Readings in Philippine History (Introduction)

History

• came from the greek word “Historia” which means “knowledge acquired through inquiry or investigation”.
• History existed for around 2,400 yrs and is also as old as mathematics and philosophy.
• According to Latin new definition, “Historia” known as the account of the past of person/group of people through written documents and historical evidences.
• History was also focused on writing about wars, revolutions and important breakthroughs.
• Traditional historians lived with the mantra/phrase of “no document, no history”. It means that unless a written document can prove a certain historical event, then it cannot be considered as a historical fact.

( - no evidences, no history)

(- we should have a document/evidences to prove our claims.)

(- factual evidence/reliable evidence)

(- ex. of Documents : Death/ Birth Certificate, Marriage Certificate, Letters)

Oral Literature

• done through words and speaking
• passing literature through mouth

Historians Duty

• write about the lives of important individuals like monarchs, heroes, saints and nobilities.
• Historians using other kinds of historical sources, which may not be in written form but were just as valid.

Example:

• Oral Traditions in forms of epic and songs
• Artifacts
• Architecture
• Memory

History thus become more inclusive and started collaborating with other disciplines as its auxillary disciplines. With the aid of archaeologist, historians can use artifacts from a bygone era to study ancient civilizations that were formerly ignored in history because of lack of documents. Linguist can also be helpful in tracing historical evolution. Even scientist like biologists and biochemist can help with the study of the past.

• Artifacts - things that was made people in the past.
• Architectures - e.g. Old hospital
• Archaeologist - analyzing artifacts
• Linguist - to interpret the symbols
• Biologists - they study the past through analyzing genetic and Dna