Tools of the Historian - Tracy Unified School District · How do archaeologists ... Another way that archaeologists date artifacts is by ... . Tools of the Historian. Tools of the

TOOLS 92 Tools of the Historian

A historian is a person who studies and writes about people and events of the past.

Historians find out how people lived, what happened to them, and what happened

around them. They look for the reasons behind events and study the effects of

events.

Have you ever wondered if you could be a historian? To answer that question, you

will need to find out how history is researched and written. Historians use a

number of skills to research and organize information. You can learn about

these skills in the next few pages. As you study this textbook, you will see

that the sections listed below will help you understand world history:

Measuring Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94

Organizing Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96

History and Geography . . . . . . . . . . 98

What Is a Historical Atlas? . . . . . . 102

How Does a Historian Work? . . . . 104

Making Sense of the Past . . . . . . . 108

Links Across Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112

Scientists looking for evidence of pastcivilizations

Tools of the Historian 93

Carbon-14dating

Prehistoricpottery

Research the library and Internet to find information on two archaeological diggings,one past and the other, very recent. Compareand contrast the methods used in each digging. What changes do you notice in toolsarchaeologists have used over time?

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

MeasuringTime

94 Tools of the Historian

A people called the Minoansmade this stone calendar.

Historical and Social Sciences Analysis Skills

Chronological and Spatial ThinkingCS1. Students explain how major events are relat-ed to one another in time.CS2. Students construct various time lines of keyevents, people, and periods of the historical era theyare studying.

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

calendar beginsabout 3,760 yearsbefore the Christiancalendar. This is thetime when Jewishtradition says theworld was created.Muslims date theircalendar from thetime their firstleader, Muhammad,left the city of Makkah for Madinah. Thiswas A.D. 622 in the Christian calendar.

The dates in this book are based on theWestern calendar. In the Western calendar, theyears before the birth of Jesus are known as“B.C.,” or “before Christ.” The years after arecalled “A.D.,” or anno Domini. This phrasecomes from the Latin language and means “inthe year of the Lord.”

Dating Events To date events before thebirth of Christ, or “B.C.,” historians countbackwards from A.D. 1. There is no year “0.”The year before A.D. 1 is 1 B.C. (Notice that“A.D.” is written before the date, while “B.C.”is written following the date.) Therefore, adate in the 100 years before the birth ofChrist lies between 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 years after the birth of Christ is between A.D. 1 andA.D. 100.

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


Dating Archaeological Finds Oneof the most important and difficultjobs for archaeologists is datingthe artifacts that they find.Artifacts include a variety ofobjects made by people, such asweapons, tools, or pottery. The ear-liest artifacts are pieces of hardrock that were chipped into cuttingor digging tools or into weapons.

How do archaeologists determine theage of these artifacts? Early scientists cor-rectly assumed that artifacts buried moredeeply in the ground are older than thosecloser to the surface. In most cases, thatobservation is still true today.

Another way that archaeologists dateartifacts is by using trees. Each year, treesform a new growth ring. Scientists count thenumber of rings in a wooden object, such asa house beam, and compared the patternwith the rings of a tree whose age they knew.In that way, they can identify dates as farback as 3,000 years.

In 1946 an American scientist namedWillard Frank Libby discovered that all liv-ing things contain a radioactive elementcalled carbon 14. After plants, animals, andhumans die, the carbon 14 gradually disap-pears. By measuring how much carbon 14 askeleton or the remains of a wooden boatcontain today, scientists can estimate howold an object is. This method is called radio-carbon dating.

Radiocarbon dating, however, is onlyaccurate for dating objects that are no morethan about 50,000 years old. Anothermethod—thermoluminescence (THUHR •moh • LOO • muh • NEH • suhns) dating—helps scientists to make more precise meas-urements back to 200,000 years. This methoddates an object by measuring the light givenoff by particles trapped in the soil surround-ing the artifact or fossil.

