Material sources : The artefacts, articles, monuments or their ruins are called material sources of history.

• The artefacts like earthen pots and the ornaments throw light on social relationships.
• From the remains of the foodgrains, seeds and bones of animals we get information of the food habits.
• The remains of the houses and buildings indicate the period during which these were built.
• The coins and seeds give information about the economic activities and the progress made by mankind.

Written sources : The Stone Age people have recorded many events and expressed their emotions in paintings on rocks. It was only after thousands of years that man learnt the art of writing.

• Later man used symbols and signs to record thoughts.
• Thousands of years later script was developed.
• In the beginning man wrote on potsherds, unbaked bricks by using pointed objects. He also used Bhoorjapatra — bark of birch tree to write.
• As man’s knowledge and experience increased, he began to use various forms of writing. The proceedings in the royal court were recorded in writing. The edicts, decrees and deeds of kings were inscribed on stone or copper plates.
• Many forms of literature such as poetry, plays, books on social and religious subjects, travelogues and scientific Writings developed.
• All these together form the written sources of history.

Oral sources : Literature preserved by oral tradition is the oral source of history

• The oral sources include compositions that are passed on from one generation to the next by word of mouth and preserved by rote-learning. The author of this unwritten literature is unknown.
• The social customs and traditions are also passed on from one generation to the next.
• These compositions customs and traditions are not in the written form.
• However some oral literature acquired written form subsequently.

Precautions to be taken while writing history :

It is necessary to take precautions while using these sources to write history. These precautions are :

• Critical examination of written documents.
• Ascertain the authenticity of the written documents as to who wrote it. Why and when it was written.
• Cross-check the conclusions and corroborate the sources.