We have an image of the world and its history largely founded in what 18th and 19th Century historians / archaeologists dug up in their tours around the Near East and elsewhere, with a few bits pasted on by folk in the 20th Century filling in a few gaps.
But the reality is, we know very little about areas outside of the classical regions. The idea of a battle of thousands in northern Europe during the Bronze Age was inconceivable — until it came to light thanks to a convenient swamp and an off-chance discovery. How much more don't we know?
And consider: the events along the Tollense River in 1200 BC were massively significant to the people there at the time. Hundreds killed and no doubt significant social and political shifts ensuing. It was the most important thing, one imagines, to happen to an entire generation in that region, reverberating for decades to come.
Then it vanished in the mists of history, forgotten and beyond the pale of even consideration.
What else don't we know? And 3200 years from now, what of what we consider to be the most important event or issue of the time will be lost in our own historical swamps?
Slaughter at the bridge: Uncovering a colossal Bronze Age battle | Science | AAAS
Grisly find suggests Bronze Age northern Europe was more organized—and violent—than thought
