World History - Burt: Choosing a Primary Source

What is a primary source?

A Primary Source is a physical object created during the time under study. The creator is present during the experience so they can offer an inside view of a particular event, development, person or society.

In the discipline of history, primary source types can be broken into three categories:

1. Original Documents - speech, official record, manuscript, letter, diary, autobiography / memoir, interview, film footage

2. Creative Works - poetry, drama, novels, music, art

3. Relics or Artifacts - pottery, furniture, clothing, buildings / architecture

Recommended Websites for Selecting a Primary Source

• Internet Ancient History Sourcebook - World History 1
• Internet Medieval Sourcebook - World History 1
• Perseus Digital Library - World History 1
• UNESCO World Heritage List - World History 1 & 2
• Yale Avalon Project - World History 1 & 2
• American Memory, Library of Congress - World History 2
• History Matters - World History 2
• Internet Modern History Sourcebook - World History 2

Museum websites, library websites, and archives affiliated with colleges or universities may also provide access to digital versions of primary source material. Consider historically appropriate terms when searching for primary source material.

The Grove Dictionary of Art

To find a primary source in this reference book, look in the index under

• specific time period 
• geographic location
• a particular culture or people.

Types of primary sources include paintings, artifacts, maps and architectural structures.