International Archaeology Day October 18th

So what has archaeology been up to the last 200 years?

A man at the age of thirty reading a paper in New York, London, Paris, Istanbul, New Delhi, Shanghia, Tokyo, Sydney or Bogota would have on October 18th 1814 would have known:

That the ancient Egyptians left a lot or ruins but no one then could read their language and most of the ruins were covered up with sand.

He wouldn't have known about the Minoans, only had the faintest hint of the Etruscan's but would have been intrigued by Pompeii and Herculaeum where digging had been going on for some generations. The wonders of Sumer were unknown, Akkad forgotten and Babylon only a name in a Bible, The Harappa unknown, Neanderthals unthought of. The world was probably only 6,000 years old, the Chinese were old but no one knew how hold, Angkor Wat was unknown to the west and the people of Meso America were somewhat known but their languages lost. In South America the many cultures before the Inca were unknown and many places forgotten and deserted, Machu PIchu would not be found for 97 years. In Africa many great empires lay lost, while in the old classical world hundreds of cities lay forgotten and buried.

Then they were found, the languages read, our ancestors honored and their works of arts revisited. We found the great cave art and just how far back humanity went.

a reply to: Hanslune

Now just imagine how much more people will know in 2214 if we've not managed to kill ourselves off by then.

I think I will get hammered that day. It's easy to do, my avatar is an ancient hammer.

a reply to: theantediluvian

Right!

It's mind boggling to think of how many other ancient treasures are buried under earth, just waiting to be discovered.

a reply to: Hanslune

You forgot Schliemann! His 'discovery of Troy' only occurred in the early 1870s.

Troy and the Trojan War were still just tales from Homer.

Mormons had yet to carve "ancient" Hebrew/Egyptian graffiti into the rock faces of the American southwest.

Göbekli Tepe wouldn't be uncovered for another 150 years.

Lot of stuff remained buried and unknown back then, lol.

originally posted by: theantediluvian
a reply to: Hanslune

Now just imagine how much more people will know in 2214 if we've not managed to kill ourselves off by then.

They will be sitting back and laughing at our crude technique, laughable conclusions and wondering why we didn't see that theories x, y and z better explained what had happened and how in the heck had we not realized just how many ancient 'mini cultures existed in the middle east

originally posted by: Astyanax
a reply to: Hanslune

You forgot Schliemann! His 'discovery of Troy' only occurred in the early 1870s.

Ah yes but it was poor forgotten Frank Calvert who actually found it (if in fact it is Troy) there are still some doubts.

originally posted by: Blackmarketeer
Troy and the Trojan War were still just tales from Homer.

Mormons had yet to carve "ancient" Hebrew/Egyptian graffiti into the rock faces of the American southwest.

Göbekli Tepe wouldn't be uncovered for another 150 years.

Lot of stuff remained buried and unknown back then, lol.

Yeah I left out the ruins of southwest America too and of course one of my two favorites LAUM and Routledge was century away from landing on Easter Island and Leakey had not yet been smart enough to marry Mary so she could find our ancestors!