Many researchers, mainstream and otherwise, believe that we are not the first advanced civilization to have existed on Earth. Furthermore, they postulate that in prehistory, unrecorded history, one or more advanced civilizations just might have existed, thrived, declined, and perished before us.

While this is an outlandish notion for most people, when broken down, it isn’t as crazy as it first seems, not least when you consider what might become of ourselves should a sudden end announce itself without warning. Chances are, should life begin again, nobody would remember that we had even existed. If that’s the case, then, who’s to say that advanced civilizations didn’t exist thousands of years before our own recorded history?

10 Power Stations Would Shut Down Fast

Let’s say that something happened to wipe out the vast majority of human life on planet Earth. Be it a sudden super-contagious virus, a meteorite, a solar flare, a nuclear war, or even (you know it’s coming) an alien invasion, if it was to happen, life would disappear with alacrity.

Seriously, though, many of us don’t realize just how precarious our existence is here on Earth. Let’s say the vast majority of human life is wiped out by any of the hypothetical situations mentioned above; surely there’d be survivors, right? The thing is, where would the power come from? With no one to run them, the power stations, and with them, the world’s electricity supply, would shut down relatively quickly. In fact, many of them would switch into safety mode to avoid any disasters.

However, eventually, with nobody to oversee these procedures, nuclear power plants, their cooling waters having boiled off, would go into meltdown. Chernobyl-type scenarios would unfold all around the planet.^[1] In short, you really wouldn’t want to be around, and if you were, you would want to be completely out of the way somewhere. We’ll talk more about the survivors in entry number five.

9 Man-Made Objects

Most man-made objects, whether comprised of wood, plastic, metal, or anything other than stone (which we will look at later also) will simply disappear, even down to the roads and streets, which will be completely overcome with vegetation within only several decades at the very most.^[2] Just to take that a stage further, within “only” a few centuries, the metal frameworks of the buildings and the bridges around the world will simply rust, break down, and collapse. All that will be left will be the crumpled and piled ruins.

Within only 10,000 years, which is but a snapshot in terms of geological time, just about all that remains will be the stone. And even then, only that which was built purely from stone will survive in any recognizable form (and still might be buried). As mentioned, bridges and buildings will have collapsed due to their rusted and decaying metal parts and will lie in ruins. Over the course of time, much like our ancient sites today, these ruins will be lucky to be pieced together in the future, if ever.

8 Only Stone Will Survive

Is it any wonder that the structures we have left of the ancient world are the buildings, monuments, and statues carved from stone? And make no mistake, there was much, much more than just stonework at one time.

As we have mentioned above, only true stone structures will survive any type of annihilation of humanity for any significant amount of time,^[3] and even then, the remains would then be subject to any future civilizations and explorers stripping such monuments of what they see as valuable and leaving the rest, much like was done with the Egyptian pyramids (and, who knows, maybe the Sphinx) over course of history.

With that in mind, then, how many of our modern structures might survive thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of years, into the future? Ironically, it would mostly be the buildings from antiquity that would still survive. And again, with that in mind, how long have such structures really been there, and who did they once belong to?

7 Myths And Legends

Although they are certainly not the same as solid stone monuments by any stretch of the imagination, should we perhaps pay more attention to certain types of myths and legends that persist across many cultures over thousands of years?^[4] For example, was there really a great flood, even if only in the form of several episodes of localized but substantial flooding that just might have wiped out entire communities? Such calamities would have surely seemed like the end of the world to those civilizations that experienced them.

And what about the tales of “the gods”—higher beings with advanced technology that ruled over mankind? Are these really just legends? Or might there be some truth to such stories? Shortly, we will look at the possibility of survivors from such an “end of the world” situation. What if “the gods” of the past were the survivors of an even older advanced civilization? Might that explain the powers (or advanced technology) of the gods? Or the advanced knowledge of the gods? It is certainly an interesting notion.

6 Ancient Egypt

While we have looked in our previous points at what might happen if our civilization was to face a sudden, life-ending disaster in order to prove, at least in theory, that other civilizations very much could have existed before our recorded history, it is also worth looking back at known ancient civilizations. If we look at the ancient Egyptians, for example, it is perfectly obvious, and even accepted by mainstream scholars, that they appear to have begun their civilization already at the height of their power and then went into permanent decline.^[5]

To some researchers, who are very much shunned by most mainstream experts, this suggests that the Egyptians “took over” the remnants of an ancient, “lost” civilization. From these types of theories generally spring the further claims that such ancient structures as the Pyramids of Giza are more likely monuments and buildings of an Atlantean-type society as opposed to the work of the Egyptians themselves.

5 Survivors Would Be Reduced To Cavemen

Now, let’s say that some people have survived our hypothetical modern-world-ending disaster. What would become of them, realistically? For a start, they would very likely not be concerned with searching out technology or things of that nature. Chances are, once the system has gone down, and the power is off, they will be concerned with their survival more than anything else.^[6] They will no longer be on top of the food chain. Without the aid of our modern plethora of technological gadgets and advanced buildings, many remaining humans will be easy picking for hungry wild animals.

Any survivors would be preoccupied with hunting and gathering whatever food they could and finding some kind of shelter. As the generations go on, humanity’s connection to the “old” world would return. By the third and forth generation, chances are all that would be remembered of pre-disaster Earth would be no different than what myths and legends are to us now. In short, life would be starting again, from scratch.

4 Discoveries Of Mysterious Ancient Objects

As a further point of interest, and perhaps evidence, there have been numerous discoveries of ancient objects, apparently the result of intelligent design, dating to far before such objects should have existed. And what’s more, they’ve been found all over the planet. For example, in 1912, in the small town of Wilburton, Oklahoma, two employees at the Municipal Electrical Plant reportedly discovered a particularly oversized piece of coal that they couldn’t fit into the furnace, which they were stocking to keep the plant ticking over.

They would proceed to smash the coal to smaller pieces so that they could toss the remains into the flames. When they did, though, a perfectly formed and recognizable iron pot fell to the floor. It was allegedly examined and found to be authentic. Why was it there, in a piece of coal that was millions of years of old?

Even more bizarre are the strange spheres, made of some very hard substance, purportedly brought up from the mines of South Africa on multiple occasions by miners.^[7] These spheres have bizarre grooves in them and are of obvious purposeful design. What they might be and, more importantly, why they are there is open to debate.

3 Discoveries Of Tools

As well as mysterious objects that may or may not have a use, many very purposeful and obvious tools have been discovered in pieces of rock that, if we accept what science tells us, are millions of years old.

One particularly intriguing case occurred in London, Texas, in 1936, when the head of a hammer was discovered in a piece of rock believed by some to be as old as 400 million years. (Others say only 700 years.) In 1944, a ten-year-old boy, Newton Anderson, would find a handmade bell in a piece of coal. The lump of coal was reportedly 300 million years old.^[8]

Numerous other purported discoveries of strange, seemingly ancient, objects are on record, many of them from the 1800s and before. The book Forbidden Archaeology lists example after example.

2 Advanced Ancient Technology

Many mainstream historians simply do not accept the notion that many of the ancient civilizations, including the ancient Egyptians and Sumerians, had, at one point in the distant past, advanced technology.^[9] However, many reasons are put forward for this notion, not least the obviously advanced knowledge of the cosmos and the workings of the universe that so many ancient civilizations possessed. Even the placement of many of their famous structures mirrors the arrangement of the stars and the planets to such an accuracy that such knowledge cannot be denied.

