HISTORY

ETYMOLOGY

o From Greek word HISTORIA

• Inquiry, knowledge acquired by
investigation
o From Latin word HISTORIA
• Narrative of past events
HISTORY DEFINED

o Chronological record of events

o Discipline or branch of knowledge that
systematically studies the past
o Examines and analyses the sequence of
past events of human existence and
societies, and the world they live in
SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY

o Helps us understand the present

• A sound understanding of the past tell us much
about the problems that we face in the present
• Helps us to search for, and reflect about,
enduring patterns which can guide us in future
decision making
o History teaches us values
• History guides us in determining individual
pattern of behavior at a given social period or
phenomenon
WRITTEN AND ORAL HISTORY

o WRITTEN HISTORY
• Written records of preserving
traditions, myths, tales, and the like
o ORAL HISTORY
• A way of ‘passing down over’
folklore, myths, stories, songs, etc to
generations ‘by words coming from
the mouth’
ELEMENTS OF HISTORY

o TIME
o PLACE
o CULTURE
o PERSON/S
• General
• Particular
 HISTORY
VS.
PREHISTORY
PREHISTORY

o Period before the era of recorded history

o THREE-AGED SYSTEM OF ARCHAEOLOGY
• Stone Age, Bronze Age, Iron Age
• Periodization of human prehistory into 3
consecutive time periods, named for their
respective tool-making technologies
1. Stone Age

o Stone artifacts and bone tools

2. Bronze Age
o Copper and its alloy bronze
3. Iron Age
o Iron / Steel
o Dev’t of Sanskrit (India) and Chinese literatures
HISTORY

o About 6,000 years ago

o An era after the invention of writing
• Ancient
• Medieval
• Modern
• Contemporary
1. Ancient Period

o The period beginning w/the first records in

writing
o Sumerian Cuneiform Script
• Earliest known writing system
• Sumer is part of modern day Iraq
o The beginning of history of ancient Rome
o The beginning of history of ancient Greece
o Sumerian Cuneiform Script
o Ancient Rome & Ancient Greece
2. Medieval Period (5th-15th CE)

o Fall of Western Roman Empire up to the

Age of Discovery
• Depupolation (violence, diseases, etc…)
• Deurbanisation
• Invasions
• Movement of people
o Fall of Western Roman Empire
o Fall of Western Roman Empire
3. Modern Period (16th – 18th CE)

o After the Age of Discovery up to the End of

Industrial Revolution
• Transition to new manufacturing processes
• Hand to machine
oIndustrial Revolution