My my how elitist we are discussing the brutalities of vanished civilizations. Those ancient butchers were so grotesque they did each murder one at a time. Just imagine the effort involved, each methodical death blow by death blow. Such brutes, in retrospect. They must have had tag teams of executioners on high holidays switching arms as they grew weary. They probably had a drum roll to accompany the changing of the Blades. I can just see the flint knappers running up the stairs with arm loads of replacement inserts. Quick quick snap to it boys there is a rhythm to maintain for these special ceremonies.
Only an academic can think to disregard the recent activities on the news and Just 70 years ago, Katyn. ( I was told it took teams of machine gunners all day to dispatch and fill the pits. They did not even have time to remove the wallets and personal items. A rush job.) Was I mistaken did I hear of seven heads delivered by the Taliban only yesterday. And modern Mexicans are every bit as inventive as their distant ancestors. Do you think they used electric saws for seven heads or did they still use flint maces? Lets tsk, tsk all those brutal Mesoamericans. And the death toll from white diseases in North America has anyone ever come up with realistic numbers. Tsk tsk, I defy any archeologist to turn up anything like Auscwitz or Katyn Civilization is organized and focused brutality. We have just become better at it none of us would waste so much effort for so few heads. What is remarkable is not the head count but the incredibly inefficient ritualized waste of resources these people conducted. We have surpassed them in every measurable manner and we don't even leave evidence behind to implicate us anymore. Katyn was a sloppy job. Dr.Vladimyr Ivan Burachynsky Ph.D.(Civil Eng.), M.Sc.(Mech.Eng.), M.Sc.(Biology) 120-1053 Beaverhill Blvd. Winnipeg, Manitoba CANADA R2J 3R2 (204) 2548321 Phone/Fax [email protected] -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Jochen Fromm Sent: April 27, 2010 6:42 PM To: The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group Subject: Re: [FRIAM] Palenque, Chichen Itza and more The Toltecs don't belong to the Maya, they are more predecessors of the Aztecs. The Maya were the culture with the most elaborate and interesting writings. But you are right, we can find on the one hand extreme violence and brutality among nearly all Mesoamerican cultures, and on the other hand highest culture in form of hierogylphs and writing systems. I guess people back then were not that different from today, some just wanted to be peaceful farmers, while others insisted on repulsive rituals, bloody sacrifices and endless wars. The film Apocaylpto from Mel Gibson describes it well, I think it is quite authentic. -J. ----- Original Message ----- From: Douglas Roberts To: The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group Sent: Wednesday, April 28, 2010 1:03 AM Subject: Re: [FRIAM] Palenque, Chichen Itza and more I think the Toltecs were the most bloody, degenerate, disreputable culture that has disgraced the planet in semi-recorded history (present company excluded, of course). Handball games where the captain of the winning team was obliged to decapitate the captain of the losing team and then do a slam-dunk with the head? No, thanks. The ruins in Chichen-Itza are impressive, though. --Doug ============================================================ FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org ============================================================ FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org
