Oral tradition is also a part of traditional African culture, further emphasizing the importance of African culture in early African American history. (Orators pass down information/stories from generation to generation.) Another culture that has successfully used oral history as a viable method of historical preservation are the Native American civilizations. Furthermore, the oral tradition also assess the artifact’s influence on the individual and their everyday life. It also allows the historian to access a more subjective, personal perspective from the time period, instead of an objective view residing in most educational textbooks.

To me, this is an unfortunate example of how lesser known, but equally important, cultures can get lost in the mainstream of history. By this I mean that in educational classes we are taught about the same material over and over again that is deemed important. These events are important for the students to learn about, but it is also crucial that they are exposed to cultures outside of their "bubble". In order to make history seem more relatable and individualized we have to incorporate more stories like that of the Parting Ways community. However, unfortunately these historical sites are likely to be damaged or lost. But, by using the methods found in this document we can analyze and preserve lesser known cultures.

Written records are essential to the history of mankind, and as previously stated can also be useful in filling in the holes left by personal verbal accounts. After reading this quote I brainstormed some written resources that could be useful to the historian analyzing a lost or damaged historical site. Here is the list I created: schematics, photographs with descriptions, observations, educational articles, and other public documents.

Additionally, some questions that written records could address or help to address include the following: Who used these structures? Was the structure made to simply fulfill a basic human need of shelter or did it have a deeper purpose? Was the structure for private use or public use? How was the structure incorporated into the greater cultural environment?

One of the more obvious ways of preserving damaged structures is to use ruins to reconstruct and document the original condition of the building or artifact. Furthermore, the structural ruins can provided additional information, such as the materials used to build the structure, how they were assembled, and the relative time period. This method is essential to our knowledge of historical sites, because every structure will eventually deteriorate no matter whether it is due to a natural disaster or just the passage of time.

This is a great example of the author establishing ethos, or his credibility. More specifically, Deetz is depicting to the reader that he cares about finding accurate sources to convey the correct information.

Also when using oral history as a method to preserve lost or damaged historical sites it is important to keep this thought in mind. Further, the difference in the stories (due in part to personal perspectives) creates the need for more objective evidence to sort out what is accurate and what is less than accurate. One method of fulfilling this need would be written records. For example, a historian hears two stories: one that the house burned down in a fire and one that recalled the house being demolished by the owner. Which one should the historian believe? Using public records the historian can decipher which story is closer to the truth.

With much focus on the external structures, it is also important to consider the artifacts located within the sites. One such artifact that is common at most historical locations is pottery. More specifically pottery can be extremely helpful for determining the time period as well as revealing other historical information. For example, what material was the ceramic made out of? Was there anything painted on the surface or symbols carved out of the piece? What do they represent or mean? Other than pottery the historical artifacts could be paintings, books, ceremonial pieces, and garments.

In addition to the article focused on the historical devastation after the earthquake in Italy, I also felt that the Time's article showed the importance of historical preservation, because it helps us to understand our current situation and how we got to this point. Namely, how the historical lives of African Americans contributed to the social inequality present in modern American society.

The article begins with a discussion of how activists are participating in the political area in order to create change. For example, Black Lives Matter members arranged a meeting with the 2016 presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, as well as questioned her at an Atlanta campaign stop concerning legislation to further their cause. As the article proceeds, the reader finds that the protesters actions had a significant impact on Secretary Clinton when she add stances such as promoting the use of body cameras on police officers, "[denouncing] mass incarceration", and "[refusing] donations from private-prison lobbyists". Further, the activists work continued to sweep the nation using various methods to address not only police brutality, but also other social issues "from gender inequality to the minimum wage to housing and education policy".

From there, the article then discusses the "accidental" roots of the movement. More specifically, Alicia Garza tweeted “Black people. I love you. I love us. Our lives matter.” after the acquittal of George Zimmerman. Her friend, Patrisse Cullors, later created the hashtag that would transcend the nation. Since the creation, the Black Lives Matter movement has gained momentum through both physical demonstrations and social media resulting in "nearly 30 official chapters, including an outpost in Canada". One of the most active sites of the movement is college campuses. For example, football players at the University of Missouri boycotted the team after the system president "[failed] to address allegations of racism on campus". He was removed shortly there after.

Although the effects of the Black Lives Movement is contested amongst various groups, there is no question that the movement has made a significant impact on American culture. In order to move forward we must first recognize where we are and how we got there. As I previously mentioned to do this we have to understand where we went wrong and how we can improve. This relates to "Parting Ways', because methods used in the reading can restore and preserve lost information about the condition of African Americans in the past. Additionally, the movement promotes the idea that black lives matter both in the past, present, and future. "Parting Ways" is an example of how historians can preserve the history of all people, no matter their race.

Altman, Alex. "Black Lives Matter."Time, 2016. Retrieved from http://time.com/time-person-of-the-year-2015-runner-up-black-lives-matter/. Accessed 3 February 2017.

The historical preservation method used in “Parting Ways” could also be applied to the artifact loss in Italy. On August 24, 2016, “a 6.2-magnitude earthquake struck central Italy” taking the lives of at least 247 people (Sanchez). Along with the loss of life, the earthquake devastated “at least 293 cultural heritage assets” located within the earthquake zone, a huge loss for the Italian people and the history of mankind (Orjoux). As one might expect, the most significant damage was done to central Italy’s historic structures: Catterale di Urbino, Monastero Santa Chiara, San Guilano cathedral, Basilica Di San Franceso, Chiesa di Agostino, Benedictine of Monks of Norcia, and Amatrice’s “historic medieval walls (Orjoux).

Due to the amount of devastation that occurred, Italy has lost significant, tangible pieces of its history, but using alternative methods, like those explained in “Parting Ways”, historians can use generalizations found in surviving artifacts to apply to the analysis of the ruins. By doing so central Italy’s individual history may be preserved instead of forgotten and incorporated into the mainstream.

Orjoux, Alanne. “Historical Treasures Lost, Damaged in Italian Quake.” CNN, 25 August 2016, http://www.cnn.com/2016/08/25/europe/italy-earthquake-historic-sites-damaged/. Accessed 26 January 2017.

Sanchez, Ray. “At Least 247 Killed in Earthquake in Central Italy.” CNN, 25 August 2016, http://www.cnn.com/2016/08/23/europe/italy-earthquake/. Accessed 26 January 2017.

The comparison between language and the jars is very helpful to the reader, because they are concrete examples of how people can incorporate their cultural identity into the common culture of their surroundings. This, in turn, helps the reader to understand the overall message of the piece. More specifically, that lesser-known cultures are not always as clear cut as they seem, but using the historical methods prevalent in the text, we can get a more accurate historical picture.

This is an example of the nature of history. In other words, like other subjects history is constantly changing and evolving when new information comes to light. This shows the reader that history is messy. In order to create a more cohesive whole from the pieces, educated guessing and generalization may be required. Overall, history is constantly evolving and will continue to evolve as more evidence is found and better methods are instituted.

American Revolutionary War (1775) - British Victory

Understanding the historical context of which cultures are located within is the first step of the research process. Without doing the necessary research it would be nearly impossible to get an accurate picture of historical lives. For example, imagine someone looking back on our lives in the future. What if they disregarded the importance of technology in our lives? This would lead to a great misunderstanding. As you can see, understanding the background knowledge is essential to understanding the lives of historical individuals.