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{{Short description|Historical narrative based on a written record or other documented communication}}
{{Human history}}
{{use dmy dates|date=April 2017}}
[[File:Santorini Museum Prehistoric Thera Linear A.jpg|thumb|right|325px|[[Linear A]] etched on tablets found in Akrotiri, [[Santorini]]]]
[[File:Palenque glyphs.jpg|thumb|Palenque Glyphs that has a total of 92 glyphs on the tablet]]

'''Recorded history''' or '''written history''' is a [[History|historical narrative]] based on a written record or other documented communication. It contrasts with other narratives of the past, such as [[myth]]ological, [[Oral history|oral]] or [[Archaeological record|archeological]] traditions.

For broader [[world history]], recorded [[history]] begins with the accounts of the [[Ancient history|ancient world]] around the [[4th millennium BCE]], and coincides with the [[History of writing#Inventions of writing|invention of writing]]. For some geographic regions or cultures, written history is limited to a relatively recent period in human history because of the limited use of written records. Moreover, human cultures do not always record all of the information relevant to 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 on [[historical method]], or the set of techniques and guidelines by which historians use [[primary source]]s and other evidence to research and then to write accounts of the past. The question of the nature, and even the possibility of an effective method for interpreting recorded history, is raised in the [[philosophy of history]] as a question of [[epistemology]]. The study of different historical methods is known as [[historiography]], which focuses on examining how different interpreters of recorded history create different interpretations of historical evidence.

== Prehistory ==
{{Further|History of writing}}

[[Prehistory]] traditionally refers to the span of time before recorded history, ending with the invention of [[writing systems]].<ref name="Shotwell1922">Shotwell, James Thomson. An Introduction to the History of History. Records of civilization, sources and studies. New York: Columbia University Press, 1922.</ref> 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 of [[literacy]] in a society but before the writings of the first [[historians]]. Protohistory may also refer to the period during which a [[culture]] or [[civilization]] has not yet developed writing, but other cultures have noted its existence in their own writings.

More complete writing systems were preceded by [[proto-writing]]. Early examples are the [[Jiahu symbols]] (c. 6600 BCE), [[Vinča signs]] (c. 5300 BCE), early [[Indus script]] (c. 3500 BCE) and [[Nsibidi]] script (c. before 500 CE). There is disagreement concerning exactly when prehistory becomes history, and when proto-writing became "true writing".<ref>Smail, Daniel Lord. On Deep History and the Brain. An Ahmanson foundation book in the humanities. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2008.</ref> However, invention of the first writing systems is roughly contemporary with the beginning of the [[Bronze Age]] in the late [[Neolithic]] of the late [[4th millennium BCE]]. The [[Sumerian language|Sumerian]] archaic [[cuneiform (script)|cuneiform script]] and the [[Egyptian 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 about [[26th century BC|2600 BCE]].

==Historical accounts==
{{main|Historiography#The history of written history|l1=Historiography – The history of written history}}

The earliest [[Chronology|chronologies]] date back to the earliest civilizations of [[Early Dynastic Period (Egypt)|Early Dynastic Period Egypt]], [[Mesopotamia]] and the [[Sumer]]ians,<ref>{{cite web|title= The Cuneiform Writing System in Ancient Mesopotamia: Emergence and Evolution|url= http://edsitement.neh.gov/lesson-plan/cuneiform-writing-system-ancient-mesopotamia-emergence-and-evolution|publisher= EDSITEment|access-date= 16 December 2013}}</ref> which emerged independently of each other from roughly 3500 BCE.<ref>{{cite web|last= Kott|first= Ruth E.|title= The origins of writing|url= http://magazine.uchicago.edu/1102/features/the_origins_of_writing.shtml|publisher= The University of Chicago Magazine|access-date= 16 December 2013}}</ref> Earliest recorded history, which varies greatly in quality and reliability, deals with [[Pharaoh]]s and their [[List of pharaohs|reigns]], as preserved by [[ancient Egypt]]ians.<ref>{{cite book|last= Adès|first= Harry|title= A Traveller's History of Egypt|date= 2007|publisher= [[Interlink Publishing]]|isbn= 978-1566566544|page= [https://archive.org/details/travellershistor0000ades/page/28 28]|url= https://archive.org/details/travellershistor0000ades/page/28}}</ref> Much of the earliest recorded history was re-discovered relatively recently due to [[archaeological site|archaeological dig sites]] findings.<ref>{{cite book|last= Greer|first= Thomas H.|title= A Brief History of the Western World|date= 2004|publisher= [[Cengage Learning]]|isbn= 978-0534642365|page= 16}}</ref> A number of different traditions have developed in different parts of the world as to how to interpret these ancient accounts.

