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Recorded history orwritten history describes the historical events that have been recorded in a written form or other documented communication which are subsequently evaluated by historians using thehistorical method. For broaderworld history, recordedhistory begins with the accounts of theancient world around the 4th millennium BCE, and it coincides with theinvention of writing.
For some geographic regions orcultures, written history is limited to a relatively recent period inhuman history because of the limited use of written records. Moreover, human cultures do not always record all of the information which is considered relevant by later historians, such as the full impact of natural disasters or the names of individuals. Recorded history for particular types of information is therefore limited based on the types of records kept. Because of this, recorded history in different contexts may refer to different periods of time depending on the topic.
The interpretation of recorded history often relies onhistorical method, or the set of techniques and guidelines by which historians useprimary sources and other evidence to research and then to write accounts of the past. The question of what constitutes history, and whether there is an effective method for interpreting recorded history, is raised in thephilosophy of history as a question ofepistemology. The study of different historical methods is known ashistoriography, which focuses on examining how different interpreters of recorded history create different interpretations of historical evidence.
Prehistory traditionally refers to the span of time before recorded history, ending with the invention ofwriting systems.[1] Prehistory refers to the past in an area where no written records exist, or where the writing of a culture is not understood.
Protohistory refers to the transition period between prehistory and history, after the advent ofliteracy in a society but before the writings of the firsthistorians. Protohistory may also refer to the period during which aculture orcivilization has not yet developed writing, but other cultures have noted its existence in their own writings.
More complete writing systems were preceded byproto-writing. Early examples are theJiahu symbols (c. 6600 BCE),Vinča signs (c. 5300 BCE), earlyIndus script (c. 3500 BCE) andNsibidi script (c. before 500 CE). There is disagreement concerning exactly when prehistory becomes history, and when proto-writing became "true writing".[2] However, invention of the first writing systems is roughly contemporary with the beginning of theBronze Age in the lateNeolithic of the late4th millennium BCE. TheSumerian archaiccuneiform script and theEgyptian hieroglyphs are generally considered the earliest writing systems, both emerging out of their ancestral proto-literate symbol systems from 3400 to 3200 BCE, with earliest coherent texts from about2600 BCE.
The earliestchronologies date back to the earliest civilizations ofEarly Dynastic Period of Egypt,Mesopotamia and theSumerians,[3] which emerged independently of each other from roughly 3500 BCE.[4] Earliest recorded history, which varies greatly in quality and reliability, deals withPharaohs and theirreigns, as preserved byancient Egyptians.[5] Much of the earliest recorded history was re-discovered relatively recently due toarchaeological dig sites findings.[6] A number of different traditions have developed in different parts of the world as to how to interpret these ancient accounts.
Dionysius of Halicarnassus knew of seven predecessors ofHerodotus, includingHellanicus of Lesbos,Xanthus of Lydia andHecataeus of Miletus. He described their works as simple, unadorned accounts of their own and other cities and people, Greek or foreign, including popular legends.
Herodotus (484 BCE –c. 425 BCE)[7] has generally been acclaimed as the "father of history" composing hisThe Histories from the 450s to the 420s BCE. However, his contemporaryThucydides (c. 460 BCE – c. 400 BCE) is credited[by whom?] with having first approached history with a well-developed historical method in his work theHistory of the Peloponnesian War. Thucydides, unlike Herodotus, regarded history as being the product of the choices and actions of human beings, and looked at cause and effect, rather than as the result of divine intervention.[7] History developed as a popular form of literature in later Greek and Roman societies in the works ofPolybius,Tacitus and others.
Saint Augustine was influential inChristian andWestern thought at the beginning of the medieval period. Through the Medieval andRenaissance periods, history was often studied through asacred or religious perspective. Around 1800, German philosopher and historianGeorg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel broughtphilosophy and a moresecular approach into historical study.[8]
According toJohn Tosh, "From theHigh Middle Ages (c.1000–1300) onwards, the written word survives in greater abundance than any other source for Western history."[9] Western historians developed methods comparable to modern historiographic research in the 17th and 18th centuries, especially in France and Germany, where they began investigating these source materials to write histories of their past. Many of these histories had strong ideological and political ties to their historical narratives. In the 20th century, academic historians began focusing less on epic nationalistic narratives, which often tended to glorify the nation orgreat men, to attempt more objective and complex analyses of social and intellectual forces. A major trend of historical methodology in the 20th century was a tendency to treat history more as asocial science rather than as anart, which traditionally had been the case.French historians associated with theAnnales School introduced quantitative history, using raw data to track the lives of typical individuals, and were prominent in the establishment of cultural history.
TheZuo Zhuan, attributed toZuo Qiuming in the 5th century BCE, covers the period from 722 to 468 BCE in a narrative form. TheBook of Documents is one of theFive Classics ofChinese classic texts and one of the earliest narratives of China. TheSpring and Autumn Annals, the official chronicle of theState of Lu covering the period from 722 to 481 BCE, is arranged onannalistic principles. It is traditionally attributed toConfucius (551–479 BCE).Zhan Guo Ce was a renowned ancient Chinese historical compilation of sporadic materials on theWarring States period compiled between the 3rd and 1st centuries BCE.
