TOOLS OF THE HISTORIAN

MEASURING TIME

Text- Western CalendarB.C. Before ChristA.D. Anno Domini (in the year of

the lord/events after birth of Christ)

No year 0Why is this form of dating events

sometimes disagreed upon by historians?

Christian oriented

B.C.E Before Common Era (B.C.)C.E. Common Era (A.D.)

PLACE THESE DATES IN ORDER

622 C.E. 776 B.C. 1776 C.E. 2540 B.C.E44 B.C. 80 A.D. 1095 A.D. 399 B.C.

CHECK YOUR WORK

2540 B.C.E (Great Pyramid built) 776 B.C. (1st Olympics) 399 B.C. (Death of Socrates) 44 B.C. (Ides of March) 80 A.D. (Colosseum completed) 622 C.E. (Muhammad left Makkah

for Madinah) 1095 A.D. (First Crusade) 1776 C.E. (Declaration of

Independence)

ORGANIZING TIME

Period or Eras (decades, century)Circa (c.)- around or aboutPrehistory- before writing 5,500

years agoAncient History- c. 500 A.D. Middle Ages/Medieval- ends at

1500 A.D.Modern History- 1500 to present

SOURCES

Primary Sources- firsthand pieces of evidence from people who saw or experienced an event

Ex-letters, diaries, official records, interviews, objects, photos, paintings, clothing, tools

Secondary Sources- created after the event by people who played no part in them.

Partially based on primary sources

Ex- biographies, encyclopedias, history books, textbooks

Analyze sources- when, where, why Why- meant to be kept secret? Government

document? Credibility- point of view Can be biased