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Contributor: Brian Anthony. Lesson ID: 11049
"I heard from someone about something they heard about ... " Does that sound like a reliable source? Learn to dig, and discover some of the most terrible diseases in history and how humanity survived!
During the 14th century, the Black Death wiped out an estimated 60 percent of the population of several European cities, and yet — somehow — humankind was not extinguished by this grizzly plague. Uncover the stories of some of the most horrific diseases in history, and find out how humanity was able to survive!
It must have seemed like the end of the world — evidence of death everywhere, the sickness advancing rapidly.
Amazingly, over time, the cities rebounded. New generations were born, but new biological enemies would arise as well!
Historians are like detectives, but detectives working over very long periods of time, and with all possible forms of evidence. Very often, this evidence comes along with no explanation or summary; it's up to the historian to do the hard work of piecing together the story.
Historians deal with two major kinds of evidence: primary sources and secondary sources.
Take a look at this article, Distinguish Between Primary and Secondary Sources: Home, from the UC at Santa Cruz Library website and, as you read, gather useful information and ideas in a simple grid like this one:
| Definition | Examples | What questions can you ask to determine? | How do these types of evidence interact to tell us about the past? | |
| Primary Sources | ||||
| Secondary Sources |
Now think about this:
Make a list in your notes of the different kinds of evidence and whether each source would be considered primary or secondary.
We can use primary and secondary sources to help us uncover the frightening — and inspiring — events that happened in our collective past.
Continue on to the Got It? section to search for sources in an article!
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