What does the mantra no document no history mean?
“No documents, no history,” one said. In this century the notion of a document has been enormously expanded so that any artifact surviving from the past can serve as the answer to some historian’s question.
Do you believe by what Teodoro Agoncillo said that no documents means no history?
No document,” declared the late nationalist historian Teodoro A. Agoncillo, “no history!” Historians work with documents because history, as we know it today, is largely based on written records. This explains why prehistory, often associated with dinosaurs and cavemen, covers the period before written records.
What is your stand on no document no history mantra of the traditional historians?
Traditional historians lived with the mantra of “no document, no history.” IT IS THE RECORD OF THE PAST MADE AVAILABLE FOR THE PRESENT documented record of man and his society Unless a written document can prove a certain historical event, then it cannot be considered as a historical fact.
Who believe in mantra no document no history?
In Europe, in the 19th century, a famous German historian Leopold Van Ranke says that “no document, no history”. No document, there is no history, Ranke claims that in the modern world, the elements of myth in a historical source should be reduced.
Do you agree in the mantra no document no history?
Traditional historians lived with the mantra “no document no history.” It means that a written document can prove a certain historical event, and then it cannot be considered as a historical fact. History’s object of study is the past, the events that happened in the past, and the causes of such events .
Do you agree with Teodoro Agoncillo said about history?
I remember Agoncillo when I was asked to comment on the present or the future with the past because he said: « History is about the past, not the future. We use history to avoid the mistakes of the past, not to recreate the same events.
How do we know if history is true?
Examining evidence, even if there are pieces of conflicting evidence, is key in determining whether an event, a document, a relic, and artifact helps a historian, or for that matter a person, learn what actually happened.
How do we study history if we have no written record?
But if there were historians in Blombos Cave, they relied mainly on their memory for the stories of the past, because there were no written records. We know from studies of modern foraging societies that people who cannot write down information rely on such “oral tradition,” and develop powerful ways of remembering.
How related is the mantra no document no history on the experiences that you have encountered?
Traditional historians lived with the mantra “no document no history.” It means that a written document can prove a certain historical event, and then it cannot be considered as a historical fact.