NCEA Level 2 History key terms

A structured investigation into a past event or place, driven by focusing questions, in which evidence is gathered, evaluated and used to build and justify an argued conclusion.

The specific, researchable questions that set the direction of an inquiry and determine what evidence needs to be collected and how findings will be organised.

The boundaries of an inquiry, setting out which people, places, time period and aspects of the event will be covered and which will be deliberately left out.

Material produced at the time of the event by someone with a direct connection to it, such as a letter, photograph, diary, newspaper report, artefact or official record.

An account created after the event by someone who was not present, such as a history book, documentary, museum display or journal article, usually drawing on primary material.

A recollection given by a person who personally observed an event, valuable for immediacy and detail but limited by memory, emotion and a single viewpoint.

Evidence collected through recorded interviews with people recalling past experiences, preserving voices and detail often missing from written records but shaped by memory and hindsight.

Repositories that hold and preserve original documents, photographs, recordings and records, organised so researchers can locate and consult material relevant to their inquiry.

The origin and ownership history of a source, showing who created it, when, where and for what purpose, which helps establish how much weight it can carry.

Information from sources that is selected and used to support, test or challenge a claim about the past, rather than simply quoted without comment.

A reasoned judgement reached at the end of an inquiry, linking the evidence gathered back to the focusing questions and acknowledging what remains uncertain.

The importance of an event or place, judged by criteria such as how many people were affected, how deeply, how long-lasting the effects were and how it is remembered today.

A happening or connected series of happenings in the past that can be investigated, bounded in time and place, and shown to matter to a community or nation.

A physical location such as a building, landscape, marae or battlefield whose history and meaning can be examined through what happened there and how people value it.

The parts of the past that a community chooses to value, protect and pass on, including buildings, sites, objects, stories and customs seen as worth preserving.

The work of protecting historical places, objects and records from damage or loss, often involving restoration, legal protection, funding and decisions about public access.

An act or ceremony that publicly remembers a past event or person, such as a monument, anniversary, public holiday or exhibition, revealing what a society chooses to honour.

A structure, site or object created to remember people or events, whose design, wording and location carry messages about how the past is understood.

A moment when events change direction so that what follows is markedly different from what came before, often used to argue for an event's historical importance.

How trustworthy a source is for a particular purpose, judged by who made it, when, why, and whether its content can be checked against other evidence.

A slant in a source caused by the creator's purpose, beliefs or position, which may lead to selection, exaggeration or omission of information.

The viewpoint from which a person or group understands and describes events, shaped by their role, culture, beliefs, experiences and interests at the time.

The position from which a source is written or spoken, such as that of a government official, a protester, a soldier or a journalist, which shapes what is included.

A first-hand statement in which a person describes what they saw, did or experienced, often given formally and valuable for showing how events were lived.

Material deliberately created to persuade an audience towards a particular view or action, often by selecting facts, using emotive language or presenting one side only.

The removal, restriction or suppression of information by an authority, which can leave gaps in the record and make surviving sources one-sided.

Confirming a piece of evidence by comparing it with other independent sources, which strengthens confidence in a claim or reveals disagreement between accounts.

An explanation of the past built from selected evidence and a particular viewpoint, meaning different historians may explain the same event in different ways.

A person who researches and writes about the past, choosing questions, sources and frameworks that shape the account they produce and the conclusions they reach.

The effort to understand why people in the past acted as they did, by considering their knowledge, values and circumstances rather than judging them by today's standards.

Knowledge of how events turned out, which helps later analysis but can distort understanding of decisions made when the outcome was still unknown.

A factor, action or condition that contributed to bringing about an event, ranging from long-term underlying pressures to short-term triggers.

An outcome or effect that follows from an event, which may be immediate or long-term, intended or unintended, and felt by particular groups differently.

The immediate event or spark that sets off a larger development already made likely by deeper underlying conditions.

A deep, long-standing condition such as economic hardship, political tension or social inequality that creates the setting in which an event becomes possible.

A consequence felt soon after an event, such as immediate loss of life, displacement, new laws or public reaction, often visible within months.

A consequence that persists for years or decades after an event, such as changed laws, demographic shifts, enduring inequality or altered national identity.

The lasting inheritance of an event, including its effects on institutions, attitudes, memorials and the way later generations understand their own society.

The people, communities, institutions and relationships of Aotearoa New Zealand, including Māori and Pākehā and later migrant groups, considered together and in their differences.

The 1840 agreement signed by Māori rangatira and the British Crown, whose differing Māori and English texts and contested meaning shape many historical inquiries in New Zealand.

A shift over time in how people live together, including changes to laws, values, work, family life, migration patterns and the balance of power between groups.

A course of action adopted by a government, such as legislation, funding or regulation, which can drive historical change and shape how its effects are felt.