How do historians use oral traditions to study societies without written records?

Historians study societies without written records by analyzing oral traditions, which serve as a dynamic medium for storing and transmitting knowledge, art, and history. Contrary to the assumption that such groups lack history, researchers now isolate historical content within these traditions to recover the past.12

Historians employ several methods to evaluate this evidence:

• Comparative Analysis: By studying living oral traditions, scholars can draw analogies to ancient works. For example, research into epic poetry in the former Yugoslavia helped explain how ancient Homeric poems were composed and preserved through formulaic language and mnemonic structures.1
• Ethnographic Fieldwork: Anthropologists and folklorists work directly with societies to understand how oral communication functions. This includes recording performances and documenting the cultural context, such as the raconteur’s background and the specific circumstances of the recitation.13
• Identifying Historical Patterns: Oral genres, such as legends and historical recitations, often contain information about clan migrations, the establishment of kingdoms, or social customs. While these stories may be used to legitimize a group's link to the past, they often retain historical patterns that reflect cultural changes.43
• Verification: Historians must account for the fallibility of memory by preparing extensively for interviews and, where possible, cross-referencing oral testimony with other available evidence.2

It is essential to approach these sources with critical rigor, as oral traditions are rule-governed and often adapt to different performance settings to maintain their social function.1