Think As Historian: THINK AS A HISTORIAN: SOURCING AND SITUATION IN PRIMARY SOURCES

Historical evidence comes from many sources, including such primary sources as ruins and eyewitness accounts in diaries and letters as well as secondary sources created later based on information from primary sources and other secondary sources. While they all might be “truthful,” each has a perspective, or point of view, that might color the interpretation of events and experiences. To evaluate historical evidence, identify a source’s point of view, purpose, historical situation, and/or audience. Ask the following questions:

• Who created this evidence?

• What might be unique about his or her point of view?

• For what purpose was the source created?

• For whom and in what situation was it created?

• How did people use it at the time?

The answers to these questions will help you determine what strengths and limitations a source may have in interpreting history.

Reread the excerpt from Marco Polo and Ibn Battuta: The Merchant and the Pilgrim on page 117. Then answer each of the questions above for both Marco Polo’s reports and those of Ibn Battuta as described by the writer. Identify a possible strength and possible limitation in each report for representing an accurate picture of historical conditions.