tools 0-tools 11 fm-toh-824133 4/6/04 4:36 pm page 2 of the historian.pdf · writes about the...

A historian is a person who studies andwrites about the people and events of the past.Historians find out how people lived, what hap-pened to them, and what happened around them.They look for the reasons behind events. Theyalso study the effects of events.

Have you ever wondered if you could be ahistorian? To answer that question, you will need

to find out how history is researched and writ-ten. Historians use a number of tools to researchand organize information. You can learn aboutthese tools in the next few pages. As you studythis textbook, you will see that these tools willhelp you understand world history.

Archaeologists are scientists who unearth the remains of the past.Historians depend on their work.

▲

Carbon-14 dating

What Do Archaeologists Study?• Human and animal bones, seeds, trees• Pottery, tools, weapons• Mounds, pits, canals

How Do They Gather Data?• Surveys on foot• Photographs taken from airplanes or satellites• Ground-penetrating radar• Plot locations on maps• Dig for evidence with tools from heavy equipment to shovels• Sonar scanning to find underwater objects

How Do They Interpret Findings?• Organize artifacts into groups based on similarities• Compare objects in relation to other objects• Look for evidence of changes over a period of time• Date once-living objects by measuring carbon-14 levels• Use microscopic and biological tests to date objects

Digging Up the PastDigging Up the Past

Do Your Own DiggingResearch the library and Internet to find infor-mation on two archaeological diggings, one pastand the other, very recent. Compare and con-trast the methods used in each digging. Whatchanges do you notice in tools archaeologistshave used over time?

Prehistoricpottery

Tools0–Tools1 Getty Images, (t)Ron Sheridan/Ancient Art & Architecture Collection, (bl)AFP Worldwide, (br)James King-Holmes/Photo Researchers

Tools 0-Tools 11 FM-TOH-824133 4/6/04 4:36 PM Page 2

MeasuringTime

Historians rely on calendars and the dating of eventsto measure time.Reading Focus Have you ever thought about travelingback in time to a place long ago? Historians do just that.Read to see how historians keep track of past events.

Calendars Historians rely on calendars, ordating systems, to measure time. Culturesthroughout the world have developed dif-ferent calendars based on important eventsin their history. Western nations begin theircalendar on the year in which Jesus wasthought to have been born. The Jewish cal-endar begins about 3,760 years before theChristian calendar. This is the time whenJewish tradition says the world was created.Muslims date their calendar from the timetheir first leader, Muhammad, left the city ofMakkah for Madinah. This was A.D. 622 inthe Christian calendar.

The dates in thisbook are based onthe Western calen-dar. In the Westerncalendar, the yearsbefore the birth ofJesus are known as“B.C.,” or “beforeChrist.” The yearsafter are called“A.D.,” or annodomini. This phrase comes from the Latin lan-guage and means “in the year of the Lord.”

Dating Events To date events before the birthof Christ, or “B.C.,” historians count back-wards from A.D. 1. There is no year “0.” Theyear before A.D. 1 is 1 B.C. (Notice that “A.D.”is written before the date, while “B.C.” iswritten following the date.) Therefore, a datein the 100 years before the birth of Christ liesbetween 100 B.C. and A.D. 1.

To date events after the birth of Christ, or “A.D.,” historians count forward, start-ing at A.D. 1. A date in the first 100 yearsafter the birth of Christ is between A.D. 1and A.D. 100.

Thinking Like a Historian1. Identify What do “B.C.” and “A.D.” mean?

How are they used?

2. Dating Events What year came after184 B.C.?

3. Comparing and Contrasting As you read,use the Internet to find out the current year inthe calendars mentioned in your text.Why arecalendars different from culture to culture?

A people called theMinoans made this

stone calendar.

About A.D. 500, aChristian monk, or religious person,developed the Westernway of dating events.

Tools of the Historian TOOLS 1(t)Scala/Art Resource, NY, (b)Nimatallah/Art Resource, NY


TOOLS 2 Tools of the Historian

OrganizingTime

▼The Gui

A woman ofmedieval Japan playing a musicalinstrument

A young coupleof ancient Rome

Educated Europeansof the early modernperiod discussingnew ideas

Historians organize history by dividing it into blocks of time.Reading Focus Have you ever thought about the namesgiven to a block of events, such as “summer vacation” or“the baseball season?” Read to see how historians usenames to describe different stretches of time in history.

