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Recommended: Importance Of History
Throughout the course of human events, it has become the widespread practice of many men and women to devote their lives to the study of the men, women, and associated civilizations that came before them; in short, the study of history. History in itself, for those that study it, presents the challenge of ascertaining the truth about the past. This process includes the discovery of such fundamental elements as how past civilizations made their living, where and what they used to provide for their basic needs, and what they chose to produce in their leisure time; all of which can generally be reached from observation of physical evidence and primary sources alone. However, the deeper and more complex studies of history involve such challenges of determining how individuals interacted with each other socially, how they communicated and determined social order, and what they valued as being “important” to their society. All of these elements involve not so much a simple dissection of physical evidence, but instead a lengthy process of analyzing that information to ascertain the truth. No matter sources are used, all of these subjects will eventually require the historian to make a truth claim about the subject, based on their study of the evidence they employ. This careful practice has become the cornerstone of our understanding of many ancient aspects of the ancient world; including religion, governance, and the arts.
In all areas of historical study, those who break new grounds of the past are responsible for the recording of events as they go. However, authors of historical scholarship are challenged with several disruptive factors which can inhibit their ability to effectively and accurately determine the most likely truth from t...
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...orical scholarship that can come from many different sources, all of which have a profound effect on the influence of evidence in making truth claims. It may be said in some cases that this bias distorts the validity of some truth claims, while having little to no effect upon others. However, it can clearly be recognized that the relationship between an authors assertions of truth and their evidence bases is directly dependent on the bias that they carry before they even begin their work. How much of an effect is up to the author, and how far they are willing to go to let their assertions be as close the real truth as can possibly be found in a work of history.
Works Cited
Aristotle, The Politics.
Herodotus, Histories, Book 2.
James Mellaart, A Neolithic City in Turkey, (San Francisco, CA: W.H. Freeman & Co., 1964).
Pliny, "Natural History," Chapter 19, Vol. 19.
The word “bias” has always had a negative connotation. Although it is used synonymously with bigotry and prejudice, its meaning is actually more akin to “point of view,” “personal tendency,” or “preference.” Just as every individual has her own worldview, so she has a set of biases. These biases are often observable in a person’s habits, speech, and, perhaps most explicitly, writings. Daniel Boorstin, renowned University of Chicago professor, historian, author, and librarian of Congress, is undeniably biased towards certain cultures in The Discoverers. A book chronicling mankind’s scientific history, its first words are “My hero is Man the Discoverer.” In his telling of “man’s search to know his world and himself,” Boorstin declares that
The alarm has gone off, and it is time to start your daily routine, first a cup of coffee and the morning paper. As you begin to read the paper you notice an interesting article about a new discovery. Archaeologists have uncovered a lost civilization, or at least the remains of one not far from where you live. At first you are still groggy from hours of rest but as you read further each word intrigues you more. With so many people trusting what is written in the news and with the support of professionals in several fields of study, how could this not be of significance? You put the paper down having finished your cup of coffee and leave for the day never to return to the article again. This happens many times across the globe. An artifact is uncovered by a man on a walk with his dog or even a skeleton is discovered on an archaeological site, eventually the news spreads and becomes a major story but while many become believers there are still skeptics. Along with the skeptics there are professionals who refute the claims previously made, but no one is sure whom to side with. A similar case happened with the Bosnian Pyramids, a claim to fame for Bosnia but also an infamous case of pseudoarchaeology that still has its fair share of followers.
The education of an author on their topic is the biggest contributor to their reliability; having enough prior knowledge and background information on a subject is crucial when providing a historical analysis. An author’s personal background is of great importance as well, because their personal heritage and beliefs may lead to bias and misrepresentation of information, which removes all credibility of them and/or their work as source. Partiality, favoritism, and/or prejudice towards a specific demographic can create a blurred line between what is fact and what is opinion, which in turn can allow for personal assessments to be presented as arguments and facts even though they have been influenced to a great extent by prior thoughts and opinions.
