history unseen technique Flashcards
ARCHAELOGICAL MATERIAL General elements to consider
audience
context
material and craftmanship
function
How would you describe it to someone who had never seen it?
What other evidence can be used in conjunction with this object?
What could an ancient historian use this for?
audience – ARCHAELOGICAL MATERIAL General elements to consider
What would the audience have been? What would the reception have been? Would the intended audience and reception have been the same? Why is this?
context –ARCHAELOGICAL MATERIAL General elements to consider
Where is this from? Was it displaced? How common or uncommon is this artefact? When is this from? Is this common for its time? Does this mimic or refer to anything else? Where was this kept? Is it of a usual size for its kind? What may have been happening at the time that sheds light on the object?
material and craftsmanship – ARCHAELOGICAL MATERIAL General elements to consider
What is this made of? Is this object of high value? How much care was taken to make it? Can it signify anything about the owner’s wealth or status? Can it signify how precious this object was to the owner?
function –ARCHAELOGICAL MATERIAL General elements to consider
What is the object used for? Is the object functional or does it have a symbolic purpose? Does the object have a value of its own or does its value lie in what it signifies? How common do you think its purpose was? Was it made or commissioned for this purpose?
WRITTEN SOURCES General elements to consider
author
context
content
audience
- What can the text not tell us?
- How would you split the text into sections?
- What other evidence can be used in conjunction with this object?
- What could an ancient historian use this for?
- If the piece is fictional, what can we still learn from it?
author –WRITTEN SOURCES General elements to consider
Who wrote it? If the author was commissioned to write it, did they stick to their instructions? Was the author well known? Is the author given a first-hand account or otherwise?
context – WRITTEN SOURCES General elements to consider
When was it written? Where was it written? Was it commissioned to be written by someone else? Why was it written? Is this text typical for its time and place? What may have been happening at the time that sheds light on the text? Was it meant to be spoken aloud or read? Was it attached to something physical? What language the text in, and is this language typical for its time/place/kind?
content – WRITTEN SOURCES General elements to consider
What kind of text is it? Does its form/genre carry any assumptions/notions with it? Is it typical for its form/genre? Is there anything particularly striking about its use of language or tone? What person is it in and does an impersonal or personal viewpoint come across? Where is it set, and is this important in conjunction with where it was written? Is every claim made true or plausible? Is it attempting to portray someone/something in a particular light? Any emotional appeals? Does it attempt provide explanation for something later on? Are the people depicted (if any) stereotypes or individual characters? Is there a moral lesson to be found?
audience -WRITTEN SOURCES General elements to consider
What would the audience have been? What would the reception have been? Would the intended audience and reception have been the same? Why is this? How well would what is being described have been known by the audience beforehand?