New methods for analyzing remains—such as blood, hair, and plant tissues left onrocks, tools, and weapons—give archaeolo-gists still more information. Scientists havediscovered that blood molecules can survivemillions of years. This discovery can tell ushow some tools were used and the types ofanimals that hunters killed. DNA is also pro-viding new data. By analyzing the remainsof plants on stone tools, for example, scien-tists can find out more about early farming.

Although scientists have developedmany methods to measure the age of arti-facts, what we know about the past will con-tinue to change as new information and newmethods of dating are discovered.

Thinking Like a Historian

1. Identify What do “B.C.” and “A.D.” mean?How are they used?

2. Dating Artifacts Why is it important toidentify the dates of artifacts?

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?

Aztec shieldAztec Eaglewarrior


OrganizingTime

A woman ofmedieval Japan playing a musicalinstrument

A young coupleof ancient Rome

Educated Europeansof the early modernperiod discussingnew ideas


Chronological and Spatial ThinkingCS1. Students explain how major events are relatedto one another in time.CS2. Students construct various time lines of keyevents, people, and periods of the historical era theyare studying.

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 medieval

Tools made by prehistoric people


period. After that, from c.1500, Modern Historybegins and continues to the present day. Inthis book, you will study history from prehis-tory to the end of the ancient period.

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. Insome cases, however, a spread of time maybe too long to show all of the years in evenspaces. To save space, a period of time maybe omitted from the time line. Where thishappens, a slanted or jagged line appears onthe time line to show a break in the evenspacing of events. For example, the time lineabove shows a break between 1500 B.C. and800 B.C.

A time line alsolabels historical events.Each event on the timeline appears beside thedate when the eventtook place. Sometimesevents and their datesare shown on a singletime line. In other cases,two or more time linesare stacked 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 multileveltime line on this page shows events in thethree great ancient civilizations of Greece,India, and China during the period from2500 B.C. to 650 B.C. The skill lesson “Readinga Time Line” on page 533 will help you learnto work with time lines.


1. Reading a Time Line Look over the timeline 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

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

c. 1750 B.C.Shang Dynastybegins

c. 1500 B.C.Aryans invadeIndia

EarlyChinaEarlyChina

108

Ancient plate

Zhou dynasty bronze dragon

c. 1045 B.C.Zhou establishdynasty in China

Hindu temple


History andGeography


Chronological and Spatial ThinkingCS3. Students use a variety of maps and docu-ments to identify physical and cultural features ofneighborhoods, cities, states, and countries and toexplain the historical migration of people, expan-sion, and disintegration of empires, and the growthof economic systems.

Geography is the study of the earth and itsphysical features. In this text, you will dis-cover how geography has shaped the courseof events in world history. Sometimes thestudy of geography is broken down into fivethemes. 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 San Francisco,California, is located at one place and oneplace only. No other place on Earth hasexactly the same location.

Relative location tells where a place is,compared with one or more other places. SanFrancisco is northwest of Los Angeles andsouthwest of Seattle. Knowing a place’s rela-tive location may help a historian under-stand how it was settled and how its culturedeveloped. For example, people in Californiahave settled in coastal areas and valleysbecause inland areas have many mountainsor deserts. They also have turned to the seafor food and trade.

0 5

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122° 30' W 122° W

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San Francisco(38°N, 122°W)


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The Geography of China

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. Forexample, rivers, deserts, and mountainshelped shape the civilization of China.Under rulers known as emperors, theChinese built grand palaces and temples.

Human/EnvironmentInteraction

“What is the relationship between peopleand their surroundings?” Landforms,waterways, climate, and natural resources allhave helped or hindered human activities.

People have responded to their environ-ment, or natural surroundings, in differentways. Sometimes they have adjusted to it.For example, people throughout historyhave worn light clothing in hot places. Atother times, people have changed their envi-ronment to meet their needs. They have irri-gated, or brought water to dry land, so theycould grow crops, or they have built terracesin mountain areas to hold water for growingcrops such as rice.

