4 ms·

I'm not saying I believe any of the crazy conspiracies related to the Nazca lines, but I really do wonder what they actually are. The mysteries behind a lot of

I'm not saying I believe any of the crazy conspiracies related to the Nazca lines, but I really do wonder what they actually are. The mysteries behind a lot of these ancient megalithic structures make me wonder about how sophisticated these presumed primitive civilizations actually we're.

WalterBright 6y ago
It's hard to have a sophisticated civilization without writing.
- AlotOfReading 6y ago
  This is mostly a myth. Modern archeologists generally don't use writing as a criterion for 'advancement' anymore specifically because certain areas like the Andes never really used it. It also raises difficulties with other groups like the Aztecs that didn't have 'full' writing, but were nonetheless quite sophisticated.
  - WalterBright 6y ago
    The Aztecs certainly did have writing. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aztec_writing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aztec_writing It's far better than the primitive icon systems favored in modern user interfaces.
    - AlotOfReading 6y ago
      The qualifier 'full' is important here. The article even makes note of this: > ...some scholars have understood the system to not be considered a complete writing system... In particular, the written and spoken forms aren't precisely equivalent. Some archaeologists consider this a bigger deal than others (I'm more on the "not a big deal" side), but it's worth noting.
      - WalterBright 6y ago
        I did read the article, they also wrote that it being incomplete is controversial. Be that as it may, if it can convey ideas, it is workable.
- EdwardDiego 6y ago
  What does a sophisticated civilisation look like?
  - 8bitsrule 6y ago
    Really. Guess we can't know until we experience one.
tleite 6y ago
It's amazing what you can achieve with psychedelics laying around, and no Internet or TV available.
- nefitty 6y ago
  I know this response is a little tongue in cheek, but you make a good point regarding entertainment. It seems like passive entertainment is a sort of sponge of energy and attention in a society. At a certain size, that probably helps keep things organized, but if that option is not available, the group has to come up with elaborate ways to expend that excess energy. Once all the survival tasks are done, you really don’t want a bunch of military-age males standing around listless without direction. I think this was part of the pressure that gave way to elaborate rituals, construction projects, exploration, etc.
olivermarks 6y ago
Theories about people conspiring to control money, societies etc are usually very recent historical investigation and speculation. I think you mean conjecture and ideas to propose theories about how past civilizations were able to create megalithic structures, and who they were?
nobody9999 6y ago
>The mysteries behind a lot of these ancient megalithic structures make me wonder about how sophisticated these presumed primitive civilizations actually we're. Consider that while the invention of writing systems allowed us to store knowledge and grow our technology base, human intellect and capacity hasn't changed in any real sense over at least the past 50,000 years. The human ability to reason, imagine and create has existed for tens of millenia. As such, such sophistication isn't all that surprising.
Izkata 6y ago
I imagine the Nazca lines were done with grid drawing [0], where the second grid was made with ropes or something on the ground. [0] https://ecdn.teacherspayteachers.com/thumbitem/Dragon-Grid-Drawing-for-Middle-High-Grades-4209856-1589476052/original-4209856-2.jpg https://ecdn.teacherspayteachers.com/thumbitem/Dragon-Grid-D...
phs318u 6y ago
Based on the answer to the question, who could have appreciated the images (i.e. where does the optimal observer reside - the sky), perhaps the images were made in homage, or to appease/appeal to god(s)?

WalterBright 6y ago

It's hard to have a sophisticated civilization without writing.

AlotOfReading 6y ago
This is mostly a myth. Modern archeologists generally don't use writing as a criterion for 'advancement' anymore specifically because certain areas like the Andes never really used it. It also raises difficulties with other groups like the Aztecs that didn't have 'full' writing, but were nonetheless quite sophisticated.
- WalterBright 6y ago
  The Aztecs certainly did have writing. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aztec_writing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aztec_writing It's far better than the primitive icon systems favored in modern user interfaces.
  - AlotOfReading 6y ago
    The qualifier 'full' is important here. The article even makes note of this: > ...some scholars have understood the system to not be considered a complete writing system... In particular, the written and spoken forms aren't precisely equivalent. Some archaeologists consider this a bigger deal than others (I'm more on the "not a big deal" side), but it's worth noting.
    - WalterBright 6y ago
      I did read the article, they also wrote that it being incomplete is controversial. Be that as it may, if it can convey ideas, it is workable.
EdwardDiego 6y ago
What does a sophisticated civilisation look like?
- 8bitsrule 6y ago
  Really. Guess we can't know until we experience one.

tleite 6y ago

It's amazing what you can achieve with psychedelics laying around, and no Internet or TV available.

nefitty 6y ago
I know this response is a little tongue in cheek, but you make a good point regarding entertainment. It seems like passive entertainment is a sort of sponge of energy and attention in a society. At a certain size, that probably helps keep things organized, but if that option is not available, the group has to come up with elaborate ways to expend that excess energy. Once all the survival tasks are done, you really don’t want a bunch of military-age males standing around listless without direction. I think this was part of the pressure that gave way to elaborate rituals, construction projects, exploration, etc.

olivermarks 6y ago

Theories about people conspiring to control money, societies etc are usually very recent historical investigation and speculation. I think you mean conjecture and ideas to propose theories about how past civilizations were able to create megalithic structures, and who they were?

nobody9999 6y ago

>The mysteries behind a lot of these ancient megalithic structures make me wonder about how sophisticated these presumed primitive civilizations actually we're. Consider that while the invention of writing systems allowed us to store knowledge and grow our technology base, human intellect and capacity hasn't changed in any real sense over at least the past 50,000 years. The human ability to reason, imagine and create has existed for tens of millenia. As such, such sophistication isn't all that surprising.

Izkata 6y ago

I imagine the Nazca lines were done with grid drawing [0], where the second grid was made with ropes or something on the ground. [0] https://ecdn.teacherspayteachers.com/thumbitem/Dragon-Grid-Drawing-for-Middle-High-Grades-4209856-1589476052/original-4209856-2.jpg https://ecdn.teacherspayteachers.com/thumbitem/Dragon-Grid-D...

phs318u 6y ago

Based on the answer to the question, who could have appreciated the images (i.e. where does the optimal observer reside - the sky), perhaps the images were made in homage, or to appease/appeal to god(s)?