Episode 5 - The Archaeology of Loss

This episode begins by exploring the "archaeology of loss," challenging the long-held Western notion that the pre-Columbian Americas were an "empty wilderness" and highlighting how recent evidence proves they were densely populated and technologically advanced. Archaeological research now suggests the Amazon basin was potentially more crowded in 1000 AD than today, with population centers like Maraho and Tapajos supporting potentially hundreds of thousands of people. These complex societies were sustained by advanced agroforestry techniques that involved actively cultivating the forest and the creation of Terra Preta (Amazonian Dark Earth), an anthropogenically made fertile soil that completely defies the old argument that the soil was too poor for civilization. A prime example of indigenous genius is the "creation" rather than "domestication" of maize from the tough, inedible grass Teosinte, a feat of long-term selective breeding that produced a food source essential to global agriculture.

The discussion shifts to the fragility of power, contrasting the immense material wealth and artistry of the Aztec Empire, which was praised by Hernán Cortés, with its surprising political vulnerability. The Spanish seizure of Emperor Montezuma and the subsequent collapse was exacerbated by the Aztec philosophy of warfare, which prioritized control and tribute over the total annihilation of the enemy. This allowed Cortés and his men to survive a devastating defeat and eventually win, a situation where a philosophical difference in the objective of war had direct strategic consequences. The continued relevance of political philosophy is explored by noting Machiavelli's counsel to avoid generating hatred by respecting subjects' property, which he considered more vital than avoiding the killing of opponents, and Rousseau's unique argument that monarchy might work best in fertile lands to consume surplus wealth and prevent destabilizing private accumulation.

The episode delves into material culture, emphasizing that modern archaeology views objects not just as passive evidence, but as active agents in historical processes, carrying identity, memory, and political power. This is illustrated by the personal significance of engraved rings found in ancient Greek graves and how, in early Christianity, sacred objects were seen as vessels that actively contained or channeled holy power. The entire vast, complex pre-Columbian world was erased so completely that even the descendants of the conquered barely knew its true scale, leading to the final thought: that the speed and totality of this loss should make us question what subtle genius in our own world today we might be similarly failing to recognize, value, or actively erasing.