When one thinks about βancientβ Native American civilizations and ruinsβ¦ the thing is thatβ¦ most of them, they werenβt ancient. The Inca were not fully conquered by the Spanish until 1572β¦ for reference, the Mona Lisa was painted in 1502 and Martin Luther made the 95 Theses in 1517.. the βancientβ Aztec Empire was younger than the university of Oxford founded in the 11th century, Montezuma lived at the same time than Leonardo Da Vinciβ¦ There are castles that are younger than Machu Picchu, those cities were inhabited by millions just a few centuries ago, and some (Cuzco, MΓ©xico), many actually, are still inhabited today. People speak about the Ancient Maya as if it was some mysterious civilization that was lost, and while it was past its prime at the time of European conquest, the Maya still had city-states and were living in the same areas they live today.
There are still millions of people, right now, who speak Quechua, Nahuatl, and Maya in all their dialects, and Iβm just talking about the three most well-known civilizations hereβ¦ there are millions of Native Americans who still speak their languages and practice their culture and beliefs alive, both thriving and struggling today.
Talking about the βAncient Incaβ or βAncient Aztecsβ makes as much sense as talking about the βAncient Dutchβ or the βAncient Swedesβ, and itβs another way of erasing them, saying that they just arenβt around anymore just like say the Sumerians, or that they just werenβt relevant to world history. They were contemporaries to modernity and theyβre still alive today.
You can talk about the Ancient Olmecs or Ancient ChavΓn though. Because the Inca and the Aztecs are relatively βmodernβ but their cultures were just the latest from a cycle of civilizations stretching millenia before Christ.
β Tumblr user elbiotipo
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