In the first of three presentations looking at life in an antediluvian Peruvian civilisation 14,000 years ago, we looked a the basic organisation of the society. Today we start by looking at the education of the next generation.
Reading, writing and a kind of arithmetic, were taught to children, as well as a sort of rough and ready knowledge of all the general rules and common interests of life. This ensured every child of ten or eleven had some idea of how the necessities of life were obtained and how any common work was done. The utmost kindness and affection prevailed between teachers and children. This must have come as a shock to Besant and Leadbeater, as I am sure they never grew up in such a congenial environment.
School hours were long, but the occupations were so varied that there was no undue fatigue. Every child was taught how to cook, how to distinguish poisonous from wholesome fruits, how to find food and shelter in a forest, how to use simple tools in woodwork, building or agriculture, how to find the way by sun and stars, how to manage a canoe, as well as to swim, climb and jump with amazing dexterity. I do not see this civilisation being located in their highlands of Peru. I suspect they dwelled, mainly, on the coastal plains at an elevation that was submerged after the end of the last glacial epoch. This is why there is such scant evidence of these remnant Atlantian cultures.
Students were instructed in first aid and in the use of herbal remedies. The whole of the instruction was practical, so that the children became thoroughly conversant and competent, on the subject matter taught. Whilst they were taught the constitution of their country and the reasons for customs and regulations, they knew no language but their own; this they spoke with great accuracy and purity, through practice rather than grammatical rules. They knew nothing of algebra, geometry or history, nor anything of geography save that of their own country. They knew nothing of chemistry, but they were well aware of practical hygiene.
About the age of twelve, a definite career was selected for each child and they were drafted into a suitable technical school, where they remained for a further nine or ten years. Selection at such an early age may seem unduly hasty to us but the choices open to a child were not vast. I would suspect that the sensitivity of the tutors to their charges abilities would have relied on intuitional as well as objective observations. They learnt far more by practice than by theory. Whether this applied just to the boys, as the girls were destined for other roles is not elucidated by the authors. Considering the general enlightenment of the teacher, I suspect that any girl showing a particular aptitude outside a considered gender role, would have received encouragement. That may just be my own utopian prejudices.
Every child had the opportunity of being trained for joining the governing classes, but the training was severe and the qualifications so high that the number of applicants was never large. The principal pursuit was agriculture based on sound agronomic practices. Various types of manufacturing were taught, along with metal working, making machinery and learning the skills around architectural design and practice.
The Agricultural Department carried out extensive and exhaustive research programmes and kept careful records of all results. These were conveyed to farmers through the use of short maxims that were easily understood. Consider this as the progenitor to our modern agricultural extension system. Invention and discovery were well rewarded by the Government, the State being willing to finance and carry out any tests required. Their sewage disposal methods were quite as effective as anything we have today. Considering what we do have today, even in developed countries, that is not a very high bar to jump over.
Their machinery was rougher and simpler and made to lower tolerances than ours, but it was effective and not liable to get break down due to its simplicity. Many machines were worked by hydraulic pressure, especially those used for irrigation. Much of the hilly land was laid out in terraces for purposes of cultivation. Their knowledge of botany was extensive, but again very practical; they sought to know only the uses of plants in medicine, as food, or to make dyes. They were not out to discover the intricate morphologies or physiologies of these plants.
When it came to chemistry, no one knew anything about atoms and molecules. They knew a great deal of the practical uses of substances, such as manure and a number of manufacturing processes. Remember we are talking about 14,000 years ago and these are peasant farmers, not scientists.
Astronomy was regarded as a religious rather than a secular subject. Their knowledge of it was not great, but accurate so far as it went. They knew the difference between planets and stars, the shape of the earth, its rotation and the cause of the seasons. They regarded comets as messengers from other great Beings, though not necessarily co-equal to their Lord the Sun. Eclipses of sun and moon they could predict with accuracy by means of a traditional formula. The exact moment of noon they ascertained by observation of shadows and by the same method they found the date of summer and winter solstices, in connection with which they held special religious services.
Their architecture was colossal, but unpretentious; designed for use rather than show, their buildings being what we would consider out of proportion. The few pillars they used were massive and often monolithic. They did not seem to have mastered the arch proper, though they constructed openings with semicircular tops, built on heavy semicircular metal plates. They depended for strength chiefly on their powerful adhesive cement. This was poured in hot and solidified like flint, being stronger than the stone itself. They cut and fitted enormous blocks of stone with the greatest accuracy, so that the joint was barely perceptible; nevertheless they managed to pour cement into the joints. This has been speculated about by many YouTube investigators who marvel at the fit and finish of some of the megalith stone blocks found in Peru today.
The majority of houses were built of large blocks of clay treated chemically in such a way that they became almost as strong and durable as stone. The walls were of enormous thickness and the houses were built round a central courtyard. Very little exterior ornamentation was used. The entrance was always at a corner, the door being a huge slab of stone, sometimes elaborately carved; raised and lowered by means of counterweights, like a modern sash-window. Later, metal plates were used instead of stone slabs. In a few cases, heavy doors were fitted, turning on pivots. Larger houses were more ornamented, using carvings and the use of broad bands of metal. So massive were these dwellings that they were practically indestructible. Roofs were mostly heavy and nearly flat, comprising stone or metal sheets. Wood was scarcely used at all in their houses, because of the danger of fire.
No scaffolding was used, but earth was piled up level with the walls, the roof stones being laid on the earth, cement poured in and allowed to set, after which the earth was removed, leaving a building which was practically monolithic. Nearly all houses were one storied. Our authors noticed that sometimes a curious building was erected, made in tiers, commencing with a platform, say, 1,000 feet square, and diminishing until the tenth tier was 100 feet square, a small shrine to the Sun being built on this final platform. The effect was thus of a flat pyramid rising by broad shallow steps. The effect was thus of a flat pyramid rising by broad shallow steps. Rooms were hollowed out of each terrace, and a tunnel into the centre of the lowest tier led to subterranean chambers used for storing grain and other necessaries.
Does this ring a bell? Remember, at the time of the investigations carried out by our two authors, not much was known about the pyramid structures uncovered and investigated later in the 20th Century. The temples of the Sun were large and massive, but, compared to later Mayan pyramids, too low for their length. The interiors were frequently lined with gold and silver, the metal plates being as much as a quarter of an inch thick and yet moulded over delicate reliefs in the stone.
All houses, except the very poorest, were lined inside with metal sheets, in a manner similar to our use of wallpaper today. Palaces of the King and chief Governors were, like the temples, lined with pure gold: for other people, beautiful alloys were used, rich effects being obtained at low cost.
Round the boundaries of the empire was built a chain of fortresses; the height and thickness of the walls was enormous, and they tapered upwards. Within the thickness of the walls were chambers and secret passages, fully provisioned to stand prolonged siege with undue discomfort to the defenders.
Roads were built on a colossal scale, with what seemed like reckless disregard to the topographical difficulties encountered. The whole road was paved with flat slabs, trees and ornamental shrubs being planted along the sides. Bridges were built on the cantilever principle, i.e., by making each course of masonry project beyond the course below. Knowing nothing of coffer dams or caissons, they would divert a river, or build a breakwater, in order to construct their bridges. Hence they preferred embankment work to bridging. They had a very effective system of irrigation, their roads and aqueducts being probably the greatest engineering feats of what we could euphemistically call modern antiquity. All the work was done by paid locals or by the army.
That is enough excitement for one presentation. In the last presentation, we will finish off our look at this lost but fascinating civilisation.