Historical Investigations

Time-travel has not been invented yet, so how do we really know what happened in the past? 

Imagine that Dr. Hernandez walks into this scene. She needs to know who was involved in the food fight so those individuals can be asked to clean up the mess.  She cannot turn back the clock. How will she investigate these events?

Dr. Hernandez will hear many different accounts of what happened. How will she determine which accounts are more reliable, or trustworthy?

As you view the following presentation, think about:
What evidence did the medieval people leave behind that we can use to formulate accounts about the past?





As Dr. Hernandez is investigating the food fight, she cannot rely on just one account of what happened. She will interview more than one witness to find corroborating evidence. For example:

Student X Says:  "Teddy threw the first carrot."

Student Y Says:  "I also saw Teddy throw the first carrot."

Now, the evidence against Teddy is corroborated.

Then, Student Z says: "It wasn't Teddy! It was actually Student X who threw the first carrot!"

Now, there is a contradiction.

Historians also look for corroborating evidence when trying to figure out what happened in the past. They never rely on just one piece of evidence. Good historians also pay careful attention to evidence that is contradictory.

We will keep this mind when conducting our first historical investigation: What kind of leader was Octavian Augustus?