Okay, so, in response to some messages I've been getting, I know it's unfair of me to expect 12-year-olds to have an especially good grasp of hermeneutics, but some of you have been through college and should know better.
Had you ever taken one of my Introduction to Archaeological Theory classes, you'd already know that the assumption of universal meaning across cultures - in time or in space - is not a neutral act. It always requires the establishment of a norm from which everything else deviates. That norm (it almost goes without saying) is - 9 times out of 10 - whatever you are familiar with in your culture (or, sometimes, it's binary opposite). Do I need to explain how this is racist, intellectually colonialist, and bigoted?
I'm going to spell it out: if you believe that big boys don't cry, that homosexuality was prevalent and normalised in the ancient world, that people always behave in ways that obtain them the most benefit, that we can clearly and unambiguously understand the nuance of ancient languages, or that we know where Homeric Aethiopia was, then yes, I'm talking to you.