We could also look to such devices as the “Baghdad Battery” or the traces of acids in the passageways of the Giza Pyramid that suggest some kind of generation of electricity. And what of the many sites around the world that reportedly show signs of nuclear explosions in the distant past? A prominent example is Mohenjo-Daro, which some researchers, most notably David Davenport in his book Atomic Destruction 2000 BC, have postulated was the site of intentionally made nuclear weapons being purposefully deployed long ago. This, of course, would suggest, as Davenport agreed, that a highly advanced civilization existed.

1 Historians Have A ‘Myopic’ View

At the end of the day, no matter the interesting, valid, and, to varying degrees, legitimate views and claims on either side of the argument, the sad fact is that for many mainstream historians, much like mainstream scientists, archaeologists, and most other specialties ending in “ist,” the view is generally, in the words of Graham Hancock, “very myopic.”^[10]

The reasons for this are numerous. Firstly, amid the constant jockeying for limited funding, nobody wishes to put their head above the parapets. So, as a result, the “status quo” opinion is maintained. Those who do discover things of interest that go against the established paradigm and then, more to the point, attempt to tell the world about them, face a sudden cutting of their funding and, even worse, the wrath of their contemporaries. Perhaps a good example would be the case of Dr. Virginia Steen-McIntyre, who, after discovering ruins in Mexico that suggested civilization in the Americas going back 250,000 years—using accepted, tested methods no less—was suddenly and universally shut out by the “accepted” scientific and archaeological communities.

Numerous ancient civilizations around the world were advanced and highly civilized. Some are very popular and well-studied like the Egyptians while others remain obscure like the Garamantes. As scholars make new discoveries, our understanding of ancient civilizations will deepen—dispelling myths, correcting inaccurate information, and eliciting more respect and admiration.

10 Earthquake Caused The Disappearance Of The Sanxingdui Civilization

Sanxingdui is an ancient Chinese civilization and settlement that flourished in the Sichuan Province of China. For thousands of years, this advanced culture was lost. It was only rediscovered in 1929 when a peasant found jade and stone artifacts while repairing a sewage ditch.

The two prevailing theories about Sanxingdui’s mysterious disappearance are war and flood. However, Niannian Fan from Tsinghua University in Chengdu, China, found these theories to be “not very convincing.” In 2014, he published research that details how an earthquake caused the Sanxingdui civilization to disappear.

According to Fan’s study, a massive earthquake almost 3,000 years ago “caused catastrophic landslides [that] rerouted the flow of [Sanxingdui’s] river.” The inhabitants simply moved closer to the new river flow. This theory is supported by historical records of earthquakes that occurred near Sanxingdui. Fan believes that the inhabitants relocated to Jinsha after the river was rerouted.

9 War Was Important For The Minoans

Contrary to popular belief, the Minoans, who prospered on Crete during the Bronze Age, were not a peace-loving people. Ever since they were rediscovered over a century ago, the Minoans were regarded as “a paradigm of a society that was devoid of war, where warriors and violence were shunned.”

However, new research conducted by archaeologist Barry Molloy of the University of Sheffield revealed that war played an important role in the Minoan society. Molloy arrived at this conclusion after discovering numerous pieces of evidence depicting violence in the material remains and symbolic grammar of ancient Crete.

In addition, Molloy’s research showed that one of the primary expressions of Minoan male identity was warrior identity. Also, many weapons that dominated Europe until the Middle Ages, such as spears and swords, may have originated from the Minoan civilization.

8 The Minoans Were Indigenous Europeans

For many years, the origin of the ancient Minoan civilization was fiercely debated by scholars. Some suggested that they originated from Africa, specifically Egypt and Libya. Others believed that they came from the Middle East and Anatolia. In 2013, this debate was finally put to rest when Professor George Stamatoyannopoulos from the University of Washington published a study that revealed that the ancient Minoans were indigenous Europeans.

Stamatoyannopoulos analyzed the mitochondrial DNA of 37 ancient Minoans whose remains were discovered in a cave on the eastern portion of Crete. His analyses revealed that the Minoan civilization was genetically distant from the peoples of North Africa and the Middle East. More importantly, the results showed that “ancient Minoan DNA was most similar to populations from western and northern Europe.”

7 War Didn’t Cause The Collapse Of The Easter Island Civilization

One of the most enduring mysteries of the ancient civilization that flourished in Rapa Nui, Chile, beginning in the 13th century is the cause of its collapse. The theory that many scientists believe and propagate involves massive infighting among the inhabitants caused by dwindling resources. This theory is supported by the thousands of triangular objects known as mata’a that are found all over the island. Scientists believe that these objects were used as weapons by the inhabitants.

However, a new analysis of the mata’a by anthropologist Carl Lipo of Binghamton University and his team revealed that these so-called triangular weapons were not “used in warfare after all.”

They arrived at this controversial conclusion after using a technique known as morphometrics to analyze “the shape variability of a photo set of [more than 400] mata’a.” According to Lipo, the mata’a were used by the inhabitants not as weapons but as cultivation tools for domestic activities or tattooing.

6 Climate Change Caused The Collapse Of The Harappan Civilization

Of all the first great urban civilizations in the world, the Harappan civilization is the least known. This is quite surprising considering the fact that this obscure society was bigger, more populous, more democratic, and more sophisticated than ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. At its peak, the Harappan civilization extended over 1 million square kilometers (390,000 mi²), encompassing lands that now belong to India, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Pakistan.

About 4,000 years ago, this great civilization mysteriously collapsed. The cause remained a mystery until recently.

Liviu Giosan, a geologist from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts, and his team recreated the landscape of the rivers and plains where the Harappan civilization flourished. They discovered that ancient climate change caused the monsoon-based rivers supporting the agriculture of the Harappan civilization to dry up. As a result, big cities collapsed and the inhabitants migrated to the East, specifically “toward the Ganges basin, where monsoon rains remained reliable.”

5 Elite Women Made The Beer In The Wari Civilization

The Wari, an ancient civilization that predated the Incas, flourished for hundreds of years in the Andes Mountains of Peru before their society collapsed. In 2005, a study conducted by researchers from the University of Florida and the Field Museum revealed that the beer makers of the Wari Empire were women.

More strikingly, the researchers found that the female brewers were neither slaves nor women of low status. Instead, they were elite, beautiful women. This finding proves “that women played a more crucial role in ancient Andean societies than history books have stated.”

The beer prepared by the elite female brewers 1,000 years ago was called chicha. It was made from Peruvian peppertree berries and corn.

4 The Garamantes Were Highly Civilized

The Garamantes are an ancient civilization that flourished in what is now modern-day Libya. Most of what scholars know about this mysterious society comes from Roman accounts, which described them as “barbaric nomads and troublemakers on the edge of the Roman Empire.” However, a new discovery reveals that the Garamantes civilization was actually advanced and historically more important than previously thought.

In 2011, a team of researchers led by archaeologist David Mattingly from the University of Leicester discovered more than 100 fortified farms, towns, and villages with castlelike structures in Libya that date from AD 1 to AD 500.

Contrary to what the Romans had suggested, these structures and settlements prove that the Garamantes were highly civilized. They opened up the trans-Saharan trade and were pioneers of building oases. The researchers made this remarkable discovery after examining air photographs and satellite images.

3 The Nazca Civilization Caused Its Own Demise

The Nazca is perhaps one of the most mysterious civilizations in the history of mankind. Around 1,500 years ago, this advanced society in Peru mysteriously collapsed. Scientists have suggested a massive El Nino event as the culprit. However, new research shows that massive deforestation also played a key role in the demise of the Nazca civilization.