Growing rice in China

Imperial Palace


Movement

“How do people in one area affect people inother areas?” Historians answer this ques-tion with the theme of movement. Throughouthistory, people, ideas, goods, and informationhave moved from place to place.Transportation—the movement of peopleand goods—has allowed people to use prod-ucts made in places far away. This hasincreased the exchange of ideas and cul-tures. Communication—the movement ofideas and information—has allowed peopleto find out about other parts of the world.Today people receive almost instant commu-nication by radio, television, and computer.

The movement of people to differentplaces is called migration. Why have peoplemigrated throughout history? Some havebeen forced to move because of wars, famine,or enslavement. Others have chosen to moveto seek a better life. During the A.D. 400s, var-ious groups of Germanic peoples invadedthe Roman Empire. They were pushed out oftheir lands by other groups. At the sametime, they were drawn to Rome’s fertilefields, milder climate, and highly advancedcivilization. The Germanic invasions led tothe fall of the Roman Empire. The invadersset up kingdoms in Roman territory.

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Alexandria

Germanic Invasions of Rome c. A.D. 200–500

A number of invasions led to thefall of the Roman Empire.1. Who attacked both Britain and

northern France? 2. Why do you think the Eastern

Roman Empire experienced veryfew invasions?

Find NGS online map resources @www.nationalgeographic.com/maps

Western Roman EmpireEastern Roman EmpireBattle

Angles/SaxonsFranksHuns

KEYOstrogothsVandalsVisigoths

Germanic warriors


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Geography and Climate Zones in Africa

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KEY


1. Identifying How are absolute location and relative location different?

2. Analyzing Themes What characteristics do geographers 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.

Region

“What common features does a certainarea share?” Historians often viewareas as regions. A region is defined bycommon features. Regions can bedefined by physical features, such asmountains and rivers, or by human fea-tures, such as religion, language, orlivelihood.

Six Essential Elements

Recently geographers have brokendown the study of geography into SixEssential Elements. These elements are:

• The World in Spatial Terms• Places and Regions• Physical Systems• Human Systems• Environment and Society• The Uses of Geography

You will learn about these elementsin the Geography Handbook on pages78–79. Knowing them will help you inyour study of history.

102

What Is a Historical Atlas?

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Granicus334 B.C.

Chaeronea338 B.C.

Gaugamela331 B.C.

Issus333 B.C.

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Alexander’s Empire 323 B.C.

TURKEY

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PAKISTAN

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EGYPTLIBYA

GREECE

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The Region Today

Extent of empireAlexander’s routesof conquestMajor battle

KEY


Chronological and Spatial ThinkingCS3. Students should use a variety of maps anddocuments to identify physical and cultural featuresof neighborhoods, cities, states, and countries andto explain the historical migration of people, expan-sion and disintegration of empires, and the growthof economic systems.

Historical Maps An atlas is a book of mapsshowing different parts of the world. A his-torical atlas has maps showing different partsof the world at different periods of history.Maps that show political events, such asinvasions, battles, and boundary changes,are called historical maps. The maps shownbelow are both examples of historical maps.

Some historical maps show how territoriesin a certain part of the world changed overtime. One map below shows the areas ofEurope, Asia, and Africa ruled by Alexanderthe Great in 323 B.C. The other map shows thesame region as it looks today. The maps helpyou compare historical changes in this regionfrom ancient times to today.

In the larger map, Alexander’s empirestretches from the eastern Mediterranean Seain the west to the Indus River in the east.There are no political borders to show the ter-ritorial spread of empires and countries.Instead, other historical details are shown. Forexample, the different arrows on the largermap represent the movement of Alexander’sarmies as they conquered new lands. On thesmaller map, lines show the modern bound-aries of countries in the same region today.

SPICES

SPICES

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SPICESSPICES

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SPICES

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Trading in the Ancient World

KEY

SPICES

SPICES

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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, however,lines may show historical routes. These areroads, trails, or courses over which people,animals, vehicles, and goods have traveledin different periods of history. Such trans-portation and communication routes areoften colored in order to make the map eas-ier to read. On the map above, the purpleline shows the Silk Road, the ancient trad-ing route that linked parts of Asia andEurope.

