Primary sources are not limited to textual documents such as books, manuscripts, letters, diaries, and reports. But they also include a wide array of other cultural materials. Studying these non-textual sources is very important in ancient societies, in which the availability of reliable textual materials from the period being studied is much less than when studying modern times.
Some of these additional cultural source materials include:
Art work, such as sculpture and decorative objects
Buildings and structures of various sorts, including homes and public buildings
Religious and ritual objects
Tools and other ancient implements
Short of visiting ancient sites or travelling to large museums, most of this material is studied through photographic and artistic renderings of these materials. Many databases have been designed to provide such access. Many of these databases are available from websites connected with specific research projects or associations. Others are available through commercially produced databases.
