Humanity is many thousands of years old. All this time, our ancestors accumulated practical knowledge and experience, created household items and masterpieces of art. They made mistakes and made great discoveries. How can we learn about their lives? Can we take something useful for ourselves, so as not to make mistakes in the present?
Of course it's possible. Today there are many sciences that study material sources. Let's get into the details.
Definition and classification
So, material sources are all material objects that reflect various spheres of human life and activity. Everything that characterizes the historical process taking place now or in the past, be it inscriptions, the remains of household items or human remains, can carry invaluable information for researchers.
Thus, we have determined the broadest scope of this concept. Let's now deal with the classification for more order.
In the beginning, the picture was quite simple: the era of savagery, which was replaced by the time of the barbarians, and after - the emergence of civilization. However, such a harmonious classification was broken by the material sources of the Middle Ages. They are completely out of placewedged in after the amazing rise of the ancient states.
Today, researchers are increasingly inclined towards the following division of cultural monuments. There are three main groups (each of them has subsections):
- Material sources, examples of which will be given below.
- Pictorial monuments - drawings, photographs, symbols on coins and more.
- Verbal. They are divided into oral and written. The former are studied by ethnography.
Features of correct operation
Material sources are a wide variety of monuments, finds, references, songs and legends. How to deal with them and combine them into a system?
Such a task is beyond the power of one science or a group of people. To develop such an extensive direction in the development of society, several disciplines were created, which we will get to know later.
What methods are used when studying material sources? Let's start with the human factor. Any result is always issued through the prism of the worldview of the researcher or the author of the written document. Therefore, often scientists do not receive objective information, but only confirm or refute their guesses.
The main method in working with sources is the following: all conclusions are made only after studying the entire complex of finds, evidence, facts. You can't take anything out of context. The overall picture is shaped like a puzzle. Let's see what disciplines are engaged in such research.
Archaeology and Anthropology
These two scienceswork most closely with material sources. The first of them aims to understand the evolution of man and society, to study the process of formation of the main spheres of life from the beginning of centuries to the present day.
Anthropology deals with the study of man himself (races, traditions, culture and way of life). However, such a wide field of activity of this science exists mainly in the countries of the Western world. In the CIS, this knowledge covers several industries. In addition to anthropology, ethnography and archeology are involved here.
Specifically, this science, in our understanding, deals more with evolution and temporal-spatial differences in the physical type of a person. So, let's take it one by one.
Archaeology is a science that studies material historical sources. Her area of interest includes several research groups:
- Settlements (this also includes dwellings). They are divided into fortified (often called settlements) and unfortified (villages). These can be cities and fortresses, camps and agricultural or craft settlements, army camps and fortified castles.
Most of these monuments are static, they are constantly (and were) in one place. However, campsites and other temporary settlements often do not have the same location. Therefore, their discovery is mostly a matter of chance.
- Hill forts are usually discovered by the remains of ramparts and walls. In general, most of the work of an archaeologist takes place in the archive. Here is information in various written sources - from legends and epics to scientific intelligence reports. Stories, by the way, play a significant role. Troy was discovered by Heinrich Schliemann precisely because he followed Homer's Iliad exactly.
- The next place where material sources of history are well preserved, oddly enough, are burials. Under a layer of earth in the dry regions of the planet, some objects can lie for thousands of years and retain their shape. Wetter areas will of course destroy many materials. However, for example, some types of wood become petrified in water.
So, in the graves, archaeologists find not only household items of ancient people, but also various elements that speak of beliefs, rituals, the social structure of society, and so on.
- Also, the monuments include ritual places (sanctuaries, temples) and workshops. If you know how to interpret the finds, you can get a lot of interesting and important information.
- The last, but no less important complex is chance finds. Everything - from treasures to an accidentally lost button - can tell a professional researcher about the past.
As we have already seen, most of the knowledge about ancient societies is material. Sources of information on the history of mankind do not always reach our time intact, so archaeologists and anthropologists often have to seek help from restorers who help them restore the original appearance of objects.
Ethnography
In the Soviet era, it was a separate science, but today it is more often considered a component of anthropology. She isstudies (more precisely, describes) the peoples of the world. The data with which anthropology works are not only material sources. Examples of intangible monuments are songs and oral stories. In many tribes, there is simply no written language, and such information is passed from parents to children by word of mouth.
Therefore, ethnographers often work not as researchers, but as collectors and keepers of various traditions of the peoples of the world. If you look at the records of the Spaniards and Portuguese of the 15th and 16th centuries, you will be surprised. Very many described things and phenomena no longer exist.
Tribes are destroyed, assimilated (which means that one of the original cultures disappears). As a result of globalization, differences between peoples are blurred. Even languages can disappear. And if they were not recorded, then no one else will ever know about them.
