The New Childrens Encyclopedia

TALES FROM THE PAST

HISTORY AND POLITICS

u DOMESDAY BOOK In

1086, King William I of England

commissioned a survey of every

estate and village in the country.

u SOLDIER’S JOURNAL

The diary of a US infantry

soldier tells of his life during

the Civil War (1861–65).

u ANNE FRANK’S DIARY Between

1942 and 1944, a young Dutch Jewish

girl wrote a diary while in a secret

annex, hiding from the German Gestapo.

Since ancient times, official records of
births, marriages, and deaths, census
results, and tax records have been kept.

Many eyewitness accounts and

inscriptions have recorded important

events and the lives of famous people.

Other sources are the diaries and

personal letters of ordinary people

living through extraordinary events.

Old photographs Since the

mid-1800s, photography has

become increasingly popular.

Photos provide a visual

source to historians studying

the lives of people. Since

recorded sound was

developed, historians can also

study oral accounts of people

talking about their lives and

reactions to events.

Early 1900s

folding roll-film

camera

Caterpillar tractor

used in France in the1920s

New technology Advances

in technology have provided

historians with lots more

information about artifacts.

Radio-carbon dating, X-rays,

and thermal scans can reveal

previously unknown details.

TAKE A LOOK: WRITTEN SOURCES

An X-ray of an Egyptian mummy

d AT WORK AND PLAY

Photographs show the way of life

and the changes in clothing styles

and in technology, tools,

and machines.

d X-RAY EXAMINATIONS

A medical X-ray of a 3,000 year

old Egyptian mummy may reveal

how the person died or more about

the process of mummification.