Library of Congress Subject Headings Relating to the Historical Sciences

Version of January 1995

I have found this a useful list of headings to give to students in both beginning and advanced courses, as well as an interesting commentary in and of itself on the structure and relationships of the historical sciences. The list has been compiled from Library of Congress Subject Headings, 15th edition (Washington, D.C.: Cataloging Distribution Service, Library of Congress, 1992), and it is available in Files section of the Darwin-L Archives (rjohara.net/darwin). {Comments by RJO are in braces.}

HEADINGS LISTED ALPHABETICALLY

Anthropology, Prehistoric {no special call number}

Antiquarians {no special call number}

Archaeology [CC (general)] [GN700-GN890 (prehistoric antiquity)]

  Here and with local subdivision are entered works on the discipline of
  archaeology.  Works on the antiquities of particular regions, countries,
  cities, etc. are entered under the name of the place subdivided by
  Antiquities.

Auxiliary sciences of history [C] {major class; includes many others}

Biology--Classification [QH83] {not all historical}

  Used for:   Biosystematics
        Systematics (Biology)
        Taxonomy (Biology)

  Related topics: Taxonomists

  Narrower topics:  Chaetotaxy
        Chemotaxonomy
        Cladistic analysis
        Cytotaxonomy
        Homology (Biology)
        Immunotaxonomy
        Numerical Taxonomy
        Phenetics
        Species

Botany--Classification [QK91-QK95] {not all historical}

  Used for:   Botany--Taxonomy
        Botany, Systematic
        Classification--Botany
        Classification--Plants
        Plant classification
        Plant taxonomy
        Plants--Classification
        Systematic botany
        Systematics (Botany)
        Taxonomy (Botany)

  Narrower topics:  Botany--Type specimens
        Classification--Books--Botany
        Natural history--Classification
        Palynotaxonomy
        Plant chemotaxonomy
        Plant cytotaxonomy
        Plant numerical taxonomy
        Plants--Identification
        Vegetation--Classification

Botany--Classification--Molecular aspects [QK95.6]

  Used for:   Molecular systematics of plants
        Plant molecular systematics

  Broader topics: Plant molecular biology

Botany--Classification--Statistical methods

Branching processes {not all historical; no special call number}

  Used for:   Processes, Branching

  Broader topics: Stochastic processes

  Narrower topics:  Birth and death processes (Stochastic processes)
        Cladistic analysis

Cladistic analysis [QH83 (Biology--Classification)]

  Used for:   Cladism
        Cladistic taxonomy
        Cladograms
        Phylogenetic taxonomy
        Taxonomy, Cladistic
        Taxonomy, Phylogenetic

  Broader topics: Biology--Classification
        Branching processes
        Phylogeny

Chronology [CE]

Chronology, Historical [D11]

Chronology, Historical--Charts, diagrams, etc. [D11-D11.5]

Comparative linguistics [P123]

  Here are entered works which compare languages or groups of languages
  for the specific purpose of determining their common origin, or discuss
  the method of comparison, as represented by the 19th century comparative
  philology and its subsequent developments.  Works which compare or
  contrast two or more languages with the aim of finding principles which
  can be applied to practical problems in language teaching and translation
  are entered under the heading Contrastive linguistics.

  Used for:   Comparative philology
        Philology, Comparative

  Broader topics: Historical linguistics

  Narrower topics:  Glottochronology
        Nostratic hypothesis
        Semantics

Cosmology [QB980-QB991 (astronomy)]

Cosmogony [QB980-QB991 (astronomy)] [QE506 (geology)]

Criticism, Textual [P47] [PA47]

  Here are entered works on the investigation of literary
  documents to determine their origin, history, or original form.

  Used for:   Textual criticism

  Broader topic:  Editing

  See also:   subdivision Criticism, Textual under literatures,
        literary forms, names of individual authors, and
        individual works (author-title or title entries), e.g.
        English literature--Criticism, Textual; Shakespeare,
        William, 1564-1616--Criticism, Textual; Shakespeare,
        William, 1564-1616. Hamlet--Criticism, Textual;
        Beowulf--Criticism, Textual; Bible--Criticism, Textual

  Narrower topics:  Bibliography, Critical
        Semiotics and folk literature
        Semiotics and literature
        Structuralism (Literary analysis)
        Transmission of texts

Diplomatics [CD1-CD724]

Evolution (Biology) [QH359-QH425]

Genealogy [CS]

Geological time [QE508]

Geology [QE] {major class; includes many others}

Geology--History [QE11-QE13]

Geology, Stratigraphic [QE640-QE699]

Historical geography [G141 (general)]

Historical geology [QE 28.3]

Historical jurisprudence [K325]

Historical lexicology [P326]

Historical linguistics [P123]

