ARTH 333 - Egyptian Art and Archaeology

Anubis and the Weighing of the Heart [from the “Papyrus of Hunifer”], Circa 1310 BCE, Thebes, JSTOR

• Primary Sources are firsthand accounts of an event or occurrence, documented by the creator, author or witnesses. Primary sources vary widely in format but are mainly characterized as original materials such as: archives, manuscripts, artifacts, Ephemera, objects, diaries, photographs, newspaper reports, research data, pamphlets, oral histories, and books (memoirs and autobiographies). 
• Secondary Sources describe, interpret or analyze information obtained from other sources (often primary sources).
• Tertiary Sources compile and summarize secondary resources. Examples include Bibliographies and Encyclopedias. 

Evaluating Primary Resources

Primary sources are invaluable tools for understanding how and why events took place. When analyzing primary sources here are a few questions to ask:

• Who created the source and why? For whom was the source created?
• What information does the source supply? Under what circumstances was the source created? How would this influence the content of the source? Was the source meant to be public or private? What did the creator hope to accomplish by writing the source?

A facsimile is an exact copy of a book, manuscript, or other item of historical value that has been produced to appear as true to the original source as possible. Facsimiles are often accompanied by a volume of commentary which could provide information about the digitization process, an interpretation of illustrations and illuminations. Many facsimiles in the collection are produced in limited editions and range from partial facsimiles to high-quality reproductions that exhibit corresponding holes from the original, gold leafing, gilded edges, sewing structures and materials true to the original. Facsimiles attempt to replicate the source material as accurately as possible in terms of scale, color, condition, and existing pages from the original source.