Yeah, if the shaman dude says the scalp eaters are coming, best just mystically migrate like you're told. ZW :sultan:
It's easy for you to be flip and sarcastic about someone else's religion from a thousand years ago, but as a matter of fact ... if your spiritual world-view means everything to you, then yes, you do migrate when you receive a "sign" from the gods. I daresay you would do the same. Let me ask you this ... if you turned on the Weather Channel and the forecaster was saying gravely that a tornado was coming your way, what would you do? I'm guessing that weather forecasting is part of your "world view", and you would undoubtedly heed the warning. The forecasts themselves are correct often enough they make us mindful not to ignore them. The Anasazi were no different. Their gods were right often enough, as well, at least as they saw it. It didn't do to ignore them.
Its easy to be flip and sarcastic about any religion...Puebloan oral history is dubious at best. Mostly made up for tourists. One recent archeological gathering where Hopi elders were present, it was revealed they don't even remember how they glazed their own traditional pottery, the archeologists had to tell them. (I'd cite this but dammit, I can't find it right now) European Jesuit fucks wiped out their oral shit almost completely. Very thorough... These speculations about blood cults and what-not should not be so outrageous for modern Americans to ponder considering the Christian religion has its own cannibalistic ceremony pretending to eat the flesh and drink the blood of Christ during communion. Not surprisingly modern South American aboriginals have no problem mixing Catholicism with their own death obsessed ancient religions! As a matter of fact "Day of the Scull" is Monday... ZW
Ah well, that's where you're coming from. Thankfully, it doesn't really matter that you disapprove of their lifestyle. No, that's not correct. And your "example" is not very convincing. I doubt that you could make, say, a reflecting telescope. Does that mean that the history of science is "dubious at best"?
Who said I didn't approve of their lifestyle? ( eating people isn't very nice...) I disapprove of modern lifestyles that I am familiar with, but we really don't know shit about how those ancient people viewed their world, so it's foolish to pass judgment. Speculating on the death of ancient peoples can be fun though, because as I have pointed out, even our modern people, perhaps more than ever, retain that fascination with the morbid. :devil: I'm not trying to convince you or prove anything... Just evoke a different line of thought on the subject than the "yea, drought, over farming, internal strife" :cowboy: ...or the oral history mumbo-jumbo.:indian_chief: P.S. Not only I do know how to make a reflecting telescope, I know how to grind the lenses from rock crystal by hand. ZW
AH HA! This ones going on the top of my book list!... Man Corn Cannibalism and Violence in the Prehistoric American Southwest By - Christy G. Turner II and Jacqueline A Turner Review excerpt http://bcn.boulder.co.us/environment/cacv/cacvbmcn.htm ..the authors present very strong evidence that the cannibalism signature occurs almost exclusively in the Anasazi culture area (centered on Chaco) and nowhere else.confused: ZW) They present the hypothesis that the Anasazi cannibalism was a combination of several factors: social control, ritual human sacrifice, and social pathology.Which was possibly brought in from Mexico by the social strife of the Toltec empire collapsing as well as vanquished Toltec warriors who were intent on spreading the cannibalism/human sacrifice religion of the Toltec deities. Hmm, Toltec warriors... ...anyone read Casteneda? aughta send shivers up your spine...:devil: ZW
outstanding book, and available through inter-library loan - even in montana it's the last book mrs. wica checked out . . .
the other top book on the subject is: http://www.amazon.com/Prehistoric-Cannibalism-at-Mancos-5Mtumr-2346/dp/0691094675/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1289217476&sr=8-1"]Prehistoric Cannibalism at Mancos 5Mtumr-2346 - Tim D. White don't know if it's in the inter-library system - it's on the bookshelf in my living room though...
