The Bible and classical texts functioned as cognitive maps for colonial encounter

Evidence

For the better comprehension of the unknown parts of the world and their perplexing inhabitants two kinds of historical text served more than any others: the Bible and the Greek and Latin Classics. These texts of course were the main educative texts of Europe and it is not therefore surprising that they were turned to with such regularity; indeed it can be said that in some ways they served as maps to these unfamiliar territories and to their inhabitants and their beliefs. — Ivan Davidson Kalmar, Derek Penslar, Orientalism and the Jews, 315 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: The Bible and Classics served Europeans as cognitive maps for new lands — Ivan Davidson Kalmar, Derek Penslar, Orientalism and the Jews, 315; Monologue rather than dialogue governed colonial encounters since the Hellenistic era; American colonial identity was built from medieval Christian and biblical archetypes — Sophia Rose Arjana, Muslims in the Western Imagination, 569 (+4 more)

Broader Connections

• The Bible and Classics served Europeans as cognitive maps for new lands #corroborates (1.00) — Ivan Davidson Kalmar, Derek Penslar, Orientalism and the Jews, 315