Without the ability to read ancient Chinese and Maya text, we would be limited to archeological findings and guesses made based on them. The fact, that we can read ancient texts, let us know for example:
the names and times of rule of many rulers,
the religious practices
some events from the past
some cultural and technological inventions such as their knowledge of astronomy
the social composition of the society
Our knowledge of urban live comes from the description of customs and occational information about who lived where and how much was paid for what services
Communist northern Korea invaded non-communist southern korea, and the U.S. intervened because they hate everything communist and because southern Korea was an ally; this was the first hot war of the Cold War
It is important to limit a government's power because, unchecked, a government can impose laws
A long drought is what I believe the answer is
Public health and environmental problems were bad for the people of rome
