Will this affect how we live? New technologies allow historians to read ancient texts and identify faces in faded photographs. Some think this will shake our sense of who we are.
2030 forecast: a new story of humanity
Out of the ashes: Lost for 2,000 years, a recently scanned piece of the Herculaneum scroll has now revealed its secrets about life in the ancient Roman city with the help of a high-energy X-ray beam. Glossary
DNA - Deoxyribonucleic acid is the material in an organism that carries genetic information.
Arminius - The Germanic Cherusci tribe chieftain who died in 21AD.
Battle of Teutoburg Forest - A battle which took place in 9AD between the Roman empire and Germanic insurgents. Germanic leader Arminius likely prevented Rome from subjugating Germania east of the Rhine.
AI - A computer programme that has been designed to think.
Herculaneum - An ancient city that was buried under volcanic ash after the eruption of Vesuvius in AD79. It is close to Pompeii.
Vesuvius - a volcano near Naples, southern Italy. It erupted in 79 AD, destroying the Ancient Roman cities of Herculaneum and Pompeii.
Pompeii - A Roman town in Italy. It was buried under ash after a nearby volcano erupted. The ash preserved the town so well that today people can walk through the streets and into some buildings.
Plato - One of the most important Ancient Greek philosophers.
Holocaust - The murder of six million Jewish people in Europe by Nazi Germany. Members of other minority groups were also killed.
Nazis - A German political party of the twentieth century, led by Adolf Hitler. The Nazis controlled Germany from the early 1930s until the end of World War II.
Synthesis - In philosophy, the final phases of reasoning in which a new idea resolves a conflict.
Socrates - Considered by some to be the greatest philosopher in history, Socrates is credited with developing the whole notion of critical reason.
Egypt - A country linking northeast Africa with the Middle East.