The loss of civilizationI once read an account about an ancient people - humanoids who lived more than 10,000 years ago on the eastern coast of Africa. There were two unique features of these ancient peoples. First, they had a cranial capacity twice that of modern man. Their brains were large and presumably they were extremely intelligent. Second, they vanished from the earth without a trace. All that was left - crushed skulls, scattered bones slowly dissolving to dust; there were no paintings, no cultural artifacts, no history. Some more primitive species, less intelligent, clubbed these ancient people into oblivion.Loren …