Research Paper on:
Interpreting History with Ancient Literacy Texts

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
information from ancient times. This is particularly true in our utilization of ancient texts to interpret the classical period of history. Historical method demands that we consider such  factors as authorship, language, structure and form, sources, and literary meaning in undertaking this task. All texts, after all, are the product of a particular time, place, and circumstance.  Their literary meaning, however, does not exist in a vacuum. Indeed, this meaning is expressed in a particular context and that context is subject to a great variety  of variables. To gain the most accurate understanding of history the historian must take not only ancient texts in context but also consider all else that is known regarding a  particular culture and time period. Archaeological investigations can often complement this quest but so too can other disciplines such as the sciences. Take ancient Mesopotamia for an example.  Researchers are currently analyzing the ancient clay tablets created by envoys and messengers between the ancient rulers in Mesopotamia and found archaeologically in locations like Assyria and Babylon (Shaw,  1998). These tablets are inscribed with ancient Egyptian writing perhaps detailing the settlements of various conflicts or recording certain bits of history of the region. The field of  geology entered the realm of this historical research when researchers realized that they were composed of many different types of clays which, more than likely, were collected in differing locations  (Shaw, 1998). An examination of the material cultures of these two regions show a particularly advanced peoples both of whom maintained  frequent contact with the other. Ancient clay tablets which have found in the archaeological records of the two regions provide a particularly interesting challenge to archaeologists in that they