Thursday, December 1, 2011

The Cradle of Mayan Civilization


I had never heard of El Mirador before today. It sounds like a fascinating discovery. A basin full of a jungle covered, ruined city that was larger than Los Angeles? Mirador doesn’t stand alone in ancient cities full of pyramids. A Bosnian researcher has discovered the first valley of pyramids ever identified on the European continent. Although in Bosnia the claim of a valley of pyramids has not yet been confirmed to the fullest satisfaction, I think it will turn out every bit as magnificent as the scientist makes it sound in this video.


It seems that the more advanced our sciences become the easier it is to spot these ancient and massive works. I wouldn’t have thought it would be so difficult to spot them, but seeing these videos has begun to make me realize that nature and time have a way of hiding ancient history.

Yet there exists an even more fascinating aspect to these ancient mysteries. The enigmatic societies that built many of the worlds ruins have been lost in the obscurity of time. In ancient history many inexplicable and stunning feats have been accomplished. The pyramids of Giza, Stonehenge, the Nazca lines, and many more continue to stump researchers. It’s difficult to understand what happened to these civilizations. There are many theories for why the people left these great cities. Generally the theories consist of ecologic calamities, which seem like a good enough reason to get out of dodge to me. But the strange thing is that many ancient ruins have never been re-inhabited as time wore on. Nor did the people of the civilization move on to establish new or greater civilizations. Where did the people go? What caused their advanced societies to disappear?

Just as these cities have been buried by jungles or by the shifting sands of time, the intelligent societies that built them were lost. Of course there must be a logical explanation in each case, but too many of the theories fall short of providing any intellectual satisfaction. The simple reality is that we don’t know, and may never be able to unlock the mystery. New technology allows archeologists to identify pyramids using tools such as satellite pictures, geometry, and thermal scanning, but will technology arise to answer the riddle behind the lost civilizations?