Ancient World Review

Deforestation & The Loss Of Terra Incognita

"A new study counters the view that tropical forests were pristine natural environments prior to modern agriculture and industrialization. Moreover, humans have in fact been having a dramatic impact on such forest ecologies for tens of thousands of years, through techniques ranging from controlled burning of sections of forest to plant and animal management to clear-cutting." Source: Science Daily (2017).

Comment: Humans have lived in the rainforests for thousands of years, but there's a big difference between the controlled burns and clear-cutting practiced by aboriginal tribes and the massive destruction which started during the last century.

For example, the 2012 NASA time-lapse video below shows the scale of the deforestation taking place in one section of the Amazon rainforest between around 1975 and 2010. The changes are pretty dramatic and this kind of destruction is happening all over the world.

According to Wikipedia, deforestation "accelerated significantly between 1991 and 2004, reaching an annual forest loss rate of 27,423 km² in 2004. Though the rate of deforestation has been slowing since 2004 (with re-accelerations in 2008 and 2013), the remaining forest cover continues to dwindle."

Deforestation is an inevitable result of industrialization, economic growth and overpopulation, and the loss of wilderness, even if it hasn't been pristine for millennia, doesn't just have ecological effects. For instance, I've always thought that one of the most appealing things about the ancient world is that it was still an unexplored wilderness to a large extent.

When Julius Caesar wrote his history of the wars in Gaul, he mentioned at one point that no one knew what lay on the other side of the Black Forest. Technically that wasn't true, of course -- the Germanic tribes had been living in the forest for a long time and there was a whole continent full of people to the east -- but the point is that it was still possible at the time for large sections of the planet to be terra incognita, even to a culture as large and sophisticated as the Roman republic.

The loss of this terra incognita has a mass psychological impact. It's the closing of the mental frontier. Like air travel, the disappearance of the wilderness makes the world a smaller place where most people end up concentrated in urban centers, an army of disposable proles who can be found by the millions in shanty slums and megacities surrounded by hundreds of miles of countryside which have been turned into agricultural factory floors.

Deforestation, industrialization and population growth are all connected. There's a feedback loop involved here. Clearing the forest makes it possible to grow more crops which leads to population growth which creates a demand for more crops which leads to more deforestation, and industrialization just makes the whole process faster and more efficient. Villages turn into towns which grow into cities and spread across the land like outbreaks of tobacco mosaic virus while the map changes color from green to brown and concrete gray.

In the near term, the situation looks grim. In the long term, it doesn't matter because it's not possible to eradicate wilderness. The current deforestation is only temporary. Wilderness always returns when civilization collapses and it can happen very quickly. Most people would say that this is no excuse for complacency, but what exactly can be done to stop the loss of wilderness on any meaningful scale? Doing that would require deindustrialization, depopulation and deliberate attempts to stop development in societies which are still struggling to pull themselves out of extreme poverty.

There are still sparsely populated and little explored places on Earth, but the real terra incognita now is outer space.

The People Of The Clouds

"On the eastern slopes of the Andes Mountains, in the remote San Martin Province of Peru, lie the abandoned ruins of a mysterious civilization. Modern Peruvians tell us that a people whom they call the Chachapoya, 'the cloud people,' built these structures. The most notable of these is the massive Kuelap Fortress [see videos below], which contains more stone than even the pyramid of Cheops [the Great Pyramid] in Egypt. The Chachapoyan civilization, which according to the carbon-14 dating method dates at least as far back as 400 AD, existed until around 1500 AD. At that time, it succumbed to two external forces that arose in short succession. First, the expanding Incan Empire, which conquered the Chachapoyan civilization around 1490 after 20 years of fierce resistance, and next, diseases that the Europeans introduced after 1492 and which started showing up among the Chachapoya around 1535, diseases to which the Chachapoya had no immunity." Source: Lew Rockwell (2016).

Note: This article is based on the speculative theory that Carthaginians and some of their Celtic allies from northern Italy settled in South America following the Roman destruction of Carthage in 146 BC. The article and others I've seen describe the Chachapoyans as "European," but the citizens of Carthage were a Semitic people descended from the Phoenicians who originally founded the city. The Chachapoyans are described in the sources as being lighter than the other people living around them, but that doesn't mean that they were white Europeans.

"Ancient sources described the Chachapoya, the famous Cloud Warriors of Peru, as individuals with lighter skin than that of other peoples from the region, such as the Incas," according to Ancient Origins. "Also, they stood apart not only by their physical characteristics, but by the unique culture which they left behind." Among other things, they were apparently headhunters and shape-shifting sorcerers who mummified their dead. "The Incas feared the mummies of the Chachapoya, viewing them as the living dead who could rise and inflict death upon all those arrogant or ignorant enough to disturb them." (Ibid) The Incas eventually overcame their fear and conquered the Chachapoyas shortly before they themselves were conquered by the Spanish.

