Reply To: Myth Becomes History

[Gabe]

Sir Arthur Evans lived around the turn of the 20th century which was notably a time of colonialism and white supremacy. People at that time were pretty unsubtle looking for reasons to justify the imperialism of European society. Since the Mediterranean is the place where western civilization traces most of its roots, the bias of the people who were discovering these sites and interpreting their findings is expected. One thing that struck me looking through this wing is how similar Aegean artifacts appear to those of Egyptian and the Middle East.
I think it’s pretty hard not to project ones own cultural values, from ethics to something like a rational perspective, onto any culture that one studies. This is probably double for a culture that is a part of one’s heritage. It’s still amazing that people like Sir Evans put so much effort into uncovering artifacts and arranging them, that despite the errors they may have made in their interpretations, their achievements are still praiseworthy.