What is a primary source document

Think of a primary source document as a source that has seen the action it is interpreting. for example, a journal entry by Christopher Columbus about the Americas would be considered a primary source document. however, a text book that covers Columbus’ journey written 10 years later wouldn’t be a primary source. examples of primary sources are
-journal entries
-photographs
-letters
-artifacts such as hieroglyphs
-pieces of art

if something is written “about something” like a text book or if it is a replica of something that is not the real thing, that would be a secondary source.

I hope this helped!