Periods of History Historians divide historyinto blocks of time known as periods, or eras.For example, a period of 10 years is called adecade. A period of 100 years is known as acentury. Centuries are grouped into evenlonger time periods, which are given names.

The first of these long periods is calledPrehistory. Prehistory refers to the time beforepeople developed writing, about 5,500 yearsago. This is followed by the period known asAncient History, ending c. A.D. 500. (c., or circa,means “about”). Historians call the next thou-sand years the Middle Ages, or the medievalperiod. From c. 1500, Modern History begins

Tools made by prehistoric people

(t)American Museum of Natural History, (tc)Scala/Art Resource, NY, (bc)Chester Beatty Library, Dublin/Bridgeman Art Library, (b)Erich Lessing/Art Resource, NY


Tools of the Historian TOOLS 3

and continues to the present day. In this book,you will study the history of the world fromprehistory to the beginning of the modernperiod.

What Is a Time Line? Which came first: theAmerican Civil War or World War II? Didthe train come before or after the inventionof the airplane? In studying the past, histori-ans focus on chronology, or the order of datesin which events happened.

You might be wondering how to makesense of the flow of dates and events. Aneasy way is to use or make a time line. A timeline is a diagram that shows the order ofevents within a period of time.

Most time lines are divided into sectionsin which the years are evenly spaced. In somecases, however, a spread of time may be toolong to show all of the years in even spaces.To save space, a period of time may be omit-ted from the time line. Where this happens, aslanted or jagged line appears on the time lineto show a break in the even spacing of events.For example, the time line above shows abreak between 1500 B.C. and 800 B.C.

A time line alsolabels events. Eachevent on the time lineappears beside the datewhen the event tookplace. Sometimes eventsand their dates areshown on a single timeline. In other cases, twoor more time lines arestacked one on top ofthe other. These arecalled multilevel timelines. They help you tocompare events in dif-ferent places at certain

periods of time. For example, the multi-level time line above shows events in threeancient civilizations from 2500 B.C. to 650 B.C. The skill “Reading a Time Line” onpage 711 will help you learn to work withtime lines.

Thinking Like a Historian1. Reading a Time Line Look over the time

line above to get an idea of what a time lineshows. What is the title? When does it beginand end? What two features make this timeline different from many other time lines?Why are they used?

2. Understanding a Time Line Why do youthink the dates on the time line are markedwith a “c.”?

3. Making a Time Line Create a time line usingthe terms B.M.B. (before my birth) and A.M.B.(after my birth). Fill in the time line with fivekey events that happened before and after youwere born. Illustrate the time line with copiesof photos from your family album.

Three Ancient Civilizations

c. 1600 B.C. Minoancivilizationreachesheight

c. 776 B.C. FirstOlympicGamestake place

AncientGreece

AncientGreece

Chapte rs 4 & 5

2500 B.C. 1500 B.C. 800 B.C. 650 B.C.2500 B.C. 1500 B.C. 800 B.C. 650 B.C.

c. 2500 B.C.Settlementsdevelop along Indus River

EarlyIndiaEarly India

Chap ter 6

c. 1750 B.C.Shang dynastybegins

c. 1500 B.C.Aryans arrive inIndia

EarlyChinaEarlyChina

Ch ap ter 7

Ancient plate

Zhou dynasty bronze dragon

c. 1045 B.C.Zhou establishdynasty in China

Hindu temple



How Does aHistorian Work?

Historians study a variety of sources to learn aboutthe past.Reading Focus Have you ever searched for clues on atreasure hunt? Read to find out how historians look forclues to create a written record about the past.

Where Is the Evidence? Historians begin byasking questions, such as: Why did two par-ticular countries go to war? What effect didtheir fighting have on peoples’ lives? Howdoes the conflict influence our world today?Such questions help historians identify andfocus on historical problems.

Historians generally find evidence inprimary sources and secondary sources.Primary sources are firsthand pieces of evi-dence from people who saw or experiencedan event. They include written documents,such as letters, diaries, and official records.They also include spoken interviews aswell as objects, such as photos, paintings,clothing, and tools. The skill “AnalyzingPrimary Source Documents” on page 716will give you a chance to work with writ-ten primary sources.

Secondary sources, on the other hand, arecreated after the events by people whoplayed no part in them. Secondary sourcesare partially based on primary sources. Theyinclude biographies, encyclopedias, and his-tory books—even this textbook.

Historians study secondary sources forbackground information and for a largerview of an event. However, to get new evi-dence that advances knowledge, historiansmust turn to the firsthand informationfound only in primary sources.

