@Smokey Gem - ok. Then what are the qualifications you're looking at in this? How do you judge the greater civilization?

I'm looking for 1) Territorial conquest/political sway. 2) Artistic achievements 3) Scientific achievements 4) Size/longevity 5) Lasting impact on the world 6) Notable historic figures

And imo, Maya wins on 1,2,3,5

Current: Maya 8 , Aboriginal 4

Aboriginal 3*

Final: Maya 8 , Aboriginal 3

Maya advance to GA3
Aboriginal advance to GA4

Next match begins now: Celts v Neo-Assyria

Bracket will be updated when I get home

I honestly don't know where I stand here. The Neo-Assyrians definitely had a larger more technological advances empire with some serious influence; but I personally am partial to the celts. They fought hard against the Romans and Christianity reformed to embrace their faith not the other way around.

I mean this is a hard one for me, but I'm sure the Webdip forum will not disappoint... Especially since NEO is putins pick.

##VOTE NEO-ASSYRIANS
Duh. They were a superior technological and military power, whereas the Celts were inferior both to Romans and the German tribes. The Assyrians were also far better organized, as the Celts were severely lacking in unity.

I am going to have to vote for ##CELTS

I can explain my reasoning more later when I am not so tired.

As much as I am personally attached to the Celts and would love to see them progress. I can not argue that Neo-Assyria wasn't the better civilization. I think for me here this match comes down to Personal Preference and Interest v. Technical Superiority

Oh I also forgot the 3 letter abbreviations for these two:

Celts (CLT) v Neo-Assyrians (NEO)

##Vote Neo-Assyrians

Current: NEO 2 v CLT 1

Bump for discussion

Celts punished petty crime with human sacrifice :)
Most records about Celtic culture were written by the people who conquered them :)

As a bibliophile, one of the many appeals of Neo-Assyria to me is that they inspired the Great Library trend with the Library of Ashurbanipal. The Neo-Assyrian empire was also arguably the first "state" in the cohesive sense of the term. They integrated conquered people's into their empire like no kingdom had done before. They had a coherent ideology to bolster support for the state. They had a highly sophisticated system of military specialization, a professionally trained standing army, and utilized advanced engineering tactics/siege warfare to great effect.

So on account of their administrative skill, literacy, and military prowess Neo-Assyria has to be the world's first great empire.

Sorry, Vote ##NEO

The Celts were an amazing civilization. The wide range of cultural, linguistic, and artistic influences the Celtic civilization left are still felt today in places like Brittany and Ireland. While the ‘civilization’ was ultimately defeated by Rome strong traces of it remain in localized areas across the world. Due to the immensity of the civilization’s cultural and linguistic legacy I think it dwarfs any accomplishments put forward by the Neo-Assyrians.

It is true that the Assyrians probably had less lasting influence on today's world than the Celts. But they did pretty much invent siege warfare which used by many civs after them. As far as I know they had the first heavy cavalry also.

I'm gonna have to go ##Vote NEO for now. Will re-consider a Celt argument in the morning

## Vote celt

Current: NEO 4 v CLT 2

Bump for discussion

##Vote NEO

According to Julius Caesar, the Celtic ruling class actively discouraged literacy, which is why the ancient Celts have no written records. That to me is a major weakness. Another consideration is the fact that the Celtic regions of France and Spain tend to lag behind the rest of their respective countries in terms of development. It is difficult to argue about the influence of Celtic culture on the modern world if Celtic culture has had relatively little impact on their immediate surroundings.

Not to mention their equivalent to plebes had such low power and status they were almost in the place of slaves by Roman terms.

Final Neo-Assyrian (5) v Celts (2)

Neo-Assyrian progresses to GA3 to face the Mayans
Celts join the Aboriginals in GA4's death match.

Next round: Olmec (OLM) v Carthage (CAR)

FIGHT!

Will the grandfather of meso-American civs overcome Hannibal and his military might. It's llamas v elephants; its old world oldies v new world orders.....