Archaeologist David Beresford-Jones of Cambridge University discovered that the ancient Nazca cut down native huarango trees to plant maize, cotton, and other crops. The huarango trees played important roles in the desert environment of the Nazca. These trees enhanced moisture and soil fertility, provided shade from the scorching heat of the desert, and underpinned the floodplain.

The cutting down of the huarango trees caused irreversible damage to the environment. When the massive El Nino occurred, the huarango trees were no longer there to prevent or reduce flooding. As a result, the floods damaged the irrigation systems, leaving the Nazca with an area unworkable for agriculture.

2 Child Sacrifice Was Practiced By The Carthaginians

For decades, scholars have debated whether the people of ancient Carthage, who existed from 800 BC to 146 BC, practiced child sacrifice. The notion that the ancient Carthaginians did not engage in this cruel practice was propagated by scholars from Italy and Tunisia during the 20th century.

They argued that the Greeks and Romans were behind this “racist anti-Carthaginian propaganda.” They also suggested that the tophets—ancient burial grounds where the skeletons were found—were simply child cemeteries.

However, collaborative research carried out by academics from various institutions around the world, such as Oxford University, slams this misguided interpretation. According to the study, the overwhelming amount of archaeological, literary, documentary, historical, and epigraphic evidence points to the fact that Carthaginian parents did sacrifice their own children to the gods.

1 Dwarfs Were Highly Respected In Ancient Egypt

In 2005, a study published in the American Journal of Medical Genetics showed that the ancient Egyptians held dwarfs in high esteem, possibly as far back as 4500 BC. These researchers from Georgetown University Hospital arrived at this conclusion after examining artistic evidence and biological remains of dwarfism in ancient Egypt.

They discovered an overwhelming number of dwarf images on vase paintings, statues, tomb walls, and other art forms. The images portrayed dwarfs as “personal attendants, overseers of linen, people who looked after animals, jewelers, dancers, and entertainers.”

In addition, the researchers found that several dwarfs held important positions and were revered enough to be buried in lavish burial sites in the royal cemetery. The study concluded that dwarfism “was never shown as a physical handicap” in ancient Egypt.

+Further Reading

Ancient history is a fascinating topic that covers hundreds of categories. Needless to say has done a pretty good job of writing about them all. Here are a few more that you’ll definitely want to read:

Top 10 Mysteries of Ancient or Lost Civilizations
10 Mysteries That Hint At Forgotten Advanced Civilizations
10 Forgotten Ancient Civilizations
10 Ancient Civilizations That History Forgot

More often than not, we look back at the religious practices of old and even the ones still carried out today with anything from a raised eyebrow to a nauseating sense of moral disgust. It’s been fairly well-documented in scientific literature that humans act out in violence as a last resort, trying to stake their claims to social status or simply trying to survive.

Religion usurps this aspect of human existence, blending status and survival and giving it away to proposed supernatural forces which people have sought to please to receive blessings and good fortune since time immemorial. Here are 10 civilizations which engaged in one of the weirdest religious practices of all, the sacrifice of children.

10 Babylon

Finding itself dead center in the birthplace of civilization, Babylon was a megalithic settlement and one of the most powerful forces of the ancient world. They sacrificed human beings to their chief deity, Marduk, as well as others like Anu, a deity of the city Uruk, during the later years of the Babylonian Empire. Annual fire festivals were held where they would sacrifice children to Anu.

It’s safe to say that human sacrifice was a staple during the entire existence of Babylon, with the first mention of the city’s existence in the 23rd century BC. It remained a powerful city and empire at times until it was taken by Alexander the Great in 331 BC. After that, it could never quite recover its former glory.^[1]

9 Aztec

The Aztecs are probably the society best known for engaging in human sacrifice for religious reasons. In October 2017, archaeologists unearthed a rare find, a cylindrical pit specifically dug and lined with volcanic rocks centuries ago for a sacrifice to the gods of the Aztecs.

Tenochtitlan was an ancient Aztec city which now lies in the heart of Mexico City. The find came at the foot of Templo Mayor, an Aztec temple in Tenochtitlan. It is believed that this child, known as Offering 176, was sacrificed sometime in the 1400s.

This was a time of Aztec expansion when many children were sacrificed to their gods. Most likely, Offering 176 was killed to appease Huitzilopochtli, the Aztec war god, and bring favor to those living in the city.^[2]

8 Canaan

Canaan is the all-encompassing term for the land which was in modern-day Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and Israel. The Holy Bible is replete with references to an ancient Canaanite god named Molech (aka Moloch) to whom human sacrifices were both the norm and seemingly plentiful.

Molech was even referred to as the “god of child sacrifice” by some. This deity was thought to be very well pleased with offerings that burned living people, notably children, in a fire.

In The Holy Bible, the Book of Leviticus even forbids this practice. Leviticus 18:21 says, “Neither shall you give any of your offspring to offer them to Molech, nor shall you profane the name of your God; I am the Lord.”^[3]

7 Israelites

Before the decree in Leviticus, the Israelites often practiced human sacrifice, which included children, sometimes even to the foreign god Baal. We find further scriptures, such as those in Kings, which claim that the Israelites worshiped false gods and engaged in the ritual killing of human children.^[4]

The Bible describes the children of ancient Israel as being used much like animals for burned offerings, sometimes to even appease the Judeo-Christian god Jehovah. Some scholars have vehemently denied these allegations, though the descriptions are right there in the works surviving from ancient times.

However, it should be noted that human sacrifices were largely taboo and violated religious law in the majority of the Judeo-Christian religions.

6 Olmec

The Olmec civilization was one of the oldest large settlements in prehistoric Mesoamerica. Their culture and sphere of influence spanned much of southern North America, including the area which encompasses the modern-day countries of Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala.

The evidence is fairly damning for the Olmec people. They are believed to be the first known Mesoamerican culture to practice human sacrifice. They’re significantly older than other cultures from the early Americas.^[5]

Around 300 BC, the Olmec people mysteriously vanished. The humid rain forest ate away the bones of the people who’d previously lived there. All we have left are the relics of their former culture.

Yet we do have evidence of child sacrifice in ancient Mesoamerica. Thousands upon thousands of bones have been recovered from various sites, including Midnight Terror Cave in Belize and the sacred shrine of El Manati. This culture sacrificed thousands of children to their gods. The bones of these children—along with those of many women—have been left behind for us to find.

5 Maya

The Mayan civilization came about some 1,500 years after the Olmec and carried on the practices of human sacrifice to their gods as well. Archaeologists digging in the Guatemalan city of Ceibal, which reaches way back to the times of the Mayan culture, have discovered something truly bizarre—obsidian stones buried at the places of their child sacrifices to their gods.

Obsidian is a type of dark natural glass, usually jet-black in color, which is formed when lava cools rapidly. The Maya believed that obsidian was a divine stone.

The Maya would sacrifice small children to the gods, whom they believed were empowered by the blood of children. Then the Maya buried these youngsters face-to-face in a grave, often with obsidian.^[6]

4 Toltec

What other cultures did on a small scale, the Toltec civilization did on a massive scale. Many civilizations inhabited the southern part of North America over time, and the Toltec came right before the reign of the Aztecs in modern-day Mexico. They dominated the area from the 10th–12th centuries AD, and the sacrifice of live children was apparently a staple of their culture like the others before them.

