[pacman2]

See also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quipu

and

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maya_codices

"Bishop De Landa, a Franciscan monk and conquistador during the Spanish conquest of Yucatán, wrote: "We found a large number of books in these characters and, as they contained nothing in which were not to be seen as superstition and lies of the devil, we burned them all, which they (the Maya) regretted to an amazing degree, and which caused them much affliction." Only three extant codices are widely considered unquestionably authentic."

[CamperBob2]

But remember, the Dark Ages weren't really all that dark, and religious figures throughout history have worked diligently to preserve knowledge rather than to destroy or conceal it.

/s

[Thorentis]

You're right, the current monopolies on information (tech giants) are really great at preserving and not deleting things which they find offensive.

[iammisc]

There is no universality amongst religious figures. For every zealous priest that burned a bunch of books, there's a curious, yet equally zealous priest, who carefully documented a cultures behaviors and language in careful latin and published it.