I grew up in Ohio, and in high school had a friend from Chillicothe, a small, rural city which is surrounded by several ancient mound sites; I was amazed that we weren't taught this history in grade school. In the US we often come to know about Mesoamerican monumental pyramids of the Maya and Aztecs, but there's not nearly as much awareness of the moundbuilding civilizations whose ceremonial precincts can still be found across a huge part of the United States.
I just started reading "Florida's Indians from Ancient Times to the Present" by Jerald Milanich, which begins with several chapters of the state's precolonial societies. He suggests a progression from the shell middens—huge piles of shellfish refuse, essentially garbage heaps, many of which remain across the state today—which eventually became ceremonial mounds, elite burial sites containing copper artworks and other precious artifacts, and/or elevated platforms for religious rites.
Having visited Chichen Itza, with its 1000 columns hosting markets for centuries, and in fact having purchased artwork from a native while there, it seems that markets in general are underrepresented as a force which has shaped most of our decisions. Agriculture came about because it is something which can be automated and therefore over represented in markets. Farmers were the first "billionaires" of the ancient world, having introduced mot agriculture, per se, but automation to the market.
I could see Stonehenge and Göbekli Tepe in the same way: the complexity, the monumental architecture, the choices of food stuffs... these were all shaped by "the market" and its first oligarchs.
Wherever we see a hybridization in DNA, we can suppose that an equal hybridization occurred in the marketplace... goods preceded romance, I suspect.
I grew up in Ohio, and in high school had a friend from Chillicothe, a small, rural city which is surrounded by several ancient mound sites; I was amazed that we weren't taught this history in grade school. In the US we often come to know about Mesoamerican monumental pyramids of the Maya and Aztecs, but there's not nearly as much awareness of the moundbuilding civilizations whose ceremonial precincts can still be found across a huge part of the United States.
I just started reading "Florida's Indians from Ancient Times to the Present" by Jerald Milanich, which begins with several chapters of the state's precolonial societies. He suggests a progression from the shell middens—huge piles of shellfish refuse, essentially garbage heaps, many of which remain across the state today—which eventually became ceremonial mounds, elite burial sites containing copper artworks and other precious artifacts, and/or elevated platforms for religious rites.
I visited Poverty Point, and you get a feeling there. Nothing mystical, but it’s quiet and a little remote, and peaceful if you climb up the mound.
Informative and interesting article...👍
Having visited Chichen Itza, with its 1000 columns hosting markets for centuries, and in fact having purchased artwork from a native while there, it seems that markets in general are underrepresented as a force which has shaped most of our decisions. Agriculture came about because it is something which can be automated and therefore over represented in markets. Farmers were the first "billionaires" of the ancient world, having introduced mot agriculture, per se, but automation to the market.
I could see Stonehenge and Göbekli Tepe in the same way: the complexity, the monumental architecture, the choices of food stuffs... these were all shaped by "the market" and its first oligarchs.
Wherever we see a hybridization in DNA, we can suppose that an equal hybridization occurred in the marketplace... goods preceded romance, I suspect.
Interesting Twitter thread on how the builders of the pyramids at Caral designed them to withstand earthquakes: https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1261126244763987969.html