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HereTakeThisBooger t1_iu5u6jw wrote

A similar thing happened in the southwest U.S. Anthropologists were studying the people who lived in the Four Corners region between about 700-1200 CE before abruptly disappearing. In the 1930s, recognizing that then-current Navajo people might have some cultural connection to the lost civilization, scientists asked Navajo historians about them. The Navajo referred to them as Anasazi, and for close to 100 years, scientific documents and museum displays readily referred to the lost civilization as the Anasazi.

The only problem was that in the Navajo language, "Anasazi" means "ancient enemies." In other words, the Navajo viewed the lost civilization as interlopers and enemies of their Navajo ancestors. It took about 75 years before anybody noticed, but once they did, it was decided that calling this lost civilization "enemies" probably wasn't the best idea. So "Anasazi" is now a deprecated term, and the lost civilization is officially known as the "Ancestral Puebloans."

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liltingly t1_iu72trd wrote

Whoa! My elementary school curriculum definitely referenced the Anasazi. I was always confused why subsequently all references used “Pueblo” as the name.

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acm2033 t1_iu77ob7 wrote

Whoops, I will update my cerebral index

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Lotharofthepotatoppl t1_iu79t30 wrote

If you ask the Navajo it doesn’t mean enemy, but I’m in no way an expert

The Navajo also call themselves Dine, because of course they were “named” by another tribe just like all the others lol

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atomfullerene t1_iu976fs wrote

>the lost civilization as interlopers

Although it was actually the Pueblo who had been there longer, and the Navajo who were part of a migration that came down from the north.

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Desebunsrmine t1_iu7d2gt wrote

What I just realized is Anasazi iny area is pronounced ana na see, which sounds much like and a Nazi. 🤔 Just a realization

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