Why do we care about this stuff?

Question

I use to be very into anthropology and archaeology for years.

Now I just think who cares?? I should just get on with life,how does any of this add to peoples existence? to the intensity or value of their life?

Answer 1

"How does any of this add to peoples existence?"  Sitting in your air conditioned and centrally heated room with a computer and a cell phone near by and electrical lighting, you probably do not care.

But are you grateful for the millions of humans who came before you and made this possible?

Starting with a cave and sticks and a few rocks, your current choices are provided by those who came before you.  You can be grateful or not.

"The intensity or value of their life?"  Those who do not know how they got here will have no idea of where we (humanity) are going.  They will not learn that all cultures make mistakes and our is no exception.  Destruction of the environment, extinction of other lifeforms, poisons and radioactivity at the nightmare level, drugs to cope with reality... your future is not yet determined.

Those who study the past can help build a better future.  Those who ignore their ancestors, will be blown by the winds of popular (and often uninformed) choices.

"Why do we care about this stuff?"  Not all of us do care and those who do might have totally different reasons.  Some out of curiosity.  Some out of habit.  Some to fill in the gaps in our formal education.  Some to learn how diverse humanity is (and was).

You, personally, may not need to know how to read an ancient language or what a woman ate for breakfast 20,000 (or even 2000) years ago but you should know that your life style may have been dependent upon the fact that someone wrote down some things and that woman lived long enough to give birth to children.

She probably thought why she should care about what the old farts around the fire talked about.  How does this add to her life?

Answer 2

If we don't know who we are as a species, then all other knowledge is meaningless!

Answer 3

If you actually feel that way, by all means...leave it.

On the other hand, it has been a characteristic of anthropoids to search for information about things; this is how the human race advances.

You joined us once...come on back!