Looking back into the history of certain events affords the modern researcher the ability to examine a variety of documents and artifacts. It is important, however, to take into account biases, inaccuracies, errors in translation, and overall misinformation when examining primary sources, particularly historical documents. Examining the history of the conquest of the Aztec empire is no different, and in a scenario as tense as it was it is extremely important to consider the authorship of the text. Bernal Diaz’ The Conquest of New Spain and Miguel Leon-Portilla’s The Broken Spears: The Aztec Account of the Conquest of Mexico offer two distinct looks into the same event in history. Both documents offer differing takes of the same events, so when
The development of an empire is a change strongly emphasized in the Archeology as a radical departure from the Hellenic tradition, and consequently a major source of conflict among the Greeks. Prior to the adven...
Beck, Roger B., Linda Black, Larry S. Krieger, Phillip C. Naylor, and Dahia I. Shabaka, eds. World History: Patterns of Interaction. New York: McDougal Little, 2009. 128-31. Print.
The wooden lintels, writing, and the unique calendar reveal clues about life in a society that thrived for over 1000 years. Many massive building are visible today, those built to pay tribute to kings and to please the deities. The M...
Howe, Helen, and Robert T. Howe. A World History: Ancient and Medieval Worlds. Volume 1. White Plains, NY: Longman, 1992. 533.
John Lewis Gaddis, in his book, The Landscape of History, generates a strong argument for the historical method by bringing together the multiple standpoints in viewing history and the sciences. The issue of objective truth in history is addressed throughout Gaddis’s work. In general, historians learn to select the various events that they believe to be valid. Historians must face the fact that there is an “accurate” interpretation of the past ceases to exist because interpretation itself is based on the experience of the historian, in which people cannot observe directly (Gaddis 10). Historians can only view the past in a limited perspective, which generates subjectivity and bias, and claiming a piece of history to be “objective” is simplistic. Seeing the world in a multidimensiona...
McKay, J/P/, Hill, B.D., Buckler, J., Ebrey, P.B., Beck, R.B., Crowston, C.H., & Wiesner-Hanks, M.E. (2008). A History of World Societies, Volume A: From Antiquity to 1500. New York, NY: Bedford/St. Martin's
Beck, Roger B., Linda Black, Larry S. Krieger, Phillip C. Naylor, and Dahia I. Shabaka. World History: Patterns of Interaction. Evanston, IL: McDougal Littell, 2009.
Since the beginning of time, mankind began to expand on traditions of life out of which family and societal life surfaced. These traditions of life have been passed down over generations and centuries. Some of these kin and their interdependent ways of life have been upheld among particular people, and are known to contain key pieces of some civilizations.
Damrosch, David, and David Pike. The Longman Anthology of World Literature. The Ancient World. Volume A. Second Edition. New York: Pearson/Longman, 2009. Pgs. .656-691. Print.
Nagle, Brendan D. The Ancient World: A Cultural and Social History. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1979.
According to The Society for American Archaeology, the definition of Archaeology is, “to obtain a chronology of the past, a sequence of events and dates that, in a sense, is a backward extension of history.” The study of ancient civilizations and archaeology is rather ambiguous due to the primitive nature of the time period. With little imagery and even less textual evidence, professionals in the field must work diligently when studying their subjects. Naturally, archaeologists cannot see or communicate with those whom they are studying, so they must be extraordinarily meticulous when analyzing past cultures. This relates to all aspects of the ancient world including; foods, raw materials, artifacts, agriculture, art work and pottery. All of these elements can collectively provide new and innovative information to curious archaeologists who may wish to gain a better understanding of those who came before us. This information is equally beneficial for both historians and archaeologists who plan to compare the histories of societies from all around the world. In the world of archaeology, archaeologists strive to better explain human behavior by analyzing our past. Therefore, the study of archaeology is a key element in understanding a time before our own.