Tertiary sources of history

What Are Primary Sources?

Primary sources are original materials used by historians to reconstruct a certain event in the past or moment in history.
They are original documents, physical objects, relics, or artifacts created during the time under study by witnesses who lived through the event.

These sources were either produced at the time of the event, or (as in the case of memoirs and autobiographies) published at a later date.

The following are only a few examples of primary sources and are by no means exhaustive:

1. Original documents such as letters, diaries, manuscripts, official documents, maps, pictures, and original film footage.

   Examples:  the original Constitution of the United States, an original treaty between two states, diaries of travelers who document their journeys and experiences on the road, maps of cities or first-hand descriptions of battles.

2. Relics and artifacts such as arrowheads, pottery shards, remains of buildings, clo