--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To put it in a nutshell, the Central and…" description: "\"To put it in a nutshell, the Central and South American high cultures of antiquity were entirely worthy of comparison with what the Old World had achie..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c03/joseph-needham-50020_achievement_to-put-it-in-a-nutshell-the-central-and_2946475.jpg" --- # To put it in a nutshell, the Central and South American… ![“To put it in a nutshell, the Central and South American high cultures of antiquity were entirely worthy of comparison with what the Old World had achieved by the time of the Han, the Gupta, and the Hellenistic age. The fact is that the Amerindian high cultures were a human modality of their own…” quote by Joseph Needham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c03/joseph-needham-50020_achievement_to-put-it-in-a-nutshell-the-central-and_2946475.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c03/joseph-needham-50020_achievement_to-put-it-in-a-nutshell-the-central-and_2946475.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c03/joseph-needham-50020_achievement_to-put-it-in-a-nutshell-the-central-and_2946475.jpg) > “To put it in a nutshell, the Central and South American high cultures of antiquity were entirely worthy of comparison with what the Old World had achieved by the time of the Han, the Gupta, and the Hellenistic age. The fact is that the Amerindian high cultures were a human modality of their own, and those Spaniards who came among them first would have had the sensation, if they had ever heard of such literature, of treading in a world of imaginative science fiction. But it was real, and the Amerindian achievements deserve all our sympathy and praise.” [Joseph Needham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-needham/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage asserts that pre‑Columbian American civilizations were culturally comparable to ancient Old World societies, deserving equal respect. **In simple terms:** American ancient cultures match Old World achievements. Key Takeaway Recognize and value all ancient contributions. Themes cultural equality historical recognition anthropology Mood scholarly respectful Type educational reflective When to use this quote - education curricula - museum curation - heritage preservation Key Concepts civilizational comparison global history Questions to Reflect On - How can we integrate diverse histories? - What biases affect our view of ancient cultures? A Different Perspective May simplify complex cultural differences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Achievement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/achievement/) [Age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) [Antiquity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/antiquity/) [Aztec](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aztec/) [Comparison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comparison/) [Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Imaginative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imaginative/) [Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature/) [Old world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-world/) [Praise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/praise/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Science fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science-fiction/) [Sensations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sensations/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [“The study of the cultures of antiquity in general, and of ancient Egypt in particular, can serve to guide us out of the secular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-nadler/the-study-of-the-cultures-of-antiquity-in-general-and-of-ancient/) Jeremy Nadler > [The mystery school continued throughout the greater Egyptian civilization, which was the second age of humankind and later on into the third age of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/the-mystery-school-continued-throughout-the-greater-egyptian/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [If you want a television, you go out and work for it and you buy it. 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Bigger than Ming Dynasty China, bigger than Ivan the Great’s expanding Russia, bigger than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-c-mann/in-1491-the-inka-ruled-the-greatest-empire-on-earth-bigger-than-ming/) [Charles C. Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-c-mann/) ## More by Joseph Needham > [The dogs may bark, but the caravan moves on](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-needham/the-dogs-may-bark-but-the-caravan-moves-on/) [Joseph Needham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-needham/) > [Although there is a very large literature, still growing almost daily, on the Chinese calendar, its interest is, we suggest, much more archaeological and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-needham/although-there-is-a-very-large-literature-still-growing-almost-daily/) [Joseph Needham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-needham/) > [The hierarchy of relations, from the molecular structure of carbon to the equilibrium of the species and ecological whole, will perhaps be the leading…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-needham/the-hierarchy-of-relations-from-the-molecular-structure-of-carbon-to/) [Joseph Needham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-needham/) > [But Chinese civilization has the overpowering beauty of the wholly other, and only the wholly other can inspire the deepest love and the profoundest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-needham/but-chinese-civilization-has-the-overpowering-beauty-of-the-wholly/) [Joseph Needham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-needham/) > [Daoist thought is the root of science and technology in China.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-needham/daoist-thought-is-the-root-of-science-and-technology-in-china/) [Joseph Needham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-needham/) > [But nothing ever put 'Hoppy' in the shade. 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