The theory that the Carthaginians or Phoenicians may have reached South America is an interesting one and at least theoretically possible since the Phoenicians were renowned for their seamanship, but the lack of archaeological evidence probably constitutes evidence in itself that they never made the voyage. Most of the mainstream sources I've found describe the Chachapoya as a tribe of South American indians.

"The Chachapoya Indians, often described in popular media as Peru's ancient 'Cloud People,' inhabited the Andean tropical cloud forests between the Maranon and Huallaga River valleys prior to their rapid cultural disintegration after the Spanish conquest in AD 1532. In anthropology and in the popular imagination, the Chachapoya represent the quintessential 'lost tribe,' founders of a 'lost civilization,' and builders of 'lost cities' now abandoned and concealed by cold and rainy tropical cloud forests." --  Encyclopedia of Anthropology (PDF). Note: Some of the opening text appears to be missing from this paper.

Related: Theory of Phoenician Discovery of the Americas

3000-Year-Old Megalithic "Water Temple" Discovered In Peru

"Archaeologists have discovered a 3000-year-old megalithic temple in Peru that an ancient 'water cult' used for fertility rituals." Source: Live Science.

"The temple, found at the Huaca El Toro archaeological site, is located in modern-day Oyotún in the Zaña Valley of northwestern Peru. It is the first megalithic temple, or one made from large stones, found in this valley, which sits between two rivers that join together and give rise to the Zaña River."

"A megalithic temple found near the springs of the Zaña Valley river in Peru is an interesting find for several reasons. First, it’s the only known megalithic architecture in the Lambayeque region. Second, archaeologists say it’s built by the earliest “great religion of ancient Peru.” And third, it seems that centuries after the site had lost its religious significance, people were still going there – though their reasons were quite different from the builders’ intentions for the temple." (Ancient Origins)

According to Archaeology News Network, an altar was discovered in the temple "that was likely used to offer important fertility rituals with water taken from the Zana Valley river."

Note: "Huaca, also spelled wak’a [is an] ancient Inca and modern Quechua and Aymara religious concept that is variously used to refer to sacred ritual, the state of being after death, or any sacred object. The Spanish conquistador Pedro de Cieza de León believed that the word meant 'burial place.' Huaca also means spirits that either inhabit or actually are physical phenomena such as waterfalls, mountains, or man-made shrines. The aforementioned shrines, which are found throughout the Inca territory from Ecuador to Chile, may be as simple as stones piled in a field (apachitas) or as complex as stepped pyramids that were once topped with canopies and carved images." Source: Encyclopedia Britannica.

Next video shows one of these sites: Naupa Huaca. I'm not sure where it's located

I haven't been able to find much of anything about the Huaca El Toro archaeological site where this water temple was discovered, but huacas are common in Peru:

"Huacas are commonly located in nearly all regions of Peru outside the deepest parts of the Amazon basin in correlation with the regions populated by the pre-Inca and Inca early civilizations. They can be found in downtown Lima today in almost every district, the city having been built around them. Huacas within the municipal district of Lima are typically fenced off to avoid graffiti." (Wikipedia)

How Was Machu Picchu Built?

Video from 2014.

"Machu Picchu is a city comprised of more than 200 buildings, temples, houses, pathways, fountains and altars all cut from grey granite from the mountain top. There is no evidence of any fortified walls, which means that it was not a fortress. Many of the stone blocks weigh more than 50 tons, and all are cut and fitted together in such a precise manner that it raises incredulity as to how [its builders could have] created such a monumental place." Source: Ancient Origins (2013).

Notes: A few years ago "[a] Polish-Peruvian archaeological team ... confirmed what has been suspected for many centuries – the Incas used the ancient city of Machu Picchu as a mountaintop observatory." (Ancient Origins (2014)) How the Incas constructed the city is apparently still a mystery:

According to Rediscover Machu Picchu, "[t]he Incas used dry stone technique to build the city. No mortar was used, the stone bricks were simply put together without any material to stick them together." The rocks were then "put together like a huge puzzle." This would've required an amazing amount of precision since "[s]ome of the bricks are so tightly put together that one cannot even put a knife between them."

The rocks were apparently split "with the so-called wooden wedge technique: holes were drilled into the rocks and wet wooden wedges were inserted into them. After that the constructors waited until the wet wooden wedges froze." The expanding wedges would then split the rock, "[b]ut the wooden wedge technique cannot explain the smoothness and perfect straightness of the bricks."

Wooden wedge rocksplitting technique as used in India.

The construction of Machu Picchu required thousands of workers and a huge amount of detailed planning, but from what I've read the Incas didn't have iron tools, wheels, or a written language. The logistics involved are mind-boggling, but the city was built somehow so unless you believe in ancient aliens, Machu Picchu provides yet more evidence that early humans were more technologically sophisticated than commonly believed.

"3D Audio" Machu Picchu Hike

Comment: This is a binaural recording test and the fisheye lens being used is kind of distracting, but the video shows some spectacular views of the airy and beautifully preserved Machu Picchu ruins in Peru.

