Geography and History
Jan 03, 2016
Objectives
• The students will be able to: – Distinguish between history and prehistory– Identify other related sciences of history and
their focus: paleontology, archaeology, and anthropology.
– Understand what fossils are – Distinguish between primary and secondary
sources and describe how each kind of source is used in interpreting history.
What is history?
• The past• Everything that has happened before now• Stories of what happened in the past• Gone
History versus Prehistory
• Period of time in the past after writing was developed
• Period of time in the past before writing was invented
Archaeology
• The study of history and prehistory though examining bones, tools, structures, and other fossils to learn about people and cultures from the past.
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAPUK0AF7us
Paleontology
• The study of the past through examining bone and fossil remains from that time period.
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEyl2rRa2YY
Anthropology•The study of humans, both past and present, how they behave, where they came from, their physical characteristics and their culture.
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMFsgPy1H5M
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7p-_whtOtQ
Learning About The Past
• Written Record• Oral Tradition• “Digging up” Objects
– Fossils, bones, tools, and more
Oral Traditions
• Stories passed down by word of mouth– EX: Your grandmother told
your father something, your father told you, and you will tell your children
• Are oral traditions always completely accurate?
Fossils• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phZe
E7Att_s
• A trace or print of the remains of plants or animals
• Used by historians in different fields to learn about the past
• Carbon-14 Dating allows us to know the approximate age of fossils
• This lets us know the time period the fossils came from
Primary Source
• First hand• Created by people
who lived during the historical event– Participants or
observers
Primary Source--Examples
• Letters• Diaries/Journals• Eyewitness Accounts• Autobiographies• Speeches• Historical Documents• Photographs/Videos/Recordings• Original Art
Secondary Source
• Second hand information
• Written or created by people who were not present at the original event
• Often combines information from several primary sources
Primary or Secondary?
• Mr. Forbes telling you about what happened at the soccer game he was at yesterday