Complex Numbers

What Culture Now?

And we're back to another Cracked article about history.

There Was Once A Huge Empire Outside Of St. Louis, MO (And Schools Barely Teach It)  

Or, I suppose, prehistory, as written records are basically nonexistent.

If you’re from a part of the world that doesn’t bother to teach American Indian history in schools (and that includes every part of the US that’s more than a ten-minute drive from a casino) chances are you’ve never heard of the Mississippian Culture, a once-great American Indian civilization that spanned across almost a third of the continental United States.

I had, in fact, heard of the Mississippian Culture (and can even spell it), but as I said a few days ago, there's always more to learn.

And while it’ll take historians decades to puzzle together some of the only remaining pieces, what we can do in the meantime at least is to question the when, what, why and who behind the disappearance of the Mississippian Culture. (Spoiler alert: It’s white people.)

Even the name is modern; I don't think that's what they called themselves. Interestingly, "Mississippi" comes from a phrase meaning "Great River," so the Mississippi River is the Great River River. Lots of that kind of thing around, and not just in the US.

I'm not going to do my usual thing here; the article is fairly long, but absolutely worth the read, especially with the comedy spin Cracked is really good at and I can only wish I could emulate. Besides, it's getting late and I just don't have time tonight.

Probably, I'll have more to say (on another subject) tomorrow.