Historical source

A historical source encompasses "every kind of evidence that human beings have left of their past activities — the written word and spoken word, the shape of the landscape and the material artefact, the fine arts as well as photography and film."^[1]

While the range of potential historical sources has expanded to include many non-documentary sources, nevertheless "the study of history has nearly always been based squarely on what the historian can read in documents or hear from informants".^[2]

Historical sources are usually divided into primary and secondary, though some historians also refer to tertiary sources.

^ Tosh, John. 1999. The Pursuit of History. 3rd Ed. Longman. p. 36
^ Tosh, John. 1999. The Pursuit of History. 3rd Ed. Longman. p. 37

[1] Tosh, John. 1999. The Pursuit of History. 3rd Ed. Longman. p. 36

[2] Tosh, John. 1999. The Pursuit of History. 3rd Ed. Longman. p. 37

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