Massive 1,100+ year old Maya site discovered in Georgia's mountains

National Architecture & Design | Examiner.com ^ | December 21, 2011 | Richard Thornton

[LucyT]

Archaeological zone 9UN367 at Track Rock Gap, near Georgia’s highest mountain, Brasstown Bald, is a half mile (800 m) square and rises 700 feet (213 m) in elevation up a steep mountainside.

Visible are at least 154 stone masonry walls for agricultural terraces, plus evidence of a sophisticated irrigation system and ruins of several other stone structures. Much more may be hidden underground.

It is possibly the site of the fabled city of Yupaha, which Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto failed to find in 1540, and certainly one of the most important archaeological discoveries in recent times.

[dog breath]

Thanks for the post, I will have to read more on this.

[SoCal Pubbie]

The Mayan civilization dominated the region in and around the Yucatán Peninsula of what is now Mexico. Since Mexico is in North America, I’d say that fact has been known for about, oh, 500 years.

[oldplayer]

Remember though, that culture knowledge and ways can travel farther and faster than a migrating group of people. Knowledge, say of corn raising and all the attendant religious and social aspects that come with it, can be spread by just a very few pioneers, “missionaries” if you will.

Once a people are exposed to an aspect of a culture that is clearly useful, they can adopt it, and adapt to it, very quickly. For instance, nobody needed to spend much time teaching the Indians of the high plains the usefulness of mustangs before their whole cultures were revolutionized. Though they might have shared many identical aspects of the horse culture of the Mongolian steppe, they never needed to meet a Mongolian.

My two cents.

Oldplayer
(Choctaw)

[Rembrandt]

“I’m Eurotrash!”

Not at all, you’re blended Scotch!

[sawmill trash]

Maybe they will find page 2 of that Mayan calendar everyone is talking about, the one that ends in 2012 ...

[crazyhorse691]

Junk science..everybody knows that the Mayans were just a genetic experiment done by aliens.

[radu]

How cool! I’ve been fascinated by Mayan culture for years and always wanted to visit some of their ruins.

These may not be as spectacular as those in Central America but they’re a HECK of a lot closer. I may have to tell Hubby it’s time for a road trip!

[LucyT]

A few years ago, I visited the site.

While you're in the neighborhood, see the Etowah Indian Mounds, a 54-acre archaeological site in Bartow County, Georgia south of Cartersville.

"Built and occupied in three phases, from 1000–1550 CE, the prehistoric site is located on the north shore of the Etowah River. Etowah Indian Mounds Historic Site is a designated National Historic Landmark, managed by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources."

More info with several photos:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etowah_Indian_Mounds

[radu]

Ok, now I’m champin’ at the bit to get away from the farm and head to GA. Hubby’s out at the garage right now and has no idea what he’ll be walking into when he comes in. LOL!

I had no idea there were sites like this so close by.

[Waverunner]

In florida, look up the windover site near titusville. Well preserved bodies found in a bog. estimated 5000-7000 yrs old. in the brevard museum evidence of loom weaving and sophisticated agriculture. the neutral ph anerobic water left the bodies in amazing shape with some bodies even having brain material intact in the skulls.
http://www.nbbd.com/godo/history/windover/

[bunkerhill7]

a clue?

The Golden City of Iroquois Oral Tradition

“Perhaps about two thousand two hundred years before the Columbus discovered the America [708 B.C.?], and the northern nations [north of the St. Lawrence River?] appointed a prince, and immediately repaired to the south [of the St. Lawrence River?] and visited the great Emperor who resided at the Golden City, a capital of the vast empire. After a time the Emperor built many forts throughout his dominions and almost penetrated the lake Erie; this produced an excitement, the people of the north felt that they would soon be deprived of the country on the south side of the Great Lakes they determined to defend their country against any infringement of foreign people; long bloody wars ensued which lasted about one hundred years; the people of the north were too skillful in the use of bows and arrows and could endure hardships which proved fatal to a foreign people; at last the northern nations gained the conquest and all the towns and forts were totally destroyed and left them in a heap of ruins.”

Bonaparte, Darren, `Creation and Confederation`

[x_plus_one]

Brasstown bald Mountain is near Lumpkin County, GA which was the epicenter of the gold rush of 1830’s. Same Gold rush that caused Andrew Jackson to rescind all native claims to lands and auction all lands off to pioneer settlers so as to eliminate ‘foreign’ native interests. Same goold rush that led to the trail of tears. The Maya and Aztecs had a thing for gold.

[bunkerhill7]

That rock looks like the Creation Turtle.

``Beneath the Tree was a great hole. The woman peered from the edge into the hole and suddenly fell off the edge. As she was falling she grasped at the edge and clutched in her hand some of the earth from the Sky World. As she fell, the birds of the world below were disturbed and alerted to her distress. The birds responded and gathered a great many of their kind to break her fall and cradle her to the back of a great sea turtle. The creatures of the water believed that she needed land to live on, so they set about to collect some for her. They dove to the great depths of the world's oceans to gather earth to make her a place to live. Many of the animals tried to gather the earth from the ocean floor, only the muskrat was successful. With only a small bit of earth brought onto turtle's back from his small paws, Turtle Island began to grow.

The Sky Woman soon gave birth to a daughter on Turtle Island. The daughter grew fast. There were no man-beings on Turtle Island, but a being known as the West Wind married the daughter of Sky Woman.``

http://www.firstpeople.us/FP-Html-Legends/TheCreationStory-Iroquois.html

[kelly4c]

Almost all of us white folk here in US are...er I wouldn’t say “Eurotrash”..but European mutts yes. I’m still trying to figure out “exactly” what I am but I’m finding it’s too wide a mixture for my liking lol! There’s Irish and English/Welsh and German/Dutch for sure and smidgen of Swedish, but there was a Jewish last name from an ancestor that came from the area which is now Transylvania, Romania but used to be Austo-Hungary whose descendant traveled to England and married an English woman and their sons went to Jewish schools but the old pictures of them I have they don’t LOOK Jewish (the men) some of the brothers look Italian and others look somewhat German or something. However on my my mother’s side...her father told her his folk came from Germany only their last name is Scottish...Why am I telling a complete stranger this I dont’ know lol!

[Fresh Wind]

Great. Now the reconquista crowd is going to want Georgia back too.

[Recon Dad]

.......I see a Mayan Casino in the not too distant future for Georgia.

[Dr. Bogus Pachysandra]

The comments at the link are quite contentious!

[Hacksaw]

Likely. You should take a look at the pictures of stone and clay tobacco pipes found buried in Mounds throughout the Ohio Valley.

Weren't those built by the Adena tribe? I don't think they had anything to do with the Mayans, who would (IMO) left something more complex than a mount of dirt.

[doodad]

I have backpacked and trapised all around this area since I was a teen and have never seen any evidence of something like this anywhere. Not saying it isn’t true, but I have a geology degree and can spot man made features fairly well.