Huge Ancient Civilization’s Collapse Explained

LiveScience ^ | 5-28-2012 | Charles Choi

[Renfield]

The mysterious fall of the largest of the world's earliest urban civilizations nearly 4,000 years ago in what is now India, Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh now appears to have a key culprit — ancient climate change, researchers say.

Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia may be the best known of the first great urban cultures, but the largest was the Indus or Harappan civilization. This culture once extended over more than 386,000 square miles (1 million square kilometers) across the plains of the Indus River from the Arabian Seato the Ganges, and at its peak may have accounted for 10 percent of the world population. The civilization developed about 5,200 years ago, and slowly disintegrated between 3,900 and 3,000 years ago — populations largely abandoned cities, migrating toward the east....

[Mr. K]

You guys are all joking but in reality it was Ramses Osiris Soros-hamudphet and his minion Obamakhet Stufamonkee-Init

[COBOL2Java]

It was global warming caused by friction between the soles of the feet and the ground.

>

[ctdonath2]

Yup, interesting (but not huge) temp change happened around 4000 years ago. Notice that we're overdue for a much larger drop; today's "warming" may be saving us from a similar cold calamity.

[IYellAtMyTV]

"Sethi Clinton: Let the letter “W” be stricken from every book and tablet, stricken from all pylons and obelisks, stricken from every monument of Egypt. Let the letter “W” be unheard and unspoken, erased from the memory of men for all time."

"So let it be written. So let it be done."

LOL! very cool, just watched that movie last night!

[InvisibleChurch]

i enjoy the movie, too. i always dig the "fuel hose' look . only Yul was cool enough to wear it. today's rock stars and celebrity schmoes are too pansy to wear it

[E. Pluribus Unum]

So are we to believe that climate would never change if humans did not exist?

The climate change may have had nothing to do with the humans, but misanthropes find it very satisfying to blame them.

[Condor51]

The mysterious fall of the largest of the world's earliest urban civilizations nearly 4,000 years ago in what is now India, Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh now appears to have a key culprit — ancient climate change, researchers say.

[shibumi]

I dunno. Could be Aliens ~OR~

[Moltke]

a coastal civilization, which was drowned as glaciers melted after the end of the Younger Dryas period.

I have to ask - they just stood there watching the water rise from their feet until they drowned? If so, good riddance to the fools!

[Salamander]

That's what happened with Hy Brasil.

[GraceG]

Virmanas with nukes....

[GraceG]

[Sirius Lee]

Hy Brasil

I had never heard of it before - and like all good Irishmen I thought I was well versed in the tales of St. Brendan. Thanks!

[Salamander]

No problem but that reference is to a scene in Monty Python’s “Erik The Viking” where the disgustingly peaceful inhabitants of Hy Brasil simply stand there like grinning idiots as it sinks, with the leader constantly assuring them that this isn’t happening.

Brutally funny.

[but Brendan sure did get around]

;]

I bet you’ll enjoy this:

http://www.viewzone.com/crichton33.html

[Sirius Lee]

I bet you’ll enjoy this:

That is most excellent. Thank you kindly.

[Moltke]

LOL. Thanks. “Oh noes, what’s happening to our civilization? We’s drowwwwwning here.”

[Smokin' Joe]

So let it be written. So let it be done

Isn't that supposed to be "ritten"?

[Salamander]

My pleasure.

[the Celts did *everything*, you know...it was never ‘ancient aliens’]

LOL

[IYellAtMyTV]

'So let it be written. So let it be done'

"Isn't that supposed to be "ritten"?"

ROTFLMAO! Yes!

[Renfield]

I rather imagined that it was only the buildings and other fixed structures that drowned; the people would have fled inland (probably repeatedly every generation or two).