You know, I can't even remember. I think my teacher mostly talked about what it looked like and what it was used for, that is, economic records. But I have the shittest memory ever, so I couldn't tell you in great detail. I remember thinking it was very boring, though, because it was all about economics. Ironically, primitive economic systems are now a great pet interest of mine.
And yes, the discovery of the Indo-European language group has done a lot to increase interest in Indian civilization. I think it's more "acceptable" to admire it, now that we know that they were "like us". But it's also sort of worked to marginalize interest in and respect for non-Sanskrit-speaking peoples like the Dravidians, because they are not "like us" and are thus not as worthy of study. Unfortunately, it seems that a lot of regions get treated like that, and it's predominantly those regions that are populated by dark-skinned or otherwise primitive peoples.
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Date: 2004-11-22 04:55 pm (UTC)You know, I can't even remember. I think my teacher mostly talked about what it looked like and what it was used for, that is, economic records. But I have the shittest memory ever, so I couldn't tell you in great detail. I remember thinking it was very boring, though, because it was all about economics. Ironically, primitive economic systems are now a great pet interest of mine.
And yes, the discovery of the Indo-European language group has done a lot to increase interest in Indian civilization. I think it's more "acceptable" to admire it, now that we know that they were "like us". But it's also sort of worked to marginalize interest in and respect for non-Sanskrit-speaking peoples like the Dravidians, because they are not "like us" and are thus not as worthy of study. Unfortunately, it seems that a lot of regions get treated like that, and it's predominantly those regions that are populated by dark-skinned or otherwise primitive peoples.