Research Guides: The Legacy of Mesoamerica: ANTH / LAS 2098 / HIST 3096: Find Primary Sources

Introduction: What are Primary Sources?

What are Primary Sources?

"Primary sources provide firsthand testimony or direct evidence concerning a topic or question under investigation."

- Source: Yale University. http://primarysources.yale.edu/

The definition of a primary sources varies by discipline, and includes historical letters and diaries, government documents, works of art and literature, data from a scientific experiment, findings from an archeological dig, and oral history recordings to name just a few examples. It is content which has not been analyzed or interpreted by scholars or researchers.

See this chart from Yale University for more examples of primary sources by academic discipline.

Primary Source Collections

The databases listed below contain both primary and secondary source materials.

World Scholar: Latin America and The Caribbean
A rich collection of primary, secondary, and tertiary (or reference) source documents about Latin America and the Caribbean. The archival portion of the database covers the period from 1492 through to the twentieth century, with over 1.2 million page-images available. Primary-source media types include original manuscripts, signed letters, expedition records, reports, maps, diaries, descriptions of voyages, and ephemera.
eHRAF World Cultures
eHRAF World Cultures is a collection of books and articles on cultures from all regions of the world. It also provides information on ethnic groups, or immigrant groups, their beliefs and superstitions, or subjects such as political structure, architecture, kinship units, or settlement patterns.
Latin American Women Writers
Latin American Women Writers contains literature by Latin American women from the colonial period in the 17th century forward to the present. The database presents the works in their original languages and includes literary works, memoirs, letters, and essays.

Find Printed Primary Sources at Temple

Use the Library Search and enter keywords on your research topic.
Use the Genre filter at the left and limit to the terms Sources, Personal Narratives, Correspondence, or Diaries to limit to primary sources.
A sample subject heading for primary sources on the Mexican Revolution is: Mexico -- History -- Revolution, 1910-1920 -- Sources
Try the subject links in the records for any useful items you find. These will take you to additional primary sources on the same topic.

Primary Source Literature: Popol Vuh

Sometimes called the "Maya Bible," the Popol Vuh -- available in print from Paley Library and online from Mesoweb -- consists of a series of texts that provide a window into the autochthonous literary traditions of ancient Mesoamerica.

Click here to watch a Chilean animated film adaptation of the Popol Vuh created for young people (streaming video from TULibraries' database, Ethnographic Video Online).