Anthropology 327
Dr. Knell
04/22/2018
Ancient Civilizations and Interconnectedness
When studying ancient civilizations, it is easy to feel a disconnect between oneself and
the people of the past, and for valid reasons. We never knew these people, interacted with them,
experienced their cultures and languages, or have even seen their faces. However, an
archaeologist’s goal is to understand these ancient people as best as they can to get an
understanding of who they were and what kind of lives they lived. As each individual is different
from another, so are their cultures, and this is what makes it most difficult, but ever fascinating to
study. In today’s world, however, one can, for instance, load a Facebook page of a person in
China, and almost instantly know various characteristics pertaining to them, such as their
favorite movies, what they like to do in their free time, who their family is, where they work, and
so on. Unfortunately, we don’t have this luxury when studying people of the past – but what we
do know, is that these people were just like us in many ways, and, like ours, their societies were
connected in ways that even they might not have understood.
To be considered a city-state, a society must have a hierarchy of power and classes,
distribution of goods and services, have a king, or some type of leader, and subsist in an efficient
enough way to feed their population. Many archaic city-states also had distinct languages with
writing systems, tax systems, and common religious or spiritual beliefs (Dr. Knell, Early
Civilizations lecture). While these qualities surely brought the people within their societies
together, could one also argue that these civilizations were interconnected on a global level?
When considering this question, it is important to note that there a various ways societies can be
connected to each other.
1
Dr. Knell
04/22/2018
Ancient Civilizations and Interconnectedness
When studying ancient civilizations, it is easy to feel a disconnect between oneself and
the people of the past, and for valid reasons. We never knew these people, interacted with them,
experienced their cultures and languages, or have even seen their faces. However, an
archaeologist’s goal is to understand these ancient people as best as they can to get an
understanding of who they were and what kind of lives they lived. As each individual is different
from another, so are their cultures, and this is what makes it most difficult, but ever fascinating to
study. In today’s world, however, one can, for instance, load a Facebook page of a person in
China, and almost instantly know various characteristics pertaining to them, such as their
favorite movies, what they like to do in their free time, who their family is, where they work, and
so on. Unfortunately, we don’t have this luxury when studying people of the past – but what we
do know, is that these people were just like us in many ways, and, like ours, their societies were
connected in ways that even they might not have understood.
To be considered a city-state, a society must have a hierarchy of power and classes,
distribution of goods and services, have a king, or some type of leader, and subsist in an efficient
enough way to feed their population. Many archaic city-states also had distinct languages with
writing systems, tax systems, and common religious or spiritual beliefs (Dr. Knell, Early
Civilizations lecture). While these qualities surely brought the people within their societies
together, could one also argue that these civilizations were interconnected on a global level?
When considering this question, it is important to note that there a various ways societies can be
connected to each other.
1
