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[seaotter]

http://www.scientificamerican.com/video.cfm?id=65644772001

Ya know they really don't sound baffled to me.

[Sordid]

They do to me. "Religious rituals" is something historians and archeologists fall back to when they have no idea what something was for.

[seaotter]

They do to me. "Religious rituals" is something historians and archeologists fall back to when they have no idea what something was for.

I don't mean to imply they know what this civilization is, but they aren't baffled. They have made a new discovery.

[Rai]

I highly doubt that they would be baffled since I've read about the advanced civilisations of the Amazon ages ago. Hell, the even the very first explorer in the are a talked about large cities with lots of people.

Also, Eldorado is supposed to be a city and not a civilisation

And why is a palaeontologist talking about the site?

[TheLostVertex]

And why is a palaeontologist talking about the site?

Because they couldnt find anyone else who was baffled 

[Ah.hell]

Why do the scientists think a civilization that dates to the 200 BC was destroyed by Europeans?

[JoelWhy]

Dear news media,

You are forbidden from using the word "baffled" and "scientists" in the same sentence until further notice.

Thank you.

[Jack R.]

http://www.davidgrann.com/lost-city-of-z/

This is actually a pretty good book on the subject.  I was lucky enough to catch Mr. Grann's lecture on Fawcett and the lost civilization last year at the National Geographic Society.

[Rai]

http://www.davidgrann.com/lost-city-of-z/

This is actually a pretty good book on the subject.  I was lucky enough to catch Mr. Grann's lecture on Fawcett and the lost civilization last year at the National Geographic Society.

Another great book that covers this subject is Charles C. Mann's 1491 - The Americas before Columbus. Probably the best book written about pre-contact America evar.

[mindme]

i guess SciAm is just pulling the headline from the Reuters feed but I wish they'd filter and flag anything that uses the term "baffles" in science reporting.

[Trinoc]

They do to me. "Religious rituals" is something historians and archeologists fall back to when they have no idea what something was for.

Do archaeologists really believe that all ancient people put the vast majority of their labour into religious artefacts? ...

"What shall we do here? How about we build some terraces and grow crops, or maybe dig some ditches to defend the place. Naah, never mind all that rubbish ... let's just lay out loads of meaningless geometric patterns in tribute to the gods!"

[Rai]

They do to me. "Religious rituals" is something historians and archeologists fall back to when they have no idea what something was for.

Do archaeologists really believe that all ancient people put the vast majority of their labour into religious artefacts? ...

"What shall we do here? How about we build some terraces and grow crops, or maybe dig some ditches to defend the place. Naah, never mind all that rubbish ... let's just lay out loads of meaningless geometric patterns in tribute to the gods!"

Actually there is an example for such thinking: Tiwanaku. It was a vast smoke and mirrors religious Disneyland with immense monuments that were constantly being torn down and rebuilt, but never finished to add a sense of activity, and to lure throngs pilgrims and their money. The place, despite being a capital city didn't even have a single marketplace.

[mindme]

They do to me. "Religious rituals" is something historians and archeologists fall back to when they have no idea what something was for.

Do archaeologists really believe that all ancient people put the vast majority of their labour into religious artefacts? ...

"What shall we do here? How about we build some terraces and grow crops, or maybe dig some ditches to defend the place. Naah, never mind all that rubbish ... let's just lay out loads of meaningless geometric patterns in tribute to the gods!"

You're expecting people to think rationally when it comes to religion? What board are you on?

[FX]

Another great book that covers this subject is Charles C. Mann's 1491 - The Americas before Columbus. Probably the best book written about pre-contact America evar.

Oh yeah.  I'm reading it right now.  He starts off talking about this and the Belize civilization. 

[Trinoc]

Actually there is an example for such thinking: Tiwanaku. It was a vast smoke and mirrors religious Disneyland with immense monuments that were constantly being torn down and rebuilt, but never finished to add a sense of activity, and to lure throngs pilgrims and their money. The place, despite being a capital city didn't even have a single marketplace.

That's not so much religious devotion as an early form of the tourist industry. Canterbury and Mecca were/are similar. But you can't build a civilization on service industries alone, somebody has to produce the real goods ... something which post-Thatcher Britain will probably discover in the not too distant future.