The Lost Pyramids Of Caral .::. =video=
The Lost Pyramids Of Caral – a BBC Horizon documentary
The Lost Pyramids Of Caral
The magnificent ancient city of pyramids at Caral in Peru hit the headlines in 2001. The site is a thousand years older than the earliest known civilisation in the Americas and, at 2,627 BC, is as old as the pyramids of Egypt. Many now believe it is the fabled missing link of archaeology – a ‘mother city’. If so, then these extraordinary findings could finally answer one of the great questions of archaeology: why did humans become civilised? A lot has been discussed since this was put out. From Seattle Times (December 23, 2004): “A Peruvian site previously reported as the oldest city in the Americas actually is a much larger complex of as many as 20 cities with huge pyramids and sunken plazas sprawled over three river valleys, researchers report.” Construction began in 3000 B.C (300-400 years before the people of Kemet/Egypt began the Pyramid of Djoser). These cities flourished peacefully for more than 1,200 years.
The magnificent ancient city of pyramids at Caral in Peru hit the headlines in 2001. The site is a thousand years older than the earliest known civilisation in the Americas and, at 2,627 BC, is as old as the pyramids of Egypt. Many now believe it is the fabled missing link of archaeology – a ‘mother city’. If so, then these extraordinary findings could finally answer one of the great questions of archaeology: why did humans become civilised?
The mother of all cities
For over a century, archaeologists have been searching for what they call a mother city. Civilisation began in only six areas of the world: Egypt, Mesopotamia, India, China, Peru and Central America. In each of these regions people moved from small family units to build cities of thousands of people. They crossed the historic divide, one of the great moments in human history. Why? To find the answer archaeologists needed to find a mother city – the first stage of city-building.
Civilisation through conflict
They couldn’t find one anywhere. Everywhere this first stage seemed destroyed or built over. And so, instead, scientists developed a number of theories. Some said it was because of the development of trade, others that it was irrigation. Some even today believe it was all because of aliens. Gradually an uneasy consensus emerged. The key force common to all civilisations was warfare.
The theory was that only the fear of war could motivate people to give up the simple life and form complex societies. To prove it, archaeologists still had to find a city from that very first stage of civilisation. If it showed signs of warfare, then the theory had to be true.
Read more at the BBC website
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