[mercy]

I marvel at the amount of time and money we spend studying long dead savage societies having no bearing on modern life. Egyptian, Greek ... ok. they have relevance. S. American, African, Eskimo? Waste of time and resources.

Those that ARE interested should fund the studies with their own money. Not tax payers. If they come up with something grand perhaps they can sell it for a profit.

[JudyB1938]

How do ancient pharoahs have a bearing on modern life?

Who decides which ancient civilization has a bearing on modern life, anyway? Apparently, you?

Could you feel the way you do because ancient Egyptians and Greeks were "white", whereas the other societies you mentioned are "people of color"? Sure sounds racist to me.

[Cronos]

I marvel at the amount of time and money we spend studying long dead savage societies having no bearing on modern life. Egyptian, Greek ... ok. they have relevance. S. American, African, Eskimo? Waste of time and resources.

Well, "savage" would not be a correct term for the Incas. And yes, the Incas etc. would have a bearing on modern society -- at the very least we learn from their mistakes. African? Egypt is technically part of Africa, though I guess you mean sub-saharan Africa, because Egypt, North Africa and to some extent Ethiopia ARE relevant to the development of Western civilisation.

For sub-saharan Africa, the stone age tribes in Papua New Guinea and South America, got to admit, lesser influence, but we can learn and have learnt medicinal techniques from them