Download Prehistory and Primary Sources

From Prehistory to
Primary Sources
An Introduction to the Social Sciences
What is Prehistory?
•
Prehistory is “the period of time before written records.”
•
What did life look like back then?
 Paleolithic
 Hunting and gathering
 Stone or bone tools
 Humans are still evolving
 Began to move outside of Africa
 Neolithic
 Agricultural communities
 Specialization and stratification
 Religious behavior
 Population explosion
What is Writing?
•
Writing is “a medium of communication that represents language through
the inscription of signs and symbols.”
•
Proto-writing
 Symbols with meaning, but not language
 Vinča Symbols
 Jiahu Symbols
•
First Writing Systems:




Sumerian Cuneiform
Egyptian Hieroglyphs*
Chinese Logographs*
Olmec Script
Strategies for Writing
•
Syllabary
 One sign for each syllable
 Ex. Linear B—an ancient Greek system of writing
•
Logogram
 One written sign stands for a whole word.
 Ex. Egyptian Hieroglyphs
•
Alphabet
 A unique sign is assigned to each basic sound of the language.
 Ex. English is written with a variation of the Latin alphabet.
The Legend of Sargon
•
Autobiography
•
Birth and Early Life
•
Conqueror
•
Administrator
•
Legacy
What is a Primary Source?
A primary sources is “an artifact, a document, a recording, or other source of
information that was created at the time under study.”
•
Marco Polo
•
Christopher Columbus
•
From Pizarro’s Companions
Scientific Method
•
Question or Theory
•
Hypothesis
•
Experiment
•
Observation
•
Analysis
•
Scientists don’t prove something, they disprove, or falsify it.
What is a Case Study?
•
“A particular instance of something used or analyzed in
order to illustrate a thesis or principle.”
•
Small sample size
•
Typically qualitative
•
Selection
 Typical Case: Examine the average situation in depth.
 Outlier Case: Demonstrates situations that are atypical.
Case Studies as Science
STRENGTHS
WEAKNESSES