I know that the Egyptians weren't all light-skinned. They were not, however, as dark as other North African or Middle Eastern peoples, so they were not as "alien" to the Greek or Roman peoples as were some other cultures with whom they interacted. That was the only distinction I was trying to make.
And yes, it should be perfectly obvious that the Maya were a highly sophisticated civilization. But my point was that many people will *wilfully ignore* what is in front of them if it conflicts with their set of values. I don't know if it's the case in Mesoamerica, so I'm not going to argue the point, but I do know that while it should be perfectly obvious that the Harappan civilization in India was a highly developed indigenous culture, there are still people who cling to the Aryan invasion theory. And that's because they don't want to accept the evidence that civilization could and did exist before the coming of the Indo-Europeans.
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Date: 2004-11-22 06:25 pm (UTC)And yes, it should be perfectly obvious that the Maya were a highly sophisticated civilization. But my point was that many people will *wilfully ignore* what is in front of them if it conflicts with their set of values. I don't know if it's the case in Mesoamerica, so I'm not going to argue the point, but I do know that while it should be perfectly obvious that the Harappan civilization in India was a highly developed indigenous culture, there are still people who cling to the Aryan invasion theory. And that's because they don't want to accept the evidence that civilization could and did exist before the coming of the Indo-Europeans.