galloping biga
(Source D) French artist Lionel
Royer’s 1899 painting entitled
‘Vercingetorix throws down his
arms at the feet of Julius Caesar’. It
depicts the defeat of the Gauls
(Vercingetorix was their leader) in
52 BCE.
• Origin: A secondary source, a
painting, by Lionel Royer in 1899.
• Purpose: To show how powerful
Caesar was.
• Bias: Shows Caesar as the most
powerful person and all others are in
awe of him.
• Usefulness:
• Strength: shows how significant
Caesar is in history as this is a
painting from 1899 of an event
in 52 BCE.
• Weakness: painted a very long
time after the event.
 NOW complete Activity 2 (b) in the Student
Booklet to practice using these skills.
Source 1 Source 2
Extract from Wikidepia, Extract from a letter written by Roman philosopher Seneca c.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colosseum. 60 CE.
The Colosseum is built of travertine limestone,  “The gladiators have nothing to protect them:
tuff (volcanic rock), and brick-faced concrete. The their bodies are utterly open to every blow:
Colosseum could hold an estimated 50,000 to every thrust finds its mark... Most people
80,000 spectators at various points in its history [4] prefer this kind of thing to all other matches...
[5]
 having an average audience of some 65,000; [6] The sword is not checked by helmet or shield.
 it was used for gladiatorial contests and  What good is armour? What good is
public spectacles including animal hunts, swordsmanship? All these things only put off
executions, re-enactments of famous battles, and death a little. In the morning men are
dramas based on Roman mythology, and briefly  matched with lions and bears, at noon with
mock sea battles. The building ceased to be used their spectators... death is the fighters' only
for entertainment in the early medieval era. It was
later reused for such purposes as housing, exit.”
workshops, quarters for a religious order, a 
fortress, a quarry, and a Christian shrine.[
citation needed]
 Complete Activity 2 (b) in the Student
Booklet to practice using these skills.
Source 3 Source 4
Gladiator Mosaic from 4th century located on a wall at the 1817 Anonymous coloured engraving of Naumachia (naval
Borghese estate outside of Rome. battle) in the Colosseum.