tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7139169.post113358422949365146..comments2023-11-02T07:25:45.884-05:00Comments on Mormanity - a blog for those interested in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: Mesoamerican Fortifications and the Book of MormonJeff Lindsayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08776493593387402607noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7139169.post-1133790850764406012005-12-05T07:54:00.000-06:002005-12-05T07:54:00.000-06:00One more from http://www.ancientscripts.com/maya.h...One more from http://www.ancientscripts.com/maya.html: "As for the content of the texts, Thompson strongly argued for esoteric knowledge like astrology and pointless mathematics. This view was derived from his opinion that the Maya were peaceful astronomy priests. However, evidence soon emerged that the texts recorded something other than Maya science."Jeff Lindsayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08776493593387402607noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7139169.post-1133787079955160242005-12-05T06:51:00.000-06:002005-12-05T06:51:00.000-06:00Harvard??Harvard??Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7139169.post-1133785178443029012005-12-05T06:19:00.000-06:002005-12-05T06:19:00.000-06:00One of the great names in Mayan studies, along wit...One of the great names in Mayan studies, along with Michael Coe, is Linda Schele, the woman who did so much to advance understanding of the Mayan script and thus of the Mayan people. In the review of her book, <I>The Blood of Kings</I>, at Amazon.com, you can read this statement from the Library Journal from their 1986 review: "Though Maya script, symbolism, and mythology are not yet fully understood, <B>research from the last 25 years is showing that the Maya, once seen as 'simple' peaceful people, are now thought to have lived in rival city-states waging war</B> to capture prisoners who were often sacrificed to enhance the power of rulers."Jeff Lindsayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08776493593387402607noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7139169.post-1133763255521762632005-12-05T00:14:00.000-06:002005-12-05T00:14:00.000-06:00See also http://www.ambergriscaye.com/earlyhistory...See also <A HREF="http://www.ambergriscaye.com/earlyhistory/glyphs.html" REL="nofollow">http://www.ambergriscaye.com/earlyhistory/glyphs.html</A> to learn something about the role of Eric Thompson, the scholar who dominated thinking about the Mayans in the first half of this century. That article makes reference to his paradigm of the Mayan priests being peaceful men.Jeff Lindsayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08776493593387402607noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7139169.post-1133763000089315742005-12-05T00:10:00.000-06:002005-12-05T00:10:00.000-06:00Hello, Radicalfeminist poet. Please note that I wa...Hello, Radicalfeminist poet. Please note that I wasn't saying that scholars just learned about warfare among the Mayans in the past 20 years - when you took your course, the prominent role of warfare in Mesoamerica had already become recognized. But before about 1950, as I recall, the myth of a peaceful ancient Mayan culture was pretty widespread. I don't have time to dig up the old references now, but you can see that this was a myth that was debunked by modern scholarship if you look at American Indian Heritage Foundation page at <A HREF="http://www.indians.org/welker/maya.htm" REL="nofollow">http://www.indians.org/welker/maya.htm</A> and search for "debunked" or "peaceful."Jeff Lindsayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08776493593387402607noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7139169.post-1133745198439818002005-12-04T19:13:00.000-06:002005-12-04T19:13:00.000-06:00Amusing, MT. While I can certainly see where you ...Amusing, MT. While I can certainly see where you stand on the BOM (frontier fiction) and I also agree with the crux of Jeff's post (then again, Joseph Smith and Michael Coe might have colluded like in the movie Frequency--freaky), your joke is well taken. I've known some members who were a LITTLE too willing to spout off spurious pieces of evidence w/o academic support. Mormons are some funny folks sometimes.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7139169.post-1133722705621419632005-12-04T12:58:00.000-06:002005-12-04T12:58:00.000-06:00radicalfeministpoet:-As for the supposed "pattern ...radicalfeministpoet:<BR/><BR/>-As for the supposed "pattern of migration reminiscent of the ancient semitic migration noted in the BofM" alluded to by a commentator, how about a little genetic evidence?-<BR/><BR/>uh, I think we're making the same point...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7139169.post-1133684193239142562005-12-04T02:16:00.000-06:002005-12-04T02:16:00.000-06:00For decades, scholars thought ancient Mesoamerica ...<I>For decades, scholars thought ancient Mesoamerica was a peaceful place, especially in the Classic era of 300 AD to 800 AD. </I><BR/><BR/>This unsubstantiated premise, on which the rest of the article is based, is deeply flawed. When I first studied Mesoamerican archaeology at Harvard over20 years ago, it was taken for granted that the period in question was a tumultuous one, racked by war among the elites and violence throughout the population. "Disproving" the straw man of a "peaceful classical period" accomplishes nothing.<BR/><BR/>As for the supposed "pattern of migration reminiscent of the ancient semitic migration noted in the BofM" alluded to by a commentator, how about a little genetic evidence?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7139169.post-1133666075973972582005-12-03T21:14:00.000-06:002005-12-03T21:14:00.000-06:00Wow. Now the B of M has both chasmus and chiasmus ...Wow. Now the B of M has both chasmus and chiasmus on its side. I can't wait to see the confusion this will cause among careless readers.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7139169.post-1133631412151793872005-12-03T11:36:00.000-06:002005-12-03T11:36:00.000-06:00Ha ha! Your chasmus insight certainly fills an imp...Ha ha! Your chasmus insight certainly fills an important void in Book of Mormon scholarship. Thanks for digging so deeply to unearth this ground-breaking issue, MT.Jeff Lindsayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08776493593387402607noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7139169.post-1133630269013604092005-12-03T11:17:00.000-06:002005-12-03T11:17:00.000-06:00note: This practice was also unknown to 19th cent...note: This practice was also unknown to 19th century american farmboys...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7139169.post-1133630198557555612005-12-03T11:16:00.000-06:002005-12-03T11:16:00.000-06:00The ditch-digging that you refer to in Meso-Americ...The ditch-digging that you refer to in Meso-America bears uncanny resemblance to other earth depressions found in the Arabian peninsula. In fact, ancient semites perfected the use of special tools that efficiently displaced sand and dirt granules, leaving an area devoid of earth.<BR/>This practice, called "chasmus", was virtually unknown to 18th century Americans, who relied on various animals to drag forged metals through the ground to "till" or plow.<BR/> The similarities between Nahom-area soil vaccuums, and pre-Columbian "ditches", suggests a pattern of migration reminiscent of the ancient semitic migration noted in the BofM.<BR/><BR/>And to think that "scientists" only a few years ago had not drawn the connection between old world chasmus and meso-American ditches.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7139169.post-1133627567357380732005-12-03T10:32:00.000-06:002005-12-03T10:32:00.000-06:0016 Meters wide??? About 50 feet?I've always imagin...16 Meters wide??? About 50 feet?<BR/><BR/>I've always imagined the width to be about 10 (maybe 20) feet wide, just enough to prevent a reasonable ladder or a log from being laid across it.<BR/><BR/>Any clues as to why it was so wide?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com