[Eternal_Bear]

Many Native American nations claim descent from a land that sank beneath the ocean. The Mayans murals have been found showing people escaping from a sinking island. The Mexica (Aztecs) claim their original homeland was Aztlan. Maybe there is a reason that MesoAmericans were obsessed by the theory of cyclical destructions being visited upon them? Evidence now points to the fact that Civilization rose in the Americas before it did in Europe.

[sawsalimb]

One of the things that I find interesting is that,apparently,almost every culture has a catastrophe myth. Noah and Ziusudra are only two people in a whole cast of characters that were confronted by a devastating event of world changing proportions. I suspect that something along these lines(i.e. meteor storm,crustal shift,etc.) did indeed happen,and very likely almost wiped out the human race. The conditions those survivors faced must have been unimaginably harsh,and that they lived,bore children,and told the tale is a testament to just how tough and resilient we can be. Humans can certainly be venal and petty,at times,and we've been cursed with way more than our fair share of murderous thugs who've managed to gain enough power to make everyone around them miserable,but we seem to be very difficult to do away with completely.

[blam]

" Maybe there is a reason that MesoAmericans were obsessed by the theory of cyclical destructions being visited upon them? Evidence now points to the fact that Civilization rose in the Americas before it did in Europe."

Weren't they on a 52 year cycle of some sort?...and they predicted the end times in 2002 or 2012? (...or, at least their calendar does not go beyond that date?)