Ancient civilizations – our ancestry

Studying ancient civilizations can help us better understand our own civilizations today. The study of ancient people and cultures can help us better understand humanity and how people interact with one another. Studying them is to learn more about our ancestry.

When looking at the early civilizations, we can study how they were formed, what made them prosper, what sustained that civilization, and what ultimately led to its downfall. As people in the modern world, we can learn a lot from the past, especially from the mistakes that led to their demise.

While talk of the history of the ancient world and ancient civilizations centers typically around the obvious: ancient Greece, ancient Rome, ancient Egypt, etc., there are a myriad of other ancient civilizations that are not covered as regularly or as in-depth. Unfortunately, over time, war, the lack of a written language, and civilizational collapse, much of ancient history has been lost.

Many civilizations have been lost to history, and we only know of them through a few scant artifacts and the words of others because a competing civilization conquered them. Civilizations such as the Etruscans and Carthage, considered ‘major civilizations’ of their time, had much of their history destroyed. At the same time, many smaller nations and tribes are mentioned only by name.

While some people believe that the past should be left in the past, many of us view ancient civilizations as fascinating and worthy of study as it can teach us much about the world. Thankfully, due to the digital age, information has never been more readily available and in so many different formats. This appeals to anyone with curiosity in ancient history.

No longer is the local library or religious group the only source of information for people worldwide who seek a better understanding of the past. There are a myriad of educational and opinion sites out there that provide not only a lot of information but also a lot of thought-provoking ideas and views.

A medium that I have found a lot of information is video streaming platforms. I have discovered many fascinating videos about ancient history there. The beauty I see with videos is that they combine the informational aspect with stunning graphics, making it easier to consume rather than just reading walls of text. The width and breadth of video platforms allow for an ever-expanding range of views and opinions, which cannot always be captured in the written word alone. This also allows the average person to start their own channel and voice original opinions and opinions that challenge orthodoxy. I tend to find some of these fascinating as it’s not an opinion you hear often, and it really gets you thinking about things.

Podcasts are another great source of information for history buffs. The advantage of podcasts over video streaming platforms is that you can start listening to a podcast and go about your day without the need to stop and watch something, as it is all audio. This also helps the people who find it easier to learn via listening rather than by watching the screen or reading text.

The emergence of large streaming services has also led to a lot of interest in ancient history. Plenty of streaming services are documentary-based, giving the world a smorgasbord of quality history content at a volume never seen before.

Of course, primary sources remain extremely important and valuable. Books written by ancient historians or contemporaries can tell us what was happening and the vital context surrounding those events. Books such as Meditations by Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius, ab urbe condita (From the Founding of the City) by Roman historian Livy, and Histories by the ancient Greek historian Herodotus are all still vital today. They can still teach us plenty of lessons about the world and ourselves.

Ancient civilizations remain a fascinating study topic, as we often find similarities between our own time and times past. During times of tumult and uncertainty, we tend to look back in time to see how a previous crisis was handled or what mistakes led to a society’s collapse. Many people would contend that we are currently experiencing a time of drastic change and uncertainty.

The stories of ancient civilizations are stories of ourselves. These ancient people were the beginnings of our culture, story, and identity. Sure, we can create our own history and identity through what we do and believe in in our lifetime. Still, these people formed the bedrock of our society long ago.

When reading about or studying ancient civilizations, we learn many aspects. We tend to lump everything into the general topic of history without nuance, which doesn’t give the past the respect it deserves. There is much more to ancient history than just considering it as something that occurred in the past. These early civilizations were vibrant societies.

Looking at history as more than something that ‘just happened,’ we can learn much about our ancestry, as our ancestors have already walked many of the paths we travel today.

The study of ancient civilizations can generally be broken down into a few main categories:

• History
• Daily life
• Historical Figures
• Military
• Past and Present
• Opinions & Analysis

History is more or less a timeline of a civilization. It covers the formation of a tribe or gathering in a particular geographical area, the growth of that group of people into something more sophisticated, with hierarchical structures and community organization, and the expansion of said civilization, which could be brought about by available land, diplomacy, trade, or military conflict, all the way up to its peak. This timeline, or civilizational cycle, then charts its decline, fall, and possible erasure from history.

As we look back through old texts and continue archeological digs, we find artifacts and long-lost pieces of information that bring the past back to life. We don’t always have to discover artifacts for this to occur—many ancient monuments and landmarks still survive to this day—think the Parthenon of ancient Greece, the Colosseum of ancient Rome, and the Pyramids of ancient Egypt.

Let’s not forget some of the great cities of antiquity, many of which survive today. Some have new names, and many have visible links to the past. Think Alexandria, Rome, Athens, Londinium, and Constantinople (Istanbul).

Reading ancient texts and looking at ancient maps can also help give us a sense of ancient geography – where civilizations existed or lands that an empire had conquered.

