Human experience is the subject of history.
The origins of our own traditions and values, as well as those of our political and economic institutions, can be found in the historical record. History can help us to understand the religious beliefs, languages and cultures of other peoples, whether they live in our own community or in other nations. Only with such knowledge can citizens and political leaders avoid decisions likely to lead to conflict and violence, whether at home or abroad. In today's increasingly interdependent world of culturally and socially diverse peoples, a knowledge of history has become a key to success, as much in the world of business as in the classroom. Every generation of apes begins where the previous generations began, because apes can hand down no record of their experience.