On maps showing historical routes, thekey gives important clues to what informa-tion is shown on the maps. This map’s keyshows different goods traded throughoutthe ancient world.


1. Comparing Maps Alexander the Great’sempire included many different territories inEurope, Asia, and Africa. In what territory wasthe city of Persepolis located? What present-day country covers this area today?

2. Reading a Map Key Look at the map oftrading in the ancient world. What goodscame from the southern part of India? Howwere goods carried from one place to another place in ancient times?

3. Analyzing Maps Select any chapter in yourtextbook. List the titles of the maps found inthe particular chapter you have chosen. Besideeach map’s title, state what kind of symbolsare used in each map key and what they represent.



How Does aHistorian Work?


Research, Evidence, and Point of ViewHR1. Students frame questions that can beanswered by historical study and research.HR2. Students distinguish fact from opinion in historical narratives and stories.HR3. Students distinguish relevant from irrelevantinformation, essential from incidental information,and verifiable from unverifiable information in historical narratives and stories.

Asking Questions About the Past Histori-ans are like detectives. They look for evi-dence to solve problems about the past.Historians begin by asking questions suchas: Why did two particular countries go towar? What effect did their fighting have onpeoples’ lives? Such questions help histori-ans focus on historical problems. By askingquestions, historians can better identify theissues. They also can determine how andwhy events happened and what the effectsof these events were.

Is It Fact or Opinion? Historical sources maycontain facts and opinions. A fact can beproved, or observed; an opinion, on the otherhand, is a personal belief or conclusion. Weoften hear facts and opinions mixed ineveryday conversation—in advertising, inpolitical debate, and in historical sources.Although some opinions can be supportedby facts, in an argument they do not carry asmuch weight as facts.

Sources, such as letters, diaries, andspeeches express personal views. Thismeans they state what a person thinks aboutanother person or an event. As a result, the

Students studying history

Chinese clay warriors

Egyptian hieroglyphics

Romancoins


historian must be able to separate facts fromopinions. In other words, separating knowntruth about something from what peoplesay about it. This skill is important becauseit helps the historian decide whether or notthe information is accurate and the historicalsource can be trusted.

Is It Relevant? Historians often must siftthrough a lot of information to find whatthey need. As a result, they must determinewhether or not each piece of evidence is rel-evant. This means selecting only the datathat helps answer their research questions.Relevant information applies directly to thetopic or purpose that the historian has cho-sen. For example, if you are researching fam-ily life in ancient Rome, information aboutmarriage and children would be relevantinformation. A description of Roman gov-ernment or trade would not be relevantbecause it does not explain the type of fami-lies found in the Roman Empire.

Is It Important? In deciding whether infor-mation is relevant, historians also must figure out what information is essential, orimportant, and what is incidental, or unim-portant. The fact that the Egyptian female

ruler Hatshepsut was beautiful may or maynot have had any effect on Egypt’s foreigntrade. However, the fact that the Egyptianruler Tutankhamen came to the throne at 10years of age more than likely affected hisability to rule Egypt.

Is There Supporting Evidence? Anotherimportant task of the historian is to deter-mine whether information in a source is ver-ifiable. This means the historian must checkto see if the information can be proved byother evidence already known to be truthful.


Fact or Opinion? Suppose you were an histori-an researching the history of Rome. You discov-ered this information about the founding of thecity. What in this account might be fact? Whatmight be opinion?

Romulus and his twin brother Remus founded Romearound 753 B.C. Quarrels over the kingship of Romeled to the death of Remus. Romulus populatedRome with people fleeing harsh rule everywhere.After a long reign, the proud Romulus vanished in athunderstorm and became the god Quirinus.

The city of Rome at the height of the Roman Empire

Romulus and Remus


How Does aHistorian Work?


Research, Evidence, and Point of ViewHR4. Students assess the credibility of primary andsecondary sources and draw sound conclusionsfrom them.HR5. Students detect the historical points of viewon historical events and determine the context inwhich the historical statements were made (thequestions asked, sources used, author’s perspectives).

