
Archaeologists find early democratic societies in the Americas - Thevet
http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/03/it-wasnt-just-greece-archaeologists-find-early-democratic-societies-americas
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twblalock
The contention about democracy in the title of the article is undermined by
the disagreements between archaeologists that are cited in the article itself.

I know that the authors of the articles don't always get to pick the titles,
but come on.

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ravenstine
On a similar topic, for those unfamiliar with the Iroquois Confederacy, the
wikipedia article itself is an interesting read:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iroquois](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iroquois)

In essence, they were a sort of "united states" before the United States we
know today. Although the wikipedia article provides sparse evidence for this,
it's theorized that the 6 Nations influenced the founders in shaping the early
[western] American government.

So many fascinating aspects of American history and pre-Columbian have been
overlooked, sadly, because we have tended to view the natives as either
savages or "noble savages".

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jcranmer
It's unlikely that the Iroquois Confederacy was much of a model for American
government. The most notable reference to them in records we have from the
founding fathers amounts to "well, if even savages like the Iroquois can have
a democratic government, why can't we?" Consider instead the wealth of
quotations to Enlightenment philosophers, the English Civil War, Greco-Roman
antecedents, etc.

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Maultasche
Interestingly, Tlaxcala, in reward for allying with the Spanish
conquistadores, because an autonomous colony independent of the rest of Mexico
(but subject to the King of Spain like the other Spanish colonies). The brutal
repression and enslavement of the natives also didn't apply to Tlaxcala. They
seemed to do pretty well for themselves during the colonial period.

Tlaxcala didn't become a part of the rest of Mexico until it was absorbed when
Mexico became independent from Spain.

The Wikipedia article is a pretty interesting read.

In reading the accounts of Bernal Diaz del Castillo, who accompanied Cortez to
Mexico, I think it's pretty clear that the Tlaxcalans were definitely the
deciding factor in the Spanish victory. Despite their technological
superiority, the Spanish had small numbers, and they would have been soundly
beaten by the Aztecs (called Mexica by Bernal Diaz) if it hadn't been for the
Tlaxcalan army assisting them. That book is a fascinating read.

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ch4s3
This is an interesting read, and I particularly thought it was illuminating
with respect to the Indus Valley Civilisation.

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douche
Every time one of these archaeology articles comes up, I'm reminded about what
thin reeds most of these theories are based upon. It's the blind men and the
elephant, except the pieces available for inspection are even smaller, and the
conclusions more sweeping.

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astrodust
Doesn't help that a large part of that history was kept as oral tradition, and
those who remembered it were starved, shot, died by disease and outright
murdered over the last few centuries.

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omginternets
What's your point?

The fact that these people suffered has literally no bearing on the fact that
the theory is built on shaky grounds (according to the parent poster, that
is).

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astrodust
My point is you can say there's not a lot of evidence but you can't ignore why
this is the case. Destroying people was destroying evidence.

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GuB-42
I have a feeling this topic will degenerate quickly...

