Museums as Source of Historical Information - History Notes Form One
Concept of sources of historical information
Historical knowledge is obtained through the examination of sources of historical information. One can obtain historical information from either primary or secondary sources.
Primary sources are original materials that provide first-hand information or direct evidence on a particular event. Primary sources are materials created by individuals directly involved in such events.
Such materials include memos, diaries, letters, artefacts, photographs, interviews, speeches, autobiographies, and official records. In addition, secondary sources are a product of primary sources.
Museums
Museums are buildings in which historical objects are kept. For example, we find cultural objects related to religious beliefs and ceremonies in museums.
We also find collections of animal and plant fossils. Good examples of animal fossils are shells and bones.
Moreover, there are political objects such as crowns, regalia, objects used during nationalist struggles and drums which are kept in museums.
Economic objects such as coins, minerals, and cowries as well as technological objects such as stone tools, iron tools, canoes, and clothing are also kept in museums.
Furthermore, museums keep remains of artwork, such as rock paintings, drawings, sculptures, pottery and basketry. There are two types of objects housed in museums.
The first type consists of artefacts, including stone and iron tools. The second type consists of ecofacts, which include human, animal and plant remains. .
Many countries have national, regional, district and even village museums. For example, in Tanzania, there is the National Museum and House of Culture, the Village Museum in Dar es Salaam, and the House of Wonders in Zanzibar (Beit al-Ajaib).
Other museums in Africa include the Genocide Memorial (Kigali, Rwanda), the Robben Island (South Africa), the Apartheid Museum (Johannesburg, South Africa), the National Museum of Ethiopia, the Egyptian Museum, and the Ghana National Museum.
The Picture Below shows some famous museums in Africa.
Functions of museums
Museums keep a wide variety of historical and cultural materials under one roof. These consist of objects rich in information that benefit the present and future generations.
Furthermore, national museums keep historical objects from all over the country. They make them available for viewing and learning by the public. Museums preserve national heritage and historical information.
Similarly, museums provide education to people about different cultures. In addition, they are a source of entertainment. People can visit museums for leisure.
Likewise, museums are used as sources of income through fees paid by tourists. Local and international tourists visit museums to view various cultural objects and learn from the past.
Advantages of museums
Museums are used for preserving the culture of the respective society. In addition, artefacts preserved in museums are not borrowed for whatever purpose, a condition that increases their security.
Museums provide employment opportunities. They employ both professionals and other workers. Professional employees include conservators, curators, and attendants.
Another advantage of a museum is entertainment. Most museums entertain people who visit them.
Limitations of museums
Museums are very expensive to construct and maintain. A large space is needed to build a museum. Moreover, trained personnel is needed to run museums. All these are costly.
In addition, some museum objects can be destroyed by fire, moisture, heat, dust, insects, and rats. For example, the pages of an old book may turn yellow and tear easily due to moisture and heat. Therefore, much care is needed in museums to keep the materials in good condition.
Moreover, individual researchers are not allowed to take out the materials kept in a museum for gathering historical information. Instead, they have to visit museums several times for research purposes. This can be costly and time-consuming.
Similarly, some historical remains cannot be preserved in museums due to their nature and size. Such remains include huge commercial ships, ruins of houses, and graves.
Furthermore, not every person can afford to visit museums due to cost, distance and restrictions.
Activity 1.4
Read various reliable online and library sources on historical information to differentiate historical sites from museums.