What does ethnography offer us? What are the material sources? Photos, audio recordings of songs, videos of rituals, written records of various spheres of people's life - all this is studied and compared.
Such descriptions began to be made a very long time ago, but in the ancient world they were more like fairy tales with an incredible amount of conjecture. And only in the late Middle Ages, researchers appear who compare the life of ancient people and the life of distant tribes, for example, Indians, Australian Aborigines, Bushmen and other hunter gatherers.
It turns out that by observing the life of peoples standing at the stage of "pre-civilization" in its modern sense, we can find out what relations were like in the Stone, Copper, Bronze, Iron Ages.
An important point is that at school with children they analyze material sources (examples). Grade 5 is the time to study the traditions of your people and gradually move on to general information about the development of humanity.
Epigraphics
The second largest material from which we can draw knowledge about ancient people is written and drawn material sources - pictures, annals, memoirs, clay tablets, petroglyphs, hieroglyphs, birch bark.
It is possible to list the ways that mankind used to save information for a long time. Without them, we would not have the slightest idea of the events of the past. This can be said with complete confidence, since archaeological finds simply cannot give as much information as is contained in one, even the shortest note.
One of the oldest studies that have come down to us is the widely known "History" of Herodotus. It dates from the fifth century BC. Gaius Julius Caesar wrote one of the first memoirs. Their name is "Notes on the Gallic War".
But in general, biographies and memoirs are more characteristic of the Renaissance.
Of course, written monuments are very rich in information, but there are also disadvantages.
Firstly, the data in them relate to five thousand years of human history at most. What was before is either not fixed or not deciphered.
Second - tendentiousness and special attention to the upper strata while almost completely ignoring the common people.
Third - the bulk of the ancient texts are known to us in the formtranslations and transcribed copies. Unit originals. In addition, new receipts are not to be expected. But people regularly discover archaeological material sources.
The complex of sciences that study written monuments includes various disciplines. The first thing worth mentioning is paleography. She collects and deciphers ancient alphabets, fonts, and ways of writing. In general, without her efforts, scientists would not be able to work with texts with high quality.
The next science is numismatics. She works with inscriptions on coins and banknotes (subsection - bonistics). Papyrology is the study of information contained in papyrus scrolls.
However, household inscriptions are considered the most reliable. They are short and contain no boasting or exaggeration.
Thus, we discussed with you the sciences that study material sources, what they are, what types of monuments exist, how they work. Next, let's talk about materials related to the three most striking eras in the history of mankind - Ancient Greece, Rome and the Middle Ages.
Written sources of Ancient Greece
As we said above, information about the past is contained in many artifacts. However, the most informative are the inscriptions or records.
The period of antiquity in general and Ancient Greece in particular are marked by the emergence of scientists and researchers. The beginnings of most of the sciences that are successfully developing today are rooted in this era.
So, what material sources of the history of Hellas do we know?We will talk directly about household items a little later, and now we will plunge into the world of ancient Greek literature.
The most ancient are the records of Hecateus of Miletus. He was a logographer, describing the history and culture of his city and the neighboring cities he traveled through. The second explorer known to us was Hellanicus of Mytilene. His works have come down to us in fragmentary records and do not carry much historical value. In the works of logographers, legends and fiction are often intertwined with reality, and it is difficult to separate them.
The first reliable historian was Herodotus. In the 5th century BC, he wrote the multi-volume work "History". He made an attempt to explain why the war between the Persians and the Greeks began. To do this, he turns to the history of all the peoples that were part of these empires.
Thucydides was second in chronological order. In his works, he tried to highlight the causes, course and consequences of the Peloponnesian War. The merit of this Greek is that he did not turn to "divine providence" to explain the reasons for what was happening, like Herodotus. He traveled to memorable places, policies, talked with participants and eyewitnesses, which made it possible to write a truly scientific work.
Thus, written material sources are not only hypotheses, ideological intrigues or political propaganda. Among them, there are often solid works.
Next, we will consider the archaeological sites of this era.
Material culture of Hellas
Today, the study of ancient states occupies one of the leading placesamong fields of study in archaeology. Many universities began to study Greece at the end of the 19th century, and today there are entire schools in the Balkans dedicated to the development of methods and in-depth research.
Over this century, vast experience and factual material has been accumulated on the history of the Balkan policies, such as Delphi, Athens, Sparta, the islands and the Malaysian coast (Pergamum, Troy, Miletus).
Russian scientists have been studying the colony cities of the northern Black Sea region since the times of the Russian Empire. The most famous cities are Olbia, Panticapaeum, Tauric Chersonese, Tanais and others.
