Sources, Historical Method and Map Work
What this domain tests
How historians select, verify and interpret evidence, and how maps locate historical sites and events. Questions ask you to classify sources, identify bias and place Harappan sites, Ashokan edicts, Sultanate and Mughal monuments, and 1857 centres correctly.
Core concepts
- Source types: primary (inscriptions, coins, manuscripts, diaries, official records) and secondary (later histories, textbooks).
- Auxiliary sciences: epigraphy, numismatics, archaeology, palaeography and oral history.
- Method: external criticism (authenticity, date, provenance) and internal criticism (meaning, bias, reliability); corroboration across independent sources.
- Map work: locate Harappan sites, Ashokan edicts, Sanchi, Ajanta, Delhi, Panipat, Pune and 1857 centres.
Worked example
Question: How would you use a Satavahana coin as historical evidence? Reasoning: first record its legend, metal, weight, mint and find-spot. The legend may name a ruler; the metal and weight indicate monetary standards; the find-spot suggests circulation. Then corroborate with inscriptions such as the Nashik prashasti and with archaeological contexts. A coin alone cannot establish a date or a political event.
Traps that cost marks
Treating a secondary textbook as a primary source; accepting a document because it is old; ignoring provenance and forgery; confusing internal with external criticism; placing sites on the wrong river or state in map questions.