Does the Amazon jungle conceal a vanished empire?
A very interesting book by Charles Mann, 1491, covered this issue in considerable detail. He points out, quite accurately, that our history of “native Americans,” largely based on victimology, isn’t really “their” history at all. By extension this applies to “black history,” etc. I have found “black history” books to be remarkably disinterested in what the black man was doing before whitey showed up. Victim-based history is only about the victimization of “indigenous peoples” by the evil white man. Whitey always has the starring role. It casts the native in the role of object, removing from him the dignity of being an actor in his own play. It is a disservice to both “races.” Anyway, the Americas had a long and fascinating history before 1491, with Andean civilization apparently rivaling Sumeria and Egypt for antiquity. There was also quite a massive civilization in the Amazon. It collapsed when 90% to 95% of the natives died by 1600 throughout the Americas as a result of the merging o