Near Tula, Mexico, a mass grave was uncovered during construction which contained the remains of at least 24 children. All the evidence was there of a mass killing and child sacrifice to the gods.

The bodies are believed to have been killed and buried sometime between AD 950 and AD 1150.^[7] Compared to our significantly less violent world of today, this was definitely an unusual culture and perhaps gives us a glimpse into the world of the past and the human race’s savage tendencies.

3 Inca

The Incas stand apart from most of the rest of the Mesoamerican cultures in the world of human sacrifice in that they seemingly only sacrificed children and never adults. This practice was still going on by the time that European settlers arrived.

The strongest, healthiest children were chosen intentionally as they were thought to better please the gods. It was an honor in Incan civilization to be chosen as a sacrifice or to be a member of that person’s family.

Although their population was smaller than other Mesoamerican cultures, the Inca Empire was widespread, spanning at least 4,000 kilometers (2,500 mi) at its largest. Child sacrifice quite obviously permeated the Mesoamerican world of prehistory. For better or worse, the European colonists tried very hard to stop these practices upon their arrival, though such rituals often continued in secret.^[8]

2 Teotihuacan

Many Mesoamerican cultures built megalithic structures on which they would perform their macabre human sacrifices. The Pyramid of the Moon was one such structure in Teotihuacan, Mexico, where the Mesoamerican civilizations who lived there long ago would tear the hearts out of children and sacrifice them to the gods.

The pyramid structure is approximately 2,000 years old, and the site contains the remains of many children who’d been sacrificed by this ancient culture. Strangely, the people who lived in Teotihuacan left zero clues as to what their culture might be about—no hieroglyphs or writing.

As was common with early Mesoamerican cultures, the Teotihuacanos just seemingly disappeared and we can’t quite figure out why. Centuries later, the Aztecs referred to Teotihuacan as “the City of the Gods.” The Teotihuacanos had left their structures completely intact for others to find later.^[9]

1 Celts

When the Roman Empire expanded, it stopped human sacrifice, a practice largely taboo in Greco-Roman culture with few exceptions. Most Roman writings show that they felt morally superior by not engaging in human sacrifice. One group that the Romans called the Gauls, otherwise known to us as the Celts, ritually killed children in much of ancient Europe.

The Celts were a brutal but loose-knit band of tribes who would occasionally join forces to fight off the invading Romans. In warfare, the Celts would behead their enemies and embalm the severed heads as trophies to take with them. Of course, this also scared off would-be enemies as an act of psychological warfare.

So it should come as no surprise that such a hard-core ethnic group would occasionally practice child sacrifice to appease their gods. Roman authors galore, including Julius Caesar, document the practice and their abhorrence of it at great length.

Recent excavations of Celtic sites have turned up mummies of sacrificed children as well as structures for human-made “fountains of blood” where the drinking of blood and cannibalism would take place.^[10] The Celts were a terrifyingly violent culture, and these practices show just how brutal humankind can be if left to their own devices and cultures.

Gone, without a trace. Mass disappearances are a very real and bizarre thing in which large numbers of people suddenly disappear without a trace, for seemingly no reason. Sometimes, an airplane full of passengers flies off into the night, never to be seen again, or a ghost ship turns up floating around in the water with absolutely no sign of its crew. Even these chilling instances, however, are small-time compared to the vanishing of an entire society.

Entire civilizations, cities, and empires have faded away, and today’s archaeologists and researchers often try to retrace their inhabitants’ steps and reconstruct what exactly happened to see if we can find a cause, and more importantly, a way to prevent it from happening to our cultures today. Interestingly, some of the cultures on this list were several hundred thousand people strong before they seemingly disappeared without a trace. Here are ten civilizations that just up and vanished mysteriously.

10 Nabateans

Semites are people who belong to a particular ancient language group, which includes Arabs, Akaadians, Hebrews, and more, and one of those groups was the Nabatean culture, which existed since at least 312 BC, as they are mentioned as having been attacked by the Macedonians.^[1] This ancient and seemingly forgotten kingdom spanned the territories of Syria, Arabia, and Palestine at one point, becoming rather massive. Nabatean writing would eventually develop over the centuries to become modern-day Arabic, and it wasn’t until recently that we were able to retrace its evolution.

They established vast trade routes and commerce and became an extremely technologically advanced civilization for the day, with vast water systems which helped them survive the arid climate of Arabia. They left us massive structures which aligned with celestial bodies as other ancient cultures did, proof of an engineering genius among these people. Toward the end of their history, they were strong allies with the mighty Roman Empire, though Emperor Trajan did annex the kingdom from AD 105 to 106. We really don’t hear about the Nabateans much after that era.

9 Clovis People

Anyone who’s ever been to the deserts of New Mexico might wonder how or why any civilization would live there before the advent of air conditioning. But this area, as well as an expansive land within the Americas, was the territory of one of the earliest American civilizations, the Clovis people, who are named after the modern-day city of Clovis, New Mexico.

A rare and important archaeological discovery was made here, namely many sharp objects and weapons, obsidian, bone tools, and hammers, which were highly sophisticated for their time, 9050 to 8800 BC based on 21st-century estimates. These same tools and designs have been found across a good chunk of North America, meaning this group was particularly widespread. Nevertheless, they eventually just totally disappeared.

It has been hypothesized that their massive size forced them, much like Rome, to branch out into smaller groups which eventually evolved into distinct peoples in different places, making them the forerunners to many other Native American cultures. That notion is supported by the fact that genetic links to the Clovis have even been found in the remains of ancient South American people.^[2] Others have speculated that they relied heavily on hunting the mammoth, which became extinct, or even that the southwestern part of the United States was hit by a comet that wiped them out.

8 Catalhoyuk

The inhabitants of Catalhoyuk were a very old Neolithic civilization who also disappeared into thin air, as far as we can tell. They lived in modern-day Turkey from 7500 to 5700 BC in mud-brick housing not unlike that of other extremely early civilizations. This particular group was extremely artistic with their religion, painting massive murals and erecting large shrines of dedication that astonish art buffs today. They lived extensively on grain and other crops for sustenance.

Researchers are continuing to unearth new facts about this group every day, so perhaps we will soon know exactly what happened to them, but as of now, we just have the empty shells of the marvelous buildings and unique homes sitting seemingly abandoned. A large part of the mystery of their disappearance is simply them being lost to time. All we have to go on is the physical evidence itself, without literary references. Digs have turned up skeletons beneath the floor of one building, of all places, suggesting they may have used it for some rather devout religious purposes, but right now, we don’t really know.^[3]

7 Rapa Nui

Arguably the most famous of disappearing cultures, the Rapa Nui people were the original inhabitants of Easter Island, leaving us the famed statues that we’ve probably all seen. The Polynesian people inhabited the island, which now belongs to Chile, though it’s 3,500 kilometers (2,200 mi) away from the country. Due to its absolute remoteness, how the original Rapa Nui arrived there is as much of a mystery as why they vanished.

So, why did they disappear? Starvation due to excessive resource consumption has been blamed. Destruction of Easter Island’s ecosystem by rats has also been fingered as the culprit. It’s also believed that the Rapa Nui traveled to another remote island, itself thousands of miles away, to start a new settlement. (Descendants of the Rapa Nui of Easter Island live in Chile today.) The truth might well be a combination of the many proposed explanations.^[4]

6 Minoans

Hailing from the Greek island of Crete, the Minoans were an old Bronze Age civilization that existed from between 3000 and 1000 BC, long before the Golden Age of Athens and Alexander the Great. The Minoans were patently a Greek culture and the forerunners of the ancient Greece that’s most famous in our history books today, and they were also a very pagan culture, practicing animal sacrifices, burning offerings, having many nuanced cults, and holding wild, orgiastic festivals of song and dance.

