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Town Networks Defy Myth Of Pristine Rainforest
torpor writes "An interesting article being published in Science magazine discusses the ways tribes in the Xinguano region cultivated and integrated the Amazon rainforest into their culture by building 'networks of towns and cities, geometrically structured' to accomodate better use of the surrounding forest region. From an article at agriculture.com: "Brazil's northern Amazon region, once thought to have been pristine until modern development began encroaching, actually hosted sophisticated networks of towns and villages hundreds of years ago, researchers said on Thursday." ... When I saw some of the satellite pictures, I couldn't help thinking it would make a very interesting software model ... Starcraft, Xinguano-mod, anyone?"
The Book of Mormon has been shown to be unreliable as a archeological text by Mormons and non-Mormons alike. Claims to archeological validity were dealt with here by the Smithsonian Institute.
All that is necessary for the triumph of good is that evil men do nothing.
Who moderated this as "Interesting"??
In any event, there were no Native Americans who had a ceremony that resembled anything like Holy Communion. The Mayans had several blood sacrifice ceremonies, and the Aztecs were pretty brutal in their human sacrifice, but none of them believed they were consuming the body and blood of God, thus joining with him in Spirit. And they sure as hell didn't believe their God became human and died for their sins.
Last I checked, Christ didn't look like a giant feathered serpent, so I'm not sure where you get the "Quetzecoatl resembles Christ" remark. They didn't even have similar philosophies. One was a god of war, the other was a Man of peace.
As for tribes of Indian speaking Hebrew, there weren't any (there may be today, nothing says an Apache can't become a Jew if he isn't, er, attached to his foreskin). There is a tribe in Alabama who uses some Celtic words and phrases, most likely thanks to St. Patrick, and there are artifacts from Mexican which bear Chinese and Phoenician characteristics. But nothing remotely resembling ancient Jews.
Of course, you left out the little niggling details about "Indians" and the Book of Mormon. Like how that book teaches all Indians are children of the Devil and should be killed. And that blacks should be kept as slaves, since it's their natural state. And don't forget the idea of keeping women as chattel. Oh, wait, I forgot, Mormons dropped that one so their territory could become a state. Christians have done some horrible things through history, but they never claimed revelations from God countradicting core beliefs just so they could gain the benefits of US statehood.
God invented whiskey so the Irish would not rule the world.