Question

A historian is interested in learning about the ancient Roman Colosseum, an arena where trained fighters battled one another for spectators' entertainment. Many gladiators were slaves who were forced to fight to the death with other people and even wild animals. The historian has a difficult time understanding how any person would enjoy, or even tolerate, watching such things.

If the historian wanted to use contextualization to better understand the Colosseum, which action would he take?

A. Consult secondary sources to determine if most Colosseum gladiators were slaves
B. Write an article expressing his point of view that no human could ever be entertained by killing
C. Search for primary source records to learn how many slaves were killed in the Colosseum
D. Study ancient Roman culture to learn more about Roman attitudes toward violence and slavery

Answer 1

D. Study ancient Roman culture to learn more about Roman attitudes toward violence and slavery

Answer 2

The correct answer is D. Study ancient Roman culture to learn more about Roman attitudes toward violence and slavery

Explanation:

In history, especially when studying and trying to understand a historical event contextualization refers to analyzing the conditions or context in which a phenomenon takes places this includes geographical conditions, social conditions, cultural conditions, among others. This can be done mainly by studying the conditions in which an event occur as these affect the causes and consequences of the event studied especially the cultural aspects. This means in the case of a historian that has difficulties in understanding why Romans use slaves and force them to fight in the Colosseum the best action he can take is to "Study ancient Roman culture to learn more about Roman attitudes toward violence and slavery" as in this way the historian can understand the cultural factors that promoted this practice and the reasons why it was acceptable.