> I had the impression that the subject experts just would not accept the possibility that a human civilization might exist that doesn’t resemble what they had

> I had the impression that the subject experts just would not accept the possibility that a human civilization might exist that doesn’t resemble what they had preconceived No, the Mayanists are absolutely adamant that the Mayan people are right there, living in the same place their ancestors lived. Scholars today are some of the most vociferous in pointing this fact out. The problem is the people who write the textbooks, the popular science books, the newspaper articles, who generally decline to forward this answer to the popular sphere. Those are the people who just can't accept the idea that maybe civilization isn't a one-way road to greater and greater heights, to no end of frustration for the subject matter experts who know that to be the case.