( CNN ) Confucius said : `` Study the past if you would define the future . '' In Iraq , the past is glorious and long . This is where the world 's first cities were built and where writing and organized government were first developed more than 5,000 years ago . This is the land that gave the world its first great literary work -- the Epic of Gilgamesh , king of the city of Uruk -- over 1,000 years before Homer , and over 2,000 years before Christ . ISIS , like so many iconoclastic extremist groups through history , seeks to destroy the record of the past . In the past week , video has circulated showing neatly dressed figures wielding rather new-looking sledgehammers and destroying archaeological objects in the Mosul Museum . The spectacle would be ridiculous and pathetic if it were not so tragic . Although there are suggestions that some objects destroyed are only copies , many are said to be unique and irreplaceable objects that had survived thousands of years -- until now . ISIS has been busy trying to damage the famed Nergal Gate entry to the ancient city of Nineveh -- a city with a history reaching back thousands of years -- and most recently it is reportedly bulldozing the site of Nimrud , capital of the 9th-century B.C . Assyrian King Ashurnasirpal II , and source of the famed Nimrud ivories . These ivories were first cleaned by none other than Agatha Christie while accompanying her archaeologist husband , Max Mallowan , during his excavation . All attacks on archaeological sites and artifacts are brutal assaults on our collective human memory . They deprive us of the evidence of human endeavors and achievements . The destruction eloquently speaks of the human folly and senseless violence that drives ISIS . The terror group is destroying the evidence of the great history of Iraq ; it has to , as this history attests to a rich alternative to its barbaric nihilism . Worse , these acts of destruction supposedly in the name of religion are dishonest and hypocritical : the same ISIS also is busy looting archaeological sites to support its thriving illegal trade in antiquities , causing further incalculable harm . The smashed artifacts of the Mosul Museum and the destruction at Nineveh and Nimrud speak to a wider ignorance of archaeology and the meaning of the artifacts that archaeologists recover , study and preserve . These objects are the material record of humanity . They are not just for scholars , they are for everyone . They are the text of the past that helps define our future . Archaeologists clearly need to do more to expand a global understanding of , and appreciation for , the heritage of the past . But it is not just a question for teachers , professors and museum curators ; there needs to be much greater awareness and protection of the past across society , in Iraq , in the United States and around the world , from the government to the public . We need more archaeology education globally ; in Iraq and in other ISIS-affected countries , but also among people everywhere in order to help communities -- from children on up -- understand the fragility of the archaeological record and its critical importance to understanding the human story . Ancient Mesopotamia , modern Iraq , is at the heart of the human story : home of the first cities , states and empires . The law Code of Hammurabi , king of Babylon over 3,700 years ago , is the first great legal text of the world ; it begins a heritage leading to Magna Carta and the Bill of Rights . The heritage of Iraq is our heritage , too . What can we do in response to this assault on our heritage ? Providing educational opportunities and empowering communities to learn more about their cultures and histories , and those of others , is one of the best ways to eradicate destructive hatred and violence .
Sturt Manning : Video shows ISIS destroying apparent antiquities ; they reflect rich history that is alternative to group 's barbaric nihilism . Comment: Antiquities are the text of the past that helps define our future .