8 ms·

Because they look more impressive. Duh.

by powera 10y ago

SwellJoe 10y ago
Do they? I mean, sure there's some great stuff all over the world, but the US has some really interesting stuff, too. Casa Grande is incredible, the Gila Cliff Dwellings are awesome, the Cliff Palace at Mesa Verde is something to see, Monks Mound and several other mound/pyramid structures are pretty fun, too. One of my favorite things to find when I'm out hiking is ancient man-made stairs or tunnels cut into mountains, or other evidence of habitation...and there's a lot of those, including in places you might not even know were historically inhabited. I also think it's amazing to roam around a bunch of structures built 2,500 years ago, and that were occupied and in use for about 1,000 years (the Casa Grande site was inhabited from around ~450BCE until 1450CE), by a massive and advanced civilization. There's some really cool stuff to see in the US, is what I'm trying to say.
- wybiral 10y ago
  There are even some non-ruin places in the US that are at-least equally as striking as the big tourist spots. Last year I went to see the black canyon of the gunnison, which was new to me, and was totally awe-struck.
- Keyframe 10y ago
  Would there be some sort of a list of sights like these to visit for someone outside of USA?
  - SwellJoe 10y ago
    While I just berated American tourists for taking the path of least resistance and mostly sticking to the "big" National Parks, there is some value in sorting out the "must-see" from the "also amazing, but not as much amazing stuff to see in one location". If you can only stay in the US for a few weeks, hitting the high points may make sense. I've been traveling for years, and still haven't seen all of them, though I'm trying. If human ruins are a priority for you, then the ones I've mentioned are maybe the best starting points (though Casa Grande Ruins is "only" a National Monument, and not a National Park; it's maybe a place to visit for a day or two on your way to or from somewhere else, unless you have a specific interest in the Hohokam civilization or that era). Mesa Verde is astonishing in its history; it was inhabited, off and on, for thousands of years, with evidence of habitation as far back as 7500BCE, and multiple eras of civilization represented. That'd be a good one to visit if you want to learn about ancient civilizations in the Americas. Frankly, I think one could make an amazing vacation by visiting almost any National Park: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_national_parks_of_the_United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_national_parks_of_the_... I like to spend a week or two or three camped in the park, depending on the size of the park, and what kinds of exploration one can do. Some are bigger than others. Denali could take weeks to explore pretty thoroughly, Yosemite is maybe more of a long weekend. Note that for most of those, the archaeology/anthropology angle is minimal, though almost always present; it's usually the terrain itself that is the star of the show. Most of our National Parks will have good materials about who lived in the area and when (and it's often fascinating and a good way to spend a day or two of your visit, and there's likely to be tours that focus on that aspect of the park), but the geological/natural features are often the focus. Our National Parks system is among the things I'm most proud of about my country (and I have lots of things to be critical of). I wish I could show it to everyone in the world; but, most Americans haven't even visited more than one or two, so I guess we should start there.
  - mch82 10y ago
    Here is a directory of National Conservation Lands maintained by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/prog/nlcs.html http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/prog/nlcs.html (I didn't find a way to search by features, like presence of ruins). Edit: I found another page with a helpful written overview of the National Conservation Lands http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/prog/blm_special_areas/NLCS.html http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/prog/blm_special_areas/NLCS.html
- foobarian 10y ago
  There are ancient ruins anywhere but the volume around Europe is just immense. I grew up in a random Eastern European town and there was a 2k year old roman arch on one of the downtown blocks attached to modern office buildings/residences that nobody even bats an eye at.
  - SwellJoe 10y ago
    As Eddie Izzard says, Europe is where the history comes from. But, there's a lot of wonderful old things to see in the Americas, including some wonderful old things made by people.
    - pyrale 10y ago
      It's more like, Europe is where the historians come from.
      - thaumasiotes 10y ago
        Partly true; India for example is infamous for not having history. But China has a long tradition of carefully curated history; "historian" was a profession of some respect. I've read one analysis that said you don't get so much emphasis on Chinese ruins because the Chinese mostly built in wood rather than stone. Stone ruins remain impressive for a long time. Wood... rots.
weberc2 10y ago
Not only that, but in other places in the world, there's actually a history to connect to these ancient places. Native Americans left relatively little historical record compared to ancient people in Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. I'm much more likely to appreciate an ancient site if I know more about the people who inhabited it.

