Mayan ruins said center of mysterious civilization

[madokie]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060909/sc_nm/life_honduras_ruins_dc

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (Reuters) - Experts are examining the ruins of a pre-Columbian culture in an area of Honduras where there had been no previous evidence of major indigenous civilization.

The site, discovered earlier this year, consists of 14 mounds that form part of what are believed to be ceremonial grounds, the Honduran Institute of Anthropology said.

"They are part of a very important site, a governing center of a pre-Columbian civilization," Oscar Neils, the institute's head of research, told Reuters. "We had no idea that there was a pre-Columbian culture in this area."

The findings so far include an impressive carved stone monument, called a stela, as well as necklaces and grinding stones.

[Hugin]

1. At least they had a civilization...

Must be nice. ;)

[sybylla]

5. If you consider slavery and human sacrifice civilized...

then the Mayans are the culture for you.

I do not yearn for some supposed golden age of the past. They existed only for men and then only a select few ever enjoyed the benefits of "civilization."

on edit: you should know that archeologists/anthropologists use the term "civilization" to apply to an organized community. There is no good or bad inherent in its application and use. It's just a generic descriptor for a level of organization that could as easily be tyranic as communal.

[Hugin]

9. I'm guessing you missed my little winkie in there...

However, what we have now and call 'civilization' is only an amplification
of previous 'civilizations'.

We still have slavery...
We still have human sacrifice...
Only, more so.

One only needs to look at any recent newspaper to read of it.

[sybylla]

10. I caught your winkie

My point is that not every ancient civilization was civilized as we use the word commonly. I posted because you clearly do not understand the depravity (by todays standards) of the society you are comparing us to. I would agree with your assertions if any of a variety of other "civilizations" had been used as your example in comparison to western civilization. But I would never agree that the classical Mayans were even close to civilized by our standard social definition of the word. The closest modern comparison to the Mayans' controlling, aggressive, violent and warlike culture might be Germany in the 30's and 40's. Only the Mayans never put anyone in camps. They just marched their enemies (those who didn't die on the battlefield) up the pyramid steps to the altar and sacrificed them right there - sometimes thousands at a time.

War is hell. The Germans took it to an extreme. The Mayans perfected it. Our country is behaving badly in this war, but we are not even close to the comparison you make.

[dipsydoodle]

2. Probably went the same way other civilizations

in South America. Instead of the usual El Nino year, at about 11 year intervals, one started and was still going 100 years later. They couldn't cope with that sort of climate change which completely screwed most of the continent. If that event re-occured now it wouldn't be too funny.

[SpiralHawk]

3. corrput republicon cronies of antiquity caused Mayan collapse

I would bet a doughnut on it.

Now those same amoral, hypocrical republicon entitites have reincarnated as the modern republicon oil profiteers, propagandists, and sex perverts of today.

Reincarnated Mayan crony elitist prapganda spewer? You decide.



History is just repeating itself.

But this, too, shall pass.

[alfredo]

8. You could be right. The mindless exploitation of the

environment without thought of the consequences drained the region of its life support system.

[madokie]

4. civilizations can do two things, start and end

kind of like electricity really all you can do is turn it on and turn it off. hence the computer code I and O's

[sybylla]

6. Actually it was a theocracy built on prophecy and human sacrifice

Like other such civilizations, it failed when the prophecies and human sacrifice began to fail and the people lost faith.

Yet one more reason to support the separation of church and state.

[madokie]

7. exactly, I was raised as a southern baptist and I am non-religion today

after I got old enough to start thinking for myself and did, none of what I was taught made sense to me. every religion has its own god, just how many are there anyway. to my knowledge they all allege to be the only way:shrug:
not wanting to get into a discussion about this mind you: