Artifact Activity

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Artifact Activity

• Primary vs. Secondary Sources

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Primary Sources

• it is a document, recording or other source of
  information that was created at roughly the time
  being studied, by an authoritative source,
  usually one with direct personal knowledge of the
  events being described.
• Examples Original documents autobiographies,
  diaries, e-mail, interviews, letters, minutes,
  news film footage, official records, photographs,
  raw research data, speeches
• Creative works art, drama, films, music,
  novels, poetry
• Relics or artifacts buildings, clothing, DNA,
  furniture, jewelry, pottery

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Secondary Sources

• is a secondhand account about people, events,
  topics or places that is based on what some other
  writer has experienced
• Examples
• A journal/magazine article which interprets or
  reviews previous findings 
• A history textbook 
• An encyclopedia 

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QUIZ

• Read the following examples of sources. Determine
  if it is a primary or secondary source. Write P
  for Primary or S for secondary.
• ____1. Diary kept by John Smith, a soldier in the
  Confederate Army, published in a collectionof
  Alabama papers____2. Photograph of Dr. George
  Washington Carver taken in 1898____3. Biography
  of George Washington____4. Newspaper article
  about the assassination of President Kennedy
  written on November 23, 1963____5. Television
  mini-series about President Franklin Roosevelt's
  life

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____6. Scrapbook kept by Mrs. Mary Smith in 1883
with copies of recipes and household hints____7.
Photograph album containing pictures of
classmates at Tuskegee Institute in 1923____8.
Letter written by Emily Smith to her friend
Pamela Jones, May 3, 1826, describing her trip by
wagon from North Carolina to Huntsville, Alabama
and the log cabin her father was buildingfor the
family____9. Article about Martin Luther King,
Jr. in People Magazine, 1988____10. Information
about Creek Indians in World Book Encyclopedia
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____11. Cassette tape of an interview with Dr.
James Lee describing his life as a doctor in
Montgomery    County during the 1920s____12.
The Story of Alabama, a textbook by Virginia Van
der Veer Hamilton____13. Matthew Mason's will,
1896____14. Map of Alabama drawn by John
LaTourette, 1841____15. Minutes from the 1898
organization of Dexter Avenue United Methodist
Church published in a play in 1988
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Artifacts

• You and a partner have gone on an archeological
  dig with Kentucky Grimmer. You and your partner
  must determine what artifacts you have found,
  what can be determined about the people who left
  them behind just from looking at the artifacts,
  and determine if it is a primary or secondary
  source.
• You and your partner will present your findings
  to your peers. Be sure to tell us what you
  found, where it was found, and what you can
  determine about the people and their culture.

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Closing thoughts

• When should primary sources be used?
• When should secondary sources be used?
• Based on our activity, is all history 100
  accurate? Why or why not?