Examining SourcesHistorians analyze,or examine, pri-mary and second-ary sources. First,they determinewhere and when asource was created.Another important question historians con-sider is why a source was created. Was it a let-ter meant to be kept secret? Was it agovernment document published for all citi-zens to read?

Can the Sources Be Trusted? Historiansexamine sources for credibility, or truthful-ness. This is because each source reflects apoint of view, or a general attitude about peo-ple and life. The creator of a source uses hisor her point of view to decide what eventswere important, which people were keyplayers, and what details were worthrecording. Sometimes point of view isexpressed as a bias, or an unreasoned, emo-tional judgment about people and events.

Historians try to be aware of point ofview and bias both in their sources and inthemselves. Therefore, they check new

Ruins of Mayan temple in Central America

Scientist studying DeadSea Scrolls from south-west Asia

(t)Richard T. Nowitz/CORBIS, (b)David Hiser/Getty Images


sources and their own ideas against sourcesalready known to be trustworthy. They alsoexamine many sources that express differentpoints of view about an event. In this way,historians try to get a clear, well-roundedview of what happened.

Historians piece together the credibleevidence and draw conclusions. In drawingconclusions, they use their own thinkingand knowledge of the past to interpret, orexplain, the meaning of the events.

Cause and EffectHistorical events are linked by cause and

effect. A cause is what makes an event hap-pen. The event that happens as a result ofthe cause is known as an effect. Historianslook for cause-and-effect links to explainwhy events happen.

Usually, one event is produced by manycauses. Similarly, one event often producesseveral different effects. These cause-and-

effect links form what is called a cause-and-effect chain. Because so many historical eventsare related, cause-and-effect chains canbecome very long and can include eventsthat occur over a long period of time. Thechart above shows such a chain of events.

Weak Roman Government• Dishonest government officials provide poor leadership.

Eastern Roman Empire• Constantinople becomes the new capital.• The empire survives attacks and prospers.

Byzantine Empire• This empire is created from the Eastern Roman Empire and lasts nearly 1,000 years.

Western Roman Empire• Numerous attacks threaten the empire.• Territory is slowly lost to invaders.

Social Problems• Famine and disease spread throughout the empire.

Declining Economy• Income and wages fall.• Wealthy fail to pay taxes.

Reform Fails and Rome Divides in Two• Government fails to keep order.• Violence and tension increase.• Diocletian divides the empire.

Rome Falls• The city of Rome falls in A.D. 476.• The Western Roman Empire is divided into Germanic kingdoms by A.D. 550.

The Decline of RomeThe Decline of Rome

Thinking Like a Historian1. Understanding Evidence Suppose a friend

wanted to write a history of your life so far.What primary sources might he or she use tofind evidence of your daily activities?

2. Analyzing Sources Find two writtenaccounts of a recent event in your town.Which of the two accounts do you think isthe most credible? Why?

3. Recognizing Cause and Effect Study thecause-and-effect chart on this page. Whatwere three major causes of Rome’s decline?What were two important effects of Rome’sdecline upon history?




Historians try to understand how climate, landforms,and human activities have shaped past events. Reading Focus Have you ever had a party or sportsevent cancelled because of bad weather? Read to findout how historians study the effects of the natural worldon history.

Geography is the study of the earth’s phys-ical and human features. In this text, you willdiscover how geography has shaped thecourse of events in world history. Sometimesthe study of geography is broken down intofive themes. The Five Themes of Geography are:

• location (Where is it?) • place (What is it like?)• human/environment interaction (What is the

relationship between people and theirsurroundings?)

• movement (How do people in one arearelate to people in other areas?)

• region (What common features bringgeographical areas together?)

Location “Where is it?” In using geography, histori-ans first look at where a place is located.Every place has an absolute location and arelative location. Absolute location refers tothe exact spot of a place on the earth’s sur-face. For example, the city of Atlanta,Georgia, is located at one place and oneplace only. No other place on Earth hasexactly the same location. Relative locationtells where a place is, compared with one ormore other places. Atlanta is northwest ofMiami and southwest of New York City.

Place“What is it like?” Place describes all of thecharacteristics that give an area its own spe-cial quality. These can be physical features,such as mountains, waterways, climate, andplant or animal life. Places can also bedescribed by human characteristics, such aslanguage, religion, and architecture.

