Study Guide The Historian's Toolkit

A diary written by a soldier during a war is an example of a secondary source.

• True
• False

Historians only use written documents to learn about the past.

• True
• False

Which of the following is the BEST example of a primary source?

• A biography of Cleopatra written in the 20th century
• A website summarizing the events of World War II
• A photograph taken during the Civil Rights Movement
• A textbook chapter about ancient Rome

When historians analyze a historical source, what is one of the most important things they consider?

• How long the source is
• Who created the source and why
• Whether the source is easy to read
• The color of the paper it is written on

The word "artifact" refers to:

• An object made or used by people in the past
• A modern-day copy of an old document
• A historian's opinion about an event
• A long written story about the past

A historian is studying pottery shards found at an ancient settlement. What type of evidence are these shards considered?

• Oral history
• Written record
• Secondary source
• Artifact

A historian reads several different accounts of the same event. Why is it important for the historian to compare these accounts?

• To identify similarities and differences and get a more complete understanding
• To make the research process longer
• To only believe the account written by the most famous person
• To determine which account is the most entertaining

Which of the following words describes the process of examining historical evidence to determine if it is believable and accurate?

• Evaluation
• Synthesis
• Analysis
• Interpretation

A timeline created by a historian showing the major events of the American Revolution would be considered a:

• Primary source
• Oral history
• Secondary source
• Artifact

Historians use evidence to make ___________ about the past.

• Interpretations
• Opinions
• Guesses
• Predictions