Where’s the Evidence Found? Historiansgenerally find evidence in primary sourcesand secondary sources. Primary sources arefirst-hand pieces of evidence from peoplewho saw or experienced the events described.They include written documents, such as let-ters, diaries, and official records. They alsoinclude spoken interviews, as well as objectssuch as photos, paintings, clothing, and tools.The skill “Analyzing Primary SourceDocuments” on page 538 will give you achance to work with written primary sources.

Secondary sources are often created longafter the events. Secondary sources are partial-ly based on primary sources. They includebiographies, encyclopedias, and historybooks—even this textbook!

Historians studysecondary sourcesfor background in-formation and for alarger view of anevent. However, toget new evidence,historians must turnto the first-handinformation foundonly in primarysources.

How Are Sources Examined? Historiansanalyze, or examine, primary and secondarysources. First, they determine who theauthor of a source is and what can be knownabout the author. Then historians considerwhere and when the source was created.Another important question asked by histo-rians is why a source was created. In whatcontext, or setting, did it appear? Was it a let-ter meant to be kept secret? Was it a govern-ment document published for all citizens toread? Historians also ask: To what audiencewas the source addressed? What is knownabout this audience? By answering thesequestions, historians gain insights into thepeople and events behind the source.

Scientist studying DeadSea Scrolls from south-west Asia

Ruins of Mayan temple in Central AmericaHead of a shovel,early China

Necklace,early India


Can the Sources Be Trusted? Historiansexamine sources for credibility, or truthfulness.This is because each source reflects a point ofview, or a general attitude about people andlife. The creator of a source has a point of viewthat selects what events were important andwhich people were key players. A point ofview is the particular focus a person takeswhen considering a problem or situation.

Being Aware of Bias Sometimes a writer’spoint of view is expressed as a bias, or anunreasoned judgment about people andevents. A bias is a one-sided, unexaminedview. A person who is biased has made ajudgment about an event, a person, or agroup without really considering the manyparts of the situation. Biased speakers andwriters can be detected in various ways.Their statements use emotional words likestupid, ignorant, and impossible, or great, andwonderful. They also tend to use words thatallow no exceptions, like always and never.

Finding a Balance Historians seek to uncov-er point of view and bias in historical docu-ments and articles. They look for the ideasand facts that the author of a source empha-sizes. They also think about what ideas andfacts the author might be leaving out.

To make sense of the past, historiansmust weigh the known evidence and try tofigure out what the facts are. Then they needto bring the facts together to answer thequestions that interest them. In doing this,they must use their judgment. This meanstheir own viewpoints come into play.

Historians try to be aware of point ofview and bias both in their sources and inthemselves. Therefore, they check newsources and their own ideas against sourcesalready known to be trustworthy. To get abalanced picture, historians study docu-ments that present other points of view.


The famous Greek historian Herodotus(hih·RAH·duh·tuhs) wrote History of the PersianWars. This is thought to be the first real historyin Western civilization. Herodotus described theconflict between the Greeks and the Persians asone between freedom and dictatorship. Here hetells of the Persian ruler’s address to Persiannobles:

“And truly I have pondered upon this, until at last Ihave found out a way whereby we may at once winglory, and likewise get possession of a land which isas large and as rich as our own . . . while at the sametime we obtain satisfaction and revenge . . . Myintent is to . . . march an army through Europeagainst Greece, that thereby I may obtainvengeance from the Athenians from the wrongscommitted by them against the Persians and againstmy father.”

—Herodotus,The Persian Wars, Book VII

Understanding Evidence Herodotus’s accountis considered a primary source about the PersianWars. Why? Would an account of the PersianWars written by a modern historian also be con-sidered a primary source? Explain.

Herodotus reading to a crowd

Herodotus


Making Sense of the Past


Historical InterpretationHI1. Students explain the central issues and prob-lems from the past, placing people and events in amatrix of time and place.HI2. Students understand and distinguish cause,effect, sequence, and correlation in historical events,including the long- and short-term causal relations.HI3. Students explain the sources of historical con-tinuity and how the combination of ideas andevents explains the emergence of new patterns.

