Knowing the Past Flashcards
What do BC and AD mean?
BC stands for “Before Christ” and AD stands for “Anno Domini”. They can also be referred to as BCE (Before Common Era) and CE (Common Era)
What does “circa” mean?
Circa is used before or after AD or BC to refer to an approximate time period.
What does chronological mean
Chronological means arranged in a the order in which the events occurred
What is History?
History is the fascinating story of the human race that begins in the distant past but continues to the present
Who was the Father of History?
Herodotus was the Father of History.
What is the relevance of studying History?
- We need to understand the events of the present as many of our problems can be traced to the past
- History tells us the story of our ancestors - their lifestyle, customs and beliefs, occupations and political and social organisations
- By searching for things that happened in the past, we learn how to act better in the present
- History teaches us to appreciate man’s achievements and helps us learn from his mistakes
How do we know about the past?
Like how an investigator uses clues from the crime scene to make conclusions, historians and archaeologists (Someone who studies historical remains) use different types of clues and evidence to reconstruct the past. Some of these remains that archeologists study are monuments, tools, weapons, fossils, poetry, coins and other artefacts.
What are Pre-History and History?
History can be divided into two periods - Pre-History and History.
Pre-History refers to the period in which man had not developed the art of writing, and so, no written records were made during this period. As a result, Archeologists study bones, tools, pottery, weapons, cave dwellings and cave paintings made by the people during this age to reconstruct life back then.
History, however, refers to the period where written records were made. These records are mostly found on leaves, parchment, copper plates and more recently, paper.
Who are ancestors?
They are the people whom we descended from.
What are fossils?
They are remains of animals and plants which have hardened into rock
What are artefacts?
They are items made by people that are of historical interest
What is the connection between Geography and History?
The place, climate and available resources determined where people settled. For example, A place with a reasonable climate, flat land and had a river nearby and lots of wood, food and other resources were likely to have more people settling down. The rivers were used for transport, irrigation and other domestic uses. On the other hand, places which had hostile conditions lead to the migration of people.
Other factors such as long coastlines for maritime trade and huge mineral mines lead to rise of great empires, such as the Mauryan Empire.
Thus, History and Geography combined describe the time and place of the origins and settlement of society.
What are the two groups that the sources of history can be broadly classified under?
Archaeological and Literary
What are Archeological Evidence?
Archaeology is the study of remains of the past, like monuments, tools, pottery, coins, weapons, paintings and other artefacts. Archaeological evidence is just a fancy way of talking about the items that are studied in Archaeology. They are usually found in three forms: Inscriptions and Edicts, Coins and Monuments.
What is parchment?
The skin of a sheep or goat used for writing in the past.
