I decided that the program of connecting nations and peoples to elements of culture is bogging down my efforts to examine history, while not providing much useful knowledge, so I put this on hold for a while and went to principally connecting nations to history and doing summaries. I’ve make progress with Russia, Bangladesh, and Japan in medieval times, and I also went back to prehistory and have India back to late prehistory.

Moving four centuries ahead puts me in the middle of late classical history. This gives me a chance to pull Russia (and Western Civilization) back unto early medieval times: However, since the history of Russia was not being recorded at the time, there isn’t a great deal to add. I have more connections of peoples to elements of institutions and culture.

I have advanced only three centuries into early classical history, although it’s been a fairly productive three. I got Pakistan into the 5th century BC where it intersects with the Persian empire, and started examining African history. At this point, African history is mostly a placeholder, because the history of the tribal peoples of Nigeria is not well preserved. I have begun connecting Southeast Asian and Oceanic peoples to details of industry.

I dabble from time to time in writing fiction, and have a few unfinished stories. The one I’m working on most right now is set in High School, and I’m trying to work out the social structure and politics of a first year algebra class. Back when I was in high school, I was such a nerd that when I did this, I paid attention to the algebra and very little to other students, so I actually don’t have much experience to draw on.

I’ve gotten through the centuries of antiquity. I don’t quite have late medieval history connected back to antiquity, but the mid 20th century is. Nations in general are now connected to details of human geography, and I am finishing a review of the application of other areas of anthropology. I haven’t quite examined Pakistan into antiquity, but the century-by-century summary is now back to Alexander the Great. The various nations and civilizations I have mentioned are now connected a little bit better to culture. It is these connections that has been tedious and exhausting, and I keep wanting to either go back to the beginning or skip forward. But, no, I progress a little at a time.

I have moved forward into the early 1st millennium BC. This is prompting the examination of Pakistan in early and late classical times. Although there is much in common with neighboring India, Pakistan has somewhat more in common with Persia and Afghanistan than the rest of India does. Western Civilization and American Indian peoples are being connected to mathematics and literature; Anglic peoples, to industries; Asiatic peoples, to philosophy and applied science; South Asia, to education, and Oriental peoples, to elements of behavioral culture. Middle American Indian peoples and North American Indian peoples, along with Anglic peoples, are being connected to industries. Progress will be a little bit slower, because more nations and peoples are being considered at the same time as I move forward through history.

Working through the 2nd millennium BC has led to consideration of Middle and North American Indian peoples, principally through classical and medieval times and back into the early 1st millennium BC. Although Middle American Indian peoples did have respectable civilization during this period, I do not have enough information to add much of a historical narrative. This will require more research into Middle American geography.

The shift in approach I mentioned yesterday involves going back to the lowest levels of history and pushing what I can. For the latest round of this, I have been working through the early 2nd millennium BC. Nations in general are being connected to details of human geography, and I have progressed through Europe and much of African. This has involved making connections to Indonesia, for which I have very little material in antiquity. This reflects a common problem, in which the largest countries of today often have little history in ancient times, while the largest and most important nations of antiquity or earlier are comparatively small today. This imbalance will eventually be rectified: for now, I just accept it and move on. Asiatic peoples are being connected to details of behavioral and conceptual culture, and I have begun connecting Oriental peoples in particular to details of behavioral culture. American Indian peoples (and along with them, Western Civilization) are being connected to details of conceptual culture including philosophy, applied science, and mathematics. Social mechanics is by now sufficiently connected to human geography and anthropology in general that I can set it aside. It is becoming increasingly clear that I will need to connect better to particular cities.

A slight shift in my development approach has me working heavily on India in antiquity, and an investigation into Harappan, or Indus Valley, civilization. I am interested in possible connections with Mesopotamian civilization and possible connections with Chinese civilization, but I have quite a bit of development to do before I can properly identify contemporary civilizations in this period.
For prehistory in general I am doing a review of application of studies of the human body; for antiquity in general, I am doing a review of applications of science. I am starting to connect the list of nations to elements of human geography. This is an important element in future development. I am connecting Asiatic peoples and Western Civilization to elements of culture. I am also connecting social mechanics to human geography. Religion, government, and economics are on hold for now, since I want to connect more particular cities, and I need to get further ahead in history before I can do much with these.

I have now projected the history of Asiatic peoples all the way back to where I begin human history. So far, the only example is China, but this will broaden. Antiquity has India back to the late 2nd millennium BC, with some comments on its archaeology. Indonesia approximately back through the 1st millennium BC, although there isn’t much to it. For classical and medieval history, there is more broadening going on.
Nations in general are better connected to details of culture, with clothing and food now represented.

Inertia, by which I mean, at this particular moment, my tendency to fix on one topic and ride it to death, regardless of any other considerations. In my review of Chinese prehistory, I’ve found a large gap in the anthropological record. There has been much made of early discoveries in China and their possible implications for human evolution, but it appears that modern human habitation of China is comparatively recent and follows a lengthy gap. Since my view of Asiatic history for these periods is excessively restricted, I will have to set this a side. For the history of India, I am looking at the Vedic age.