Why History Books Change

It might sound funny to suggest that history changes all the time, but it’s actually very true. Once in awhile a new discovery comes along that is so significant that it makes us re-write the history books. This happens when long-forgotten documents are discovered or exciting archaeological remains are unearthed.

Did you see the story about archaeologists who found the oldest gold necklace ever discovered in the Americas? This is a good example of why history books seem to change every single year.

A discovery like that necklace is significant because it represents so much more than art. It tells us about the history of the human race. Before this discovery, anthropologists believed that hunter/gatherers from 4000 years ago lived a certain way. For instance, they thought that people who hadn’t yet settled to live in towns didn’t have the skills or the desires to make sophisticated jewelry.

This discovery proved that we’ve been wrong all along. The creation of jewelry indicates that hunter/gatherers from this age did have abilities, values, beliefs, and practices that scientists had not suspected before.

Ask your parents how our interpretations of history and our scientific theories have changed since they were in high school. It’s an interesting topic to discuss over dinner!