Lost people

So this history of lost and forgotten peoples is a reminder that our time and culture is ephemeral. Even if we do not vanish as have so many peoples before, within a few generations of change our descendants would regard us as distant strangers. The people and events filling our mental horizons will eventually become footnotes in obscure texts. That sense of permanence and importance we enjoy today was once also felt by the Akkadians.

• Philip Matyszak. Forgotten Peoples of the Ancient World. (link)