Early European Archaeologists Were Interested in Studying the Ancient Societies

Early European archaeologists were interested in studying the ancient societies in Mesopotamia, Egypt, and the rest of the Fertile Crescent because

A) of a recognition that civilization and the concept of nations had emerged in Europe and spread to the Fertile Crescent
B) of a desire to establish Europe as the cradle of civilization, dispelling the notion that Mesopotamian kingdoms were earlier than those in Central Europe
C) of their interest in venerating these earlier civilizations
D) they saw European legal codes and philosophies as originating in these ancient Middle Eastern states