[vannrox]

Very Very Very Interesting.
Please click HERE to see the entire article in PDF format.

[okie01]

Absolutely fascinating. Thanks for the post.

The climate and terrain appear identical to the Four Corners area -- specifically the Mancos Valley, where Mesa Verde is sited. Except, of course, there is no ocean 14 miles away...

blam, this one's for you.

[Restorer]

But based on Caral's size and scope, Shady believes that it is indeed the mother city of the Incan civilization.

By the exact same logic, ancient Sumer would be the mother of Spanish civilization. True, in some bizarre sense, but far more interesting in showing how we tend to view anybody really different from US as being connected to each other in some way.

Just as most Americans think of Africans or "Indians" as forming groups with only minor differences.

[Lessismore]

The evolution of cities seems pretty straightforward:

• Climate change or over population makes hunter-gatherer's switch to agriculture.
• Some farmers find it is easier to steal than to produce.
• Nobility, priesthoods, and warrior classes emerge.
• They conscript labor in the off-season to build their palaces, temples, and castles.
• The dwellings of courtiers, monks, soldiers, smiths, and various servants grow up around them.

This chain of events likely happened several times around the world with only minimal inspiration from existing cities.

[Havisham]

You confused me. It wasn't the New World until it became known to the Old World. This oldest city would be attributed to the Pre-Columbian world.