===Europe===
[[Dionysius of Halicarnassus]] knew of seven predecessors of [[Herodotus]], including [[Hellanicus of Lesbos]], [[Xanthus of Lydia]] and [[Hecataeus 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 – {{circa}} 425 BCE)<ref name="lamberg-karlovsky-p5">{{cite book |title= Ancient Civilizations: The Near East and Mesoamerica |author= Lamberg-Karlovsky, C. C. |author2= Jeremy A. Sabloff |name-list-style= amp |publisher= Benjamin-Cummings Publishing |date= 1979 |page= 5|isbn= 0-88133-834-6}}</ref> has generally been acclaimed as the "father of history" composing his [[Histories (Herodotus)|''The Histories'']] from the 450s to the 420s BCE. However, his contemporary [[Thucydides]] (c. 460 BCE – c. 400 BCE) is credited{{by whom|date=September 2019}} with having first approached history with a well-developed historical method in his work the ''[[History 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.<ref name="lamberg-karlovsky-p5" /> History developed as a popular form of literature in later Greek and Roman societies in the works of [[Polybius]], [[Tacitus]] and others.

[[Augustine of Hippo|Saint Augustine]] was influential in [[Western Christianity|Christian]] and [[Western thought]] at the beginning of the medieval period. Through the Medieval and [[Renaissance]] periods, history was often studied through a [[sacred history|sacred]] or religious perspective. Around 1800, German philosopher and historian [[Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel]] brought [[philosophy]] and a more [[secular]] approach into historical study.<ref name="graham-ch1">{{cite book |title= The Shape of the Past |author= Graham, Gordon |publisher= [[Oxford University]] |date= 1997 |chapter= Chapter 1}}</ref>

[[File:Sumerian 26th c Adab.jpg|thumbnail|[[Sumerian language|Sumerian]] inscription in monumental archaic style, c. 26th century BCE]] According to [[John Tosh]], "From the [[High Middle Ages]] (c.1000–1300) onwards, the written word survives in greater abundance than any other source for Western history."<ref name="Tosh59">Tosh, ''The Pursuit of History'', 90.</ref> 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 or [[great men theory|great 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 a [[social science]] rather than as an [[art]], which traditionally had been the case. French historians associated with the [[Annales School]] introduced quantitative history, using raw data to track the lives of typical individuals, and were prominent in the establishment of cultural history.

===East Asia===
The ''[[Zuo zhuan]]'', attributed to [[Zuo Qiuming]] in the 5th century BCE covers the period from 722 to 468 BCE in a narrative form. The [[Book of Documents]] is one of the [[Five Classics]] of [[Chinese classic texts]] and one of the earliest narratives of China. The ''[[Spring and Autumn Annals]]'', the official chronicle of the [[Lu (state)|State of Lu]] covering the period from 722 to 481 BCE, is arranged on [[Annals|annalistic]] principles. It is traditionally attributed to [[Confucius]] (551–479 BCE). ''[[Zhan Guo Ce]]'' was a renowned ancient Chinese historical compilation of sporadic materials on the [[Warring 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 the ''[[Records 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 the [[Han dynasty#Eastern Han|Eastern Han dynasty]] era.

===South Asia===
In Sri Lanka, the oldest historical text is the [[Mahavamsa]] ({{circa}} 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 the [[Mahanama of Anuradhapura]] while [[Dhatusena of Anuradhapura]] was ruling the [[Anuradhapura Kingdom]]. It was written based on prior ancient compilations known as the ''[[Atthakatha]]'', which were commentaries written in Sinhala.{{sfn|Oldenberg|1879|p=}}{{Page needed|date=February 2016}} An earlier document known as the ''[[Dipavamsa]]'' (4th century CE) "Island Chronicles" is much simpler and contains less information than the ''Mahavamsa'' and was probably compiled using the ''Atthakatha'' on the ''Mahavamsa'' as well.

