Question

Differentiate the archaeological sources and the literary sources in the tabular form.

Answer 1

Dear Student,

Archaeological Sources

Literary Sources

1. Archaeological sources are the material evidences that are unearthed during an excavation of a historical site. 2. Archaeological sources include inscriptions, coins, pottery, paintings, etc. 3. Archaeological sources are considered as primary sources which mean those sources will give original account of the past. 4. Archaeological sources does not have any bias, they provide exclusive original information about the past. 5. Pre-history can be studied only with archaeological sources as there was no knowledge of writing during the pre-historical period.

1. Literary sources are the written records that provide information about the past. 2. Literary sources include ancient literature such as puranas, epics, biographies, foreign traveller accounts, poetic narratives, etc. 3. Literary sources can be both primary and secondary sources. Secondary sources include the present interpretation of the past. 4. Literary sources carry an element of bias because they were written by people who interpret history according to their perception. 5. Both archaeological sources and literary sources can be used to study history, the period after pre-history where writing came into existence.

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