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Like some have mentioned before, lower levels of contact with more established civilizations in the South. Lack of horses to facilitate that contact. There were pyramid cities like Cahokia on the Mississippi which were clearly influenced by Meso American civilizations, but that civilization was really in its very early stages and did not end up sustainable.
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Most likely due to the extreme climates that they were living in contrast to the tropical rain forests of central and southern America. I'm amazed on how the native peoples of ancient mesoamerica managed to create civilizations like the Mayans and the Aztecs without using metal tools and beasts of burden which baffled even the Spaniards.
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Might be a bit of hyperbole , no ? They still used a literal number system which is inferior to our 10 digit decimal system, nowadays, and they never invented the wheel. They also did not have the astrolabe etc... which Europeans used to navigate the seas to conquer them.
You can't do advanced mathematics, which science needs, with chicken scratch like this :
Who is to say they would have advanced from that, at least in a timely manner, without European influence ?
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I don't know if you have researched pre-Columbian civilizations, but I know many people have little knowledge of them. I myself am just beginning to scratch the surface. And I have to say, what I have so far discovered is quite significant. I am still learning, though, but will post stuff as I find it.
The ancient Americans had a good astronomical knowledge, good construction knowledge (actually fantastic... pre-Inca structures are comparable with ancient Egypt), and they had knowledge of things that are not easily known. Developed writing independently, also.
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But the Aztecs were actually "barbarian" invaders from the north, who mixed with locals and adopted their civilization:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Histor...lley_of_Mexico
They probably came to Mexico from what is now south-western USA (okay, that's not really "proper" North America):
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nahuat...lumbian_period
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I will agree the ancient Americans were excellent architects and stoneworkers but just bear in mind any architectural engineering firm can build and design a pyramid within a week, it's not that difficult and only takes a team of structural engineers and an army of construction workers.
Thread Topid: How advanced and civilized were the Aztecs really?
"How advanced: very primitive agricultural civilization. Corn/maize takes very little work to grow and has great yields per acre, this allowed really big cities, but in their case not very advanced. Pyramids are very simple architecture and the same true of their other buildings and roads. The architecture and engineering was centuries ahead of them and so was the art adorning the buildings. Their gold smithing was also centuries behind Europe. Their weaving and textile making was also extremely primitive compared to Europe. Their weapons were stone age ones thousands of years behind Europe's. Their transport systems were stone age too.
Now if you want to look at their non-material culture, lets just say this my ancestors who revived human sacrifice and liked to drink out of skulls and keep them as trophies would have found them acceptably "civilized" except for their habit of throwing the corpses of their sacrifices down the steps of their pyramids to be carved up and eaten. We're taking about the 4th century and people barbarous even for Scandinavia, whom later became the Vikings, though they too might of found it objectionable to raid every year their subject peoples for human sacrifices and to offer every prisoner of war as a sacrifice. Having observed many centuries of totally ruthless ancestors and my living relatives all of whom are ruthless and their ruthlessness shocks even me and I'm ruthless too, I must say that the Aztecs were over the top in their inhumanity and were not civilized at all".
http://historum.com/general-history/...-really-3.html
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