What often gets overlooked is the history that is no longer tangible or very scant detail remains. ‘Lost history’ or ‘lost to history’ are terms used to describe history that can no longer be found or traced. This could be for various reasons – incorrect or lack of written records, destruction of civilization through war, absorption into another society, and there are also times when talk of older civilizations amounts to nothing more than myths and legends.

When we look around, we often see the past return to life. Many ancient civilizations still leave their mark on the world today. Many civilizations built extraordinary buildings, some of which are still in use today, some lie in ruin, and some are yet to be discovered.

Much of history revolves around civilian life. For all the talk about battles, conquests, and famous leaders, there are still the masses of ordinary people (also known as plebeians in ancient Rome).

Culture, art, music, entertainment, food, and religion give us a sense of what life was like for ordinary people in these civilizations.

Ordinary people also played an essential role in the leadership of society – not that there were many democracies in ancient times, but ignoring the people’s will could turn the masses into a riotous mob if they didn’t get what they wanted from a particular leader. This could lead to civil unrest, violence in the streets, and riots, and it could even lead to open revolt. In some rare cases, the revolt could have a military component that leads to civil wars.

The government played a huge role in all organized societies, helping society function in a somewhat orderly fashion (which, in many cases, was still rather chaotic). Like today, citizens expected their government to provide essential services like law and order, housing, places to conduct commerce, and places to worship.

Government came in different forms—democracies, monarchies, dictatorships, etc. Citizens still expected the bare minimum from their leaders; however, like today, they were let down quite often.

History is littered with well-known characters, even thousands of years later. From the famous and accidental heroes to the infamous and downright evil, there is a Pantheon of names that have stood the test of time. People like Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Germanicus, Fritigern, Geiseric, Ramses, Archimedes, Constantine the Great, Galileo, Michelangelo, Attila the Hun, Genghis Khan, Vlad the Impaler, and many others, there have been countless people that either changed history, shaped it or significantly contributed to it.

Many have uttered famous words that have lived on long after they have left the world. Many were pearls of wisdom from which we can learn a lot even today. Meditations by Marcus Aurelius is a book full of them.

Much of a civilization’s success (or lack thereof) was built on the back of its military. As people fought over land, resources, and prestige, a nation’s military played a huge role in protecting its citizens and expanding its dominion. Think of the great military forces throughout the ancient world—the Romans, Persians, and Egyptians—who all helped expand the lands of their nation/empire and protected their people back home.

Expanding an empire requires many hard-fought battles. History-defining battles are littered throughout history—the Battle of Thermopylae and the Battle of Zama, just to name two. That’s before we even get to the Crusades.

On a more granular level, many different troop types made up those armies, playing essential roles within the military infrastructure and crucial roles on the battlefield. Those troops had their own weapons, armor, and equipment, all of which were important in ‘winning the day.’

By default, many people think that the past remains in a time way before now. On more profound thought, much of what we have now is thanks to our ancestors.

We can also look back into the past and compare it to our own time to see if there are any parallels between the two. Solutions to problems in today’s world may be found in the ancient world, as we are not the first to walk this path. Many similarities can be found between us and our ancient forebears. We can also take lessons from the past so we do not repeat them now or in the future.

Much of our learning about ancient civilizations can come from hearing or reading different opinions on the same topic. History is rarely a black-and-white thing, with our understanding evolving as new evidence comes to hand. The unearthing of new evidence then leads to fresh theories as to what happened, how it happened, and why it happened. Unorthodox opinions have a place in studying history as they challenge prevailing theories and opinions.

Opinions can also differ significantly at times, as large chunks of information are often lost to history, leading scholars to try to ‘fill in the blanks’ and to do their best to come up with the most likely theories to explain things that happened hundreds or thousands of years ago.

Like today, ancient historians and writers had their own biases, while propaganda was a considerable weapon even back then. This can lead to embellishments to support someone or a scathing piece of writing that condemns another. For these reasons, we cannot take everything written as fact, making today’s scholars cautious. Their cautiousness can vary, leading to differing opinions on what the primary sources tell us.

Data analysis is also a great way to learn about history and generate discussion. While hard data can be hard to come by when studying ancient history, analyzing what data we have is another tool for helping us understand more about the past. However, we must also be aware that data from so long ago may be incomplete, inconsistent, or incorrect. With that in mind, we must use discernment when analyzing such data.

Studying ancient civilizations remains fascinating, and there is still much to learn. We should feed that curiosity by knowing as much as we can from the past to make better decisions in the future.

From time to time, people have questions regarding ancient history. From beginners and casual enthusiasts to experts in the field, we are all keen to feed our curiosity and increase our knowledge. Our Ancient FAQ section aims to help in that regard as we answer some of the history community’s popular questions.