“Discover the Secrets Behind 50 Astonishing Historical Photographs That Will Redefine Your Understanding of the Past!”
Have you ever stopped to ponder how we went from cave paintings to Instagram stories? It’s quite the leap, isn’t it? Back in the day, way before selfies and Snapchat filters, people relied on their wits and storytelling skills to pass down histories. It’s fascinating to consider how something like the epic tales of ancient heroes were recited from memory, often by those brave enough to face an audience for days on end. As Margot Note, an expert in archival wisdom, points out, early societies employed a colorful array of methods—from intricate rock art to the elaborate tapestries of yore—to capture their narratives. This journey from memory to the written word truly reflects our unquenchable thirst to document and understand our past. So, let’s dive into this rich tapestry of historical memory and explore how it all began—who knows what quirky insights we’ll uncover along the way! LEARN MORE.
The keeping of written history records appears relatively late, only 5,000 years ago in Egypt and ancient Sumer. Before that, knowledge about the past would be passed on from memory, with ancient storytellers being able to recite stories for days.
“Before photographs, people recorded history through oral traditions, written records, visual depictions, and physical artifacts. Oral storytelling preserved myths, genealogies, and events in societies without writing, while early civilizations used cuneiform, hieroglyphs, and manuscripts to document their histories,” further explained Margot Note, expert archival consultant and founder of Margot Note Consulting LLC, to Bored Panda.