'Presentist bias' is exactly the way to put it! My undergrad was in classics/ancient history, and I remember losing a lot of hair to frustrated pulling while trying to learn more about women's lives in Greece and Rome. The lack of primary sources left ample room for speculation through various modern lenses, and all I ever really wanted to know was how those women actually experienced their own culture. God, if books like the Housewife's Manual existed from back then, I'd be in seventh heaven.