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From: mayshar@hum.huji.ac.il (Dan Mayshar)
Subject: Re: Ancient World FAQs
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adler@pulsar.cs.wku.edu (Allen Adler) wrote:


>Just one very naive question.

>We find it convenient to divide the past into ancient, medieval
>and modern. One thousand years from now, it will probably still
>be convenient to do so. At that time, what years will be the lines
>drawn between ancient and medieval and between medieval and modern?

 I beg to differ: the tripartite division of history dates back only
to the renaissance. The common division among the folks we now call
medieval was double: pagans vs. christendom; our calendar reflects
that. The ancients didn't much recognize any sort of major division in
history at all. And there are a lot of disturbing signs we're edging
into #4a: the early post-modern.  

	dan mayshar <mayshar@hum.huji.ac.il>
	west jerusalem



