The Job of a Historian

Primary source- A primary source is a source such as letters, diaries and newspapers which comes directly from the time being studied
Secondary source- A secondary source is a source such as a history books or manuscripts which come after the time being studied
Often historians use both primary and secondary sources as primary sources can be biased while secondary sources are normally less biased and often give a more educated view on the time being studied

Other Types of source:

Written sources: Manuscripts, books, manuscripts, birth certificates and census reports
Visual sources: Photographs, paintings, films and videos
Oral Sources: Interviews and recordings
These sources can either be primary or secondary sources for exaple photographs are oral, primary sources as they come from the time being studied

Where are these sources kept:

Bias- Bias occurs when a source has been slanted by someone who wants to conceal the truth or present themselves in good light.
Prejudice- Judging begore all the facts are known. People normally have prejudiced opinions when they do not have enough evidence to back up their own beliefs or when they deny or ignore evidence
Propaganda- Propaganda is linked to bias and prejudice. Propaganda is used to appeal to peoples feelings in order to promote your point of view and convince people you are right. Propaganda can occur through television, radio and posters
It is one of the skills or tasks of a historian to be able to seperate fact from opinion and ignore any sources that conatin any of the above terms

Examines items or artefacts from the past by digging or excavating an area
He can be guided by old buildings, photos, stories or ariel photographing
He must fence off a potential site to protect it
It must be mapped and photographed
The top layer of soil is carefully removed
The site is divided into a grid of squares
The artefact is photograped in place- stratigraphy is used to show its age
Artefacts are cataloged and small items are brushed and sieved
Artefacts are sent to be dated using techniques such as carbon 14 and dendrochonology
Artefacts are then stored in a museum

Tools used by an Archeologist include trowels to dig carefully into the ground, brushes to clean around objects and sieves to recover small artefacts
There are three methods of dating as I mentioned earlier here is what they mean:

Dendrochonology: Using the rings of a tree which are patterns formed during the growth of a tree to date back to the era it was grown
Carbon Dating: All living matter contain a substance called carbon 14 which they take in during their lifetime. However when this matter dies it leaks carbon 14. By measuring the amount of carbon 14 is left in the body we can measure how old something is
Stratigraphy: Stratigraphy uses layers underground to date objects. The lower the level the older the item in that layer and the further up you go the newer the object is.
Coins: Coins have dates on them. Therefore any object found with a coin can be dated using the coin.

Stories from History: Many stories from long ago are in fact based on actual events. Therefore archeologists use books such as the bible to find potential sites
Aeriel Photography: Photographs taken from the air often show up bumps, hollows or shadows whcih could not be the seen from the ground. For example if a stone wall is underground in a field of crops the crops with the wall beneath it will not develop properly but other crops will. From the air this can be spotted
UnderWater Evidence: With the invention of radar and miniature submarines finding underwater evidence such as shipwrecks is much easier
Accidental Discoveries: Often certain artefacts are discovered by accident during ploughing or construction. This often leads to Rescue Archeology which involves the postponing of construction in order to begin an archeological dig.

The job of a historian