How do Historians Learn about the Past?

Historians learn about the past by using artifacts, geographically written records, books, interviews, and oral tradition. Historians who study the history of science use all kinds of information to help them understand how modern science was developed. For example, historians might look at the notebook that Isaac Newton used when he was trying to understand how light traveled through a prism. Historians might also look at writings from ancient philosophers and the language people used to describe the natural world. They might also look at drawings people made about inventions people used or drawings about what ancient people thought about the stars. They might also look at what other historians have written in the past so that they can get an idea about how an invention or idea was viewed during that time. With all of these types of information, historians try to determine what happened and how the things we know today came about. Historians do more than just look at the events of the past. They try to understand what they mean. That is they try to interpret the past to better understand how the past affects the present and how it might impact the future. It is very important to have a solid understanding of how our history was shaped. Many times people forget history and when they run into the same problems earlier people encountered they often make the same mistakes. If we don’t remember our history, we can repeat the same mistakes without ever learning from our past. Sometime historians disagree about how to interpret the past. Just like scientists disagree about how to interpret data, historians disagree about how to interpret events. Just as in science, is always better to read several different interpretations of a historical event and not just one. It is helpful to view all of the various viewpoints and after you have studied them and come to your own conclusions about what you think it means.