History

We study world history because what happened to

a society affects what will happen today and in the future.

History is more than just studying what happened in the past.

When you study a historical event, you

 also study a society’s culture, religion, politics,

and economics.

Historians look for causes and effects that help to explain how and why events happened. They try to see the past through the eyes of the people who lived it. When they study the past, historians ask themselves questions. The answers to the questions help historians draw conclusions about the past. For example, historians ask questions such as how societies are similar and different. They also ask how leaders governed societies.

What methods do historians use to help them answer questions about what happened in the past?

Historians use tools to help them do their job. Some of these tools are primary sources. A primary source is something written or created by a person who saw a historical event. Letters, diaries, speeches, and photographs are examples of primary sources.

Artifacts such as tools are also primary sources. Other tools that historians use are secondary sources. They are written after a historical event by people who did not witness the event. Books and paintings that are based on primary sources and appear after an event are examples of secondary sources. Yet another tool that historians use is oral history. This is made up of all the unwritten verbal accounts of events. Historians depend on oral history when studying cultures that have no written records. Oral histories include the stories, customs, and songs that people in a culture have passed down from generation to generation.