What Do We Learn From Objects and Artefacts That We Can't Learn From Documents and Written Sources?

Essay from the year 2013 in the subject History - Miscellaneous, grade: 2.1, University of Central Lancashire, course: Modern World History, language: English, abstract: History has been conveyed and explored in a number of different mediums. Written sources are useful as an understanding and analysis of the past but there are other means in which to get closer and more hands-on with history. In Neil MacGregor's 'A History of the World in 100 Objects' he states that "e;most of us learn history from books but physical objects often give us much more immediate access to the ideas and concerns of the people who made them."e; This essay will assess the importance of objects as a means of learning about the past. It will also discuss what historical objects can provide to historical studying and learning that written texts cannot in both academic and non-academic areas.