History is created from sources of two types, primary and secondary.
Primary sources are materials produced by people living in the culture and period under study. They may include things as disparate as laws, plays, obscene pictures on pots, and histories of earlier generations. Secondary sources are created afterwards and reflect on that people and culture. We read primary sources because they bring us into direct contact with our subject. It is no secret that people reveal themselves through the things they choose to make and the orientation they take to their subjects.