I am having a hard time wrapping my head around the concept of a base 60 numbering system. It seems like it would be incredibly complicated and inefficient as all hell.

Wait till Ancient Aliens hears about this - they will do an entire show claiming that a base 60 numbering system could only have come from alien visitors.

On a more serious note (and this is the History board after all), the fact that this ancient tablet was discovered and preserved serves to point out how important historical items (including statues) can be for helping us understand our history.

ISIS has been roundly criticized for destroying ancient artifacts (rightfully so), but now it seems many folks in our country want to destroy monuments, place names, etc from our own history. In my book what is happening is no different than what ISIS is doing in the Middle East.

The burning of the Library of Alexandria was another tragedy that destroyed so much of ancient history, literature and learning that has been lost forever.

These Confederate monuments are not irreplaceable ancient artifacts. They are recent statues put up to celebrate a cause that denied the humanity of many Americans. The ones that have artistic of historical value should be preserved in a museum or at a battlefield. But there's no strong argument that every Confederate monument must remain in its current place for all time.

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But there's no strong argument that every Confederate monument must remain in its current place for all time.

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Well, I can give you a VERY strong argument why they should remain in place. Removing Confederate monuments starts the proverbial "slippery slope".

Who gets to decide which ones go and which ones stay, which ones are moved to museums, which ones are outright DESTROYED!

And the bigger issue, of course - where does it stop? Renaming schools? Rewriting textbooks? Removing flags? The Sul Ross statue? Etc, etc, etc?

Does "guilt by association" become the standard? My father's ancestors were Yankees from NY and one was a Union general. My mom's ancestors were rebels from Georgia who moved to Texas after the Civil War. A great uncle of my mom's became a millionaire when oil was found in the Ranger area. FWIW, they were way to poor to ever own even one slave. Will I be called upon to disown and publically rebuke my maternal ancestors for choosing the wrong side in the Civil War?

And once the memory of the confederates is gone, who is next - Washington, Jefferson, some of the signers of the Declaration of Independence? (Hint: we already know the answer to that question)

Then which groups become the villains? How about the western settlers and army Indian fighters? I have plenty of those in my family tree, and certainly anyone with deep family roots in Texas does as well. They certainly "denied the humanity of many Americans".

I am frankly disappointed that you, a historian, would take the position that you have.

I will say again - the slippery slope of rewriting history is just starting in our country - who knows what is next (renaming schools is already underway) and who the next "villain" class will become.

"Reinterpretation and change" of their society has always been a favorite tactic of totalitarian and communist regimes - Nazis, Soviet Communists, Chinese Communists, etc. It is also a favorite tactic of ISIS, who have destroyed countless centuries old artifacts.

Also, you didn't answer my central thesis - "where does it all end"?

A significant event that helped shaped the makeup of the US is a little bit more than a memory. US history is made of good and bad things but it is still our history.

No matter what is said, Dr. Watson will still say the cause was slavery.
A statue to honor the dead of a lost side? Dedicated to slavery.
Going to the moon? Done to escape the history of slavery?
Trigonometry? Created because ancient Babylonians bought slaves in sixty packs, because they shopped at Costco.
College educations are prohibitively expensive to keep slaves and descendants of slaves in slavery. /dr Watson rant

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I am having a hard time wrapping my head around the concept of a base 60 numbering system. It seems like it would be incredibly complicated and inefficient as all hell.

Wait till Ancient Aliens hears about this - they will do an entire show claiming that a base 60 numbering system could only have come from alien visitors.

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Obviously, it came from an ancient civilization with 60 fingers and toes.

Me, I can only count to 10. Or 20 with my shoes off. Or 21 if I'm nekkid.

I tend to think it's already happening. It's not just about Confederate monuments now. It's about Washington and Jefferson monuments, our very own monument to Sul Ross, Teddy Roosevelt, etc, etc.

And it's about renaming schools, highways, public buildings, etc. Hell - maybe it will even spread to town names soon. How about Robert Lee, Tx? In the 50's (before interstate highways) my family lived in NM and we used to visit my Grandmother in San Angelo a couple of times a year. We always stopped in Robert Lee, Tx to get gas and take a leak. There must be countless towns across the US that have names with some connection to Confederates. Texas has 26 counties named after Confederates as well.

As I asked - "where does it end"?

I tend to think that's a pretty damned good argument - once this kind of crap starts (referring to Confederate monuments), the movement just keeps blossoming. Given the very sad state of history education in our country, lots of uninformed young folks will just eat that crap up.

Nobody is "voting" on these removals. Where did you get that idea? If people DID get to VOTE on issues like this, you might have a point. But that's not happening!

Edit: A city council, school board, or any other very small group "voting" to remove a monument does not constitute a decision by the citizens of city/county/state IMO.

Watching the news lately, it appears that "decisions" about removing confederate monuments will be made by protesting mobs - the side with the biggest (and most violent?) mob will win the day.

And have no doubt - every protester in the mob FAVORING the monuments will be labeled by the media as a white supremacist, Nazi, or KKK by the media. And conversely, every protester in the mob demanding removal of the monument will be labeled a peace loving, big hearted, kind, gentle, sensitive, and above all - highly intelligent citizen and patriot.

Mark my words, - it's going to get ugly. And for what purpose? Our society has lived with those monuments for over a hundred years in many cases.

I learned from statues that brave men are honored for defending their state.
Never saw a statue that honored anyone for defending slavery.