Did The Mayans Migrate To South America?

Video from March 2018.

"Between 800 and 925 CE Mayan society experienced a rapid transition. The world of cities ended as populations moved back into the countryside. Historians debate the possible causes of the change — civil revolts, invasions, erosion, earthquakes, disease, drought. Likely some combination of these brought on an unusually rapid fading of a once-vibrant civilization. The Maya didn’t just disappear; several million descendants are still alive today." Source: The Khan Academy.

Comment: The theory that there was a Mayan migration to South America is interesting, but as far as I can tell it's mostly speculation. If something like this did happen, it would have been a long and arduous journey, to say the least. The distance from Guatemala to Brazil, for instance, is over 3000 miles. Another problem with the theory is that most sources believe that the Mayans who abandoned their cities during the Postclassic period moved north rather than south:

'Although much reduced, a significant Maya presence remained into the Postclassic period after the abandonment of the major Classic period cities; the population was particularly concentrated near permanent water sources. Unlike during previous cycles of contraction in the Maya region, abandoned lands were not quickly resettled in the Postclassic. Activity shifted to the northern lowlands and the Maya Highlands; this may have involved migration from the southern lowlands, because many Postclassic Maya groups had migration myths." Source: Wikipedia.

Related: Mysterious Geoglyphs Reveal Amazon Was Densely Populated Before Columbus (March 2018).

Infants Wearing "Helmets" Made From Skulls Of Other Children Unearthed In Ecuador

"Two infants were buried more than 2,000 years ago wearing strange 'helmets' made from the skulls of other children, researchers found." Source: Archaeology News Network.

These strange burials were discovered at a site called Salango in Ecuador. This is apparently the only known case in the world of the use of juvenile skulls as mortuary headgear.

"...The archaeologists ... noted that it’s probable that the children’s skulls had flesh on them when they were turned into helmets, because the helmets likely would not have held together without flesh."

According to Latin American Antiquity, "[t]he human head was a potent symbol for many South American cultures. Isolated heads were often included in mortuary contexts, representing captured enemies, revered persons, and symbolic 'seeds.' At Salango, a ritual complex on the central coast of Ecuador, excavations revealed two burial mounds dated to approximately 100 BC. Among the 11 identified burials, two infants were interred with 'helmets' made from the cranial vaults of other juveniles. The additional crania were placed around the heads of the primary burials, likely at the time of burial. All crania exhibited lesions associated with bodily stress."

Prehistoric Predators: The Terror Bird

"Phorusrhacids, colloquially known as terror birds, are an extinct clade of large carnivorous flightless birds that were the largest species of apex predators in South America during the Cenozoic era; their conventionally accepted temporal range covers from 62 to 1.8 million years ago." Source: Wikipedia.

Terror birds spread into North America around 2.7 million years ago after the formation of the Isthmus of Panama connected the two continents, leading to a cross-migration of flora and fauna known as the Great American Interchange.

It's possible that early humans coexisted with descendants of these monsters in South America. According to Wikipedia, "...reports from Uruguay of new findings of relatively small forms [of terror birds] dating to 18,000 and 96,000 years ago would imply that phorusrhacids survived there until very recently (i.e., until the late Pleistocene); the initial report of such a recent date has been questioned."

Mass Child Sacrifice Site Excavated In Peru

"The remains of 227 children have been discovered at a site in Peru in what experts believe is the world's largest sacrifice site." Source: Daily Mail.

"Researchers have been digging at the site in Huanchaco, a beach-side tourist town north of the capital Lima, since last year.

"Chief archaeologist Feren Castillo said the children, who were aged between four and 14, were sacrificed in a ritual to honor the pre-Colombian Chimu culture's gods."

Note: "Huanchaco's original population were indigenous fishermen, who worshiped the moon and a golden fish called Huaca Taska. Some accounts suggest the name 'Huanchaco' originate from 'Gua-Kocha', a Quechua word meaning 'beautiful lake'. During the period of the Chimú culture, 800 to 1400, Huanchaco was the port for Chan Chan, which was established 4 km away. It was also the main port during Moche period, and was described by Inca Garcilaso de la Vega as the preferred port of the Incas." (Wikipedia)

3000-Year-Old Relief Discovered At Vichama, Peru

"A relief thought to be 3,800 years old has been revealed by archaeologists in Peru. The wall, unveiled on Monday, was found inside a public ceremonial building at the Vichama site, north of Lima." Source: Archaeology News Network.

According to Ancient Origins, "...3,800 years ago, the people living in what is now called Vichama, Peru carved snakes and human heads into their walls alongside depictions of emaciated people. They were starving and dying and hoped a water deity would finally be lenient and send them some rain to let their friends, family, and neighbors survive.

 "...Excavations suggest [Vichama] was occupied during the Late Archaic period (3000 -1800 BC) and was an agricultural and fishing community. It was named after a Pre-Columbian demigod and has been excavated by archaeologists since 2007."