A companion volume, the ''[[Culavamsa]]'' "Lesser Chronicle", compiled by [[Sinhalese people|Sinhala]] monks, covers the period from the 4th century to the [[British Empire|British]] takeover of Sri Lanka in 1815. The ''Culavamsa'' was compiled by a number of authors of different time periods.

The combined work, sometimes referred to collectively as the ''Mahavamsa'', provides a continuous historical record of over two millennia, and is considered one of the world's longest unbroken historical accounts.<ref>{{cite book|editor1-last=Tripāṭhī|editor1-first=Śrīdhara|title=Encyclopaedia of Pali Literature: The Pali canon |volume=1 |date=2008|publisher=Anmol|isbn=9788126135608|page=117}}</ref> It is one of the few documents containing material relating to the [[Naga people (Lanka)|Nāga]] and [[Yaksha|Yakkha people]]s, indigenous inhabitants of [[Lanka]] prior to the legendary arrival of Prince Vijaya from Singha Pura of Kalinga.

The [[Sangam 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 era ''[[Ainkurunuru]]'' poem 202 is one of the earliest mentions of "pigtail of [[Brahmin]] boys".{{sfn|Kamil Zvelebil|1973|p=51}} These poems also allude to historical incidents, ancient Tamil kings, the effect of war on loved ones and households.<ref name="Zvelebil1992p12">{{cite book|author=Kamil Zvelebil|title=Companion Studies to the History of Tamil Literature|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qAPtq49DZfoC |year=1992|publisher=BRILL Academic|isbn=90-04-09365-6|pages=51–56}}</ref> The ''[[Pattinappalai]]'' poem in the [[Ten Idylls]] group, for example, paints a description of the [[Chola Kingdom|Chola]] capital, the king [[Karikala]], 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 god [[Murugan]] and the monasteries of Buddhism and Jainism.

[[Indica (Megasthenes)|Indica]] is an account of [[Maurya]]n India by the Greek writer [[Megasthenes]]. The original book is now lost, but its fragments have survived in later Greek and Latin works. The earliest of these works are those by [[Diodorus Siculus]], [[Strabo]] (''[[Geographica]]''), [[Pliny the Younger|Pliny]], and [[Arrian]] (''[[Indica (Arrian)|Indica]]'').<ref name="US_2008">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H3lUIIYxWkEC&pg=PA381 |title=A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India |author=Upinder Singh |publisher=Pearson Education India |year=2008 |isbn=9788131711200 |pages=324 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RlCUBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA62 |title=Greek Buddha: Pyrrho's Encounter with Early Buddhism in Central Asia |author = Christopher I. Beckwith |author-link = Christopher I. Beckwith |publisher=Princeton University Press |year=2015 |isbn= 9781400866328 |page=62 }}</ref>

===West Asia===
In the preface to his book, the ''[[Muqaddimah]]'' (1377), the [[Historiography of early Islam|Arab historian]] and [[Sociology in medieval Islam|early 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 criticized "idle [[superstition]] and uncritical acceptance of historical data." As a result, he introduced a [[scientific method]] to the study of history, and he often referred to it as his "new science".<ref>[[Ibn Khaldun]], Franz Rosenthal, N. J. Dawood (1967), ''The Muqaddimah: An Introduction to History'', p. x, [[Princeton University Press]], {{ISBN|0-691-01754-9}}.</ref> His historical method also laid the groundwork for the observation of the role of [[State (polity)|state]], [[communication]], [[propaganda]] and [[systematic bias]] in history,<ref name=Mowlana>H. Mowlana (2001). "Information in the Arab World", ''Cooperation South Journal'' '''1'''.</ref> and he is thus considered to be the "father of historiography"<ref>Salahuddin Ahmed (1999). ''A Dictionary of Muslim Names''. C. Hurst & Co. Publishers. {{ISBN|1-85065-356-9}}.</ref><ref name=Enan>{{Cite book|title= Ibn Khaldun: His Life and Works|first= Muhammed Abdullah|last= Enan|publisher= [[The Other Press]]|date= 2007|isbn= 978-983-9541-53-3|page= v}}</ref> or the "father of the philosophy of history".<ref name=Akhtar>
Dr. S. W. Akhtar (1997). "The Islamic Concept of Knowledge", ''Al-Tawhid: A Quarterly Journal of Islamic Thought & Culture'' '''12''' (3).
</ref>

