What Are the Sources of History?
Class 6 Social Science · Chapter 4: Timeline and Sources of History · NCERT Exploring Society: India and Beyond section 4.3
Learn
Ishaan's grandmother opens an old tin box: a black-and-white photo, a letter from 1972, a few old coins and a brass lamp. "Each of these tells a story," she says. Historians call such clues sources.
Archaeological sources are things people made or left behind: tools, pots, coins, beads, bones, buildings and ruins. Archaeologists carefully dig (excavate) old sites to find them. Even a broken pot can tell us what people ate and how they cooked.
Literary (written) sources include inscriptions carved on stone or metal, manuscripts on palm leaves or birch bark, books, poems and the accounts of travellers. Some writings are so old that scholars must first learn to read their scripts!
Oral sources are stories, songs, sayings and memories passed down by word of mouth. Many communities in India kept their history alive through folk songs and storytellers for generations. Historians compare different sources to check what really happened.
Explore: what kind of source?
- Sort each source.
Remember
- Sources of history can be archaeological, written (literary) or oral.
- Historians compare sources to check what really happened.
Quick check
An inscription carved on a rock is a … source.
- written
- oral
- musical
- future
Answer
written. It is writing, so it is a written source.
Think about it
Why is it a good idea for historians to check more than one source?
One answer
One source may be incomplete, mistaken or written from one side's point of view. When different sources agree, we can be more confident.
Practice
Practise with fresh questions at three levels (easy, medium, hard), some answered hands-on, with hints and worked answers. Get 4 of your last 5 right to finish the topic.