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Historical Sources - materials used for the writing of history

Classifications

1. Published materials are materials that have been published for public use, such as books, magazines,
reading journals, travelogues, or speech transcripts.
2. Manuscripts are any handwritten or typed record that has not been printed, such as archival materials,
memoirs, and diaries.
3. Non-written sources, such as oral history, artifacts, ruins, fossils, artworks, video and audio recordings

Primary sources – materials produced by people or groups directly involved in the event or topic being studied
– either participants or witnesses
– range from eyewitness accounts, diaries, letters, legal documents, and official documents
(government or private) and even photographs
Categories:
1. Written Sources – materials written and/or published by a firsthand eyewitness or the participant
2. Images – visual documents published or made by an eyewitness, or the participant
3. Artifacts – materials made by a firsthand eyewitness, or the participant
4. Oral testimonies – documented conversations written and/or published by a firsthand eyewitness, or
the participant

Kinds of Primary Sources Used

1. Fossil Remains 11. Magazines
2. Artifacts and Ruins 12. Legislative Journals
3. Royal Decrees and Laws 13. Court Records
4. Official Reports 14. Speeches
5. Chronicles 15. Personal Letters
6. Friar Accounts 16. Online Databases
7. Maps 17. Blogs
8. Memoirs 18. Documentary Films
9. Personal Accounts 19. Recorded Interviews
10. Newspapers

Some Repositories (Archives) of Primary Sources in NCR

1. The National Archives of the Philippines (Manila)
2. The National Library (Manila)
3. The National Historical Commission (NHC) (Manila)
4. The National Museum Complex (Manila)
5. Private Museums and Shrines
a. The Lopez Memorial Museum (Pasig)
b. The Ayala Museum (Makati)
6. The Big Four (4) University Libraries
a. University of the Philippines Main Library (Quezon City)
b. Ateneo de Manila University’s Rizal Library (Quezon City)
c. The American Historical Collection (Ateneo) (Quezon City)
d. De La Salle University Libraries (Manila)
e. University of Santo Tomas’ Library (Manila)

Some Repositories (Archives) of Primary Sources Outside NCR

1. Local Archives 4. Local History Museums and Shrines
2. Local Libraries 5. Local University Libraries
3. NHC Branch Offices

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Some International Repositories (Archives) of Primary Sources

1. The Library of Congress (Washington, DC, USA)
2. The National Archives and Records Administration (Washington, DC, USA)
3. Archivo General de Indias (Sevilla, Spain)
4. Archive General de la Nación (Mexico City, Mexico)

Secondary sources – materials that analyze and interpret primary sources

– may have pictures, quotes, or graphics of primary sources in them

Examples of secondary sources can be history books and printed materials, such as serials and periodicals,
which interpret previous researches.

Historical Criticism

External Criticism

Tests of Authenticity
1. Anachronistic Document Date – determining the date of the document to see whether they are
anachronistic (i.e. being out of time)
E.g. Mobile phones did not come into fashion before the 21st century.
2. Author – determining the author’s manuscript (handwriting), which includes the signature and seals
3. Anachronistic Style – determining whether the idiom, orthography (conventional spelling), or
punctuation is anachronistic
E.g. The spelling of the Filipino term catuiran fell out of use by the early-20th century.
4. Anachronistic Event Reference – determining whether the event mentioned is too early, too late, or
too remote/distant
E.g. Rizal was not executed on the year 1901.
5. Provenance or Custody – determining its genuineness
6. Semantics – determining the meaning of the text, phrase, sentence, or word
E.g. The term paraluman was once defined as a device to serve as a guide (i.e. a compass) but is
now defined as a woman who becomes a source of inspiration due to her beauty (i.e. a muse).
7. Hermeneutics – determining the ambiguity (i.e. open to more than one (1) interpretation; vague)
E.g. Juan Luna’s critically acclaimed painting, Spoliarium, can be interpreted in two (2) ways. The
artwork’s descriptive interpretation depicts a despoiling scene in a Roman arena with onlookers
waiting to get the spoils while loved ones weep of loss. Its analytical interpretation, however, shows
the abuses of those in power back in the Spanish regime as onlookers never seem to be bothered by
the otherwise macabre scene and await to steal what isn’t theirs.

