1491 - A Book Review

I just finished reading 1491 - New Revelations of the Americas before Columbus by Charles C. Mann and wanted to take some time this week to review this robust and exhaustive study of the ancient Americas.

This review comes fittingly as today is Columbus Day; which as an aside, has to be the the most moronic and unhistorical holiday this country has. What really are we celebrating? Are we celebrating the year that a borderline traitorous European, certainly tyrannical, was the "first" to step foot on the Americas? And by "first" do we really mean "first wealthy, well-funded, European explorer"? As this book points out, the Americas were more populated, and in some ways advanced, than Europe of the same time period. Furthermore, to disregard Leif Ericson's (and probably countless others) landing here some 500 years earlier is questionable at best. But history needs a face, and being that Spain and Portugal ruled the world at the time, Christopher Columbus is that man.

But I digress, the book 1491, is phenomenal. In my eyes, Charles Mann provides one of the most exhaustive and well-documented studies of historical North and South America ever put to print. To capture the findings in this book in a single review would be near impossible, but to summarize I'll do my best. Mann's 1491 title serves facetiously as the account of the America's prior to European "discovery".

I was taught, as every other school child was, that the populating of this country was a direct result of individuals (likely of Asian-descent) crossing the Bering Strait some 12,000 years ago. In turn, these nomads gradually wandered as far south as Chile, gradually populating and creating pocket societies along the way. In turn, we're led to believe that the Americas (certainly North America) had a population of people existing mainly in small, nomadic bands; living sparsely on the land, and that, for all practical purposes, America was still a vast wilderness upon Columbus' "discovery". Further, Columbus "discovered" this sparsely populated, and very unsophisticated, land in 1492. Charles C. Mann makes abundantly clear that archaeologists and anthropologists in the last thirty years have proved nearly every aspect of those assumptions wrong (and in some cases, very, very wrong).

Here are a few random and ground-breaking discoveries outlined in detail throughout this book:
• In 1491 there were probably more people living in the Americas than in Europe (likely 10's of millions).
• At Olmec in 30 A.D., use of the zero has been discovered: An invention, widely described as the most important mathematical discovery ever made, which did not occur in Eurasia until 600 A.D.
• At the time of Columbus' landing, cities like Tenochtitlán (on Lake Texcoco, outside of present-day Mexico City), were far greater in population than any contemporary European city. Tenochtitlán, unlike any capital in Europe at that time, had running water, beautiful botanical gardens, and immaculately clean streets.
• The Spanish conquest and successful overthrow of empires in South America was likely due to the fact that the societies had been decimated by smallpox (introduced by Europeans and spread rapidly), in many cases up to 90% of the populations, allowing the conquistadorss to "win" so easily.
• The earliest cities in the Western Hemisphere were thriving before the Egyptians built the great pyramids.
• In many cases, the mathematical and scientific accomplishments of the Americas preceded those oft credited to European and Asian counterparts. These include many aspects of astronomy, the modern day calendar, farming, the wheel, plumbing, government and writing.
• The first paleo-Indian migration to the Americas could have occurred as early as 25,000-35,000 B.C. arriving in boats, not by foot.
• Large-scale pyramids, with surrounding societies, have been discovered in Peru preceding those built at the Great Pyramids of Giza by several hundred years.
• Pre-Columbian Indians in Mexico developed corn by a breeding process so sophisticated that the journal Science recently described it as “man’s first, and perhaps the greatest, feat of genetic engineering.”
• Native Americans transformed their land so completely that Europeans arrived in a hemisphere already massively “landscaped” by human beings. Read more...

Tikal, Guatemala

I just returned from a couple of weeks in Central America (Guatemala and Belize) and will be posting various things in the coming weeks about the trip. I thought I'd start with the Tikal ruins as, for anyone that has been there will know, it was a breathtaking experience.

Tikal is located in the Peten region of Northern Guatemala, deep in the humid jungles of Tikal National Park. My wife and I spent an entire day there with our guide, Hannibal, who was born and raised in a small village bordering the Park. His wealth of knowledge of the area was amazing. As a brief synopsis, Tikal was the capital of the vast Mayan Empire peaking in about 200 AD (the site has been dated as far back as 400 BC in some areas). The Mayans were a highly sophisticated group of the Classic Period with an empire stretching throughout present-day Mexico (Chiapas, Tabasco, and the Yucatán Peninsula states of Quintana Roo, Campeche and Yucatán), and the northern Central American region, including Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador and Honduras. As to an idea of their size, the Mayan empires in and around Tikal are said to have been populated with over a million and a half people (larger than present-day Barcelona, or San Diego). The Mayans are known for having the only fully developed written language of the pre-Columbian Americas, incredible art, monumental architecture rivaling that of the Egyptians, and sophisticated mathematical and astronomical systems. Tikal has thousands of structures, most still buried beneath trees, foliage and 1500 years of jungle growth. Tikal was long known to have existed by locals, but was "discovered" by Ambrosio Tut in 1848 who was roaming the jungles in search of chiclero - or gum, from the local gum tree.

Having spent the day there, I was most impressed with the area known as the Acropolis, and all six temples (I-VI). The six step-pyramids in Tikal are enormous pyramids, some exceeding 200 feet. Many of these pyramids can be climbed; the most memorable being temple five which must be ascended by a small, vertical, wooden ladder over 18 stories high. If you're afraid of heights, there's no chance you should try this. At the top of the pyramid you can see out miles over the jungle canopy and can spot three of the other pyramids peeking above the tree line. The view is unbelievable.

Being the amateur archaeologist that I am, I was most intrigued by the nearly 23 square mile residential area that is yet to be excavated. I'd love to be a part of the team that someday can dive into the ruins and everyday lives of the many that lived in Tikal, and built it's mighty empire.

Finally, I was more than impressed with the extent to which the Guatemalan government has gone to protect and conserve the site. Truly, the Cambodian, Egyptian and Jordanian governments (among others) would serve themselves well to take a page out of the Guatemalans book to do MUCH more to preserve their respective sites. Sure, this site is designated a UNESCO site, but for those of you that read my post on the issue, you know that this does little to no good in my eyes and much more is necessary when it comes to conservation/preservation of these magical ruins. The Guatemalan's have gone further designating the 222 square mile Tikal National Park protected land. In addition, there are adequate signs and safety measures in the Park. The government has gone so far as recording (through two checkpoints at the entrance to Tikal) every driver's speed through the Park leading up to the site to prevent drivers from speeding, and putting the native animals (jaguars included) in jeopardy of being hit. Fantastic stuff. Read more...