Sima Qian (around 100 BCE) was the first in China to lay the groundwork for professional historical writing. His written work was theRecords of the Grand Historian, a monumental lifelong achievement in literature. Its scope extends as far back as the 16th century BCE, and it includes many treatises on specific subjects and individual biographies of prominent people, and also explores the lives and deeds of commoners, both contemporary and those of previous eras. His work influenced every subsequent author of history in China, including the prestigious Ban family of theEastern Han dynasty era.
InSri Lanka, the oldest historical text is theMahavamsa (c. 5th century CE). Buddhist monks of the Anuradhapura Maha Viharaya maintained chronicles of Sri Lankan history starting from the 3rd century BCE. These annals were combined and compiled into a single document in the 5th century by theMahanama of Anuradhapura whileDhatusena of Anuradhapura was ruling theAnuradhapura Kingdom. It was written based on prior ancient compilations known as theAtthakatha, which were commentaries written in Sinhala.[10][page needed] An earlier document known as theDipavamsa (4th century CE) "Island Chronicles" is much simpler and contains less information than theMahavamsa and was probably compiled using theAtthakatha on theMahavamsa as well.
A companion volume, theCulavamsa "Lesser Chronicle", compiled bySinhala monks, covers the period from the 4th century to theBritish takeover of Sri Lanka in 1815. TheCulavamsa was compiled by a number of authors of different time periods.
The combined work, sometimes referred to collectively as theMahavamsa, provides a continuous historical record of over two millennia, and is considered one of the world's longest unbroken historical accounts.[11] It is one of the few documents containing material relating to theNāga andYakkha peoples, indigenous inhabitants ofLanka prior to the legendary arrival of Prince Vijaya from Singha Pura of Kalinga.
TheSangam literature offers a window into some aspects of the ancient South Indian culture, secular and religious beliefs, and the people. For example, in the Sangam eraAinkurunuru poem 202 is one of the earliest mentions of "pigtail ofBrahmin boys".[12] These poems also allude to historical incidents, ancient Tamil kings, the effect of war on loved ones and households.[13] ThePattinappalai poem in theTen Idylls group, for example, paints a description of theChola capital, the kingKarikala, the life in a harbor city with ships and merchandise for seafaring trade, the dance troupes, the bards and artists, the worship of the Hindu godMurugan and the monasteries of Buddhism and Jainism.
Indica is an account ofMauryan India by the Greek writerMegasthenes. The original book is now lost, but its fragments have survived in later Greek and Latin works. The earliest of these works are those byDiodorus Siculus,Strabo (Geographica),Pliny, andArrian (Indica).[14][15]
In the preface to his book, theMuqaddimah (1377), theArab historian andearly sociologist,Ibn Khaldun, warned of seven mistakes that he thought that historians regularly committed. In this criticism, he approached the past as strange and in need of interpretation. Ibn Khaldun often criticised "idlesuperstition and uncritical acceptance of historical data." As a result, he introduced ascientific method to the study of history, and he often referred to it as his "new science".[16] His historical method also laid the groundwork for the observation of the role ofstate,communication,propaganda andsystematic bias in history,[17] and he is thus considered to be the "father of historiography"[18][19] or the "father of the philosophy of history".[20]
While recorded history begins with the invention of writing, over time new ways of recording history have come along with the advancement of technology. History can now be recorded throughphotography,audio recordings, andvideo recordings. More recently,Internet archives have been saving copies of webpages, documenting the history of theInternet. Other methods of collecting historical information have also accompanied the change in technologies; for example, since at least the 20th century, attempts have been made to preserveoral history by recording it. Until the 2000s this was done usinganalogue recording methods such ascassettes andreel-to-reel tapes. With the onset of new technologies, there are nowdigital recordings, which may be recorded to compact disks.[21] Nevertheless, historical record and interpretation often relies heavily on written records, partially because it dominates the extant historical materials, and partially because historians are used to communicating and researching in that medium.[22]
Thehistorical method comprises the techniques and guidelines by whichhistorians useprimary sources and other evidence to research and then towrite history. Primary sources are first-hand evidence of history (usually written, but sometimes captured in other mediums) made at the time of an event by a present person. Historians think of those sources as the closest to the origin of the information or idea under study.[23][24] These types of sources can provide researchers with, as Dalton and Charnigo put it, "direct, unmediated information about the object of study."[25]
Historians use other types of sources to understand history as well.Secondary sources are written accounts of history based upon the evidence from primary sources. These are sources which, usually, are accounts, works, or research that analyse, assimilate, evaluate, interpret, and/or synthesize primary sources.Tertiary sources are compilations based upon primary and secondary sources and often tell a more generalized account built on the more specific research found in the first two types of sources.[23][26][27]
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