Arts and artifacts are the live source of history. Explain.
Art
Art objects are the product of the historical period in which they are produced. Here are some questions to get you started on analyzing these types of resources:
What is the purpose of the object? To teach, to criticize, to advocate for change?
What does the object convey about this period of history? What events may have influenced the production of the work? What technological advances are depicted?
What does the object convey about the society which produced it? How are women portrayed? How do people dress? How are various social classes represented?
Artifacts
Artifacts are physical objects created and used by humans. Artifacts may include such items as eating utensils, tools, clothing, and coins. When written records are scarce, these items help researchers discover how people lived. Since many artifacts have no accompanying context, it is important to build a solid understanding of the historical period in which it was produced. Some points to keep in mind:
What is the object made of? How was it created or manufactured? Were there recent technological advances which made its creation possible?
How was the object used? Was it an everyday item available to the working class? Or a specialty item available only to select members of society?
Has the object been repaired? Is it plain or has it been decorated? What does this imply about the owner of the object and their economic and/or social status?
Answers
Explanation:
Chocolate. There are few foods that people feel as passionate about – a passion that goes
beyond a love for the “sweetness” of most candies or desserts: after all, few people crave
caramel, whipped cream, or bubble gum. Chocolate is, well, different. For the true chocoholic,
just thinking about chocolate can evoke a pleasurable response.
Two years ago, my wife and I travelled to the Amazon. On one of our expeditions, our guide
pointed out a cacao tree growing wild in the jungle. I had never seen one before.
Looking strangely alien, dozens of yellow-green pods hung from the trunk and stems of the
tree. Our guide picked one of the hand-sized fruits, stripped off the rippled outer layer with his
knife, and handed us chunks of the fibrous white pulp inside – the fruit of the cacao tree. Two
local children who had followed us into the fo