Historical understanding is built on A. artifacts
B. ancient materials
C. past and current sources
D. reliable documents

Your best answer is D) out of all of them.

Yes, Artifacts is important in giving historical evidence and context, but it in itself is an enigma, and must be understood in itself. What was the purpose of such an artifact being made? Did it have a practical usage, or was it only a ceremonial, or at best, something used when lightening the mood (so to speak).

Ancient Materials include a wide variety of things, and some can be used for specific historical understanding. You need to choose the right materials to create the right understanding as well as well-grounded thesis for how a civilization or historical people-group function. You cannot just find a arrow, and state that the civilization only used arrows and no other weapons. In fact, it may be fool-hardy for such to occur, as it causes generalization and failure to get the big picture. Granted, A.M. is needed to back up the history, but at the end, it is only a tool in helping us understand our history better.

Past and current sources can be a extremely nice (and easier) way to find information, but it does not not come with it's own problems. One extreme problem is the highly-opinionated and heavily influenced writing, in which the author's belief's and mindset can drastically influence how the reader would then take into account what is happening. For example, a European writer on the Native Americans may describe them as war-mongers, godless heathens, uncivilized fools, and below-human standards. But to step away from the source, we should first look at the perspectives of both groups, and then look to see if that particular source does justice to all sides of the party. The important question here is: Who is writing? What are the parties in the writing, and is the author affiliated to one or the other party? How was the author brought up? Where are the sources of information from? Remember, one cannot truly know all the information surrounding an event, and there will always be newly discovered evidence that can suggest otherwise.

Reliable Documents are documents that have been proven through historical evidences on the site, and can be used to give a factual (but may still be opiniated-influenced source) of what has occurred during the event. it is the best choice out of all of them, but remember to take opinions with a grain of salt.

the answer is c. many americans held nativist or racist views

the bar kochba rebellion (132-135) against the roman empire, also known as the second jewish-roman war, was the second major jewish revolt in judea and the last of the great jewish-roman wars.

after the first jewish-roman war of the years 66-73, the roman authorities took measures to crush any new attempt of rebellion in judea. his political situation was modified and instead of a prefect a governor of praetorian rank was appointed, and in the ruins of jerusalem the seat of a complete roman legion, the legio x fretensis was established.

the political and religious direction of the jewish people was left in the hands of the sanhedrin, with initial headquarters in yavne.

the direct causes of the rebellion vary according to the source. the roman historian dio cassius (155-229) attributes the revolt to the decision of hadrian to found in the place of jerusalem a roman city called aelia capitolina (aelia by its own name and capitolina in honor of the roman god jupiter). on the other hand, the jewish sources, while recognizing this resolution as true, assign higher priority to the decrees dictated by hadrian that forbade the brit milah (circumcision), the respect of the sabbath and the laws of purity in the family.

hadrian's intention was to "civilize" and incorporate the jews once and for all into the greco-roman culture. for greek and roman culture, circumcision was an intolerable mutilation.

the jewish tradition tells in the midrash tanjuma a meeting between rabbi akiva and the governor turnus rufus, where he asked for an explanation about the circumcision.

an additional legion, the legio vi ferrata, moved to the province to maintain order, and work began in the year 131 after the governor of judea, turnus rufus performed the founding ceremony of aelia capitolina. a roman coin with the inscription aelia capitolina was struck in the year 132.

the tannaim rabbi akiva, who without being named nasi directed the sanhedrin, convinced the other members to support the imminent rebellion.

the jewish leaders carefully planned the second rebellion to avoid the numerous errors that had been committed in the first one. in the year 132 the rebellion led by bar kochba quickly expanded from modiim throughout the country, defeating the x roman legion based in jerusalem and destroying the xxii roman legion that had come from egypt.