Original item that provides evidence about the past
A piece of evidence created during the period under investigation
'Raw materials' often considered as the foundation of historical research and writing
Can be an eyewitness account or a firsthand account of a particular event
Can either be written or unwritten
Kinds of Primary Sources
Personal journals/diaries/memoirs/parish records
Letters, newspaper, magazine
Court proceedings, legislative debates
Movies, music, art
Objects or artifacts (e.g. clothes, jewelry, farming implements)
Secondary Source
Piece of historical entity that is anchored in primary sources
Usually an assessment or a commentary of events, people, or institution of the past
Offer an analysis or a restatement of primary sources
Kinds of Secondary Sources
Books and articles produced by historians
Pieces of art, literature, music, etc. created later to represent life in that time period
Primary or Secondary?
A diary written by a soldier who fought in the war (Primary)
A biography of Jose Rizal written by American biographer Austin Craig (Secondary)
A TV documentary filmed by a reporter who experienced the onslaught of Typhoon Yolanda (Primary)
A newspaper article about the People Power Revolution written on February 25, 1986 (Primary)
A 2010 journal article about the Philippine Revolution against Spain with a formal writing style, bibliography at the end, and lots of analysis and interpretation (Secondary)
A book about the World War II where the author says things like "I was drafted at age 18..." (Primary)
Historical Revisionism
The reinterpretation of a historical account or narrative based on actual facts and authenticated evidence
Historical Distortion
When historical accounts or narratives are changed to suit "personal agenda". It involves disinformation and lies to change history