Essays

          A historian studies various sources, comparing, contrasting, and critically analyzing the information the sources contain. The sources used in historical research can be classified as primary or secondary sources. It is important to note that texts such as encyclopedias and dictionaries are considered tertiary sources and are not acceptable sources in historical writing. Primary sources are created by a participant or witness who were directly involved in a historical event or topic (Rampolla 2021, 9-11).

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          Primary sources give historians direct insight into thoughts and feelings of the author or creator, but they require careful scrutiny of the circumstances of their creation. It is important to determine the purpose for the creation of the source, when the item in question was created, who the intended audience might be, and what impact the creator’s background might have on the creation of the source. Analyzing these factors will enable the historian to determine the author or creator’s bias. Translations of primary sources are still considered primary sources. If a translation is being used while researching, it is important to review the editor or translator’s notes regarding any possible alterations to the translations of the text (Rampolla 2021, 9-14).

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          Primary sources can be written documents like letters, newspaper articles, diary entries, speeches, or census data. Unlike secondary sources, primary sources can also be unwritten artifacts such as ceramics, clothing, weapons, maps or masks (Rampolla 2021, 9). For example, the Map of Virginia created by Captain John Smith depicts the Chesapeake River and the location of native peoples in relation to the river. However, the depictions of local prominent natives, their clothing, and their interaction with other individuals can give historians some clues as to how early European explorers viewed native populations (Smith 1624; Rampolla 2021, 16). In some instances, the materials used in the creation of the source can provide a wealth of information. This is the case with several wooden masks discovered by the Frank Hamilton Cushing expedition in 1896 on Key Marco. The anaerobic conditions in which the artifacts were found allowed for the artifacts to be preserved for centuries – a rarity amongst artifacts from the same time period (Mason 1951, 5). The preservation of pigments on the masks gave archaeologists a new understanding of pre-Columbian culture in the region.

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          Secondary sources are written by someone who was not directly involved with a particular historical event and topic. Secondary sources can be advantageous in that the author can analyze various perspectives on a single topic. Secondary sources can also present a historical event in its wider historical context (Rampolla 2021, 10-11). In The Conquest of the Conquistadors, R.C. Green “seeks to provide convincing archaeological documentation for a historically unknown settlement of Spanish origin in the South-east Solomon Islands.” In order to accomplish this, Green presents several different archaeological studies as evidence of the settlement’s existence (Green 1973, 14). Authors of secondary sources are not without their own biases. In The Material Culture of Pre-Columbian Fishing: Artifacts and Fish Remains from Coastal Southwest Florida, Karen J. Walker explicitly states her hypothesis regarding potential misclassification of “components of environmentally adapted fishing gear” (Walker 2000, 24-25).

 

Works Cited

 

Green, R. C. “The Conquest of the Conquistadors.” World Archaeology 5, no. 1 (1973): 14. http://www.jstor.org/stable/124150.

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Mason, J. Alden. “Primitive Wooden Masks from Key Marco, Florida.” Archaeology 4, no. 1 (1951): 5. http://www.jstor.org/stable/41662430.

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Rampolla, Mary Lynn. A Pocket Guide to Writing in History, 10th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2021.

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Smith, Captain John (cartographer). Map of Virginia. 1624. Black and white line engraving on laid paper, OH: 13 1/8" x OW: 16 5/8". Colonial Williamsburg Foundation; Museum Purchase, Mrs. Anna Glenn B. Vietor in memory of her husband, Alexander O. Vietor. https://jstor.org/stable/community.21022191.

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Walker, Karen J. “The Material Culture of PreColumbian Fishing: Artifacts and Fish Remains from Coastal Southwest Florida.” Southeastern Archaeology 19, no. 1 (2000): 24–25.             http://www.jstor.org/stable/40713177.