The Incan War against Science

January 17, 2006 1:52 PM

You're a leader of a tiny village whose chief scientists and elders are telling you that the laws of science dictate that your village and all its people will soon be wiped from existence. Solution? How about just change the laws of science? That was this man 's plan and in doing so he created an empire as large as the Romans' and in a fraction of the time through largely peaceful negotiations. Sacrificing your finest children for your ancestors to change those laws was a solemn price to pay.

Can you really blame Peru for suing Yale University to get their hero's private treasures back?
posted by DirtyCreature (17 comments total)

You're a leader of a tiny village the United States of America whose chief scientists and elders are telling you that the laws of science dictate that your village and all its people will soon be wiped from existence. Solution? How about just change the laws of science?
posted by grobstein at 2:07 PM on January 17, 2006

I fail to see the relevance or accuracy by comparing the size of the Incan empire to the Roman's - especially in that Wikipedia link.

That being said - very interesting post.
posted by tzelig at 2:14 PM on January 17, 2006

Interesting post.

I'm gonna pop in my second-season Buffy DVD and watch the "Inca Mummy Girl" episode now.
posted by Gator at 2:17 PM on January 17, 2006

Reminds me of the plot of David Brin's 'The Death Eaters'.
posted by Vaska at 2:17 PM on January 17, 2006

This post is interesting... until the snark at the end.
What do Pachacuti's anti-science acts have to do with Peru suing Yale to get back their artifacts? Does the fact that Incans sacrificed children somehow mean that Peru doesn't have a right to these treasures?
posted by papakwanz at 2:19 PM on January 17, 2006

This post is interesting... until the snark at the end.

This was no snark. Give them back I say. I for one would love to see them in their original location if I ever make a trip to Peru. Pachacuti is one my personal heros.
posted by DirtyCreature at 2:22 PM on January 17, 2006

DirtyCreature:

If you're serious, then I take it back. It just seems like your post has a lot of mixed sentiments.
posted by papakwanz at 2:59 PM on January 17, 2006

It just seems like your post has a lot of mixed sentiments.

I am not sure where you think I am mixing them. I am judging Pachacuti and the Incas by the decisions they took on the basis of the knowledge they believed they had - not by the silliness of those beliefs. This one guy decided to change the course of the stars (which represented each of the villages in the Andes) by uniting them all in one empire, building huge structures representing stars on earth, and sending their finest children to their ancestors in the stars. He created an empire out of fear and not ego. The whole story behind this revelation and decoding of the Incan myths into dateable astronomical events is fascinating.

This book is weighed down with unnecessary academic details but if you can pull through it, it is a fascinating discovery and gives you a whole new respect for previously-though-as-primitive cultures.

The Peruvian have been trying to get the treasures back for 90 years and Yale keeps coming up with new excuses.
posted by DirtyCreature at 3:08 PM on January 17, 2006

Museums need to come to grips with being colonial mechanisms for aquisition and control. Some people (see the Universal Museums folks especially) are ok with that and will keep the stuff come hell or high water. For others, things like this leave a bad taste in our mouths and we want our museums to somehow return the items without losing the art. This could be a huge problem for musuems in the next century.
posted by jmgorman at 3:51 PM on January 17, 2006

Archeological remains are not only proof of a past, part of an heritage , but a significant tourist attraction. They do act as a revenue generator, internal stabilizator for countries that can't compete on global markets because of lack of dimensions.

I wonder, what will Iraqui says when they realize the loss they suffered because of poorly planned, badly implemented "liberation" plan ?

Oh but, snark, by that time they'll be all thrilled with what Britney did recently..celebrity gossip and other western mindfuck decadencies.
posted by elpapacito at 4:02 PM on January 17, 2006

i'm quite interested to understand the role of the south american Wanka in relation to all of this.

are these possibly the true ancestors of the modern northern variety?
posted by rodney stewart at 4:28 PM on January 17, 2006

Greece wants its marbles back!
posted by ericb at 4:36 PM on January 17, 2006

are these possibly the true ancestors of the modern northern variety?

Being unaware of your own ancestry is normally not something to be proud of.
posted by DirtyCreature at 4:43 PM on January 17, 2006

jmgorman writes 'Museums need to come to grips with being colonial mechanisms for aquisition and control.'

The British Museum made me throw up in my mouth, for example.
posted by signal at 7:09 PM on January 17, 2006

nice post.

I used to hate the British Museum and what it stood for until I spent a summer wandering the halls enjoying the pilfered artifacts and realized that a lot of what they stole would have probably been destroyed at some point in history.

Then again, now that things tend to be different and less tumultuous it would be nice of them to send some stuff back to Greece and Egypt.
posted by shoepal at 9:18 PM on January 17, 2006

Good post. As ericb points out, it's not just Peru [NYT-reg req]/America.
posted by peacay at 10:01 AM on January 18, 2006

You're a leader of a tiny village whose chief scientists and elders are telling you that the laws of science dictate that your village and all its people will soon be wiped from existence.

>
posted by davejay at 12:06 PM on January 18, 2006