/r/threetoedsloths
There is only one rule. Three Toed Sloths ONLY.
/r/threetoedsloths
Between 700 CE and 1150 CE the Ancient Puebloan People, or Anasazi, thrived in what is today the American Southwest. They established large urban centers such as the settlement at Chaco Canyon and the Cliff Dwellings at Mesa Verde. Little is known about the Anasazi culture today. The word "Anasazi", is Navajo for "Ancient Enemy".
A central feature of the architecture at Chaco Canyon is the Kiva (e.g. The Great Kiva at Chaco Canyon ). The kivas seemed to have held some religious significance to the Anasazi; archaeologists have unearthed remains from kivas, suggesting human sacrifice was practiced.
Seemingly unrelated, Megatherium (Giant Ground Sloth) fossils have been found in South America as recently as 7000 BCE. It is widely accepted that the introduction of Paleolithic hunters contributed to the decline, if not the extinction, of Megatherium.
What is less well known is the Anasazi relationship with Megatherium. A gap in the fossil record between 7000 BCE and 700 CE could certainly indicate a mass extinction. It is worth noting, however, that 7000 BCE is not far removed from the approximate date that is generally attributed to the domestication of the sheep in Europe and Asia (approx. 9000 BCE).
Had Megatherium been successfully domesticated, the people of the Americas would have (perhaps unwittingly) begun a program of selective breeding. Were Megatherium intended for purely agricultural ends, traits such as docility and fertility would have been encouraged. On the other hand, if Megatherium was tended to by the priest caste, a class with little compunction toward taking human life, perhaps traits such as strength and ferocity would have been encouraged. As the auroch was the ancestor of the modern cow, perhaps Megatherium was the ancestor for The Dire Sloth.
The Kivas at Chaco Canyon could well have served as habitats for The Dire Sloth. With priests sacrificing battle captives to their fearsome thralls, the Ancient Puebloan People would come to be known to their neighbors as The Ancient Enemy.