==Methods of recording history==
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 through [[photography]], [[audio recording]]s, and [[video recording]]s. More recently, [[Web archive|Internet archives]] have been saving copies of webpages, documenting the history of the [[Internet]]. 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 preserve [[oral history]] by recording it. Until the 2000s this was done using [[analogue recording]] methods such as [[Compact Cassette|cassettes]] and [[reel-to-reel tape]]s. With the onset of new technologies, there are now [[digital recording]]s, which may be recorded to compact disks.<ref>{{cite web|title=Preserving Oral History Recordings|url=http://www.nla.gov.au/openpublish/index.php/nlasp/article/viewArticle/1034/1302|publisher=National Library of Australia|access-date=16 December 2013|author=Colin Webb|author2=Kevin Bradley |archive-url=https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20080619153700/http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/21336/20080620-0137/www.nla.gov.au/nla/staffpaper/cwebb4.html|archive-date=19 June 2008|url-status=live|date=1997}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> 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.<ref name=Tosh-58-59>Tosh, ''The Pursuit of History'' 58-59</ref>

===Historical method===
The [[historical method]] comprises the techniques and guidelines by which [[historian]]s use [[primary source]]s and other evidence to research and then to [[historiography|write 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.<ref name="primary source guide">{{cite web |author = User Education Services |title = Primary, Secondary and Tertiary Sources |url = http://www.lib.umd.edu/ues/guides/primary-sources |publisher = University of Maryland Libraries |access-date=10 July 2013 |url-status=dead|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130703015116/http://www.lib.umd.edu/ues/guides/primary-sources |archive-date=3 July 2013 |df=dmy-all }}</ref><ref>[http://www.library.jcu.edu.au/LibraryGuides/primsrcs.shtml "Library Guides: Primary, secondary and tertiary sources"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050212093611/http://www.library.jcu.edu.au/LibraryGuides/primsrcs.shtml |date=12 February 2005 }}</ref> These types of sources can provide researchers with, as Dalton and Charnigo put it, "direct, unmediated information about the object of study."<ref>{{cite journal
|last1=Dalton
|first1=Margaret Steig
|last2=Charnigo
|first2=Laurie
|title = Historians and Their Information Sources
|url = https://crl.acrl.org/index.php/crl/article/viewFile/15685/17131
|page=416 n.3
|journal=College & Research Libraries
|date=September 2004
}}, citing U.S. Dept. of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics (2003), ''Occupational Outlook Handbook''; {{cite book
|last=Lorenz
|first=Chris
|contribution = History: Theories and Methods
|volume=10
|page=6871
|editor1=Neil J. Smelser
|editor2=Paul B. Bates
|title = International Encyclopedia of Social and Behavioral Sciences
|publisher=Elsevier
|location=Amsterdam
|year = 2001
}}</ref>

Historians use other types of sources to understand history as well. [[Secondary source]]s 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 source]]s 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.<ref name="primary source guide" /><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.lib.odu.edu/libassist/tutorials/nursing/glossary.html | title=Glossary, Using Information Resources | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080828123138/http://www.lib.odu.edu/libassist/tutorials/nursing/glossary.html | archive-date=28 August 2008 | df=dmy-all }} ("Tertiary Source" is defined as "reference material that synthesizes work already reported in primary or secondary sources")</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.library.jcu.edu.au/LibraryGuides/primsrcs.shtml | title=Library Guides: Primary, secondary and tertiary sources | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050212093611/http://www.library.jcu.edu.au/LibraryGuides/primsrcs.shtml | archive-date=12 February 2005 | df=dmy-all }}</ref>

== See also ==
{{portal|History}}
* [[Big History]]
* [[Source text]]

== References ==
=== Citations ===
{{Reflist}}

=== Sources ===
; Works cited
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book |last = Oldenberg |first = Hermann |title = Dipavamsa |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=K1lCQT_-k6MC&pg=PA8 |year = 1879 |publisher = Asian Educational Services |isbn = 978-81-206-0217-5 }}
* {{cite book |title = The Pursuit of History |first = John |last = Tosh |isbn = 9781405823517 |edition = 4th |publisher = Pearson Longamn |year =2006 }}
{{refend}}

== Further reading ==
* {{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5Zr9_3shoQQC | title=The 50 Most Significant Individuals in Recorded History | publisher=Inklings Press | author=Russo, Stan | date=2005 | isbn=0975912992}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Recorded History}}
[[Category:World history]]
[[Category:History of writing]]

Recorded history - Revision history

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