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Originally posted by PenandSword
Note uncovered, not discovered...because they were discovered just not uncovered of it's jungle growth.
Central America
Olmec civilization initially flourished at the site of San Lorenzo Tenochtitlán in southern Veracruz province from 1200 to 900 b.c.e. Some radiocarbon dating indicates a presence as early as 1500 b.c.e., and early Olmec settlers may have inhabited the area even before this time. However, most of the site’s monuments that distinguish this civilization date from the mid-1100’s b.c.e. Another important Olmec center, La Venta, in Tabasco province, functioned between 800-400 b.c.e.
These Olmec sites were not true cities but impressive political and religious centers run by an elite of religious specialists and ruling families. Artisans and farmers also figured among their inhabitants. Monumental structures, such as huge platforms 3,000 feet (914 meters) long, 1,000 feet (305 meters) wide, and reaching heights of 150 feet (46 meters), as well as pyramids, altars, and tombs, indicate that these centers served as gathering places for religious rituals and burial sites for the leadership.
At San Lorenzo, elaborate drainage systems and hydraulic works were constructed from joined sections of U-shaped carved stones covered with capstones. These constructions served as aqueducts that channeled water into sacred and decorative pools and created fresh streams running throughout the complex for drinking and bathing. Some flow was also diverted for waste runoff.
The scope of massive labor-intensive projects at these sites suggests the existence of Mesoamerica’s first political state, which exercised strong governmental control and direction over the farming populace.
The Great Pyramid of Cholula, also known as Tlachihualtepetl (Nahuatl for "artificial mountain"), is a huge complex located in Cholula, Puebla, Mexico. It is the world's largest monument and largest Pre-Columbian pyramid by volume. Main article: Great Pyramid of Cholula
Cholula is most famous as the site of the Great Pyramid of Cholula, the largest man-made pyramid and monument by volume in the world.
The temple-pyramid complex was built in four stages, starting from the 3rd century BCE through the 9th century CE, and was dedicated to the deity Quetzalcoatl.
History
The name Pyramid of the Sun comes from the Aztecs, who visited the city of Teotihuacán centuries after it was abandoned; the name given to the pyramid by the Teotihuacanos is unknown.
Now South America
Caral
Early in 2001, a site located on the Pacific coast of Peru which had been known for over a hundred years made headlines all over the world. The site of Caral and the cluster of eighteen similarly dated sites located in the Supe Valley included in what is now called the Caral-Supe Civilization are important because together they represent the earliest known urban settlement in the Americas--nearly 4600 years before the present.
By contrast, the Inca state rose during the 15th century AD; the Nasca Empire about 0 AD; Teotihuacan first flowered ca. 200 BC; Monte Albán about 500 BC; Chavín society 1000 BC; Olmec society 1200 BC. The culture represented by the Supe valley sites dates as early as 2600 BC, when Khufu was building the pyramids at Giza.
This story talks about how unknown gods came down to Earth and made a new tipe of living beeing, the man. At first, the man was perfect, just like the gods, He could see as far as gods did and he could live forever. But then, gods decided that the man could be a competitor of the gods themselves and they distroyed and made a new kind of man. An imperfect man
Originally posted by Byrd
Actually, they'd probably be printing one or hundreds of artists would be sculpting them in a variety of sizes, ready to sell when the new cycle started.
Originally posted by Copernicus
"First TV camera in the world to shoot the pyramid" - Lies. Plenty of pictures on the web already.
Originally posted by Byrd
Originally posted by SolPower
Nice Find - S&F
I wonder what implications this has on the comparison between these pyramids and Egyptian pyramids.
None at all. The Egyptian pyramids were built in an entirely different style and were built about 3,000 years before the Mayan pyramids. Egyptian civilization was dead and buried by the time of the Mayas; the Romans were also in decline. The best engineers at the time were in the Middle East, and were building domes and far more complex structures than pyramids.
And does this give the Mayan calendar more weight? And the so called end of a cycle period of 2012?
No. Their calendar ran out in 2012 (not a perpetual calendar) and they'd be busy carving a new one if the civilization had survived the Spanish conquistadores.
Actually, they'd probably be printing one or hundreds of artists would be sculpting them in a variety of sizes, ready to sell when the new cycle started.
Originally posted by Darkrift787
The mayan calendar is perpetual. It looks like a wheel. From what most of the media shows you on the t.v. and stuff is the Aztec calendar. The mayans calendar was PERPETUAL. Its like an odometer and just tacks on another number. The reason 2012 is a big thing is because it was a rolling over into a "new cycle"...