S.S. Chapter #1: What does a Historian do?

To avoid plagiarism, use the following rules:

1. Put info in your own words 2. Include a reference to the author 3. Always include a footnote when quoting an author

Millenium:

10 centuries (1000 years)

Hebrew calendar begins ________ years before the Gregorian Calendar.

3,760

Year:

365 1/4 days long, an extra day added every 4 years

Species:

A class of individuals with similar physical characteristics

What is a fact:

A fact expresses only what can be proved by evidence.

Decade:

A group of 10 years

Century:

A group of 100 years

Era:

A larger block of time

A.D., or _________ ____________, (Latin) means 'in the year of our Lord'.

Anno Domini, which means 'in the year of our lord' in latin.

Many historians prefer to use:

B.C.E , which means Before Common Era, and C.E., which means common era to avoid religious reference in dating.

In the Gregorian calendar, B.C. means ___________ ___________

Before Christ

Modern History:

Begins around 1450 to the present

Making an inference:

Choosing the most likely explanation

Scholary:

Concerned with academic learning/research

Secondary sources:

Created after the event happened. They were created by people who were not part of the event.

To learn the answers to historical questions, historians look for:

Evidence

People who study history do the following:

Examine the causes of events from the past, look for the effects of the events, and they explain why things are the way they are.

Primary Sources:

Firsthand pieces of evidence that were written or seen by people who had seen/experienced the event

Measuring time:

Historians must have a way to identify and describe when things happen; they do that by labelling time

What does history explore?

History explores the way things change and the way people stay the same.

The calendar we use today is based on the _________ calendar.

Julian

How does learning about the past help us?

Learning about the past helps us understand the present, helps us make decisions about the future, and helps us to understand how we fit into the human story.

Evidence can be in the form of:

Material objects or Documents/Written material

Muslims:

Muslims date their calendar from the time that Muhammed, their first leader, made his pilgrimage from the city of Mean to Muchina (i forgot the names actually lolz)

Artifacts:

Objects made by people. Archaeologists study artifacts to learn what life was like in the past.

How do historians label time?

One way to measure time is to label groups of years

Gregorian Calendar:

Pope Gregory XII created a new calendar that began counting with the birth of Jesus. Most parts of the world use this calendar.

Credentials

Something that gives confidence that a person is qualified for the task.

Evidence:

Something that shows proof that something is true

What is the 1st step in a history research project?

The first step in a history project is to identify your topic. After you choose your topic, you need to decide what you want to learn about it.

Middle ages:

The period between A.D. 500-A.D. 1400.

Ancient History:

The period of time after prehistory

Fossils:

The remains of plants and animals that were preserved from an earlier time.

Paleontology:

The study of fossils

Historiography:

The study of historical interpretations

Anthropology:

The study of human culture and how it developed over time

History:

The study of people and past events

Archaeology:

The study of the past by looking at what people left behind

Prehistory:

The time before people developed writing

Plagiarize:

To present someone's work as your own without giving that person credit. It is similar to copying something that isn't yours and may violate copyright laws.

Bias:

Unreasoned emotional judgement about people and events. Biased judgements cannot always be trusted.

Some historians keep their area of study:

Very narrow, such as a single event, or broad subjects.

Conclusion:

a decision reached after examining evidence

Point of View:

a personal attitude about people or life. Historians evaluate primary sources to find its point of view and determine if the source is trustworthy.

URL:

a uniform resource locator is the address of an online resource. If a URL ends in .gov, it is most likely a government entity and probably contains accurate data. A URL that ends in .edu usually is a site from an educational institution which usually contains accurate info. Non-profit organizations usually and in .org and may be accurate but often gather info to support their cause.

interpretations:

an explanation of the meaning of something

What is an opinion:

an opinion expresses attitude about something that cannot be proven true/false. Historical resources should rely on fact rather than opinion.

Timeline:

another way to track the passage of time. Timelines order events in a specific period. They also show the amount of time between events.

Evaluation of history should be based on:

evidence and not on todays understanding of society

What is the next step in a history research project?

gather your research materials. Begin with general reference books like encyclopedias and textbooks or class notes. Next, research your topic at the library (research material has to be nonfiction).

Avoid Modern ideas to evaluate:

historical events

Calendar:

system for arranging days in order. There are 4 different calendars in the world.

Create 6 questions to help you find out...

who, what, when, where, why, and how. Then write each question at the top of a notecard.