The fact that history is written by "insiders" is both the reality and the
problem. There is no such thing as objective accounts of the past. It is
not an original idea, but true: history is written by the victors--from our
present vantage point, that means white, Christian, male. Do American
schoolchildren (white, black, or purple) learn about women's roles in
ancient Babylonia? or Pre-conquistador Mayan daily life? Home life in the
Gambia? What do we know of the man yearly Christian sects that didn't make
it into the history books? Maybe archaeologists are the only truly
objective historians, sifting through ancient garbage. What will our
garbage look like in several millenia (assuming that there will still be
human archaeologists around to dig it up)? Probably the usual history of
victors and  vanquished.

Ellen Giusti, Exhibition Evaluator
American Museum of Natural History
Exhibition Department
Central Park West at 79th Street
New York, NY 10024

212 769 5646(voice)
212 769 5926(fax)
[log in to unmask](e-mail)