Historical Thinking
How do we measure the importance of a historical event or person?
Historical Significance
A firsthand account created by someone who had a direct connection to it.
What is a Primary Source?
Objects made by humans which can tell us about the past.
What are Artifacts?
This term describes an advanced state of human society, in which a high level of culture, science, industry, and government has been reached.
What is a Civilization?
Unbiased pieces of information about reality.
What are Facts?
Does our understanding of the historical event change when we look at it through different lenses?
Historical Perspective
An account of an event, written later on, by someone who did not experience it.
What is a Secondary Source?
The study of human history and prehistory through the excavation of sites and the analysis of artifacts and other physical remains.
What is Archeology?
Location, location, location! This element of a civilization looks at the impact of the environment.
What is Geography?
Judgements and views of reality that are subjective and arguable.
What are Opinions?
What are the short and long term repercussions of the historical event?
Cause & Consequence
This term describes how trustworthy or accurate something or someone is.
What is Reliability?
Books, hand tools, and jewelry are all examples of this type of artifact.
What are Portable Remains?
Who's in charge? This element of a civilization focuses on the importance of organization and control.
What are political and social structures?
A guess you make, or an opinion form based on the information that you have.
What is an Inference?
Did the historical event represent progress, decline, or continuity?
Continuity & Change
This term is used to describe when an issue/topic is only presented from a single point of view.
What is Bias?
This term is used to describe non-portable remains, such as pyramids.
What are Features?
What do we believe? This element of a civilization focuses on the importance of common values and norms.
What is Religion and Cultural Beliefs?
This term describes when we judge people, events, actions or attitudes of the past based on present-day values and beliefs.
What is Presentism?
To what extent can we judge the actions of people/groups from the past?
Ethical Judgement
How do we measure the reliability of evidence from the past? (Historical Thinking)
Evidence & Sourcing
True or False? We always know the exact purpose of an artifact.
False
We have the goods! This element of a civilization focuses on economic growth and trade.
What is an Abundance of Food and Resources?
True or False? Most ancient civilizations developed along rivers and waterways.
True