[HN Gopher] Machu Picchu older than expected, study reveals
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       Machu Picchu older than expected, study reveals
        
       Author : diodorus
       Score  : 66 points
       Date   : 2021-08-13 04:46 UTC (1 days ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (news.yale.edu)
 (TXT) w3m dump (news.yale.edu)
        
       | devoutsalsa wrote:
       | I haven't made it to Manchu Picchu yet, but as an Old World
       | archaeology enthusiast, I visited some Mayan sites in the past
       | year and was way more impressed than I expected to be. If you
       | think like I used to & and assume that all the cool old stuff is
       | in the Old World, consider challenging that assumption :)
       | 
       | Calakmul in Mexico was my favorite. I loved climbing the steps of
       | a pyramid, rising above the jungle canopy, and then seeing a
       | pyramid twice as high staring back at me.
       | 
       | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calakmul
        
         | jjeaff wrote:
         | From the top of one of the tall structures in Calakmul, you
         | should be able to see El Mirador on a clear day, possibly with
         | binoculars. El Mirador is on the Guatemalan side and is also a
         | pretty amazing site, especially if you want to see what some of
         | these sites look like before they are fully excavated and
         | cleaned up for tourist crowds. El Mirador is deep in the jungle
         | and requires a multi-day journey, preferably with mules to get
         | there. When I went several years ago, I remember only crossing
         | paths with one other group of tourists for the whole 60 mile
         | round trip journey.
        
         | lostlogin wrote:
         | I recommend the region, and just getting yourself or a small
         | group into the area and going to smaller sites. Machu Picchu is
         | impressive. However it is overwhelmed by tourists and the
         | modern structure in the valley below detract from it.
         | 
         | The small sites on the various trails in are quiet, and
         | incredible. Many haven't been reconstructed is dubious fashion.
         | It's am amazing area.
        
       | ncmncm wrote:
       | Considering the radically different quality of stonemason work in
       | older structures, and in lower parts of structures, used by
       | Incas, it is hard to understand why historians insist everything
       | in Peru was built by Incas immediately preceding the Spanish
       | invasion. It is often quite easy to distinguish later Inca
       | repairs from masterful original construction.
       | 
       | Pushing back use of Machu Picchu a few decades is fine, but I
       | think they still have nothing material to suggest when
       | construction began. It could have been built a thousand years
       | before, abandoned, and then re-occupied and repaired later.
       | 
       | It is troubling that visitors cannot easily tell what parts have
       | been reconstructed since it became a tourist site.
        
         | MichaelZuo wrote:
         | Has there been carbon dating work done on the bottom layer of
         | stones?
        
       | graupel wrote:
       | We did the Inca Trail years ago and the tour guides kept talking
       | about people from 'Jail' - which we later found out was Yale
       | sounds like with a Peruvian accent!
        
       | alberth wrote:
       | If you want to go down a rabbit hole on theories of advanced pre-
       | ice age civilizations, here you go.
       | 
       | https://youtube.com/c/brienfoerster
        
         | [deleted]
        
         | AlotOfReading wrote:
         | It's honestly baffling how popular alternative history and
         | other such conspiracy nonsense is to the public, even for
         | entertainment. I don't know anyone who believes there's a
         | conspiracy to hide the proof of P=NP, but major television
         | networks have multiple productions dedicated to archaeological
         | conspiracy theories. They're always so random too, like
         | "Egyptians had US military helicopters".
        
       | nikkinana wrote:
       | I'd say history proves "scientists" are wrong more than they're
       | right. Let that sink in.
        
       | gojomo wrote:
       | Using advanced radiocarbon dating, it may be "up to several
       | decades older than previously thought". And "at least 20 years
       | older" - back to about AD1420, instead of AD1440-1450.
       | 
       | So this isn't a massive revision changing big conceptions about
       | pre-Columbian Incan society - just a hint Spanish interpretations
       | of native records, post-conquest, somewhat off.
        
       | mprev wrote:
       | In use from 1420 to 1530. 20 years older than previously thought.
        
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       (page generated 2021-08-14 23:00 UTC)