Hints on the Four Types of Historians
History is the study of time. The only thing known in the entire universe is time. Events prior to the invention of written records are often regarded as prehistorical. ” Historiography” is a broad umbrella term containing the history, discovery, analysis, documentation, compilation, and preservation of these earlier events. As such, the history of mankind has a long history encompassing the last seven thousand years or so of human history.
For historians, studying history involves investigating ancient events and the people who created them. There are many types of historians; archeologists tend to look for buried ruins, while literary historians search for historical records. Historians study all areas of human history and are extremely interested in world history and the development of civilizations over time. Many historians have developed their particular fields of interest such as military historians, political pundits, or economic historians.
Archaeologist dig up ancient ruins to try to answer questions about the past events that occurred there. Most archaeological discoveries are relatively recent, but some discoveries in the past hundred years are a source of great interest to historians. archeologists study all areas of human history and discover the ancient sites of monuments and settlements. Often these sites reveal the history of men. Usually building structures at the time of settlement can be a source of great discovery for archeologist.
Another type of historian is a literary historian. They analyze the words we use today as literature and culture. For example, how words like “literally,” “hypothetically,” and “imagine” have developed into the forms they do today. Other historians study history from a scientific standpoint attempting to discover the causes of phenomena through scientific research. This type of scholar studies the fossil record, the earth’s climate, the biology of plants and animals, and the chemistry of soils.
The third sub-type of historians is called the physical or historical researcher. They study the artifacts that could be used as proof of past events or the people involved in those events. Examples of physical researchers might be pottery specialists who search for ancient ceramic dishes or Statuary researchers who examine grave markings. A physicalhistorian also studies living people to try to establish the continuity of physical events that have taken place in the past, such as how people of different cultures tend to wear similar clothing, eat similar foods, or behave in similar ways.
The fourth sub-type of historians is known as the political history or the public history researcher. These researchers seek out primary sources and evaluate them to try to determine the overall direction of history. Public historians rely on oral history, newspaper archives, pamphlets, primary sources such as diaries and memoirs, and political documentary sources such as voting records, census records, and royal documents to interpret the past. In contrast to the previous four sub-types of historians, political historians are interested primarily in the political culture of a country. They usually find their information through written sources. These sources often reflect the viewpoints of politicians who had a great role in the history of a country.