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 "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." 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.