Controversy of the Week

From now on, each week I will debunk, give my opinion, and analyze controversies concerning history.


The Ancient History Spectrum

When most American citizens think of "ancient times," they immediately think of the Roman Empire and Greece. When I say "Middle Ages," I guarantee you the first response would be either "castle," "knight," or "King Arthur." America's schools are flawed when it comes to history--they have an addiction to the "classical" and "western worlds." Asian history is hardly taught, South American history is long forgotten after 4th and 6th grade native American studies.

I could easily major in "Classics" or "Ancient Studies" in college, but what do these include? Classics is chiefly Roman and Greek literature, Ancient Studies is primarily only civilizations touching the Mediterranean!


Of course, you can't blame this all on the U.S., international cooperation, when it comes to archaeology, is all over the spectrum. Whereas Egypt has a whole section of government devoted to the preservation of artifacts--China would kick you to Pluto if they found out you were digging up their remains. The difference is mainly ethical--Egypt would care less if they disturbed their money-addicted ancestors, China is the exact opposite.


Some places, like Iraq, just plain don't care if a test bomb accidentally blows up precious ancient remains. They have no archaeological government--urging digs, or preventing them.



India is a different story; the ancient Harappans (which I will be doing a post on shortly) left little to nothing when it comes to writing--and no portraits or artifacts of much value have been found. To put it short and simple: these ancient people had no personality.



Therefore, archaeologists and the Indian government are at a lost. Yes, there are artifacts to dig up, but there's no point in having them!

My Opinion

Before you start criticizing the world, you've got to give them a break. Salute countries like Egypt and Greece, but don't scream at China--they're honoring their ancestors.

America and Britain, on the other hand, needs to realize something: the ancient world did not exclusively include the Greeks and Romans! Fabulous empires such as the ancient Chinese and Mongols thrived during ancient times and the Middle Ages.