Human/EnvironmentInteraction“What is the relationship between peopleand their surroundings?” Landforms,waterways, climate, and natural resources allhave helped or hindered human activities.People in turn have responded to their envi-ronment, or natural surroundings, in differ-ent ways. Sometimes they have adjusted toit. At other times, people have changed theirenvironment to meet their needs.

History andGeography

Growing rice in China

The Acropolis,Athens, Greece

(t)Lawrence Manning/CORBIS, (b)Vanni Archive/CORBIS



Camel caravan in North Africa

Settlement in Mongolia

Movement“How do people in one area relate to peoplein other areas?” Historians answer thisquestion within the theme of movement.Throughout history, people, ideas, goods, andinformation have moved from place to place.Movement has brought the world’s peoplecloser together. Transportation—the move-ment of people and goods—has increased the exchange of ideas and cultures.Communication—the movement of ideas andinformation—has allowed people to find outwhat is happening in other parts of the world.

Region“What common features bring geographicalareas together?” To make sense of all thecomplex things in the world, historiansoften view places or areas as regions. Aregion is an area that is defined by commonfeatures. Regions can be defined by physicalfeatures, such mountains and rivers, or byhuman features, such as religion, language,or livelihood.

Six Essential ElementsRecently the study of geography has been

broken down into Six Essential Elements:• The World in Spatial Terms• Places and Regions• Physical Systems• Human Systems• Environment and Society• The Uses of Geography

You will learn about the Six EssentialElements in the Geography Handbook onpages GH2–GH3. Knowing these elementswill help you in your study of history.

Wall painting showing life in ancient Egypt

Thinking Like a Historian1. Identify How are absolute location and

relative location different?

2. Analyzing Themes What characteristics dogeographers use to describe a place?

3. Linking History and Geography Make a listof the Five Themes of Geography. Under eachtheme, explain how you think geography hasshaped the history of your community.

(l)Frans Lemmens/Getty Images, (tr)J. Bertrand/Photo Researchers, (br)Giraudon/Art Resource, NY


TOOLS 8

Maps give information about areas of the world atdifferent periods of history.Reading Focus Have you used a map to go from oneplace to another? Read to find out how you can rely onmaps for clues about the past.

Historical Maps An atlas is a book of mapsshowing different parts of the world. A histor-ical atlas has maps showing different parts ofthe world at different periods of history.Maps that show political events, such as invasions, battles, and boundary changes, arecalled historical maps.

Some historical maps show how territoriesin a certain part of the world changed over

time. Below are two maps. One map showsthe areas of Europe, Asia, and Africa that wereruled by Alexander the Great in 323 B.C. Theother map shows the same region as it lookstoday. Placed next to each other, the mapshelp you compare historical changes in theregion from ancient times to today.

In the larger map, Alexander’s empirestretches from the eastern MediterraneanSea in the west to the Indus River in the east.There are no political borders. Instead, otherthings are shown. For example, the arrowson the map represent the movement ofAlexander’s armies as they conquered newlands. On the smaller map, lines show mod-ern political boundaries in the region today.

What Is aHistorical Atlas?

500 km0Lambert Azimuthal Equal-Area projection

500 mi.0

N

S

W E

20°E 40°E

40°N

60°E

Granicus334 B.C.

Chaeronea338 B.C.

Gaugamela331 B.C.

Issus333 B.C.

ArabianSea

Persian

Gulf

Mediterranean Sea

Black Sea

Caspian Sea

AegeanSea

Euphrates R.

Tig

risR

.

Nile

R.

D anube R.

In

dus

R

.

ASIAMINOR

PERSIASYRIA

MACEDONIA

EGYPT

Alexandria

Athens

TyreBabylon

Persepolis

Susa

Alexander’s Empire 323 B.C.

TURKEY

IRANIRAQ

SYRIA

JORDANKUWAIT

LEBANONISRAEL

SAUDIARABIA

PAKISTAN

AFGHANISTAN

TURKMENISTAN

UZBEKISTAN

EGYPTLIBYA

GREECE

BULGARIA

The Region Today

Extent of empireAlexander’s routesof conquestMajor battle

KEY



SPICES

SPICES

SPICES

SPICESSPICES

SPICES

SPICES

SPICES

SPICES

SPICES

SPICES

1,000 km0Lambert Azimuthal Equal-Area projection

1,000 mi.0 N

S

W E

To Europe

EQUATOR

100°E60°E20°E

40°N

0°

EuphratesR

.

Tigri s

R.

Nile

R.

