WHAT IS HISTORY?

HISTORY
from the Greek word “historia”
inquiry designed to elicit the truth
investigation
information
learning

TRADITIONAL DEFINITION
records of the past
record of human past
past of mankind (Gottschalk, p.43)
based only on written accounts
interviews /oral history /oral traditions and cultural artifacts are not considered records

MODERN DEFINITION
reconstruction of the past based on available written records, oral history, cultural artifacts, and folk
traditions
study of EVENTS and DEVELOPMENTS
involves the collection, analysis, and synthesis of sources
historians should do the important tasks of:
interpreting and recreating facts in an orderly and intelligible manner
discovering patterns and trends (Theories in History)

KASAYSAYAN
saysay
katuturan, kabuluhan, kahulugan
salaysay
kuwento
samakatuwid, ang kasaysayan ay salaysay hinggil sa nakaraan na may saysay para sa sariling lipunan at
kultura

HISTORY
interpretative and imaginative study of surviving records of the past, either written or unwritten, in
order to determine the meaning and scope of human existence
the soul of a nation that provides information of past events.

DIVISIONS OF HISTORY
• unrecorded history (pre-historic)
– refers to those early times of which there are no written records
– no system of writing existed
– Paleolithic, Neolithic, Metal Age
• recorded history (historic)
– refers to that period of which there are written records of some kind
– Ancient, Middle Ages, Modern, Contemporary (western)

WHY STUDY HISTORY?

 bridges the gap between the present and the past
explains causes of things and events
interprets conditions of a given space and time
gives the student a greater tolerance for the opinion of others
serves as a tool in understanding self and development of national identity
promotes nationalism and patriotism

SOURCES OF HISTORY
primary sources
written at the time the event occurred, by someone who was part of the event or witness of the
event
graphic / visual materials and artifacts
fossils
oral tradition(oral literature, interviews)
secondary sources
based on primary sources
usually found in textbooks,
encyclopedias, journal articles

SOURCES OF HISTORY
written primary sources
chronicle, diary, memoirs, report, letter, diplomatic dispatch, surveyor’s notes
social documents:
birth, death, marriage certificates
church, police, school, government, business, hospital records
title deeds, census reports, directories, souvenir programs
statistical tables, graphs, charts
dictionaries, inscriptions, literary works

unwritten primary sources

archeological evidence:
tools, weapons, utensils, coins
old structures and landmarks, old maps
buried artifacts, skeletal remains, funeral paraphernalia
creative expressions, arts and crafts
old sketches/ drawings/ graffiti
photographs, heirlooms, keepsakes
oral evidence, recordings
tales, folk songs, protest songs, popular rituals

METHOD OF DETERMINING AGE RANGE PROCESS

AGE OF ARTIFACTS
1. CULTURAL DATING
(Use of Written Records)
a. Absolute Dating
b. Relative Dating
Up to 5,000 years ago
Use written records of known age to date
artifacts along with them
Archeologists decide based on years of an
object
Comparison with other objects
2. SCIENTIFIC DATING
a. Dendrochronology
b. Radiocarbon Dating
c. Potassium Argon Dating
Up to about 8, 000 years ago
From about 1,000 to 60, 000
years ago
More than 500, 000 years ago
Match the pattern in wooden object to a
master tree ring pattern; count the rings
Measure the amount of radiocarbon remaining
in the object (remains of plants and animals)
Compare the amounts of potassium and argon
present in volcanic rock (bones and tools inside
rocks)

ORAL HISTORY
 pass knowledge, culture, tradition and history through word of mouth

• usually in the form of stories, songs, folktales, epics, myths and legends.

• although they are not written, can be considered as history because they provide a clear description of
society’s past

LEVELS OF HISTORY
scope
biography
genealogy
local history
national history
focus
political history
cultural history
special history
metahistory

2 COMPONENTS IN HISTORY
sources
historian

HISTORICAL METHODOLOGY
Choosing a topic
Gathering of sources
Examination of sources or
Historical Criticism (External and Internal Criticism)
Extraction of data from authentic and credible sources
Writing of history
must be well-organized, coherent and elegantly written
HISTORICAL CRITICISM
External
 question of authenticity
 check materials for forgery/anachronism
 examines the physical appearance of the
document
(eg: color of paper used, condition and
characteristics of the paper, ink used,
handwriting style, etc. )
 examines the words used in the document
 auxiliary tools
 paleography (handwriting)
 diplomatics (charters, conventions)
 archaeology (archaeomagnetic
analysis, dendrochronology)
 statistics (marriage, birth records,
economic growth)
 sigillography (seals)
 chronology (ways of keeping,
marking time)
 codicology (handwritten books-
material, binding, cataloging,
preservation)
 papyrology (writing on papyrus)
 epigraphy (texts written on stone /
metal)
 heraldry (coats of arms
 numismatics (coins)
 linguistics (grammar vocabularies)
 genealogy (family relationships)
 proposography (biographical
materials to construct group portraits
DIFFICULTIES IN THE WRITING AND STUDY OF HISTORY
scarcity of written materials especially in the local level
problems of paleography and translation with regard to documents written in Spanish and other foreign
languages
biases and prejudices on the part of the foreign writers
lack of representative materials for the whole country
lack of trained historians
IS HISTORY AN ART OR A SCIENCE?
as a social science discipline
Internal
 problem of credibility, reliability
 higher level criticism
 source criticism
 genesis of source (provenance) –by whom
 interpretation – deciphering intended
meaning of author
 authorial authority – with what authority does
the author speak?
 competence of eyewitness – psychological
state of author, selectivity of report,
prejudices, outside influences especially of
higher authorities
 could observer have understood what
s/he saw
 was observer technically or socially
qualified to understand what s/he saw
 could observer actually believe what
he saw
 difference between what observer
might consciously know and be able
to report and the way her/his
consciousness is affected by the
culture s/he inhabits
 trustworthiness of observer – tendency of
people to lie necessitates the study of the
author’s life
 check for inconsistencies, lapses,
suppressions in the story
 political motives, pressures (fear for
life, or well-being, job security,
influence, connections), vanity
 a systematic study of written and unwritten accounts about the past events
the methodology of the historian is scientific in so far as it does not permit the imagination to
impede with the collection and investigation (i.e. taking into account the authenticity and
credibility) of historical data

as branch of the humanities

historian may use his disciplined imagination to re-capture the past as closely as the data allow
him in order to give it life, meaning and relevance
Teodoro Agoncillo: any historical piece becomes a dull compilation of data devoid of life, which
for him is not history (since history deals with life as it was lived).