the hisrorian

• History


  The study of the past
• Key terms


  • Source
  • Prehistory
  • Archaeology
  • Historical consciousness
  • Historian
  • Archaeologist
  • Cross-checking
  • Historical repository
  • Archive
  • Museum
  • Primary source
  • Secondary source
  • Artefact
  • Census
  • Autobiography
  • Biography
  • Handling box
  • Accuracy
  • Bias
  • Exaggeration
  • Propaganda
  • Tactile source
  • Chronology
  • Reinterpretation
• Source


  Something that gives us information or evidence about a person, place or thing in the past
• Prehistory


  The period of time before writing was used
• Archaeology


  The study of the remains left by people in the past
• Historical consciousness


  Being able to place ourselves in past human experience, linking the past, the present and the future
• Historian


  Someone who is an expert in, or a student of, history
• Archaeologist


  Someone who investigates places and objects left by people in the past, including the time before written records were kept
• Cross-checking


  When more than one source is used to make sure the information is correct
• Historical repository


  A place where evidence of the past can be stored and maintained
• Archive


  A place that catalogues and stores a collection of written and other sources
• Museum


  A place that collects and displays objects for public education and appreciation
• Primary source


  A source from the time in question; a first-hand account of what happened
• Secondary source


  A source from a later date, after the time in question
• Artefact


  Any human-made object, e.g. pottery, a tool or a weapon such as a spear
• Census


  An official survey of a population
• Autobiography


  An account of a person's life written by the person themselves
• Biography


  An account of a person's life written by someone else
• Handling box


  A box containing replicas (copies) of artefacts, so that anyone can examine them without damaging an original
• Accuracy


  Judging how correct the information you are using is
• Bias


  When an account is not balanced, but unfairly favours one side
• Exaggeration


  When something is represented as better or worse than it actually was
• Propaganda


  Information that has been designed to influence the attitudes and behaviours of the general public
• Tactile source


  A source that can be touched - a physical object, like an artefact
• Chronology


  Putting events into the sequence in which they happened
• Reinterpretation


  To see something in a new or different light