Ethnohistory of events and null events

Abstract

From a traditional perspective, the events have been considered as the primary elements in the study of history. As the smallest units in historical discourse, events must be described, analyzed, sorted, and interpreted. Herbert Butterfield (1981) and others have shown that the event log is fundamental to the history of history. Often a distinction between natural and historical events is made. Both have to do with chance encounter or accident-only, though, while natural events can influence or determine the historical events, these should be considered primarily as cultural events.