Lost Science and Technology of the Mayan Civilization


Book Description

The Mayan civilization is one of the most fascinating cultures of all time. They flourished in Mesoamerica from around 300 BC to 900 AD, and their cities were more complex than any others at the time. The Maya built roads, developed an accurate measurement system for distances, and built enormous stone temples that served as centers of worship, astronomy, and astrology. They also had a well-developed written language, which they used to record their history and communicate important messages. This post will explore some of their most significant discoveries that have shaped our world today! The Mayan culture flourished in the Mesoamerican region from around 300 BC. The society was known for its unique and advanced knowledge of architecture, astronomy, calendar-making, and mathematics. The Mayans were one of the first civilizations in the Americas to develop a written language, and they had an extensive knowledge of astronomy, which they used to predict eclipses. Mayans lived in Mexico and Central America, especially on the Yucatan Peninsula, where they built sophisticated cities with pyramids and temples made of stone, such as Chichén Itzá or Uxmal. They also built many buildings with flat roofs named patios where people would come together to worship their gods while they watched dances performed by priests dressed in colorful costumes made from jaguar skins. The Maya had a well-developed written language. The Mayan writing system was developed before the invention of the wheel and is one of the oldest in existence. It was first used to record history, astronomy, and astrology but later became a way for people to communicate with each other. The Mayans turned out to be better mathematicians than we thought they were. Their calendar could easily track lunar cycles, solstices, and equinoxes without error; it also predicted eclipses with great accuracy.




Lost Discoveries


Book Description

*A New York Times Notable Book* Boldly challenging conventional wisdom, acclaimed science writer and Omni magazine cofounder Dick Teresi traces the origins of contemporary science back to their ancient roots in this eye-opening and landmark work. This innovative history proves once and for all that the roots of modern science were established centuries, and in some instances millennia, before the births of Copernicus, Galileo, and Newton. In this enlightening, entertaining, and important book, Teresi describes many discoveries from all over the non-Western world—Sumeria, Babylon, Egypt, India, China, Africa, Arab nations, the Americas, and the Pacific islands—that equaled and often surpassed Greek and European learning in the fields of mathematics, astronomy, cosmology, physics, geology, chemistry, and technology. The first extensive and authoritative multicultural history of science written for a popular audience, Lost Discoveries fills a critical void in our scientific, cultural, and intellectual history and is destined to become a classic in its field.




The Lost Secrets of Maya Technology


Book Description

The Maya have been an enigma since their discovery in the mid- 19th century. Maya science developed an elegant mathematic system, an incredibly accurate astronomy, and one of the world's five original written languages. This technology was more advanced than similar European technology by more than a thousand years. In this book, you'll see how James O'Kon, a professional engineer, synergistically applied field exploration, research, forensic engineering, and 3-D virtual reconstruction of Maya projects to discover lost Maya technological achievements. These lost principles of technology enabled Maya engineers to construct grand cities that towered above the rainforest, water systems with underground reservoirs for water storage, miles of all-weather paved roads tracking through the jungle, and the longest bridge in the ancient world. Maya engineers developed structural mechanics for multi-story buildings that were not exceeded in height until the first "skyscraper" built in Chicago in 1885, invented the blast furnace 2,000 years before it was patented in England, and developed the vulcanization of rubber more than 2,600 years before Charles Goodyear. Discover a host of unknown wonders in The Lost Secrets of Maya Technology.




