Lois Posted 21 hours ago Quasi-History The main view of historians of all kinds on history, despite their different interpretations of facts, is that people in antiquity were completely straightforward. With this article, however, I want to show that they were not necessarily so straightforward. Everyone knows that today there are science fiction writers and futurists who try to look far into the future and describe things that may not appear for a very long time. But when it comes to ancient people, the common opinion is that they could not see further than their own noses, doing everything only for their present moment. In this way, they are portrayed as utterly primitive beings. Even Atlantologists, who claim that humanity in antiquity was much more advanced than today, do not make a decisive attempt to break free of stereotypes and admit that the ancients might also have amused themselves by creating objects they knew would be studied centuries later. That they might have simply played a super-intelligent prank on reality—building, for instance, the Egyptian pyramids not only to immortalize certain pharaohs but also knowing these monuments would be analyzed endlessly—is entirely possible. For a serious person, predicting history is not so difficult. Only naïve people live exclusively in the present moment, studying only the here and now, as well as the past. Serious people, however, are capable of looking far into the future. I once read online that chess was originally a purely magical game, where four sorcerers at the board, by playing a match, modeled an upcoming battle. Likewise, Tarot enthusiasts can simulate the future through cards and certain actions. Those who know the Toltec practice of stalking know that they could mystify others—and of course, such mystification could also apply to history. Indeed, such magicians lived in both Americas since ancient times and could have created their artifacts not for the reasons historians try to attribute to them, but specifically to mislead historians, mystifying them about their abilities and cultures—thus creating complexities in history while also achieving fame. For if everything were banal, what special meaning would life have had for them? Life has meaning for something and for someone, and the greatest meaning emerges when future generations begin to take interest in what you have left behind. So, my main idea is this: people in antiquity could have created their objects specifically for future researchers, engaging in forgery and the mystification of history. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lairg Posted 20 hours ago 1 hour ago, Lois said: my main idea is this: people in antiquity could have created their objects specifically for future researchers Alternatively the ancient peoples made functional objects that modern humans struggle to understand. How many ancient devices have been labelled as religious objects and put in the basement of museums? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lois Posted 18 hours ago 1 hour ago, Lairg said: How many ancient devices have been labelled as religious objects and put in the basement of museums? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ica_stones Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nungali Posted 18 hours ago (edited) There is absolutely NO historical president to support this straw man claim that historians think people in antiquity were straight forward Even Herodotus , the 'Father of History' is notoriously recognized as inaccurate ... and dont start me on Biblical scribes ! I can say and prove a lot more of this , if anyone is interested ..... but I doubt this thread is about that Stick this comment into your AI ; ' the father of history is inaccurate ' and see what it tells you . Edited 18 hours ago by Nungali Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BigSkyDiamond Posted 17 hours ago (edited) 3 hours ago, Lois said: Quasi-History ...the greatest meaning emerges when future generations begin to take interest in what you have left behind. when my sons were in middle school, one of the books on their assigned reading list was Motel of the Mysteries, by David Macaulay. It is set in the far future (the year 4022) when a budget motel is discovered by archaeologists, buried deep in the rubble of the ancient forgotten civilization USA which was extinguished in a cataclysmic event. It is assumed to be a sacred burial chamber, and the holy exalted mystical meaning and function assigned to the sacred items found therein , are quite funny. TV, toilet seat, bathtub, bed all take on grand significance, with somber scientific analysis, detailed well-drafted diagrams and set in the grand sweeping (and speculative) arc of (re-constructed) history and culture. it is an eye-opening parody and commentary on how our current culture may be viewed by archaeologists in the future. "The late 1970's United States is accidentally buried under several feet of junk mail, trapping and entombing the entire country for several centuries. Eventually an archaeologist stumbles upon a sinkhole which leads to the discovery of a budget motel. "Do you see anything?" "Yes, wonderful things!..." And so our culture is rediscovered, misinterpreted, lampooned, and utterly skewered in a send-up of the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb. "judging from the DO NOT DISTURB sign hanging from an archaic doorknob, was clearly the entrance to a still-sealed burial chamber. Carson's incredible discoveries, including the remains of two bodies, one of them on a ceremonial bed facing an altar that appeared to be a means of communicating with the Gods and the other lying in a porcelain sarcophagus in the Inner Chamber, permitted him to piece together the whole fabric of that extraordinary civilization." Edited 17 hours ago by BigSkyDiamond 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites