Portfolio Reflection

Bryan Marcell
Hist 134
4/29/2017
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What can I, as an historian of the ancient world, learn and apply from the history of my

ancient ancestors to my own role in contributing to and acting responsibly for the betterment of

society? That is a very loaded question and like all questions, has an answer. A definite answer is

a bit trickier to find but one thing the past has taught is, history tends to repeat itself. Even

though the world has continued to grow and advancements in religion, laws, arts, science and

education to just name a few have advanced to a point where our ancestors could never imagine.

I feel technology is one that has far surpassed even modern day mans expectations and have

pushed us into an age where without it, we may be doomed.

To approach this, we must find out why history tends to repeat itself and why it is so

important to learn about things that may have happened so long ago. History provides a cultural

literacy: the cultural capital to develop a lens through which to understand historical names,

dates, events, and concepts. Apart from this, and perhaps more importantly, history gives us

meaning. It allows us to think critically about narratives that have developed over time and, in

doing so, provides us with a format to develop the meaningful interpretations necessary to

examine the events that shape modern society.i Finding how ancient people used the technology

they had can help us understand just how advanced they may have been without using electronic

gizmos like we do today. The simplest thing nowadays like moving heavy objects seems

impossible back then, but it was very possible, they used pulleys, logs for rolling and ropes to lift

huge stones.

We have become so reliant on technology but in the ancient times they used it to innovate

thinking and how they could handle situations. We live in an age where everyone is tied to a cell

phone, the most basic directions are handled with it but in ancient times they used the stars and

other natural ways to get from point A to B. Sometimes getting lost but more often than not they
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had a good idea on directions and where to go. If another ice age were to occur, the education

that we currently receive would not help us survive at all.ii This thought is very true, in the

ancient times, survival was a key way of life then. Nowadays people have become to accustomed

to not having to worry about such things. Its not like survival is something that is taught to us in

school.

Even the technology of the ancient Aegean areas where they started to develop more strong iron

weaponry and armor. It seems so small but it was a huge advancement that helped the Assyrian

people conquer like they did. The Assyrian military had a keen grasp on organization, they used

that combined with them being the largest army of soldiers and their iron weapons to easily

dispose of any forces that stood in their way.iii Simple advancement over your enemy could be

the difference between life and death. One great example of that idea and how history has

repeated itself is the way America has fought wars and the weapons we use. We develop missiles

and guns who far surpass what our enemies have. We bomb bunkers by a remote control far

away from any real harm.

We have advanced far beyond what ancient civilizations could ever dream of, could you imagine

how the first Emperor of China would have used any forms of technology we have now. Even

though we still dont have a means for immortality, he couldve equipped his warriors with great

means to easily take over the warring states of his time. Its even harder realizing where we are

now, you hear all the time about how North Korea wants to destroy the U.S. How would the a

people like the Greeks handle using GPS or watching videos of how their opponents fight, it

would of given them a great leg up on fights like with the Persians.

Everyday our technology grows and grows, we have cell phones that come out every few

months and they keep doing more and more. We have TVs which listen to us and we can now
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use our voice as a remote, when thirty some years ago we had to leave our seats just to change a

channel. Ancient civilizations didnt have such huge steps in advancements but they did advance

and that helps us look at how we can do the same in modern days. History plays a very important

way on telling us how our ancestors lived and we can change to not end up the ways they did.

History, our collective memory, carefully codified and critically revised, makes us social,

sharing ideas and ideals with others so as to form all sorts of different human groups. Each such

group acts as it does largely because of shared ideas and beliefs about the past and about what

the past, as understood and interpreted by the group in question, tells about the present and

probable future.iv
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Endnotes

i. How history shapes up.

ii. The first post to the question that was brought up.

iii. Quote taken right from myself.

iv. See section about collective memory.

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Bibliography
i Postma, Michael . "What Can History Teach Us Today?" ASCD Express 6.22 - What Can
History Teach Us Today? N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Apr. 2017.

ii Taylor, Nicole. "Ocelot Scholars." Ice Age Education Discussion. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Apr.
2017.

iii Marcell, Bryan. "M3: Nano-History." Loveseat. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Apr. 2017.

iv McNeill, William H. Why Study History? (1985) | AHA. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Apr. 2017.