--- Cindy Collins <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> Just one more point, I can't resist. . .  re: dogs don't have theatre or
> museums. . . that's cute, and I love dogs very much, so no disrespect to
> them, but I thought that it has been scientifically proven that we're at a
> higher level intellectually and technologically and culturally than they.
> Perhaps not.  Dogs don't have to work, or go to war either, so perhaps a
> dog's life would be just the thing.

But on the flip side, many hundreds of societies and cultures have existed
without museums. Are they on a "lesser level" than societies with museums? Some
societies have survived thousands of years remaining virtually unchanged solely
oral histories and folk traditions. While I think civilization will be less
grand without museums, it will certainly survive.

On a related note, how long have formal museums been in existance? I'm talking
about insitutions for the collection, preservation and academic study of a
culture, not just a collection of artifacts to show off just how wealthy and
powerful you really are to those around you (aka "stuff size wars". :) I figure
that the Greeks and Romans probably had some form of museums but that "modern"
museums are a relatively recent thing - like within the past 200 years or so.
Just curious.

Deb

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