  Used for:   Diachronic linguistics
        Dynamic linguistics
        Evolutionary linguistics
        Language and languages--History

  Broader topics: Language and history
        Linguistics

  Narrower topics:  Comparative linguistics
        Historical lexicology
        Language obsolescence
        Linguistic change
        Reconstruction (Linguistics)

Historicism [D16.9]

Historiography [D13-D15]

History--Methodology [D16]

History--Philosophy [D16.7-D16.9]

Inscriptions [CN]

Linguistic paleontology [P35]

  Used for:   Paleontology (Linguistic)

  Broader topics: Anthropological linguistics
        Language and languages--Etymology
        Reconstruction (Linguistics)

Paleobiogeography [QE721.2.P24]

Paleobotany [QE901-QE996.5]

Paleoclimatology [QC884-QC884.2]

Paleoecology [QE720]

Paleogeography [QE501.4.P3]

Paleoceanography [QE39.5.P25]

Paleontology [QE701-QE996.5]

Paleography [Z105-Z115.5]

Phylogeny [QH367.5]

  Used for:   Phylogeny (Zoology)

  Broader topics: Biology

  Related topics: Evolution (Biology)

  See also:   subdivision Phylogeny under individual animals and
        groups of animals and individual organs and regions
        of the body, e.g. Fishes--Phylogeny; Heart--Phylogeny

  Narrower topics:  Chemotaxonomy
        Cladistic analysis
        Convergence (Biology)
        Divergence (Biology)
        Homology (Biology)
        Immunotaxonomy
        Plants--Phylogeny

Radioactive dating [QC798.D3 (physics)] [QE508 (geology)]

Reconstruction (Linguistics) [P143.2]

  Used for:   Internal reconstruction (Linguistics)
        Protolanguages

  Broader topics: Historical linguistics

  Narrower topics:  Linguistic paleontology

Stratigraphic correlation [QE652.5-QE652.55]

Transmission of texts {no special call number}

  Used for:   Literary transmission
        Manuscript transmission
        Textual transmission

  Broader topics: Bibliography
        Criticism, Textual
        Literature--History and criticism
        Manuscripts

  Related topics: Bibliography--Editions

  Narrower topics:  Errata
        Manuscripts--Certification

Zoology--Classification [QL351-QL352] {not all historical}

  Used for:   Animal classification
        Animal taxonomy
        Animals--Classification
        Classification--Zoology
        Systematic zoology
        Systematics (Zoology)
        Taxonomy (Zoology)
        Zoology--Taxonomy

  Narrower topics:  Animals--Identification
        Classification--Books--Zoology
        Natural history--Classification


HEADINGS LISTED BY CALL NUMBER

[C] Auxiliary sciences of history {major class; includes many others}

[CC (general)] Archaeology

[CD1-CD724] Diplomatics

[CE] Chronology

[CN] Inscriptions

[CS] Genealogy

[D11] Chronology, Historical

[D11-D11.5] Chronology, Historical--Charts, diagrams, etc.

[D13-D15] Historiography

[D16] History--Methodology

[D16.7-D16.9] History--Philosophy

[D16.9] Historicism

[G141 (general)] Historical geography

[GN700-GN890 (prehistoric antiquity)] Archaeology

[K325] Historical jurisprudence

[P35] Linguistic paleontology

[P47] Criticism, Textual

[P123] Comparative linguistics

[P123] Historical linguistics

[P143.2] Reconstruction (Linguistics)

[P326] Historical lexicology

[PA47] Criticism, Textual

[QB980-QB991 (astronomy)] Cosmogony

[QB980-QB991 (astronomy)] Cosmology

[QC798.D3 (physics)] Radioactive dating

[QC884-QC884.2] Paleoclimatology

[QE] Geology {major class; includes many others}

[QE 28.3] Historical geology

[QE11-QE13] Geology--History

[QE39.5.P25] Paleoceanography

[QE501.4.P3] Paleogeography

[QE506 (geology)] Cosmogony

[QE508] Geological time

[QE508 (geology)] Radioactive dating

[QE640-QE699] Geology, Stratigraphic

[QE652.5-QE652.55] Stratigraphic correlation

[QE701-QE996.5] Paleontology

[QE720] Paleoecology

[QE721.2.P24] Paleobiogeography

[QE901-QE996.5] Paleobotany

[QH83] Biology--Classification {not all historical}

[QH83 (Biology--Classification)] Cladistic analysis

[QH359-QH425] Evolution (Biology)

[QH367.5] Phylogeny

[QK91-QK95] Botany--Classification {not all historical}

[QK95.6] Botany--Classification--Molecular Aspects

[QL351-QL352] Zoology--Classification {not all historical}

[Z105-Z115.5] Paleography