Posted on 01/06/2007 6:21:49 PM PST by melt
NEW research suggests that climate change led to the collapse of the most splendid imperial dynasty in China’s history and to the extinction of the Maya civilisation in Central America more than 1,000 years ago. There has never been a satisfactory explanation for the decline and fall of the Tang emperors, whose era is viewed as a highpoint of Chinese civilisation, while the disappearance of the Maya world perplexes scholars.
Now a team of scientists has found evidence that a shift in monsoons led to drought and famine in the final century of Tang power. The weather pattern may also have spelt doom for the Maya in faraway Mexico at about the same time, they say.
Both ruling hierarchies at the start of the 10th century were victims of poor rainfall and starvation among their peoples when harvests failed.
The martial arts honed during the fall of the Tang still provide a staple of modern Chinese epic films and video games, while Mel Gibson, the actor-director, has just released Apocalypto, a blood-drenched film set in the last days of the Maya.
The Maya practised human sacrifices to please the gods of rain and Chinese soothsayers were employed by the court to divine the seasons, yet neither could have predicted the slow-motion catastrophe resulting from the changing weather.
(Excerpt) Read more at timesonline.co.uk ...
LOL
Besides, a long term Bermuda High that came up in the wrong place knocked off the Mayan.
Winters in the SE United States would have been exceptionally warm and humid for the multi-hundred year duration of that anomaly.
That's probably why all the "locals" pulled back up the Mississippi, Tennesse, and Chattahoochee into the Ohio/Missouri Valleys.
This allowed a major invasion by South American and Caribbean Indians into the Gulf States just prior to the arrival of the Spanish.
Something similar happened to Puerto Rico, et al, where the local Indians had recently been conquered by the Caribs who killed all the males and took the women as slaves.
That was one heck of a weather system that caused everybody lots of problems.
It's all because Bush did not sign Kyoto
But since ROE, we're back into human sacrifices.
Yes, it's an outrage. And after 1000 years, the Chinese still refuse to sign Kyoto.
Global warmth generated by all those Rickshaw boys farting and breathing heavy.
I wonder if they carbon-dated the ancient Chinese & Mayan SUV's they dug up?
It wasn't just those, it was the coal fired electric power plants.
"There has never been a satisfactory explanation for the decline and fall of the Tang emperors,"
So the religion of the left thought they could make one up.
Sigh. More gloom and doom from the "scientists." Seriously, these guys are giving all of us technical folk a bad name.
So what if climate shifts? Just adapt. What ever happened to "when life hands you lemons, make lemonade"?
We humans have the power of mathematics, science, and technology. This earth is under our dominion. However, our inventions and discoveries are useless if we are not willing to use them to support the continued existence of our civilization. Yes, protect the earth, but don't overprotect the earth to our detriment. It's called good stewardship.
I thought the Tang still has plenty of power.
Climate variations have always affected harvests. But there is nothing to suggest that man has ever been able to affect the weather. He has, in the past, taken too much water from aquifers for them to replenish, polluted the water, killed enough wild game to make them extinct, and so on. But the weather? You might as well try to affect the rotation of the planets.
And yet we still can’t predict the weather more than two days in advance.
Natural climate change has clearly affected civilization but we continue to survive not because we change the climate but because we adapt to it.
Hamarabbi's Fault.
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz . . . . . . . .
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz . . . . . . . . .
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz . . . . . . 'nother global warming story . . . . . .
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz . . . . . . . snarf, snort, snarf . . . . . .
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz . . . . . . . . . stupid stories . . . . . .
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz . . . . . . . boring the crap out of me . . . . . . .
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
And the Mayans hadn't even invented the wheel, so their Rickshaws must have been pretty bumpy, as well as smelly.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.