2.5 Summary of Section 2

Hopefully you now understand how using a single artefact as a starting point can lead us to many different research topics, research paths and time periods and also into a range of controversies and debates. We need to consider our artefact in conjunction with other evidence; here we have used other material objects, medical publications, cartoons, advertisements, local authority records and government legislation as primary sources to examine the contexts and issues around infant bottle feeding. You have also seen how you need to find different sources to cross check or corroborate your conclusions.

In the next section you will see how historians try to correct erroneous ideas about the past.