A gigantic palimpsest

Historical memory is selective. Not all human works or ideas are preserved.

Some have remained relatively unscathed, others only retain weak vestiges and in many cases there is no material proof of their existence.

Nor do all the events that occurred are remembered.

The vast majority are forgotten and probably will remain ignored forever. In others cases, its occurrence survives and is recognized in written testimonies, by oral tradition or by other direct or indirect traces.

In any case, it is a general rule that the remains of artifacts and social actions, as well as the memories of past events, tend to be erased or deformed over time.

Therefore, the memory of recent events is more vivid. As the years and centuries pass, the details are lost and uncertainties increase.

We can imagine the history of civilizations as a gigantic palimpsest composed of successive manuscripts superimposed on a single parchment.

Metaphorically, the register of human societies turns out to be like an almost indestructible parchment that is written and rewritten countless times and in each new writing the signs of the oldest writings become blurred, hindering their reading and interpretation.

One of the main purposes of this work is to advance in the recovery of the old scriptures, often overshadowed by the ostentatious glitter of modern discourses.

Fortunately, although weakened, the symbols mayare still be present. They are found in various places and conditions, and in those cases it may be possible to decipher them.

Frequently the remnants have not vanished or vanished, they have only been hidden, kidnapped or belittled, but they are still present somewhere.

This "forgetfulness" can be a concerted action, even a conspiracy so that its presence is ignored, so that the old memories are suppressed, annulled, forgotten. In other cases, concealments are unconscious and respond only to prejudices or discriminatory stereotypes.

The traces of the past

Human events of any kind, be they social, economic or political, leave different traces of greater or lesser depth in societies and landscapes.

These traces can manifest materially in many ways. Sometimes they are exteriorized through architectural works, monuments and artistic expressions. In other cases they are presented through landscape, ecological or environmental changes. They can also survive in literary or musical works, or simply in oral traditions or legends.

These surviving remnants of the past are recorded in historical memory, which is the backbone of cultures.

Palimpsest: parchment that is written and rewritten countless times and in each new writing the signs of the oldest writings become blurred, hindering their reading and interpretation.

From:; Chronicles of Human Peripecie", Danilo Anton, Piriguazù Ediciones.