Where did they go?

I’ve been thinking about people who used to be but who are no more.

Like the Mayans. This came up when I made a post about the supposed “Mayan apocalypse” of 2012. One person said they had been "exterminated" (ouch!) and another commented, “It seams to the most of us that they just got up and walked away.”

Which one is it? Are they no more or did they just move?

And there are other ancient people who used to be but are no more: Incas, Aztecs, Persians, Babylonians, Ammonites, Philistines, Moabites, Sumerians, Akkadians, Hyksos, Celts of Britain and Indian tribes of North America. And many, many more.

Where did they go?

Some of these people are truly no more. 

Many Indian tribes along the Atlantic coast completely disappeared shortly after European contact. George Catlin spent a lot of time among the Plains Indians and seems especially fond of the Mandans. Their population is reported as 3,600 in the early 18th century. In 1836, there were over 1,600 full-blood Mandans, but this number was estimated to have dropped to 125 by 1838 because of a small pox epidemic. The last full-blood Mandan died in 1971. They are no more. The Edisto Indians have a similar story. They were and they are no more. Oh, there are a few who claim to be related to these tribes, but they are mixed and mingled with other tribes. They are no more.

And it is the same with many others. Incas, Aztecs, Ammonites, Philistines, Moabites, Sumerians, Akkadians, Hyksos. Gone. I realize that there is also a matter of civilization, but these people seem gone. But this does lead to the next possibility

Some of these people were once great civilizations, but were diminished and basically absorbed by another people.

Take the Celts. They were conquered by the Romans and became part of the Empire. Then the Romans left. Long story short, then came the Angles and Saxons. They took over the joint and the Celts were no more. Or rather, they were totally subjugated, and those who did not flee to Wales or Brittany were wiped out. Not every single individual perhaps, but as a people. Those who were not exterminated were absorbed into the Anglo-Saxon civilization, culture, and language.

Or Persia. The civilization collapsed and is gone. But many of the people in Iran are called Persians. There also seem to be people called Persians in Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Uzbekistan. They have been absorbed.

Some of these ancient people were once great civilizations. When their civilization ended they continued, but were absorbed by other civilizations. This rise and fall is explained by Acts 17:26, And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place. They are no more as a civilization, a world power, but as a people they can still be found.

Well, back to the Mayans. Clearly their civilization collapsed. And relatively quickly. Did they simply move? That answers nothing because logically the next question is, Where to? And if no one knows, isn’t that essentially the same thing as saying exterminated? But what about the nearly 7 million people in Central America who consider themselves Mayan? It seems that whatever constituted Mayan back then still exists today.

I have no real point to this post, or argument to advance. I’ve just been thinking about people who used to be but who are no more. Some of these were ethnic groups that were truly “exterminated" or blotted out from under heaven. There are unique people groups who used to be, used to walk on the earth, and who are no more. And as I think about it, I find that kind of sad. Others were not so much a single ethnic group, but a collective term that embraced many distinct populations, societies, and ethnic groups, who together formed Mayan or Persian or Inca etc. And this I find interesting. They rose to power and prominence for a season. Then, for some earthly reason, this dissolved and they are no more. The parts are there, but as a whole, they are no more. I believe that reveals the hand of God.

As I said, I’m not trying to prove anything, just writing down what I’ve been thinking about.