There’s a massive survivorship bias in the historical record that heavily weights the perspectives of wealthy and literate classes. We also just have much richer records of population centers in complex empires that keep detailed tax and judicial records than populations in more loosely governed areas.
The archaeological record is also heavily biased towards things made out of non-perishable materials (e.g. ceramics and stone last while wood, textiles, and paper don’t).
So basically, we can create a simulacrum of the parts of the past that have survived through to today but it would probably lack verisimilitude for anyone who was actually there.
The TV Series Devs explores this concept as well. It is decently executed, but it is a bit too cringe for my liking (supposedly world-class "devs" working on those keyboards you often see in museums, the protagonist having a fibonacci-off to establish engineering creds). Anyway, might be fun!
I meant the ones you see on those infotainment systems in museums that are super durable, but have terrible ergonomics. The show props those up way too much.
The archaeological record is also heavily biased towards things made out of non-perishable materials (e.g. ceramics and stone last while wood, textiles, and paper don’t).
So basically, we can create a simulacrum of the parts of the past that have survived through to today but it would probably lack verisimilitude for anyone who was actually there.