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Article: Politics and the pursuit of the past.
- Article from:
- Queen's Quarterly
- Article date:
- March 22, 2002
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 Queen's Quarterly. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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When European explorers and settlers came upon the ruins of Great Zimbabwe, they were amazed at the peculiar construction of the ancient granite walls and monuments. Built with great engineering and architectural skill, littered with artifacts from as far away as China, this was the last thing the newcomers expected to find deep in Africa. Their first thought: "Whatever could have happened to the white people who built this?" It seems that our relationship to our own past will always be a troubling one, especially when the past tells us things we do not particularly want to know.
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