Chapter 4 – Timeline and Sources of History
- What is History? (What is History?)
- History is the study of the past.
- It tells us what happened in the past, when it happened, how it happened and why.
- The study of history helps us to understand our present and plan for the future.
- Dates and Dating
- Dates are very important in history.
- BC (B.C. – Before Christ) / E.E. (BC): Used for events that took place before the birth of Jesus Christ.
- A.D . (A.D. – Anno Domini) / A.D. E. (AD): Used for events that began with the year of the birth of Jesus Christ.
- Current usage: Nowadays B.C.E. (Before Common Era) and C.E. (Common Era) are also used. B.C.E. = B.C. and C.E. = A.D..
- Sources of History
Historians use a variety of sources to learn about the past. These sources give us information about past civilizations, lifestyles, culture, and events. There are two types of main sources:
- Archaeological Sources:
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- These are physical remains that are found buried in the ground.
- Example:
- Remains: Old buildings, temples, forts, caves.
- Monuments: Specially built structures (e.g. stupas, mosques).
- Pottery: Pottery, their design and method of manufacture tell us about the culture and technology of the time.
- Tools and Weapons: Tools and weapons made of stone, metal or bones tell us about their lifestyle and technical skills.
- Ornaments: Jewelry tells us about the artistic taste and wealth of the people of that time.
- Coins: These give important information about the names of the rulers, the duration of their reign, religion and economic status.
- Inscriptions: Articles carved on rocks, stones, columns, walls, metals, or pottery. These give information about the kings’ orders, charities, conquests and religious practices.
- Example: Ashokan inscriptions.
- Literary Sources :
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- These are written records.
- Example:
- Religious Texts: Vedas, Ramayana, Mahabharata, Puranas, Jataka stories, Bible, Quran, etc. These tell us about the religious beliefs, philosophies and social structure of the time.
- Secular Texts:
- Plays and Poems: Kalidasa’s plays, which tell about social life and entertainment.
- Biographies: An account of the lives of kings and important persons.
- Travelogues: Articles written about India by foreign travellers (such as Megasthenes’ ‘Indica’, Fahien and Hiuen Tsang’s accounts). They tell us about the social, economic and political situation of that time.
- Court Records: Documents written in the courts of kings, which give information about administration and policies.
- Autobiographies: A book written by a person about his or her life.
- Manuscripts: These were hand-written books. They were written on palm leaves or on the bark of a tree called birch that grows in the Himalayas. They gave us information about religion, medicine, science, epics and dramas.
- Historians and Their Work
- Historians reconstruct the past by reading and analyzing all these sources.
- They try to understand how people lived in the past, what they ate, what they dressed, how they governed, and how their societies evolved.
- Historians also check the reliability of sources, because sometimes different sources can give different information about the same event.
- Importance of Timeline
- A timeline shows events in the order in which they occurred.
- It helps us understand which event happened when and how different events relate to each other.
- It helps us understand the bigger picture of history.