Questions: How We Know About the Past

Question 1

Which of these helps historians learn about the past?

• A. Only textbooks written recently
• B. Written records, artifacts, photographs, buildings, and oral stories
• C. Only things they see on television
• D. Only things they imagine

Answer: (B)

Historians use many types of evidence: written records like diaries and letters, physical artifacts like tools and clothing, visual sources like photographs and paintings, buildings and ruins, and oral stories passed down through generations.

Question 2

We know everything there is to know about every time period in history.

• T. True
• F. False

Answer: False

There is a lot we do not know about the past, especially about times and places where records were not kept or did not survive. Historians are always making new discoveries and learning more. Some questions about the past may never be fully answered.

Question 3

If you lived 200 years from now, what evidence from today might help you learn about life in our time?

Model answer: Photographs, videos, websites, books, buildings, everyday objects like phones and toys, and stories told by people alive today would all be evidence of life in our time.

A good answer names several types of evidence that people create today — digital records, physical objects, buildings, media — and explains that these would serve as primary sources for future historians.

Question 4

What do historians do when they study the past?

• A. They make up stories based on their imagination
• B. They gather evidence from many sources, ask questions, and piece together a picture of what happened
• C. They only read one book and accept everything it says
• D. They use a time machine

Answer: (B)

Historians are like detectives. They gather evidence from many different sources, ask questions about what the evidence means, consider different perspectives, and carefully piece together an understanding of what happened in the past.

Question 5

The only way to learn about the past is by reading books.

• T. True
• F. False

Answer: False

Books are one important source, but historians also learn from artifacts, photographs, paintings, maps, buildings, ruins, oral stories, music, and much more. Many cultures passed down their history through spoken stories rather than writing, and those oral traditions are a valuable source of knowledge.