The ancient Egyptians mention them in hieroglyphics, which means the Minoans definitely got around in the ancient world, and they had high-quality technologies and impressive arts for the day—but then they declined and disappeared.^[5] Theories have suggested that they were decimated by a volcanic eruption in the Santorini islands near Crete, which must have ravaged the coasts of Crete with waves, ash, raining stone, and more. Herodotus, the famous Greek historian, writes that they were brought down by plagues and diseases, but there simply is no way to tell, as Herodotus wrote many centuries after the peoples of this island had disappeared.

5 Cucuteni-Trypillian Culture

Between roughly 5400 and 2700 BC, a society known as the Cucuteni-Trypillian culture lived in the areas of what is modern-day Moldova, Romania, and Ukraine in the Carpathian Mountains. Strangely, this group also disappeared off of the face of the Earth. They were an early civilization that relied heavily on agriculture and close proximity to water supplies, building houses and settling as humans of the period were largely just beginning to do. They had an extremely in-depth religion and were proficient in many arts, including sculpting, pottery, and much more.

Before its strange disappearance under unusual circumstances, this massive culture spanned an impressive 350,000 square kilometers (135,000 mi²) and practiced a rather bizarre way of life, even for the time. The social order was such that the people inhabited very densely populated settlements, which they would burn to the ground or otherwise completely abandon and rebuild every 60 to 80 years.^[6] Some have theorized that this was how they honored their dead, in a sort of mass crematory funeral.

4 Anasazi

The Anasazi culture of the North American Southwest left behind many structures and artifacts for us to find before they ultimately disappeared. Maybe it was the brutal climate of the Southwestern heartland or the changing of that climate which made conditions uninhabitable, namely where access to water is concerned, but this is one group of people who also disappeared.^[7]

Massive structures built into the cliffsides were left totally abandoned and were found in relatively pristine condition. These housing structures were perfect for fending off intruders, as they were often multiple stories high with windows for the entrance via ladders. When war would break out, the Anasazi could climb into their structures, raise the ladders, and be several stories above the invading tribes and could fire down on their enemies with impunity.

Many Native American tribes as well as some scholars claim that the Anasazi never actually disappeared; they just reached the critical mass of size that a society can become before it inevitably breaks off into smaller factions and becomes new groups of people—much like ancient Rome. They believe that certain tribes today which survive are the direct descendants of the Anasazi people.

3 Nabta Playa

The ancient people of Nabta Playa, in the southern part of modern-day Egypt, were a Neolithic group which existed in the area from roughly 11,000 to 6,000 years ago and were largely nomadic, as was common for that area at the time. The climate of the Nabta Playa basin was one of feast or famine, where seasonal shifts provided an abundance of water at some points during the year and then a complete drought at others. Eventually, the people settled down and inhabited the area as a civilization.

Changes in the climate have rendered the area almost entirely dry sand at this point, which also preserved what the people here left behind before they disappeared, such as a stone circle. The stone circle roughly aligns with the stars in many different ways and became a haven for sacrifice to the gods, with animal remains being found in vast underground caverns.^[8] Like those who built Stonehenge, the people who lived there eventually declined and then wholly disappeared.

2 Khmer Empire

Over the long timeline of history, the Khmer Empire is one of the more recent disappearances to take place. The empire existed from AD 802 to 1431 in Southeast Asia, spanning the modern-day countries of Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam, and was a mixed culture of Buddhists and Hindus that came about through centuries of warfare. The Khmer Empire built some of the most astonishing temples and monuments in Southeast Asia today, many of which are in near-perfect condition.

But like the others on this list, the Khmer Empire, too, declined and disappeared. Some have noted that the migration of the Thai people may have slowly overtook the Khmer people, much like the Germanic tribes slowly infiltrating the western half of the Roman Empire over time. Others have blamed the constant war that the Khmer lived with daily, but they were never wholly overtaken. Still others have pointed to possible changes in weather conditions which altered their access to rainwater, causing a mass migration. Theories run the gamut as to why they fell, but no one really knows for sure.^[9]

1 Olmecs

The Olmecs were the first large Mesoamerican civilization, and their culture was as rich as it was bizarre and unusual. They left us many standing structures and statues which exist today, and their prominence lasted from 1200 to 400 BC, with a society based on sacred religious practices for which they built pyramid-like temples. Much like the Polynesian people of Easter Island, they also carved massive stone heads, some of them as tall as 3 meters (10 ft) and weighing 8 tons.^[10]

So much of this culture that lived long ago has been lost to time, and we don’t even actually know what they called themselves or much about their language. “Olmec” is a term the Aztecs had for them centuries after their disappearance, which translates roughly to “rubber people.” Even more interesting is the fact that not a single trace of anyone who lived there remains—not even the bones. But we do have the artifacts.

They disappeared from the world stage sometime around 400 BC. Some have suggested that the insanely humid Mesoamerican climate eroded their bones away. But as for the people, the language, and the culture outside of their art and artifacts, we know next to nothing, especially not why they vanished.

The actual day-to-day of archaeology and other similar professions may not be that exciting, as they often have to carefully spend time removing dirt from artifacts that may not be worth much of anything individually. Still, their collective work has inspired our imaginations and helped create countless fantasy works, as well as many lively discussions about the ancient past. 

That work has also given us a window into what we know to be true about these ancient civilizations, and also what we have come to suspect could be true based on archaeological evidence. Let’s take a look at some of the most fascinating theories of historical cultures, based on what’s been gathered by these curators of the past…

10. The Aztecs Sacrificed Countless People Due To A Protein Shortage

It’s pretty widely known that Aztec people took part in cannibalism during their human sacrifices, but it was anthropologist Michael Harner who put forth a controversial theory in an attempt to further explain the “why” behind their religious ideology. The theory goes that their population was booming, but at the same time, the available game for protein was decreasing. Getting all eight essential amino acids and protein from maize and beans would require large quantities of food, making it relatively impractical. He also cited times of famine where even nobles sold their children into slavery to buy food and suggested the poor class could fight in wars to get POWs so they could cannibalize them in a blood ritual and eat them for protein.  

Of course, there’s a competing theory by anthropologist and historian Bernard Ortiz De Montellano who argues that the rituals where cannibalism occurred were nearly always done at harvest time, as part of a celebration, and not during times of famine. Further, the cities where these blood sacrifices were known to take place were the bigger cities that received food tributes and weren’t particularly worried about food, even in general times of famine. Montellano argues that sacrificial victims’ bodies were sacred and that the reason for ingesting the body was to ingest a part of the gods themselves and was never connected in any official literature to protein deficiency. 

9. The City Of Pavlopetri Was The Fabled Lost City Of Atlantis

In 2009, a group of Anglo-Greek marine geologists and archaeologists went to work to survey a promising area off the Southern Peloponnese that more primitive technology had suggested was a hotspot for discovery some 40 years earlier, and they made an amazing discovery. They found the ruins of an ancient city, mostly intact, that had sunk beneath the sea floor about 5,000 years ago, during the days of Homer’s epic legends. 

