Section 1
Keywords
Historian
Archaeologist
What is history
Study of events of the past and the story of human activiy
What is prehistory.
The prehistoric period is before writing was used, the historic period is when people uses writing.
Sources
Evidence that helps historians to build up a picture of the past is called a source, eg. Photo, article, artefact.
Primary sources
Secondary sources
Interviews
Diaries
Letters, emails
Photos
Artefacts
Biography
Movies
Documentry
Internet
Books
Using sources
Read carefullly
Where it was created, why was it made, when was it made and by whom.
How close was the author to the events being described.
Whether the author can be trusted
Looking at the different sources to make sure they match
Trusting sources
Bias
Accuracy
Exaggeration
Propaganda
Time and place
Opinions
Favouring sides
Wrong information
Making an event appear more important than it actually is
Providing information to make someone/thing look good
Sometimes people can forget or leave out important deatails
Separating facts from opinions
Time and place
Measuring time
Study of what has been left in the ground by people of the past.
Objects left in the ground
Some are lost
Some are buried for safekeeping
Bodies were buried with objects
Overtime abandoned buildings would be covered in soil.
Old buildings are knocked down, new buildings are built over them
conditions of objects in the ground.
In very wet conditions, bogs, they are kept very well.
In moderate conditions, a field, they are not kept very well.
In very hot conditions, desert, they are kept very well.
Excavating sites
Choosing sights
Reason to believe that objects might be found
Rescue archaeology, digging before a road or a building is built
Many finds are discovered by accident
Preparation
A survey is carried out
Aerial photographs are taken, showing the sight from the air
The dig
The topsoil is removed often with a JCB
Layers of earth are scraped away with a trowel
When an object is discovered, archaeologists have to be careful not to damage it. They will use brushes and eve. Toothbrushes to make sure this doesn't happen.
As some objects are very small, the soil is often put through a sieve
Once an object has been uncovered, a photograph will be taken of it
Objects are cleaned, bagged, and labelled to show information
Dating objects
Carbon dating
Scientific method that is used to date an object that was once alive, measuring the amount of carbon 14 left in the body.
Stratigraphy
Objects can be dated by the depth they are found at. The deeper it is, the older it is.
Dendrochronolohy
Dating wooden objects, counting the rings of wood.