Interpreting History You probably haveheard the phrase “The facts speak for them-selves.” Historians do not think facts aloneexplain history. Like pieces of a puzzle, thefacts have to be put together by people usingtheir reason in order to explain events.

In the same way, historians must use theirknowledge to give historical facts (dates,names, places, and events) meaning and putthem in an order that people can easilyunderstand. Historians piece together the

credible evidence and draw conclusions.They use their own thinking and knowledgeof the past to interpret, or explain, the mean-ing of events. Then, they present their find-ings in a clear, readable, and convincing form.

Providing a Setting Historians look at peo-ple and events of history in the matrix, orsetting, of time and space. They also connecthistorical people and events to centralissues. Central issues are main ideas, such aswar and peace, the rise of scientific inven-tions, and the forms of governments andsocieties. Through these links, historians cangrasp the whole picture or story.

Historians also sequence events, or placeevents in the order in which they occurred.Sequencing helps historians organize infor-mation. From the pattern of the data, theycan determine how events are related toeach other. The relationship among theseevents can help historians identify otherimportant ideas, such as historical impor-tance and cause and effect.

Hindu temple

Chinese students taking an exam

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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

Cause and Effect Historical events arelinked by cause and effect. A cause is whatmakes an event happen. The event that hap-pens as a result of the cause is known as aneffect. Historians look for cause-and-effectlinks to explain why 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 many historical eventsare related, cause-and-effect chains canbecome very long and include events over along period of time. The chart above showssuch a chain of events.

Change and Continuity Historians look atthe differences and similarities of events.History is a story of change. Therefore, histo-rians study how events greatly differ fromeach other. Some historical changes haveoccurred quickly. For example, in a few shortyears during the 330s B.C., Alexander theGreat conquered a huge empire that coveredparts of Europe, Africa, and Asia. Other

changes, such as the spread of Christianity inthe Roman Empire, took place more slowly.

While looking at historical changes, his-torians also search for continuity, or theunbroken patterns in history. They studyhow traditions and concerns link peopleacross time and place. For example, life inIndia today is affected by the Hindu religion,which is more than 3,000 years old. Also,passing exams was as important to studentsin early China as it is to students today.


1. 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?

2. Applying Cause and Effect Read anaccount of a recent event in your communityas reported in a local newspaper. Determine atleast one cause and effect of that event. Showthe cause-and-effect relationship in a chart.


Making Sense of the Past


Historical InterpretationHI4. Students recognize the role of chance, over-sight, and error in history.HI5. Students recognize that interpretations of his-tory are subject to change as new information isuncovered.HI6. Students interpret basic indicators of economic performance and conduct cost-benefitanalyses of economic and political issues.

Error and Chance in History History oftenhas been made by chance, oversight, orerror. For example, Christopher Columbusbelieved that his voyage in 1492 had broughthim to the East Indies, the islands off thecoast of Asia. Today the Caribbean islandsare often called the West Indies. Also, theNative Americans whom Columbus metcame to be called Indians.

Explorations after Columbus, however,made it clear that Columbus had notreached Asia at all. He had found a part ofthe globe unknown to Europeans, Asians,and Africans. In the following years, theSpanish explored most of the Caribbeanregion. In time their voyages led to the riseof the Spanish Empire in the Americas.

Mistakes have not only shaped historicalevents. They also have influenced peoples’understanding of the past. For example,Portuguese traders in the 1500s were the firstEuropeans to see the vast stone ruins of GreatZimbabwe in south central Africa. Theybelieved they had found the fabled capital ofthe Queen of Sheba mentioned in the Bible.Later travelers came to the conclusion that theruins were the work of Egyptians orPhoenicians. These incorrect views were held

for nearly 400 years. Then, British archaeolo-gists studying the ruins in the early 1900sproved that the ruins were built by a powerfulAfrican civilization. The people of this civiliza-tion were the ancestors of the Shona, a groupthat live in the country of Zimbabwe today.