Over the years of research, a lot of material has been accumulated - coins, jewelry, weapons, inscriptions on hard material (stone, clay, gems), remains of structures, etc.
All these material sources on the history of ancient Greece allow us to imagine the way of life, life, activities of the Hellenes. We know about hunting and feasting because such scenes were often depicted on vessels. By the coins one can judge the appearance of some rulers, the coats of arms of cities, the relationship between policies.
Seals and inscriptions on vessels, houses, things also tell a lot about that era.
Finds related to the ancient world (Egypt, ancient states, Mesopotamia) are one of the most beautiful. After the fall of Rome, an era of decline began, when beauty was no longer valued, so the beginning of the Middle Ages was marked by coarser things.
Next we will talk about one of the strongest states of the ancient world -Roman Empire.
Written sources of Ancient Rome
If the Greeks were more inclined towards philosophy, reflection, study, then the Romans aspired to military victories, conquests and holidays. No wonder the saying "bread and circuses" (namely, they were demanded by the plebs from the emperors) has survived to this day.
So, this harsh and warlike people left us numerous material sources. These are cities and roads, household items and weapons, coins and jewelry. But all this would not have given even a hundredth of what we know about Rome, if not for the written monuments of culture.
We have a variety of material at our disposal, so researchers can thoroughly familiarize themselves with most facets of Roman life.
The first surviving records tell about weather conditions, crops. They also contain laudatory hymns of the priests. In general, materials relating to early history and which have come down to us are presented in poetic form.
Publius Scivolla wrote the "Great Annals" of eighty books. Polybius and Diodorus Siculus were noted for their works of forty volumes. But Titus Livius surpassed all. He wrote the history of the city of Rome from its foundation to its present day. This work resulted in 142 books.
Orators and poets, generals and philosophers - all tried to leave a memory of themselves for posterity.
Today, in almost all social spheres, you can discover the influence that Roman materialsources. Examples relate to the field of law, medicine, military affairs, etc.
Monuments of the material culture of Ancient Rome
No less fascinating material are archaeological finds made in all parts of the once huge empire. The space from the Atlantic Ocean to the east to Central Asia, Europe and North Africa - all this was once within the borders of one state.
Material sources on the history of Ancient Rome illustrate to us the era of great achievements, conquests and no less promiscuity, especially in large cities.
Thanks to the finds, it became known that Italy was inhabited since the Paleolithic. Pile settlements and sites with stone tools leave no doubt about this.
An equally interesting layer of the pre-Roman period is the era of the Etruscans. A rather highly developed culture, the carriers of which were subsequently conquered and assimilated by the Romans.
Gold plates with texts say that the Etruscans maintained peaceful relations with the Greek cities and Carthage.
The Roman Forum, roads and aqueducts are still breathtaking, what can we say about the time when they were not in ruins?!
This is only a part of what material sources reveal to us about the past.
The most famous monument is undoubtedly Pompeii. The city died overnight due to the eruption of Vesuvius, which is located nearby. Thanks to many tons of ash, scientists have discovered the well-preserved remains of the inhabitants and the stunning interiors of Roman manors. They just faded the colors a bit!Today you can stroll through the streets of the ancient city, plunge headlong into the atmosphere of that time.
Medieval sources
These are the "dark" centuries, during which humanity recovered from the decline after the fall of ancient states.
Material sources of the Middle Ages can be divided into several groups.
The first includes, undoubtedly, the largest and most noticeable - cities, defensive structures, fortresses.
Followed by monuments that carry a lot of information, namely, written evidence of the era. These include annals, annals, musical notations of hymns, decrees of rulers and working documentation of artisans, merchants, etc.
However, the material sources of the Middle Ages are not as numerous as we would like. About the fifth - ninth centuries, there are practically no written references. We get most of the information about this time from legends and tales.
Humid climate, low level of production, the actual return to the primitive communal system have done their job. The finds look terrifying if we compare ancient monuments and material sources of the Middle Ages. Photos of museum exhibits confirm this fact.
The peculiarity of the era was that the peoples who inhabited the outskirts of the Roman Empire were illiterate. They passed on their customs from their grandfathers to their grandchildren orally. Records at that time were kept mainly by descendants of noble patricians or monks, oftenin Latin or Greek. National languages break into books only at the end of this period.
We do not have all the information about the social status of the tribes of the early Middle Ages. Neither technology, nor social life, nor class structure, nor worldview - nothing can be fully restored.
Basically, according to the finds, it turns out to deal only with beliefs, military and craft spheres. Only three of these areas illuminate the found material sources of the Middle Ages. Examples include stories, legends, named weapons and tools, and burials.
In the article, we figured out such a difficult concept as monuments of material culture, got acquainted with the sciences that study such finds, and also considered several examples from two historical periods.
