The people who came to settle in the Americas, after migrating from Asia over the Beringia land bridge during Late Pleistocene era, make for a great case study with regarding human evolution. For example, science can now use DNA to tell the difference between those who settled ion South America from those in North America. The initial population split and became isolated enough from one another to develop different genetic mutations from one another. That buttresses has been observed elsewhere in the world.
Of course, it is interesting to try and puzzle through what happened to ancient or forgotten civilizations. In some cases where they put together something that looked like an advanced civilization, then suddenly it collapsed. Figuring out why it disappeared in a few years is fun. It can also tell us something about human civilization in general. Although, knowing why the Greeks and Romans failed at the end has not changed a single mind among the modern ruling classes so it may not be a worthwhile endeavor.
The trouble, of course, when it comes to talking about the Amerindian societies is the modern primitives and their superstitions get in the way. We are no longer allowed to point out that sub-Saharan Africans never advanced far beyond the stone age until the white man arrived with the wheel, writing and so forth. Similarly, any discussion of American Indians must be is such reverent tones that it makes discussing the topic close to impossible, at least in an objective way. Here’s a good example.
In an otherwise straight forward story you get something like this:
The first evidence of a settlement in the Cahokia area is from the year 600 CE, at a time when the Maya civilization would have been at its peak. But it wasn’t until after the largest cities of the Maya began to fall in the 1000s that Cahokia came into its own. It’s estimated that the city center held as many as 15,000 people (making it comparable in size to European cities of the same era), and reached the height of its productivity between roughly 1000-1300 CE.
The implication, something we routinely see in stories about the Mayan, Aztec and other Mesoamerican groups, is that these people had reached a comparable level of civilization to that of Europeans. Sometimes they are described as being more advanced, at the time, than Europeans. Always lurking somewhere in the discussion is the implication that everything was fine until the pale face came along and screwed everything up. It’s a version of the noble savage, with the white man as the villain ruining paradise.
The first step in human civilization was agriculture. This required something larger than kin-based organizational units. One guy planting a garden is not enough. Figuring out how to raise crops required large scale (relative to hunter gatherers) cooperation amongst people. The mesoamericans got this far. They also got to the point where they could have specialization. Instead of farming, some portion of society were craftsman, tradesmen and government functionaries/religious class.
That’s a big deal as it allows for a class of people who come up with new ideas and improve on old technology. Successful agriculture allows for an intellectual class. If Bill Gates had to till his fields every day, he was not going to have time to steal code from IBM. Having a class of people dedicated solely to metallurgy allows for constant improvement in that technology. The results help a society grow richer and add to its stock of people working on non-agricultural projects. There is a compounding effect.
That’s thing with these ancient people. They never made it that far. Europeans were smelting metal for 2,000 years before the Maya were stacking rocks on top of one another to make a simple wall. When they were at their richest, presumably allowing their best and brightest to try new things, they did some impressive stuff with stonework and architecture. More often than not, however, it was used for ceremonial, cultural and religious ends, rather than practical ends, like plumbing and sewage.
They did not invent any new technologies that would help them take control of their natural surroundings. While the Maya were perfecting stone age technology, Europeans had passed through the bronze age and were well into the iron age. Comparing the civilization achievements of these people with Europe is simply ridiculous for these reasons. Why one group went down a blind alley and one did not is interesting and useful to know, but it is not allowed to be discussed in the current climate of righteous hysteria.
Of course, we’re all supposed to feel bad for what happened to the Indians. To show that, we celebrate the achievements of the Maya, Aztecs and whoever else we can find that was kicking around the Americas before the white man. Throw in a healthy dollop of the noble savage myth and you have middle-aged white women claiming to have “Native American” ancestry. The American Indian has become a stock character in the never ending morality tale of white guilt and the quest for redemption.,
Reality is something different. The Indians were a dead end of sorts. At least when comes to technological achievement. The most advanced civilizations in the south never developed a large enough smart fraction to overcome their environment to a degree that allowed the shape their environment. They maxed out their ecosystem, but where never able to take control of it as happened in Europe and Asia.There were a few smart Indians around, but never enough to reach the necessary critical mass.
That last bit is the key. Europe in the 900’s was not a fun place. War, disease, famine and general mayhem made living beyond 30 a rarity. We called it the dark ages for good reason. Still, the ingredients were all there for a breakout. People had figured out the basics of agriculture to the point where they could produce more than they consumed and there fore have an inventive class, working on making better tools, better weapons and better ways to organize themselves in order to capitalize on their advances.
Understanding that process and why it happened is important. We know Amerindians have an average IQ a little higher than Africans. We know Europeans and Asians have significantly higher IQ’s than other human groups. That’s probably the place to start when trying to understand why the Aztec went down a dead end and were never able to get over the hump in terms of cultural development. This is all taboo, so instead we waste time worshiping people for having been mankind’s greatest losers.