Different Interpretations History is oftencalled an ongoing discussion about the past.Historians discuss what the facts are. Theyalso argue about how to interpret the facts.What causes these differences?

Despite the efforts of the best minds, somefacts are ambiguous, or not very clear tointerpret. What the facts mean often dependson the historian’s judgment. In addition, his-torians have different values and come to theevidence with different points of view. As aresult, historians often arrive at different

Alexander theGreat on his horse


interpretations of the same event. For exam-ple, some historians see Alexander the Greatas a skilled leader who brought order to thelands he conquered; others see Alexander asbrave, but cruel and reckless. It is, therefore,important to be able to carefully analyze ahistorian’s interpretation.

The discussion among historians alsocontinues because historians find new evi-dence that leads them to question old inter-pretations. Sometimes historians take a newlook at existing evidence and see things thatothers have ignored. As they do so, theymay correct an earlier historian’s mistake orexplain events differently.

The questions that historians ask reflectthe issues of the times in which they live. Asa result, there is never a final, complete ver-sion of history that satisfies everyone. Therewill always be new questions to ask of thepast, and historians will always ask thesequestions while they are writing history.

Economics and History Many historiansinvestigate economies, or the ways societiesproduce, sell, and buy goods. Statistics, ormathematical data, are scarce for theeconomies of long ago. However, statisticsfor modern economies are abundant and pro-vide historians with much information.Economists, or scientists who study econo-mies, have developed economic indicators tomeasure a modern economy’s performance.

Economic indicators are statistics that tellhow well an economy is doing and how wellthe economy is going to do in the future.They include the number of jobless, the rateat which prices rise over periods of time,and the amount of goods and services thatare made and sold.

Historians also analyze the costs andbenefits of economic and political issues.This analysis requires figuring out the costsof any historical action and comparing itwith the benefits of that action.


The Growth of Rome

Rome’s armies were victorious wherever theywent. They brought Roman ideas and practices tonew places. Yet problems were building at home.The use of enslaved labor from conquered landshurt farmers. Dishonest officials stole money, andthe gap between rich and poor grew. Citiesbecame overcrowded and dangerous.

Read the paragraph above about the growth ofRome. Then create a table like the one below. Inthe left column, write the costs brought byRome’s growth. In the right column, write thebenefits that came with this growth.

Roman soldiers

1 1

2 2

3 3

4 4

Costs Benefits


Links Across Time


Chronological and Spatial ThinkingCS1. Students explain how major events are relatedto one another in time.

Fighting todaybetweenPalestinians and Israelis

Unit 1 Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Israel

About 3500 B.C., some of the world’searliest civilizations developed inSouthwest Asia and North Africa. Forcenturies, people in these regions havefought over scarce land and water.Religious and ethnic differences alsohave led to wars.

Today, one of the fiercest andlongest conflicts has been betweenPalestinian Arabs and Israelis.Although many Palestinian Arabs andIsraelis support peace efforts, hatredand fears run deep on both sides.

Ancient warriors attack a walled city



As you read Journey Across Time: AncientCivilizations, notice how the past affects thepresent. When you begin each unit, collectnewspaper or magazine articles about a currentevent from the area you are studying. Then,after completing each unit, write down how youthink a past event in that region is related to thecurrent event.

Three Gorges Dam

Unit 2 India, China, and America

During ancient times, powerfultrading empires arose in India, China,and the Americas. These empires unit-ed a variety of peoples and spread newideas and products. In early China, apowerful ruler began the building ofthe Great Wall to keep out attackers.Today, modern China is building theThree Gorges Dam to provide electricpower for its growing cities.

Great Wall of China

Unit 3 The Greeks and the Romans

Ancient Greece and Rome helpedlay the foundations of Western civiliza-tion. Their peoples admired the deedsof heroes. The ancient Greeks held thefirst Olympic games about 776 B.C.Today the modern Olympics draw ath-letes from all over the world.

Ancient Greek athletes

Racers in modern Olympics