Transcript History and What-Really

History and WhatReally-Happened
What is History?
Remembered, Recovered, & Invented
Based on a USU 1320 lecture by Dr. Mark Damen
Starter
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Take out a piece of paper, put your name,
hour, and today’s date on it along with the
title: “History and What Really Happened”
Then answer this question in a short
paragraph (5-6 sentences).
How do we know what has happened in
the past? How can we learn about
history? List as many sources of
historical knowledge as you can.
Test is tomorrow! Be sure to finish your
study guide and notes during Peak or
after school!!
Starter
1- Take out a piece of paper. Create this circle map on it.
2- Answer these questions in the first section with 5-6 sentences.
How do we know what has happened in the past? How can we learn about history?
List as many sources of historical knowledge as you can (ex. Books, etc.).
Name:
Hour:
Date:
History
Recovered
History
Remembered
History
Invented
History
History and What Really Happened
What is
History?
So what is history?
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What do you think?
 Think-Pair-Share
 Talk
with the students you
share a table with about your
ideas and come up with a
definition of history and why
we should study it.
What are we going to learn?
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Social Studies
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Objective
We will be able to
describe what history
is and how we learn
about the past.
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Behavior Objective –
Courtesy & Respect
Language
Objective
We will talk about
our ideas with
others, listen to their
ideas, and describe
important details in
our notes.
Ancient World History
What is History?
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According to most people,
history is “what really
happened in the past”.
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But where do we get this
information?
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Figuring out what
happened in the past is
complex and difficult, but
helps us learn about
people from different
times. It also helps us
learn about ourselves.
How do we know what
happened in the past?
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What are some ways we can
learn about things that
happened in different times?
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?
Learning about history is like
being a detective.
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A detective
gathers witness
statements,
collects
evidence from
the scene, and
gathers
background
information to
find out what is
true and false.
History does the same thing if
you think about it.
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Historians gather information
from people who lived at the
time they are studying.
Archeologists learn about the
past by digging it up and figuring
out what they find means.
Historians also have to decide if
people were being truthful, or
stretching the truth to benefit
themselves.
There are three basics types
of history.
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Remembered
history is history that
was passed down
either orally (in
spoken words) or
recorded in writing.
Recovered history is
history that was lost
and found again,
often through
archaeology.
Invented history is
history that was made
up by someone.
 All three of these
give us valuable
information.
Remembered history in detail.
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Remembered history is history
that was passed down either
orally (in spoken words) or
recorded in writing.
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It is like witness statements to a
detective.
Can you see some problems
with Remembered history?
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Do you watch any
crime shows on
television like Law
& Order, CSI, or
Bones?
What have you
learned about
witnesses?
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Hint: Can you
always believe
them?
People like to tell
stories that benefit
themselves, or
make themselves
look good.
Ancient World History
Testimony of Witnesses
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Our understanding of history is often
based on the testimony of witnesses.
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Different people see things in different
ways, so it’s not always possible to
determine what happened in the past
Remembered History
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Historians want to know all they
can about what people
remember, but they must always
be careful of bias in their
sources of information.
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Bias is telling a story in a way that
benefits your own point of view.
Other words that describes bias
are predisposition, preconception,
or even prejudice.
Testimony of Witnesses
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People’s
memories are
filled with
biases: selfrighteousness,
pride, vanity,
spinning tales,
confusion and
outright lies.
Sources of Remembered
History
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A primary source
is an original
document that has
to do with an event
or subject of
inquiry in history.
It is a firsthand or
eyewitness
account of an
event.
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Examples
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Diary
Pictures
Maps
And so on…
Sources of Remembered
History
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A secondary
source is any
document that
describes an
event, person,
place, or thing that
was not created at
the same time that
it describes.
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Examples
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Biography (What
about an
autobiography?)
History textbook
Documentary on
the History
Channel
And so on…
Sources of Remembered
History
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Oral history is
historical information,
usually tape-recorded
or video taped, that is
obtained in interviews
with persons who have
firsthand knowledge of
a different time or an
important event.
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Examples
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Grandma telling
about when she
was young.
An interview with a
World War II
veteran.
Recovered History in detail.
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Recovered history is history
that was lost and found again,
often through archaeology.
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This is like evidence from a crime
scene.
This video clip shows
archaeology students at a dig in
Salem, Massachusetts.
Sources of Recovered History
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Archaeology is the
scientific study of
historic or prehistoric
peoples and their
cultures by studying
their artifacts,
inscriptions,
monuments, and other
such remains, esp.
those that have been
excavated from the
earth.
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Example
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Pompeii
Jamestown
And so on…
Sources of Recovered History
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Another important
source for
recovered history
is librarians who
find lost papers in
their collections.
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Examples
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Dead Sea Scrolls
Greek and Latin
writings
And so on…
Sources of Recovered History
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We also can
recover history
when languages
that we did not
understand are
finally
translated.