Atlantis and the Coming Ice Age


Book Description

Reveals the parallels between the rise and fall of Atlantis, cultures in ancient Mesoamerica, and our modern civilization • Links the demise of Atlantis with the birth of the Olmec civilization in Mexico, the beginning of the first Egyptian dynasty, and the start of the Mayan Calendar • Reveals the Atlantean and Mayan prophecy of an eternal cycle of global creation, destruction, and renewal and how we are headed into a destructive phase • Shows how ancient prophecies correlate precisely with the latest climatology studies, the rising incidence of solar flares, and papers from Pentagon and NASA analysts With the passing of the Mayan Calendar’s end date we can now focus on the true significance of what the Maya and their predecessors were trying to convey to future civilizations. Frank Joseph reveals how the Mayan prophecy, symbolized by their calendar, was created through the combined genius of Atlantis and Lemuria and predicts an eternal cycle of global creation, destruction, and renewal. He shows how this cycle correlates precisely with scientific studies on glacial ice cores and predictions from the Hopi, the Incas, and the Scandinavian Norse as well as the visions of Edgar Cayce. He links the demise of Atlantis with the birth of the Olmec civilization in Mexico (the progenitors of the Maya), the beginning of the first Egyptian dynasty, and the start of the Mayan Calendar. Drawing on the latest climatology studies and papers from Pentagon and NASA analysts, he reveals that we are on the brink of a destructive phase in the global cycle of change as predicted by the Atlanteans and the Maya. The world’s current political, economic, and cultural deterioration is paralleled by unprecedented storms and record temperatures, massive solar flares, tectonic disturbances, and fissuring sea floors that could release dangerous reservoirs of methane gas into the environment--all of which signals we are headed into another ice age. Despite the Atlanteans’ greater understanding of the cyclical nature of catastrophes and of the human role in them, Joseph reveals the mistakes they made that played a crucial role in their civilization’s destruction. By recognizing the self-destructive patterns of Atlantis in our own civilization, we can learn from their mistakes to reestablish civilization’s cosmic balance before time runs out.




Collapse


Book Description

From the author of Guns, Germs and Steel, Jared Diamond's Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Survive is a visionary study of the mysterious downfall of past civilizations. Now in a revised edition with a new afterword, Jared Diamond's Collapse uncovers the secret behind why some societies flourish, while others founder - and what this means for our future. What happened to the people who made the forlorn long-abandoned statues of Easter Island? What happened to the architects of the crumbling Maya pyramids? Will we go the same way, our skyscrapers one day standing derelict and overgrown like the temples at Angkor Wat? Bringing together new evidence from a startling range of sources and piecing together the myriad influences, from climate to culture, that make societies self-destruct, Jared Diamond's Collapse also shows how - unlike our ancestors - we can benefit from our knowledge of the past and learn to be survivors. 'A grand sweep from a master storyteller of the human race' - Daily Mail 'Riveting, superb, terrifying' - Observer 'Gripping ... the book fulfils its huge ambition, and Diamond is the only man who could have written it' - Economis 'This book shines like all Diamond's work' - Sunday Times




Lost Civilizations of Mesoamerica


Book Description

As the Olmec culture developed in the early pre-classic period, we observe the phenomenon of the Olmec Heads and their Mysterious origins. Through ideological management and coercion mechanisms, the dominant ruler appears and alludes to forms of government exercised by individuals. Massive sculptures and large-scale architecture represent the first representations of political power. The socio-political complex that developed thus encouraged the development of similar forms in other areas of Mesoamerica, resulting in the first stratified societies consisting of actual states, as seen in Teotihuacan in the Mexican highlands, Monte Albán in Oaxaca, and the Maya city states during the classical period. A corollary of this process was the rise of some post-classical societies that reached supra-state levels, such as the Mexica, who settled in the Mexican highlands and established a true pan-Mesoamerican empire. Following this brief introduction, it is time to examine each ancient Mexican society considered the most significant in Mesoamerica's political development.




Fall of the Ancient Maya


Book Description

Ancient Maya civilization thrived in the tropics of Central America for more than a thousand years and produced some of the world's finest architecture and art. Then it mysteriously vanished, leaving a landscape of ruins smothered by forests. The Classic Maya collapse is one of the great puzzles of history, ranking alongside the Fall of Rome as an enigma that has intrigued scholars for generations.




Seed of Knowledge, Stone of Plenty


Book Description

Burke and Halbert present the scientific evidence behind their startling, original theory: ancient peoples constructed temples, mounds, and megaliths to increase the fertility of crops. These peoples used an ancient technology, only now rediscovered.




Lost Discoveries


Book Description

In the tradition of Daniel Boorstin, the cofounder of "Omni" delivers an original work of history that demonstrates why modern science rests on a foundation built by ancient and medieval non-European societies.




Earth Under Fire


Book Description

In "Earth Under Fire, " Paul LaViolette investigates the connection between ancient world catastrophe myths and modern scientific evidence of a galactic destruction cycle, demonstrating how past civilizations accurately recorded the causes of these cataclysmic events, knowledge of which may be crucial for the human race to survive the next catastrophic superwave cycle.