Why should we study media of earlier civilzations?

It is vitally important to study the media of earlier civilizations in order to  understand how communication began and continues to change, not only here in our country, but throughout the world.  Developing a strong understanding of communications and how they were formulated is important from an educational standpoint, not only for communication majors, but for the general public as well.  For example, it is important to understand the initial communications were found on cave walls and on clay tablets in every country in the world.  These "symbols" were drawn or painted onto surfaces enabling the exchange of ideas from one person to the another.  Understanding the discovery of ideograms and the use of these symbols throughout history is also pertinent in understanding communication through the ages.  Furthermore gaining understanding in the history of writing, as it serves as a form of exchanging ideas is most relevant.  This medium provided an additional communication avenue that had not been seen before, and gave way to providing an additional communication avenue that recorded pertinent information and shared ideas among the masses.