Historical bible criticism attempts to establish the historical milieu of a document.  This involves many things and various disciplines, such as linguistics, sociology, anthropology, and comparative literature studies of various kinds.  Certainly, it is important to establish the time, place, events, persons, general milieu, and sources.  All of this is necessary in order to help the reader understand this literary document.  The contemporary experience of reality should help to establish the meaning and significance of ancient texts, even though these ancient texts had a worldview different from that of the modern world.