Epoch 3-3rd post

In the epoch it talks about how Greece became Rome to Middle Ages to Renaissance.  I thought it didnt talk enough about the technology booming in Asia and the Middle East.  While reading it I found that the reading would start with the Greeks, then bounce to Asia, then bounce back to Rome, then to Asian technology again.  I found myself being a little confused about that.  I think they should have written it as separate chain events leading up.  When it was talking about the Renaissance period I never knew that they invented the printing press.  When I picture this invention, i can imagine how much the literacy and writing rate went up.  Also materials were less expensive so more and more people became more involved with writing.  Which makes me think.  What if there was no invention of the printing press?  Then our written words wouldn't be as advanced.  Or would they be more advanced?  A outcome i could think of if what is was invented later, lets say at the end of the Renaissance period where they were more intelligent.  Then maybe the printing press would be invented in a whole knew way with more advanced ways of writing.  This could have also been a huge impact of ideas in this time era if it had happened.  In this epoch it covered a lot of time and changing between cultures.  The reason why i think that so much more about ancient cultures are condensed into one section in textbooks in general is because we don't know as much about them.  The textbooks which were more recent have more detail in them because of more recent communication from it.  All we know from ancient civilizations is artifacts and tales were told from long generations of stories.