… Oral histories are as old as human beings.

Before the invention of writing, information

passed from generation to generation through the

spoken word. Many people around the world

continue to use oral traditions to pass along

knowledge and wisdom. Interviews and

recordings of community elders and witnesses to

historical events provide exciting stories,

anecdotes, and other information about the

past.…

—Library of Congress


Based on this passage, historians should treat oral

histories and oral traditions as

(1) persuasive arguments

(2) statistical data

(3) unbiased sources

(4) cultural evidence