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theHandpuppet

(19,964 posts)
Thu May 8, 2014, 07:13 PM May 2014

Faces of the Past, Reflections of the Present at Archaeology Conference

Faces of the Past, Reflections of the Present at Archaeology Conference
Posted by Andrew Howley of National Geographic Society on May 4, 2014

Top archaeologists from around the world have gathered at one of the great crossroads of cultures to explore the latest discoveries concerning the five “founding civilizations” of the world, and to discover what lessons they still hold for us today.

The 2014 Dialogue of Civilizations is being hosted by National Geographic and the Civilization Studies Center at Bahçeşehir University in Istanbul. Experts in the cultures of the ancient Maya, Egypt, Mesopotamia, Indus Valley, and China will give public presentations each day this week and will visit some of the most spectacular archaeological sites throughout Turkey...

...Richard Hansen, a leading archaeologist of the Maya, and the person who first conceived of the Dialogue of Civilizations, said that the main reason for such study and reflection is to find the writing, laws, art, architecture, political society, and economic systems worthy of emulation. They can provide us not only with warnings of what to avoid, but with “paths to a positive future of the world.”

Salah Jarrar, from the University of Jordan, identified two key aspects of a successful civilization. The first was that “no civilization can thrive on its own. Influence and interaction from other civilizations is key … The more interactive, the more successful.” His second point was that “there’s an inseparable link between civilization and science and learning.”

MORE at http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2014/05/04/what-archaeology-reveals-about-civilization/
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