How Do Historians Study The Past?

There are so many clever methods historians use to gather their information about the past.

And the way they view the world is simply different to us.

Historians look at history as a window to the present: a means of discovering how this complex world can solve its problems or just exactly where we are all heading.

Here are a few ways our historians investigate the past:

1. Choosing a subject

Historians have an endless pool of history to swim in. They are welcome to choose from any time period they want... if it's interesting enough. Generally, historians view history from many areas: economic, political, social, cultural and religious.

However, to tell a story about a historical period, like the Tudor times, the modern historian must first make sure his story is credible. This leads us to our second step...

2. Evidence

Starting off, the first kind of evidence a historian could possibly find is primary evidence.

Primary evidence is first-hand witness evidence to support an event - these come under testimonials, documents, diaries, interviews or artefacts.

For example, one source of primary evidence of dinosaurs is commonly found in museums. Another primary source is the rich amount of artefacts found in Egypt, proving the existence of the ancient Egyptian civilisation 5,000 years ago.

Secondary evidence is something that is more readily available to everyone. You can find them in book stores and on the internet. These sources of information can be in books or documentaries that are created based on primary sources and other secondary sources.

These are just two:

'The Shortest History of Germany' by James Hawes

'I Cannot Forgive' by Rudolf Vrba

So, I hope you've learned a little bit about historians.

What's the latest historical book or documentary you've looked at recently?

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