A History of the World: Chapter 1: What Does a Historian Do?

Today, cars are an integral part of our culture.

For example, a group of 10 years is called a decade.

Historians also divide the past into larger blocks of time known as eras.

This calendar is called the Julian calendar, and it started counting years at the founding of Rome.

However, the Julian calendar was still not precisely, or exactly, right. It lost several minutes each year, which added up to about one lost day every 128 years.

Archaeology is the study of the past by looking at what people left behind.

They often discover artifacts—objects made by people. Common artifacts include tools, pottery, weapons, and jewelry.

Paleontology also looks at prehistoric times. Paleontologists study fossils to learn what the world was like long ago.

Fossils are the remains of plant and animal life that have been preserved from an earlier time.

Anthropology is the study of human culture and how it develops over time.

A species is a class of individuals with similar physical characteristics.

Evidence is something that shows proof or an indication that something is true.

Historians use the evidence they read in historical sources to interpret what happened in the past.

Primary sources are firsthand pieces of evidence. They were written or created by the people who saw or experienced an event. Primary sources include letters, diaries, or government records. Literature or artwork from a particular time and place is a primary source. Spoken interviews and objects, such as tools or clothing, are also primary sources.

Historians also use secondary sources. Secondary sources are created after an event. They are created by people who were not part of the historical event. The information in secondary sources is often based on primary sources. Examples of secondary sources are biographies, encyclopedias, history books, and textbooks.

The authors of primary sources use their points of view to decide what information is important and what to include in the document. Historians evaluate a primary source to find its point of view. They decide if it has a trustworthy viewpoint.

Sometimes a point of view is expressed as a bias or an unreasoned, emotional judgment about people and events.

Historians gather artifacts and data about a subject and then write what they have learned from the study. Such writing may become an article in a scholarly journal, or magazine.

For example, someone could spend an entire career investigating the events that occurred on a single day, such as the day in the year A.D. 79 that Mount Vesuvius, a volcano in the region that is now Italy, erupted and destroyed the city of Pompeii. This subject is a finite place and time.

A conclusion is a final decision that is reached by reasoning.

Sometimes historians disagree about their interpretations of the facts.

However, reliable articles will be signed by well-known experts on the subject. The authors will include details about their credentials, or evidence that they are experts.

To plagiarize is to present the ideas or words of another person as your own without offering credit to the source.

Plagiarism is similar to forgery, or copying something that is not yours. It also violates copyright laws.