The 23 Auxiliary Sciences Of History (explained And Classified)
History is the discipline that is responsible for the study of past events. It studies not only the human being but also how living beings lived in the past, the formation of the Earth, writing and other topics.
This discipline is very extensive, touching practically any aspect that makes up the Universe since everything is subject to change and be part of a historical event.
For all this, we can find many auxiliary sciences of History disciplines that expand the knowledge of this great science and that, in turn, depend on it as we will discover below.
The auxiliary sciences of History: characteristics and areas of study
We can define as auxiliary sciences or auxiliary disciplines those branches of knowledge that, without entering fully or completely focusing on that area of ​​study that they accompany, are linked in one way or another with it, providing assistance and contributing to the expansion of their knowledge In the case of History, most of its auxiliary sciences and disciplines have to do with specific fields that touch in one way or another on the passage of time and the study of historical events.
There are many disciplines whose object of study contributes to that of History, which is nothing more than the study of events and facts that belong to the past. Linguistics, archaeology, geography, numismatics and economics are disciplines that, when they cross the path of History, give rise to branches such as the history of linguistics, the history of archaeology, the history of economics. …
Let’s look at some of the most important auxiliary sciences of History.
1. Archeology
Officially, Archeology is the study of the ancient remains of human societies that have already disappeared and which has the objective of reconstructing the life of these ancestral peoples
Closely associated with paleontology, this discipline interprets how people lived in the past, which is why it is a science whose existence would be impossible without History and which, in turn, provides support in the form of archaeological evidence for the theoretical formulations that make historians about how people lived in the past.
Archaeologists use many things to extract information from the past: books, art forms, ruins, tools, tombs, human bones and even literature are elements that reveal to us how people lived in ancient times what were their customs and how their civilization was organized politically, culturally and religiously.
2. Geography
Historical events happen in places, in countries, regions and cities, in order to understand them in greater depth we cannot separate them from the geographical context in which they are located. For this reason, Geography is a fundamental auxiliary science for History, considered in fact its most direct sister. The development of History, both human and natural, is conditioned by the place where it is established
3. Cartography
Cartography can be considered a branch of Geography. She is interested in methods of spatial representation of the planet that is, the preparation of maps and atlases.
It collaborates with History, giving rise to the History of Cartography, a mixed discipline that tries to understand the historical development of human beings based on the way in which they represented the world throughout the centuries, using ingenuity, imagination and perception. to establish what the territorial and geographical limits of the Earth were like.
4. Stratigraphy
Stratigraphy is a discipline related to Geology whose knowledge is of great importance for History. It is the science whose object of study focuses on observe how sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic stones form layers in the Earth’s crust, allowing us to establish when certain events occurred important in Natural History. Based on Archaeology, Stratigraphy allows us to recreate geographical conditions, climatic and geological events millions of years ago.
5. Numismatics
Considered by some as the oldest auxiliary science of History, Numismatics is responsible for analyzing medals, coins and banknotes from a certain historical period also applied to the study of what type of monetary system extinct cultures or civilizations used.
6. Epigraphy
Epigraphy is an auxiliary discipline of History whose purpose is know and interpret ancient inscriptions made in materials such as clay, granite, stones or the walls of caves and temples
Its main function is to identify and transmit the knowledge that these texts contain, written in languages ​​and writing systems that today no longer have natural speakers. In Epigraphy, images, symbols, hieroglyphs are studied and linked to other sciences such as paleography, archeology or numismatics.
7. Law
History and Law produce the branch of the historical study of the laws and legal systems by which societies have been governed. Since ancient times, human beings have tried to bring order to societies by dispensing justice in one way or another, laws that are a reflection of how a given society conceptualizes something that it interprets as a crime and the way in which it should be penalized
A classic example is Roman Law, considered of vital importance when it comes to understanding how we administer justice in today’s Western world.
8. Linguistics
It is considered that History began when the first written texts appeared. Thanks to the appearance of writing, it was possible to leave a written record of the worldview and thoughts of the people of past times, people who previously could only transmit knowledge, legends and myths through orality.
Throughout history, Languages ​​have been changing not only in the way they are written, but also in how they were pronounced and even in their unity Although it often happens that the records are incomplete, recovering the way people from the past spoke also allows us to reconstruct the circumstances under which they lived and the thinking of the time.
9. Chronology
The Chronology focuses on establish the facts chronologically, that is, placing them in an orderly manner in time
This auxiliary science of History is essential to accurately determine historical periods, the dates of relevant events, the dating of sources, the context in which documents were written and other aspects related to the documentation of time.
10. Demographics
Demography, closely related to Geography and Sociology, It is responsible for determining the growth and development of populations statistically
To do this, data is provided on how the population of a country, region or particular locality increases, remains or decreases, data obtained from birth, mortality, morbidity, migration and immigration rates, among other variables that can be of great value. historical.