Because they look more impressive. Duh.

by powera 10y ago

Because they look more impressive. Duh.

Do they? I mean, sure there's some great stuff all over the world, but the US has some really interesting stuff, too. Casa Grande is incredible, the Gila Cliff Dwellings are awesome, the Cliff Palace at Mesa Verde is something to see, Monks Mound and several other mound/pyramid structures are pretty fun, too. One of my favorite things to find when I'm out hiking is ancient man-made stairs or tunnels cut into mountains, or other evidence of habitation...and there's a lot of those, including in places you might not even know were historically inhabited. I also think it's amazing to roam around a bunch of structures built 2,500 years ago, and that were occupied and in use for about 1,000 years (the Casa Grande site was inhabited from around ~450BCE until 1450CE), by a massive and advanced civilization. There's some really cool stuff to see in the US, is what I'm trying to say.

wybiral 10y ago
There are even some non-ruin places in the US that are at-least equally as striking as the big tourist spots. Last year I went to see the black canyon of the gunnison, which was new to me, and was totally awe-struck.
Keyframe 10y ago
Would there be some sort of a list of sights like these to visit for someone outside of USA?
- SwellJoe 10y ago
  While I just berated American tourists for taking the path of least resistance and mostly sticking to the "big" National Parks, there is some value in sorting out the "must-see" from the "also amazing, but not as much amazing stuff to see in one location". If you can only stay in the US for a few weeks, hitting the high points may make sense. I've been traveling for years, and still haven't seen all of them, though I'm trying. If human ruins are a priority for you, then the ones I've mentioned are maybe the best starting points (though Casa Grande Ruins is "only" a National Monument, and not a National Park; it's maybe a place to visit for a day or two on your way to or from somewhere else, unless you have a specific interest in the Hohokam civilization or that era). Mesa Verde is astonishing in its history; it was inhabited, off and on, for thousands of years, with evidence of habitation as far back as 7500BCE, and multiple eras of civilization represented. That'd be a good one to visit if you want to learn about ancient civilizations in the Americas. Frankly, I think one could make an amazing vacation by visiting almost any National Park: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_national_parks_of_the_United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_national_parks_of_the_... I like to spend a week or two or three camped in the park, depending on the size of the park, and what kinds of exploration one can do. Some are bigger than others. Denali could take weeks to explore pretty thoroughly, Yosemite is maybe more of a long weekend. Note that for most of those, the archaeology/anthropology angle is minimal, though almost always present; it's usually the terrain itself that is the star of the show. Most of our National Parks will have good materials about who lived in the area and when (and it's often fascinating and a good way to spend a day or two of your visit, and there's likely to be tours that focus on that aspect of the park), but the geological/natural features are often the focus. Our National Parks system is among the things I'm most proud of about my country (and I have lots of things to be critical of). I wish I could show it to everyone in the world; but, most Americans haven't even visited more than one or two, so I guess we should start there.
- mch82 10y ago
  Here is a directory of National Conservation Lands maintained by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/prog/nlcs.html http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/prog/nlcs.html (I didn't find a way to search by features, like presence of ruins). Edit: I found another page with a helpful written overview of the National Conservation Lands http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/prog/blm_special_areas/NLCS.html http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/prog/blm_special_areas/NLCS.html
foobarian 10y ago
There are ancient ruins anywhere but the volume around Europe is just immense. I grew up in a random Eastern European town and there was a 2k year old roman arch on one of the downtown blocks attached to modern office buildings/residences that nobody even bats an eye at.
- SwellJoe 10y ago
  As Eddie Izzard says, Europe is where the history comes from. But, there's a lot of wonderful old things to see in the Americas, including some wonderful old things made by people.
  - pyrale 10y ago
    It's more like, Europe is where the historians come from.
    - thaumasiotes 10y ago
      Partly true; India for example is infamous for not having history. But China has a long tradition of carefully curated history; "historian" was a profession of some respect. I've read one analysis that said you don't get so much emphasis on Chinese ruins because the Chinese mostly built in wood rather than stone. Stone ruins remain impressive for a long time. Wood... rots.

weberc2 10y ago

Not only that, but in other places in the world, there's actually a history to connect to these ancient places. Native Americans left relatively little historical record compared to ancient people in Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. I'm much more likely to appreciate an ancient site if I know more about the people who inhabited it.