How to find out when a source was created
When analysing a source, you need to be aware of when it was made. This will not only help you to determine whether you are working with a primary or secondary source, but it will also help you evaluate the information the source contains.
For example, a source written during an event captures the experiences of someone who did not yet know the outcome.
Meanwhile, a source written decades or centuries later may have been influenced by information and interpretations that were unavailable at the time of the original events.
What is a 'time of creation'?
The 'time of creation' is the date when the source was originally made. For secondary sources, such as textbooks and academic journal articles, you can usually find the exact year of publication.
For primary sources, particularly those from the ancient or medieval period, you may only be able to identify an approximate date: the decade, the century, or the general historical era.
There are different levels of specificity you can use when stating when a source was created:
The exact year (e.g., AD 1792)
The decade: (e.g., 1960s)
The century (e.g., the 12th century)
The historical era (e.g., the Hellenistic era)
Please be aware that you will need a solid understanding of chronology to accurately describe the time of creation.
For example, describing a source from the 3rd century BC as 'medieval' would be a significant error, because the medieval period did not begin until roughly the 5th century AD.
How do I find out when a source was made?
Depending on the type of source, you will have to look in different places to discover when a source was made.
For example:
| Type of Source | Where to Look for Time of Creation |
| Academic Journal | The publication date is usually printed on the first page, alongside the publisher's details and the volume number. |
| Ancient or Medieval source | You will need to research the approximate date of composition. The introduction to a published translation of the text is often the best place to start, because editors typically explain when the author lived and when the work was produced. |
| Book | The publication date is located inside the front cover on the imprint page, which also lists the publisher and edition information. |
| Painting or photograph | Look for the archive or museum that holds the original. Their catalogue entry will typically include the date of creation. |
| Website | Usually at the bottom of the webpage. If it is not there, you simply state the year you accessed the site. |
| Newspaper article | The date of publication is printed at the top of the article or on the front page of the edition. |
| Government report or law | The date of publication or enactment is printed on the document itself, and can also be found through official government archives. |
| Letter or diary | The date is often written by the author at the top of the entry. If no date is given, the archive or collection holding the document may provide an estimated date range. |
| Film or documentary | The release date is typically listed in the opening or closing credits, and can be confirmed through online databases. |
| Website | The publication or last-updated date is usually found at the bottom of the page or near the author's name. If no date is available, you should state the year you accessed the site. |
| Archaeological artefact | The estimated date is usually provided by the museum or excavation report. This date is often based on the archaeological context in which the object was found, such as the stratum or associated finds |
What if I cannot find the date of creation?
Establishing the time a source was created is important for you to complete an analysis and evaluation of your source.
Therefore, it is strongly recommended that you only use sources whose date of creation can be established with some certainty.
There are occasions, however, where you will need to work with a source that has no clear creation date.
In such cases, you can try to estimate an approximate date by looking for contextual clues.
The language and writing style may point to a particular period, references to known events or people can help narrow the timeframe, and the medium or technology used to create the source can also provide useful information.
A daguerreotype photograph, for instance, can be dated to the 1840s or 1850s because this was the only period in which that technology was in common use.
If you are unable to establish even an approximate date, you should state that the source was created at an 'Unknown Date' and explain in your evaluation why the absence of a date limits your analysis.
Examples
Discussing the time of a source's creation in your writing:
"The Gallic Wars was written by Julius Caesar himself during his military campaigns in Gaul in the 50s BC, which means it provides a firsthand account of the events. Caesar's position as the commanding general, however, means the work was also a political document designed to promote his reputation in Rome."
"This book was published in 1998, more than fifty years after the end of World War II. The author had access to declassified government documents that were unavailable to earlier historians, which allowed a more complete reconstruction of the decision-making process."
How the date of creation affects your source evaluation
Knowing when a source was created allows you to make specific and well-supported points in your evaluation.
Here are some of the ways the date matters:
A source created during the events it describes was written by someone who experienced those events firsthand, but who also lacked the benefit of hindsight.
The author may not have understood the full significance of what was happening around them, and their account may be coloured by the immediate pressures and emotions of the moment.
In comparison, a source created long after the events it describes had the advantage of later information and analysis, but it may also have been influenced by the political or intellectual concerns of the author's own time.
A Roman historian writing about the Republic in the imperial period, for example, may have interpreted earlier events through the lens of imperial politics.
The date also helps you determine whether the author had direct access to the events or relied on earlier sources and oral traditions, which is a critical factor in assessing the reliability of the information.
Be careful with editions and translations!
One of the most common mistakes students make is confusing the publication date of a modern translation or edition with the date the original source was composed.
For example, if you are using a 2015 Penguin Classics edition of Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War, the relevant date of creation is the 5th century BC, when Thucydides wrote the original text.
The 2015 date tells you when this particular translation was published, not when the source was created.
This distinction matters a great deal because your source evaluation should focus on the circumstances in which the original author produced the work, not on the date a modern publisher printed a new edition.