The researchers believe it could have sunk due to a tsunami, earthquake, or both, somewhere around 1000 BC, leaving it resting below the waves for future discovery. While mapping it with modern digital technology they discovered 9,000 square meters of new buildings, and a very large Megaron, which was a structure used by elites for public gatherings, suggesting the city was used by important members of Mycenaean society. Due to the time period to which the city is dated, how quickly it disappeared beneath the waters, and the potential elite status of its inhabitants, some have suggested it could have been the fabled lost city of Atlantis. 

8. Noah’s Story Was An Allegory For Survivors Of A Really Bad Local Flood

Even those who aren’t Christian are well aware of the story of Noah’s Ark, and his quest to save two of every animal from a great flood that would encompass the entire earth. But Noah’s was not the only similar story. The epic of Gilgamesh, the Qur’an, and many others have a story of an all-encompassing flood in which people had to go to great lengths, often using boats to survive. Now, while stories about bad local floods, or even allegorical stories of worldwide floods, are not confined to one area, there is a very large concentration of them coming from Ancient Mesopotamia — which is now modern-day Iraq. 

This has caused researchers to consider whether the stories could have been allegories about a really bad local flood. While the geological record of the earth does not support a global flood, the geological record of Iraq does support the possibility of a bad flood, or even floods, back in the days of Ancient Mesopotamia. This flood (or floods) could have drowned many, destroyed their homes, and taken months to properly recede due to the geography of the area. With no internet or telephones to check outside their area, and all their known geography flooded, they wrote stories of the entire world being lost beneath a catastrophic deluge because as far as they knew, their entire world was flooded.

7. Contrary To Recent Popular Belief, Some Christians May Have Been Thrown To Lions

It used to be accepted that Christians, and many other malcontents, were thrown to the lions during the days of the Romans and it was believed to be a fact. Now, many historians and debunkers have told you that it isn’t true and that there is not a single corroborating text that states Christians were thrown to lions. However, the Romans didn’t always keep the best records. 

During the early era of the Christian Church, when many Christians were being executed, throwing people to the beasts was a popular method of execution. This method involved all kinds of animals including lions, and one text tells of a Priest called Saturas, whom they first tried to kill with a boar, then with a bear, and then finally finished off with a leopard. As for the crueler Roman Emperors, Nero was known to cover Christians in animal skins before throwing them to the dogs. Now, as we stated, there is no extant evidence of lion-on-Christian action, but considering how popular it was to throw people to the animals, it would seem more like a bizarre accident than anything if they never got their chance to sink their teeth into any early Christian flesh. 

6. Spartan Warriors Were Not That Amazing, It Was Mostly Propaganda

The Spartan reputation today is such that many still see them as the epitome of the most fearsome and powerful warrior. However, the truth is that much of what we think about the Spartans may have been nothing more than propaganda by the Greek historian Herodotus, and much of it from the Spartans themselves.

The Spartan state had a population of slaves known as helots that consisted, at any given time, of a much larger percentage of the population than the free Spartans themselves, and the Spartans felt fear was a good way to keep people in line, which only worked for a time as the helots did ultimately successfully rebel.

Now, when it comes to the facts, the Spartan won-loss record in battle was a little under 50%, which for warriors with such a reputation, is pretty bad. There is still some reason to believe that Spartans had slightly better unit organization and that many of their regular troops were slightly above the regular Greek average in terms of skill, but not to any amazing level. Further, individual skill only mattered for so much, as most battles back then consisted mainly of forming into a phalanx and smashing your soldiers into your enemy counterparts.

5. Scientists Have New Evidence Of City-States Dotting The Maya Lowlands

Back in 2016, surveyors flew over the area that once comprised the Ancient Maya Empire, and used laser imaging to map 830 square miles of the ruins — which is an area larger than the island of Maui. When the surveyors looked at the results, it proved a theory that had fallen out of favor and took their breath away. Many archaeologists had theorized that the Maya, who had an extensive economic and social system, had interconnected city-states dotted throughout the Maya Lowlands. But that theory had started to fall out of favor for lack of direct evidence. 

However, this laser imaging changed everything, and in one fell swoop revealed over 60,000 new potential sites of interest. These included 60 miles of causeways, roads, and canals to connect cities, large maize farms, houses of all sizes, and even defensive fortifications that suggested they had come under attack from the Western edges of their borders. All in all, it has given researchers a wealth of new Maya ruins to explore, and reminded us all just how advanced many ancient civilizations were. 

4. Are The Hanging Gardens Of Babylon Myth, Or Were We Looking In The Wrong Place?

The ancient stories tell of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, built by King Nebuchadnezzar II for his wife Amytis, because she missed the lush gardens of her native lands. They were said to have flowing waterfalls and all types of vegetation, with wonderful aromas of various plants wafting through the air — a magical oasis, in the middle of the desert. Now, the problem is that no evidence has ever been found in the site where Babylon once lay, and all records about it are after-the-fact stories, so some historians have started to believe it is nothing more than a historical mirage in the desert. 

However, Dr. Stephanie Dalley, a research fellow at the Oriental Institute of England’s Oxford University, believes that the only reason we have not found evidence of its existence is because we are looking in the wrong place. According to Dr. Dalley, who is an expert at reading ancient Mesopotamian texts, the Hanging Gardens were actually built in nearby Nineveh by King Sennacherib. Now, this is something that archaeological evidence backs up, as the ruins of Nineveh (Mosul in modern-day Iraq) have remnants of an aqueduct system, artwork depicting lush, hanging gardens, and an inscription from Sennacherib bragging about how he had managed to bring water a long distance. 

3. Homer’s Epics Iliad And Odyssey Were First Written Down By A Woman

Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey combine to create one of the greatest epics of all time, but for all the cultural importance they have had over the years, we know precious little about their actual origination. This is largely because Homer remains a pretty big mystery to historians, other than his being an ancient bard who didn’t actually put pen to paper himself. That second part is quite normal, of course, as most Ancient Greek legends were passed down through oral storytelling and embellished over time. 

The bigger question for many historians is who really transcribed them. Andrew Dalby, the author of “Rediscovering Homer” suggests that it was a woman who finally recorded the stories for posterity. He theorizes that because being a public poet and getting to put on a live performance was a male’s job, they wouldn’t want to give up that position for a long slog writing down a poetic epic, especially since it was unlikely to net them much of a return. He suggests that a rich backer, who would have had to buy all the necessary goatskin, had a woman pen the epics anonymously. 

2. Permanent Human Settlements May Have Predated Ancient Agriculture

One of the most commonly accepted pieces of wisdom when it comes to the rise of human civilization, is that humans only formed communities after they created agriculture, which they did as a necessity. In other words, the human community only exists because we had to stop being nomadic hunter-gatherer raiders who clubbed each other to death over territory, and settle down and grow food instead. However, recent evidence has not only put that theory into question but almost entirely overturned it, at least as any kind of absolute truth. Archaeologists have found evidence of permanent human settlements from hunter-gatherer tribes in the area that is now Israel and Jordan, some dating as far back as 14,000 years ago. 

This suggests that the idea that humans could only come together and stop being loosely connected tribes of a few nomadic hunters (at best) when they had no choice but to work together is nothing more than hokum. Humans are social creatures who generally like being around other humans, and would want to have their company to enjoy whether they needed that arrangement for efficient resource management or not. 

1. Ancient Native Americans Burned Down Many Trees In The Plains States

If you’ve ever visited the area, you might wonder why the Great Plains of the United States have so few trees. Many of the early settlers were so shocked by these long grasslands they were convinced that the plains would be a bad place to grow crops, and often made dangerous trips up to Oregon instead.

