[BenLurkin]

ping

[lightman]

Must have been too many cow f@rts.

[Sherman Logan]

Shady said this “indicates that between 1900 B.C. and the Inca era, women had a leading role in society both in the realm of religion and in political authority.”

Like the way medieval Europe, with images of the Virgin perhaps the most common of any, was dominated religiously and politically by women?

I'm always amazed by the way archeologists can find what they want to fine. For decades they had a complex explanation about the Maya civilization. It was a peaceful society dominated by gentle priests.

Then they deciphered their writing and this beautiful theory was raped and murdered by a gang of brutal facts.

The Maya were actually as violent as any people in history, delighting in public torture and human sacrifice and engaging massive wars sometimes lasting over a century.

[Bodleian_Girl]

Like a big flood?

[Explorer89]

“Women played leading roles in Caral and a team led by Shady has been working for eight years in Vichama, an urban center near the Vegueta district, in the northern province of Huaura, that archaeologists found looted and have restored.”

Do you think the author could have crammed any more separate thoughts into a single sentence?

[Sherman Logan]

“Droughts were so severe that they could have lasted between 60 and 130 years, which could explain why there were social crises in (civilizations like) Caral, Moche and Tiahuanaco,” archaeologist Ruth Shady, director of the Caral Project, told Efe.

Here's the odd part. Ran across a paper by Shady and colleagues. I think they're talking about the same area.

Drought isn't mentioned. Earthquakes, landslides and blowing sand caused the damage.

http://www.pnas.org/content/106/5/1359.full

[TexasGator]

“there was a deep crisis that we are investigating, caused by climate change,” she said.”

Gore was right after all ...

[blam]

I read once that Caral has the oldest and largest pyramid in the world.

The 5,000-Year-Old Pyramid City Of Caral

"It is widely taught in the field of ancient history that Mesopotamia, Egypt, China, and India, gave rise to the first civilizations of mankind. However, few are aware that at the same time, and in some cases before some of these societies emerged, another great civilization had sprouted - the Norte Chico civilization of Supe, Peru – the first known civilization of the Americas. Their capital was the Sacred City of Caral – a 5,000-year-old metropolis complete with complex agricultural practices, rich culture, and monumental architecture, including six large pyramidal structures, stone and earthen platform mounds, temples, amphitheatre, sunken circular plazas, and residential areas."

[SJackson]

If only they’d driven electric cars.