Expert: Ralph Salier - 1/27/2010

Question
hi!Its me again! you asked last time what i would want to do with archeology. i mostly want to deal with Egypt but let may skills go a little more over to the Roman side. And thanks for the classes you told me to take. I live in Arkansas.If you can give me more advice or colleges i can go too then i would take it!

Thank you!
Your friend
Sarah Porter

Answer
Hi Sarah,

Roman Egypt.  This is a very narrow time frame.  It was also a very tumultuous time in that part of the world.  The influence of Egypt was beginning to wane and Rome was quickly rising.  Greece was essentially a memory.  

I think you need to widen your horizons.  There are a lot of people who study Roman and Egyptian cultures and though  they hold a great fascination  for many there is so much more out there that needs study.  For instance, the cultures of South East Asia.  These are ancient cultures so poorly understood and ignored for a very long time.  The culture of Bali or other parts of Indonesia, again ancient cultures poorly understood and hardly studied.  How about the multitude of cultures of India? Many are being studied but many are being ignored too.

How about the South American Cultures like the Inca, Moche, and Nazca? Facinating peoples, all need further study.

But if you are stuck on Roman Egypt, then there are only three universities to consider:

Columbia, University of Pennsylvania and Oxford.