Are the Kingdoms of the Americas "Western Civ?"

[DonaldBaker]

I ask this because the Mayas, Aztecs, and Incas developed independently of Europe and were not necessarily assimilated into Western Civilization, but erased by it (more or less).  Should this board have been included?  If you say yes, why?

[Wally]

Yes...

... Mayas, Aztecs, and Incas developed independently of Europe and were not necessarily assimilated into Western Civilization, but erased by it (more or less).

Best reason I know of.

[DonaldBaker]

So we include this board because these cultures succumbed to European colonialism?  I can see it, but it's thin.

[Wally]

Nope, based on the part they played in the progress of Western Culture when it was transplanted to the western hemisphere.

[DonaldBaker]

Nope, based on the part they played in the progress of Western Culture when it was transplanted to the western hemisphere.

I don't follow.  How did they help "progress" Western Culture?

[Wally]

Perhaps progress is the wrong word; what I mean is their interaction (good, bad, indifferent) with the incoming Europeans and the results of that interaction. The Columbian Exchange comes to mind first but there are surely more facets of the east / west interaction that have made a difference to WC.

[DonaldBaker]

Alright I suppose there the culture shock thingy, but after that, it's all down hill for them.