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Examples
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Maya
Cuneiform
Egyptian
An so on…
Can you see some problems
with Recovered history?
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What have you
learned about
evidence from
crime shows?
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Hint: Is it easy to
interpret what
evidence means?
(CSI clip)
People often have
different opinions
about what
recovered history
tells us.
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This is another
form of bias.
Invented History in detail.
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Invented history is history that was
made up by someone, but that often
uses real events as their basis.
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For a detective, these would like be
stories made up by a suspect.
Although we know that these stories
are not true, they can tell us about
the person who is telling the story,
their culture, their beliefs, and what
they think is important for us to
believe.
Sources of Invented History
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Many myths
and legends are
invented history.
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Examples
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George
Washington
and the Cherry
Tree
Atlantis
And so on…
Sources of Invented History
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Other sources
are books and
movies that use
real events from
history to tell a
story.
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Examples
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The Last Days
of Pompeii
National
Treasure
And so on…
What are some problems with
invented history?
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What have you
learned about lies
from crime shows?
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Hint: Do detectives
always know that a
suspect is lying to
them?
People often don’t
find out that the
story was not true
until later, and it is
difficult to change
people’s mind once
the lie is exposed.
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This is another form
of bias.
Remembered, Recovered,
and Invented
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By looking at each of these types of
history, we can gain insights into
what happened in the past.
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Just like a detective uses all these types
of evidence to find the guilty person in a
crime.
Yet even with all of this evidence,
historians do not have a 100%
accurate knowledge of what
happened in the past.
Time machine anyone?
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I often wish I had a
time machine so I
could go and see
what actually
happened at some
point in history.
Then I could tell
people about it or
show them a video
of what I saw.
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Would this be
unbiased history?
Why or why not?
Is it impossible to find out
what-really-happened-inthe past?
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Probably!
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However, we can get
closer to the truth by:
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Looking at multiple
sources
Discussing what we think
is accurate
Allowing debate
Being flexible to changes
So what is the point of
studying history?
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Misunderstanding history has
caused some of the darkest
days in our history, like World
War II and Sept. 11.
Others have reshaped the world
through their understanding of
history, like the Founders of the
United States or Gandhi.
Why Study History?
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It tells us:
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How we got to the
present time.
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Our values as a
society.
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Founding Fathers
Studying the past is
the only way to steer a
course into the future.
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We don’t want to
repeat the mistakes of
the past. (the
Holocaust, Japanese
Internment Camps)
We want to continue
the successes of the
past. (Democracy, Art,
Medicine, etc.)
History matters!!
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“Whether anyone likes it or not –
or admits it or not – everyone
cares about history because it’s
from our understanding of whatreally-happened back then that
we guide and shape our lives.”
We all have beliefs about who
we are and where we come
from that help us to find a place
in our homes, communities, and
world.
History should not be placed
on a dusty shelf like a book.
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We all can contribute to the
history and shape our own
understanding of it.
Be willing to be a detective of
history and find a new clue that
could reshape our thinking
about the world we know.
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So let’s start with Utah…
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This is a no gum class.
Please dispose of it
properly!
Bell Activity
 Your
words are
“archaeologist” & “artifact”
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Find the word on your pink study
guide and complete the following
information for the word.
Find the definition using a glossary.
 Use your own knowledge and
experience to complete the rest of the
definition.
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Where should your backpack be?
Does your work look something like this?
Word:
archaeologist
Definition:
Draw a picture of it:
Sentence:
Synonym/
Example:
My Understanding: 4 3 2 1
Antonym/NonExample:
Does your work look something like this?
Word:
archaeologist
Definition: a scientist who studies
prehistoric (or historic) people and their
culture
Sentence: The archaeologist was
excavating the site of an shelter used by
Paleo-Indians.
Synonym/
Example:
anthropologist
Antonym/NonExample:
biologist, chemist
My Understanding: 4 3 2 1
Draw a picture of it:
Does your work look something like
this?
word:
artifact
My Understanding: 4 3 2 1
Definition:
Draw a picture of it:
Sentence:
Synonym/
Example:
Antonym/NonExample:
Does your work look something like
this?
word:
artifact
My Understanding: 4 3 2 1
Definition: any handmade object from
an earlier time
Sentence: The artifacts were carefully
mapped by the archaeologist before she
removed them from the ground.
Synonym/
Example:
object; statue, toy
Antonym/NonExample:
not made by humans
Draw a picture of it:
Remembered, Recovered or
Invented History
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With your table partners, you will
be looking at artifacts.
Decide if they are an example of
remembered, recovered or
invented history.
 Then decide if they are a primary
or secondary source.
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Discuss your ideas with your
group and then write your
conclusions on your group paper.
Group Jobs
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Reader – Hold up the document
and read any text.
Scribes – Write the responses of
your group.
Prompter – Ask the questions on
your paper for each artifact.
Fact Checker – Poll your group to
decide what type of history the
artifact is.
Cheerleader – Keep everyone on
task.