Indu

sR

.Ganges R.

Cha

ngJi

ang

MekongR

.

H

uan

gH

e

INDIAN OCEAN

Bay ofBengal

SouthChina

Sea

ArabianSea

AralSea

Black Sea

Caspian

Sea

RedSea

EASTAFRICA

EGYPT ARABIA

PERSIA

INDIA

Sumatra

Java

Borneo

TIBET

CHINA

H I M A L A Y A

G O B I

Antioch

Pataliputra

LuoyangChangan

Hangzhou

Constantinople

Alexandria

Mero¨e

Damascus

Guangzhou

Trading in the Ancient World

KEY

SPICES

SPICES

SPICES

SPICES

SPICES

SPICES

SPICESBlack pepper

Cardamom

Cinnamon

Cloves

Copper

Cotton cloth

Frankincense/Myrrh

Gold

Ginger

Grains

Horns/Tusks

Leopard skins

Nutmeg

Oils

Papyrus

Pearls

Sandalwood

Semipreciousstones

Silk

Teakwood

Silk Road

Other traderoutes

Historical Routes On some maps, linesmay show historical routes. These are roadsor courses over which people or goods havetraveled all through history. Such routes areoften colored. On the map above, the purpleline shows the Silk Road, the ancient trad-ing route between Asia and Europe.

On maps of historical routes, the keygives clues to what is shown on the maps.This map’s key shows the different goodstraded throughout the ancient world.

Thinking Like a Historian1. Comparing Maps Alexander’s empire

included many different territories. In what ter-ritory was the city of Persepolis located? Whatpresent-day country covers this area today?

2. Reading a Map Legend Look at the map ofancient trade routes. What goods came fromsouthern India? How were goods carriedfrom place to place in ancient times?

3. Analyzing Maps Select any chapter in yourtextbook. List the titles of the maps found inthat chapter. Beside each map’s title, statewhat kind of symbols are used in each mapkey and what they represent.



Links Across Time

Unit 1 Early Civilizations

For centuries, people in southwestAsia have fought over scarce land andwater. Religious and ethnic differencesalso have led to wars. Today, one of thefiercest and longest conflicts has beenbetween Palestinian Arabs and Israelis.

Unit 2 The Ancient World

People in ancient civilizationsadmired the deeds of their heroes. Theancient Greeks held the first Olympicgames about 776 B.C. Today the modernOlympics draw athletes from all overthe world.

The people and events of the past have left their markon our world today.Reading Focus How have older family membersaffected your life today? In the same way, many thingslink past to present in world history. Read about examplesof past-and-present links for each of the units you will bestudying in your text.

Fighting today between Palestinians and Israelis

Ancient Greek athletes

Ancient warriors attack walled city

Racers in modern Olympics

(tr)Tom Lovell/National Geographic Society Image Collection, (bl)Matthews/Network/CORBIS Saba, (br)Dan Helms/NewSport/CORBIS



Unit 4 The Middle Ages

The period from about A.D. 500 to A.D. 1500 is known as the Middle Ages.During this time, trade routesexpanded, and ideas and goods spread.In medieval China, the Grand Canalincreased trade and prosperity. Today,modern China is building the ThreeGorges Dam to provide electric powerfor its growing cities.

Unit 5 A Changing World

Beginning about A.D. 1500, thinkersdeveloped new ideas about govern-ment and began to use scientific ideasto explore nature. One discovery orinvention led to another, creating anexplosion of knowledge. Advances inscience continue today.

International Space Station

Early telescope, A.D. 1600s

Thinking Like a HistorianAs you read Journey Across Time: The Early Ages,notice how the past affects the present. Whenyou begin each unit, collect newspaper or maga-zine articles about a current event from the areayou are studying. Then, after completing eachunit, write down how you think a past event inthat region is related to the current event.

Unit 3 New Empiresand New Faiths

After 500 B.C., strong governmentsand new religions arose in many partsof the world. The Romans believed thatlaws apply equally to all citizens. Today,the U.S. Congress is the part of ournational government that makes laws.Its upper body—the U.S. Senate—isnamed after the Senate of ancient Rome.

Grand Canal

Three Gorges Dam

U.S. Congress

Roman Senate

(tl)Art Resource, NY, (tcl)CORBIS, (tcr)The Art Archive/Bibliotheque Nationale Paris, (tr)Christopher Liu/ChinaStock, (bl)Jean-Leon Huens/National Geographic Society Image Collection, (br)NASA