The truth is, long before European settlers came to the continent, there is reason to believe the Great Plains were once covered in forestland. As to how most of it disappeared, multiple potential explanations have been put forth. The area, while still getting a lot of rain, has more of a chance to experience temporary drought than many surrounding areas, gets hit by a lot of lightning strikes, which can cause fires, and the Native Americans were known to burn down trees to create land better for grazing for game animals. 

What we don’t know is how much effect the Native Americans’ burning had, as we have no idea how sophisticated their methods were. We also don’t know how big an offender lightning strikes may have been, creating fires that could race across the landscape at speeds of 15-20 kilometers per hour. Either way, the landscape was irreparably altered, and we can only imagine what it once looked like.

There are underwater ruins almost everywhere around the world. However, some stand out more than others due to the suggestion that they might prove lost civilizations existed in the deep past. And, in turn, might even suggest some truth in the many flood myths that also exist around the planet.
Many of these aquatic ruins feature huge megalithic structures, many of which appear to have an intelligent design behind them. Other locations even feature inscriptions of strange symbols and letters in unknown languages. Given that we know very little of what lies beneath the oceans and seas of our planet, who knows what might be awaiting discovery under the still unexplored ocean floors.

Top 10 Places As Mysterious As The Bermuda Triangle

10 Underwater Step-Pyramid Off The Coast Of Yonaguni Jima In Japan?

Perhaps the first name connected to the underwater ruins at Yonaguni Jima^[1] off the coast of Japan is Masaaki Kimura. The marine geologist has spent almost two decades studying the ruins. According to Kimura, there are clearly several artificial structures below the waves in the region. One of these even appears to be a “complicated, monolithic, stepped pyramid”. And what’s more, this particular building is over 80 feet tall.

Initially, Kimura would claim that the remains were likely evidence of Mu – an apparently lost continent in the Pacific. He would even claim the dates of ruins to be around 10,000 years old placing them around 8000 BC. He would, however, eventually revise these dates to around between 5000 to 3000 years old.

Despite the revised estimate of the age, though, some researchers remain supportive of the initial estimation. Perhaps most notable of these is Graham Hancock. Hancock has also written of such ruins, most extensively in his book Underworld.

We should also state that not everyone is even convinced the ruins are artificial structures at all. Boston University’s Robert Schoch, for example, would state in 2007 that the remains were most likely “all-natural”. Further study and investigation will likely continue at the site. As will the debate as to what the real truth behind it is.

9 Bimini Road In The Bahamas – A Lost Road To Atlantis?

The remains found off the island of Bimini in the Bahamas referred to as Bimini Road,^[2] are certainly intriguing. And are of interest to researchers in both the mainstream and the fringes. Many outside of mainstream research point to the road-like structure and potential buildings as perhaps the best proof of the existence of Atlantis.

The ruins were discovered in 1968 by Joseph Mason Valentine. Upon diving in the crystal-clear waters, he made out what was quickly apparent to him to be a paved roadway running along the seabed. He returned to the waters several times. Each time he discovered further potential outlines of more artificial ruins around the apparent roadway.

The conclusion of carbon dating and research of mainstream scientists is that the road is, in fact, a creation of the natural geological forces of the area. Other researchers, though, point to the area as clearly artificial and with further secrets to reveal.

We might also mention the claims of Ray Brown. He claimed to have found evidence of a sunken pyramid in the region near Berry Island. He made the discovery while hunting for sunken galleons. What made the find even more intriguing, are his claims that his navigation equipment began to suddenly malfunction right before he noticed the pyramid.

8 The Apparent Temples Off The Coast Of Malta

Another location often spoken of with Atlantis can be found^[3] off the coast of Malta. The discovery of the underwater temples of Gebel Gol-Bahar took place in the summer of 1999. What perhaps makes the location intriguing is that the person who made the find is a retired businessman and not a scientist. Hubert Zeitmair found the remains around 2 to 3 miles off the coast of St. Julian’s. He is also, however, a follower of the writings of Zecharia Sitchin. And this is something which has led to many people dismissing his finds as “ancient astronaut” nonsense.

To date, no official dating or studies have been made of the ruins. However, many have managed to perform unofficial research. And this suggests that the remains could be many thousands of years old. And what’s more, it is likely, some claim, that the entire area was once inhabited before a major flood hit the region. Some researchers even go as far as to say the area was likely hit by the same flood mentioned in The Bible. Needless to say, almost all researchers in the mainstream dismiss such claims. Some even counter that the boulders and rocks are not at all ancient ruins. They are, in fact, likely the result of illegal dumps.

As well as the structures themselves, though, there also appears to be cart ruts. These run into the water and along the seabed. Cart ruts can also be found in multiple locations around Malta, and are, to some, further evidence of a location that was once not underwater. Furthermore, due to the location and the writings of Plato, many of those researchers suggest that the ruins could very well be those of Atlantis.

7 The Lost City Founded By Krishna, Dwarka, India

Without a doubt, one of the most fascinating locations of underwater ruins is the apparent^[4] lost city of Dwarka off the northwest coast of India. Not least as many of the ancient writings of the region are said to be accurate accounts as opposed to legends.

With these legends in mind, many researchers believe the ruins could very well be of the original city founded by Krishna. What’s more, although they are unofficial estimates, some researchers suggest that the city could be 9000 years old. If true, this would make the location 5000 years older than the currently oldest known ancient ruins.

The discovery came to light between 1999 and 2001. During that time the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) were surveying the region. And rather than murky lines, the remains are clearly those of temples, columns, and stepped buildings. Mainstream estimates suggest that the ruins could be between 4000 to 6000 years old. Other researchers, however, suggest the ruins to be anywhere between 9000 to 12000 years old. These dates would also match those of the alleged floods that are found in multiple creation stories around the world.

6 The Temples Of Mahabalipuram, India

The waters off the coast of south India are also of interest to those looking for underwater proof of lost civilizations. There, there is a continued search to prove that the apparent artificial structures^[5] in the region are the temples of Mahabalipuram.

The discovery of the apparent ruins came in 2001. A group of Tamil fishermen claimed to have seen artificial stone structures on the seabed. When official dives took place, it became clear to many that a sunken complex was likely awaiting full discovery. Among other things, they found the remains of walls and fallen pillars. This suggested, to some, a time when the region was very likely inhabitable. The discovery of the pillars, in particular, might suggest some truths to the myths of Seven Pagodas that were said to have once stood at the location.

Perhaps, if solid proof can be found that a lost civilization once resided in either Indian location, the two sites will corroborate each other.

Top 10 Last Unexplored Places

5 A Stonehenge-Like Structure Under Lake Michigan

Maybe one of the most intriguing locations of underwater ruins can be found under the waters of Lake Michigan. There, at an undisclosed location,^[6] a henge-like structure resides. The discovery was actually made by mistake by archeologists who were scanning the bottom of the lake in search of shipwrecks. However, when they saw their returns, they would find a clear henge-like structure on the lakebed.

What’s more, they would discover an interesting carving on a boulder of a mastodon. This further strengthened the notion of an ancient presence there before the region was covered with water. This would likely date to thousands of years before accepted records of humans are known to have existed there. Some rough estimates even suggest a date of anywhere between 10,000 to 12,000 years old.

Once more, this date would fit in nicely with the date often given for a global flood. Research continues quietly at the location today.

