Menu
Forums
New posts
Search forums
What's new
New posts
Latest activity
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles and first posts only
Search titles only
By:
New posts
Search forums
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Help Support The Rugby Forum :
Forums
Other Stuff
The Clubhouse Bar
A History Thread
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Every Time Ref" data-source="post: 998287" data-attributes="member: 71826"><p>Arguably more in the realm of anthropology than history but I've just started reading 1491 by Charles Mann, an excellent book about pre-Columbine civilisation in the Americas.</p><p></p><p>The basic premise is that there was far, far more going on before Europeans arrived than we are taught in schools, and than even most anthropologists realised for a long time. We have this image of much of the Americas being small societies with no "advanced" civilisations apart from the Inkas and Mexica (the group we incorrectly call Aztecs) - apparently the European diseases travelled much much quicker than the men that brought them, as a result an estimated 95% of American Indians died.</p><p></p><p>Most of the Americas was already decimated by the time Europeans arrived, so they didn't know they were witnessing societies that had been utterly destroyed a few years before. It's like an alien landing in Hiroshima in 1945 just after the bomb, and concluding that what they see is how Earth people live.</p><p></p><p>Really fascinating book, only a third in and have already massively rethought what I thought I knew about that part of the world. Highly recommend.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Every Time Ref, post: 998287, member: 71826"] Arguably more in the realm of anthropology than history but I’ve just started reading 1491 by Charles Mann, an excellent book about pre-Columbine civilisation in the Americas. The basic premise is that there was far, far more going on before Europeans arrived than we are taught in schools, and than even most anthropologists realised for a long time. We have this image of much of the Americas being small societies with no “advanced” civilisations apart from the Inkas and Mexica (the group we incorrectly call Aztecs) - apparently the European diseases travelled much much quicker than the men that brought them, as a result an estimated 95% of American Indians died. Most of the Americas was already decimated by the time Europeans arrived, so they didn’t know they were witnessing societies that had been utterly destroyed a few years before. It’s like an alien landing in Hiroshima in 1945 just after the bomb, and concluding that what they see is how Earth people live. Really fascinating book, only a third in and have already massively rethought what I thought I knew about that part of the world. Highly recommend. [/QUOTE]
Verification
Post reply
Forums
Other Stuff
The Clubhouse Bar
A History Thread
Top