“Indian tribes exterminated other tribes several times prior to Columbus.”
There’s a bronze plaque on the approach to a mesa village in Arizona. The entire village was on this table-top rock that had to be reached via a ledge that was, in places, only 6’’ wide. Every pint of water and cord of wood came up that path. The plaque gushed, “Obviously, these peaceful people built up here to take advantage of the spectacular views.” My companion and I burst out laughing. It was the only defensible spot for miles. An old woman with a rock could have held the top. The anthropologists were full of sh*t.
Got lots and lots of BS about how the cliff dwellings were sited for solar energy, not defense. Riigghhtt.
The Mesa Verdeans had lived in pueblos on the mesa tops for many centuries. Quite suddenly they abandoned their homes and built new ones in the cliffs.
Recently they have found definitive evidence of cannibalism in the area. If the neighbors suddenly became cannibals, I'd want to live at the top of a cliff myself.
I've often wondered if the decline and fall of the Chaco and Mesa Verde civilizations were related to cultural influences or even migrations from Central Mexico, where people were so heavily into sacrificing and eating people.
BTW, highly recommend this book.
http://www.amazon.com/War-Before-Civilization-Peaceful-Savage/dp/0195119126
Ever heard of the famous Navajo raid on the Mesas? It took place in either 1825 or 1835.
Hundreds of Hopis slain, women carried off sheep stolen. It was a all happiness and rainbows at that time. (snark)
They must be Chicago liberals because that’s what they’re full of.