Internal Criticism

Tests of Credibility
1. Author’s Identification – determining the author’s reliability, mental processes, personal attitude, and
relationships
2. Date Approximation – determining the event’s date that must be verisimilar (i.e. almost close to the
truth), if not exact, to the actual date
3. Ability to Tell the Truth – determining the witness’ nearness to the event, competence, and degree of
attention to attain verisimilar facts
4. Willingness to Tell the Truth – determining if the author consciously or unconsciously tells falsehoods
5. Corroboration – determining if the piece of information receives, supports, or confirms a theory or
finding, usually referring to historical facts (i.e. particulars that rest upon the independent testimony of
two or more reliable witnesses)

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Some applications
• Photograph Manipulation • Journalism
• E-mail and Internet Fraud • Legal Studies
• Archaeology and History

From Artifacts into Mentifacts

According to the Social Sciences, an artifact (also spelled as artefact) is a material made by man that
describes what culture he belongs to. But it does not necessarily refer to physical objects only. Social artifacts
are also materials, but they settle their impact on the “social” aspect of the material rather than the “artifact”
aspect. For example, an air-conditioning unit, in its “cultural artifact” definition, is a tool made by man to control
heat, but its “social artifact” definition would turn it into an object who made people living in hotter climates
change their lifestyle due to having it.

Sociofacts are the ways in which people organize their society and relate to one (1) another. Generally
speaking, a sociofact is the information, tradition, or event people associate with that artifact. So, going back to
the air-conditioning unit, if the unit is made to control heat, then its sociofact to the people is that it represents
office duties for those who work long hours, or to those who enjoy skating in an indoor ice skating rink, an air-
conditioning unit may stand for a cold Christmas skating.

Mentifacts are the ideas, beliefs, and values that people hold on, see, and associate to an artifact.
Simply put, mentifacts are the ideas that people generally thought of whenever they see or use that artifact, and
relate it to their culture, or a local proverb or saying. So, if an air-conditioning unit is used for office work, then
they can associate the artifact with comfort and relaxation. To some, they might associate it with the tragedies
of summer heat and/or heatstroke. Or, it could also stand for the longing of a loved one working in a country
with a colder climate.

Mentifacts, together with artifacts and sociofacts, contribute to the development of culture, and account
for any and all of the following:

manners customs beliefs

ceremonies rituals tools
laws (written and unwritten) institutions religious beliefs
myths and legends social taboos values
concept of self art and art objects language
ideals customs food
accepted ways of behaving holidays books

Always keep in mind that the whole part of a culture is greater than the sum of its parts, and these parts
are interrelated to each other. One (1) can safely say that a tool (the artifact) involves the custom (the sociofact)
where that tool is used for, and the ideas and concepts behind it (the mentifact). Culture is created by the people.
It exists in time and space, where humans act and react on that given space, the passage of time, and their
thoughts about things, themselves, and others. Finaly, culture is learned. Genetics has nothing to do with it.
One (1) can speak, think, and act the way one (1) does because of the people and the culture one (1) is
surrounded with.

REFERENCES:
Cuadra, J. (2017). Philippine prehistory [PowerPoint slides]. Manila: Lyceum of the Philippines University – Manila.
Damilig, A., Ph.D. & Cuadra, J. (2017). Historical sources [PowerPoint slides]. Manila: Lyceum of the Philippines University – Manila.
Damilig, A., Ph.D. & Cuadra, J. (2017). Repositories of primary sources - EXAM [PowerPoint slides]. Manila: Lyceum of the Philippines
University – Manila.

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Fantini, A. E., & Fantini, B. C. (1995). Artifacts, sociofacts, mentifacts: A sociocultural framework. Retrieved from
https://www.learner.org/workshops/tfl/resources/s5_artifacts.pdfDamilig, A., Ph.D. & Cuadra, J. (2017). Understanding history
[PowerPoint slides]. Manila: Lyceum of the Philippines University – Manila.
Huxley, J. S. (1955). Guest editorial: Evolution, cultural, and biological. In Yearbook of Anthropology. Chicago, IL : The University of Chicago
Press.

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