You may be interested: “Thomas Malthus: biography of this researcher in political economy”
11. Ethnology
Ethnology is strongly linked to Anthropology. It is responsible for classifying, describing and finding out the ethnic groups, how they have been constituted and what customs they have
This discipline is fundamental for History, since through it you can learn about the entire journey or biography of ethnic groups, clans or families that have had a notable influence on their environment and the legacy they represent for the community with which they interacted.
12. Genealogy
Genealogy studies the lines of ancestry of families, especially that of the most important lineages in a society or country, such as royal houses or illustrious figures, although it can also be applied to know where we come from by finding out who our ancestors were, by regardless of whether we are members of an important family or not.
Genealogy has great importance for History since it is through this discipline that we can study dynasties, bloodlines, kings and queens, clans and high-born families
13. Paleography
Paleography is responsible for the critical and systematic study of ancient writings. Part of its objective is to preserve, decipher, interpret and date texts written on any medium and coming from past cultures
Given its nature, Paleography is associated with linguistics, papyrology, library science and archeology, among others. This auxiliary science of History is fundamental for the study of literature, thought and ideas transmitted in cultures of the past.
Related article: “The 6 stages of Prehistory”
14. Sigilography
The Sigilography study the meaning of ancient seals used in documents, letters and official documents throughout history
This branch has the added objective of verifying its legitimacy, taking into account the historical circumstances, the linguistic conditions and the importance of the events at the time.
15. Bibliography
References to books and any other text are essential in any field of knowledge, which is why it could be said that Bibliography It is the auxiliary discipline of practically all sciences, being especially valued when it comes to recreating history
It studies the process by which books are published and stored, both physically and digitally, in addition to studying how to make the process of consulting and retrieving a certain source as agile and easy as possible.
16. Ecology
Ecology studies the relationships between organisms and their environment. When This science is approached as the interaction of man with his environment, its biological relationship also acquires a historical nuance this fact is evidenced in the importance and impact that human activity has had on the environment.
Although as an auxiliary science of History it is relatively recent, the reality is that the interactions between living beings in their ecosystems is something that dates back to the appearance of life on the face of the Earth. Since life has existed on Earth, living beings have interacted with it, leaving traces in the form of different remains (fossils, strata, organic molecules…).
Thanks to this discipline, we can locate the existence of a species or even an ethnic group in time based on its biological footprint.
You may be interested: “The 6 types of ecosystems: the different habitats we find on Earth”
The study of art is a completely autonomous field of knowledge, focusing its interest on the various forms of manifestation that artistic representations have in human society and which aims to answer the everlasting question: What is art?
However, When it is joined to History, it gives rise to a new branch: the History of Art This is responsible for studying how the evolution of art has occurred throughout History and how it reflected its time, exposing the worldview that both artists and the average citizen of their time shared.
18. Paleontology
Paleontology is the science that studies the bone and fossil remains of all forms of life that lived on Earth in past times having the purpose of understanding how they lived and answering the eternal enigma of where life on the planet comes from.
This discipline is very close to history, since it investigates what times were like before the appearance of human beings, giving historians the opportunity to think about history before History.
19. Economy
Economics is the social science that studies the ways in which humans transform nature for their benefit that is, how it converts raw materials from the environment into goods or offers services to satisfy its needs.
Its connection with history opens a whole branch of study, the History of Economics, which delves into the changes that society has undergone in economic terms since the emergence of the first towns until the present.
20. Heraldry
Heraldry systematically analyzes and describes the figures and artistic representations that appear on coats of arms, frequent in aristocratic families in times past These same shields are also used as identifiers of cities, regions and nations, having their meaning and representing the defense of certain values.
21. Diplomatic
Diplomacy (not to be confused with Diplomacy) is the discipline that studies documents that have been produced throughout history, focusing on the internal and external qualities of the text to obtain an interpretation and estimate its authenticity, without taking too much into account who the author was. In Diplomatics, factors such as language, writing, the way it has been written, the format in which it is presented and other aspects are taken into account.
22. Philosophy
Called the mother of all sciences, Philosophy has great weight in the study of History. The reason for this is because It is about thought itself, about what the ideological formation of civilizations has been like and what has been considered ethical and moral throughout the centuries
This discipline has also addressed aspects such as deduction, induction, logic and dialectics, being the foundation for the development of the modern scientific method, fundamental for any discipline that calls itself science.
23. Historiography
The Historiography It is meta-history, that is, the History of History It is a discipline that investigates the way in which the official (written) History of the winning nations and sides is constructed, in addition to observing the way in which it was preserved in documents or in some written text of any nature.
