What is a Historical Source?
A historical source is any material that helps us learn about the past. Without sources, we could not know what really happened long ago. Sources give us clues, like pieces of a puzzle.
Two Main Types
Historians use two kinds of sources:
- Primary sources — original items from the time of the event, such as artefacts, coins, old letters, inscriptions and photographs.
- Secondary sources — made later using primary sources, such as textbooks, encyclopaedias and reference books.
Key idea
Primary = from the actual time of the event. Secondary = written later, based on primary sources.
Using Sources Carefully
Good historians check many sources to make sure the facts are true. A coin dug from the ground and a school textbook can both teach us history, but in different ways. Some sources are objects we can hold, while others are words we can read. By comparing what different sources tell us, we build a clearer and more complete picture of the past.
Remember
- An artefact is a primary source.
- A textbook is a secondary source.
- More sources = more accurate history.