Name: KEY
Period:
Date:
World History – Mrs. Schenck
Critical Analysis of Sources
History EQ – How do we know what we know?
Term
Definition
primary
source
Info that comes directly from a
person who experienced an
event
artifact
An object made by humans
(always a primary source)
Examples
Diary, photo, letter, instagram
Statue, cup, jar, pencil
secondary
source
Info about an event that does
not come from a person who
experienced the event
fact
Something that can be proved
true or false - evidence
Taylor Swifts album 1989 sold
1.28 million copies in its first
week debut.
Logical conclusion based on
facts/evidence
Based on the evidence that her
album sold 1.28 million copies its
debut week, we can infer Taylor
Swift is a top artist of 2014.
When you get a sense of the
authors personal thoughts and
feelings in their writing
Think of Dickens writing in A
Christmas Carol – when it sounds
like the author is talking to you
Judgments or feelings
Taylor Swift is the best pop artist.
An unfair preference for or
dislike of something
Hating One Direction because
they are British or defending them
because you LOVE Harry Styles.
inference
voice
opinion
bias
Textbook, article, gossip
Analyze the terra cotta warrior statue pictures. Remember, the picture
represents the real statue.
1. What type of source are the STATUES – primary or secondary – and why?
Primary Source. The warriors come from the actual time period of Shi
Huangdi’s time. Ancient artifacts are always primary sources.
2. What details in the statues do you notice? What inferences can you make?
You are using historical FACTS to make INFERENCES about what life was like in
ancient China. Each inference should be rooted in evidence/fact.
Evidence
Chariots and weaponry
Different hairstyles and
clothes – each one has a
different face
Hand shapes
Many other examples
possible
Inference
Based on the evidence that the emperor was
buried with chariots and weaponry, we can infer
that the ancient Chinese might have believed the
emperor needed protection in the afterlife.
Based on the evidence that each statue had a
detailed and different face, we can infer that the
statues were hand crafted, possibly using models.
Based on the evidence from the hand shapes, we
can infer the statues once may have held
weapons that were stolen later.
…
3. These artifacts were created by people living in ancient China during the time
of Shi Huangdi. What sense do you get about the following from the creators?
Voice
All the statues had different faces, hairstyles, etc. So you can
imagine the artist put a lot of his/her personal style into each one.
Opinion ? Hard to tell in a primary source…
Bias
We don’t know who the artist chose as models – him/herself,
friends, family, etc.
Read “Discovery and Excavation of Shi Huangdi’s Tomb” and answer the
following questions:
4. What type of source is this READING – primary or secondary – and why?
The reading is a SECONDARY source. The author of the reading was not
alive during the time of Shi Huangdi, nor did he/she witness the events.
5. Site THREE primary sources that the author uses to gain information. Then
explain what each source told the author about ancient Chinese burial.
Primary Source
Evidence
No two faces of the
Inference Made by the Author
…
warriors are alike
The soldiers hands
are positioned to
hold weapons that
…
are gone
Vessels with
inscriptions in
…
smaller pits
6. This article came from a textbook. What words and phrases give you a sense
of the following from the author?
Voice
…
Opinion
…
Bias
…
7. Compare what you have learned about the terracotta warriors and ancient
Chinese burial practices to other civilizations we have studied. What
similarities do you see? Why do you think that is?
…
8. Now that you have used primary and secondary sources like a historian, what
are the pros and cons of both for historical research? Think about what you
could learn from the actual artifact versus the secondary source and vice
versa.
Primary
Source
Secondary
Source
Pros
Cons
…
…
…
…