4 Strange Carvings And Discoveries Under Fuxian Lake, China

At around the same time as the discoveries off the coasts of India in 2001,^[7] similar intriguing finds were made under the water of Fuxian Lake in China. And what’s more, legends of a lost sunken ancient city in the region were well-known. The discovery came during a 20-day diving mission of the waters by scientists.

The research team found around 30 buildings in total. And these covered a rough distance of around 25 square kilometers. They did, however, only manage to fully examine and catalog two of the remains. Furthermore, they retrieved over 40 handmade stone relics, including tools, for further study. Even more intriguing, several carvings were discovered on large stones on the lakebed.

Subsequent research missions to the area have seemingly added credibility to the discovery. And although there is little information on who might have lived there, it has since been referred to as “China’s Atlantis”.

3 Port Royal, Jamaica

Port Royal in Jamaica is very much known to have existed – it sunk into the sea in the early 1900s. The location, however, is still of interest to those^[8] searching for proof of lost civilizations under the water. It offers, for example, details of how a city can sink below the water, relatively speaking, overnight. This allows researchers, in theory, to better understand how cities lost to the water thousands of years ago might have met their end.

The port itself came into existence in the 1490s when Spanish settlers formed it. It quickly became the largest city in the entire region. And many ships passing through used it as the main trading hub. By the 1600s, however, it had become a region known for vice and criminality. And more concerning, the main port of pirates from around the world.

In 1692, a huge earthquake, tsunami, and several hurricanes severely damaged the port. It remained active, but despite rebuild efforts, it never returned to its golden era. A further earthquake in 1907 essentially finished the city off, sinking it into the sea.

2 The Underwater City Of Pavlopetri, Greece

It would seem the oldest sunken city in the world resides off the coast of Greece in the^[9] lost city of Pavlopetri. Although it only became an official find in 2011, rumors of it have existed for decades. In fact, claims of the lost city go back to at least 1904 when geologist, Fokion Negri, spoke of seeing ruins in the region. It would be a further six decades before Dr. Nicholas Flemming appeared to prove Negri’s findings, though. Flemming, along with a team of scientists from Cambridge university, would all but confirm the evidence of a lost city.

The full-scale search of the region between 2009 and 2011 found around 15 buildings at a depth of around 10 to 12 feet. The estimated area of the lost city is thought to be a little over 2 acres. Further research suggests the region once also had a thriving textile industry. What’s more, it was likely once a major trading route in the region.

Whether the city might have existed for thousands of years before the estimated age of 5000 years old remains to be seen. It is certainly one of the most intriguing aquatic locations on the planet.

1 The Pyramid City Off The Coast Of Cuba?

Off the west coast of Cuba lies the remains of^[10] a city, with pyramids. And what’s more, the city in question could be as old as 6000 years. In fact, some theories even suggest an age as old as 50,000 years. The researchers who made the discovery, using sonar devices, discovered that some of the underwater stone structures are around 400 meters in width and 40 meters in height.

Rather than being natural formations, it is clear they are of intelligent design. And what’s more, they appear to sit in a planned formation. In short, the discovery appears to be evidence of a city that was at some point in the past overtaken by the waters. Also of interest, are the apparent “symbols and inscriptions” discovered on some of the stonework. Not least as it appears to be an unknown language. Basic research, however, does suggest similarities with Aztec and Mayan symbols.

Although further research is required, the discovery would perhaps vindicate the theories that a land bridge once connected Cuba with Mexico.

10 Things You Probably Don’t Know About The Lost City Of Atlantis

When you think of the Ancient world, you probably think of Egypt, Babylon, various Chinese dynasties, and of course Greece and Rome. But the Ancient world was a lot bigger, and longer lasting, than you might be aware. Let’s take a look at some of the other ancient peoples that deserve a lot more recognition than they typically get. 

10. Muisca Confederation

Located in modern-day Colombia, the Muisca Confederation was a group of chieftains in the central Andean highlands, active during the period leading up to the Spanish conquest in the early 16th century. Unlike centralized empires like the Incas, the Muisca didn’t have a single ruler but were rather a collection of various chiefdoms, each governed by its own chieftain, or “zipa.”

Economically, they were reknown for their expertise in metallurgy, especially in crafting intricate gold and tumbaga objects. This craftsmanship led to the legend of El Dorado, which you’re almost certainly more familiar with. It’s believed the legend was inspired by the Muisca ritual of the new zipa covering himself in gold dust and diving into Lake Guatavita, offering treasures to the gods.

Agriculture was also vital, as it was with everyone, with the Muisca cultivating crops such as maize, potatoes, and beans in terraced fields. They traded extensively with neighboring groups, making their lands an important regional hub. Sadly, with the arrival of the Spanish in the 1530s, the Muisca Confederation faced diseases, conquest, and cultural disruption. They weren’t the only ones to endure that, of course – but they never received as much attention as the Aztecs, Incas, or Mayans. 

9. Dilmun Civilization

The Dilmun Civilization is one of the ancient world’s more enigmatic and lesser-known cultures, flourishing between the 3rd and 1st millennia BCE. Often referred to as the “Land of the Living” in Sumerian writings, Dilmun was strategically situated along trade routes in the Persian Gulf, primarily corresponding to present-day Bahrain and parts of eastern Saudi Arabia.

Acting as a vital trade conduit between Mesopotamia and the Indus Valley, the Dilmun thrived on commerce and played a significant role in the distribution of goods such as copper, ivory, and precious stones. The civilization’s prosperity is evident in its cities, marked by well-planned urban centers, advanced irrigation systems, and impressive temples. Yet despite this, they’ve been largely swept under the rug while other ancient Middle Eastern civilizations are still referenced and studied. 

Religiously, Dilmun was considered sacred in the ancient Sumerian myth of Enki and Ninhursag, portraying it as a paradise where sickness and death were unknown. Additionally, archaeological evidence indicates that the region had extensive burial mounds, suggesting that Dilmun was a significant burial and ceremonial site for the broader region.

8. Elam

The Elamite civilization, simply known as Elam, was one of the earliest established cultures of the ancient Near East. Nestled primarily in what is present-day southwestern Iran, the history of Elam stretches back to around 3000 BCE, making it a contemporary of early Mesopotamian civilizations.

The Elamites had their own language, Elamite, but its origins and affiliations remain something of a mystery, as it’s strangely unrelated to surrounding Semitic and Indo-European languages. Over its long history, Elam had periods of power and prominence, especially during its conflicts and interactions with the neighboring Mesopotamian powers, such as the Sumerians, Akkadians, and Babylonians. They even succeeded in sacking the great city of Ur in 2004 BCE.

Although Elam faced numerous invasions and periods of domination by powers like the Assyrians and Persians, it always retained a degree of autonomy until it was ultimately absorbed into the Persian Empire. Still, despite this proud legacy and surprising accomplishments, there aren’t that many folks who’ve heard of them. 

7. Olmec Civilization

Often hailed as the “Mother Culture” of Mesoamerica, The Olmec civilization, emerged around 1400 BCE and thrived until around 400 BCE, in the tropical lowlands of what’s now Mexico. 

The Olmecs are probably more well known for their colossal stone heads than anything else —massive carved representations of human faces, believed (but not confirmed) to be portraits of rulers or significant individuals. These sculptures, some weighing up to 40 tons, showcase intricate craftsmanship and are a testament to the Olmec’s advanced stone-working skills.

Centers of Olmec culture included the cities of San Lorenzo, La Venta, and Tres Zapotes. Not unlike other ancient civilizations in the region, the Olmec built their cities around ceremonial centers, pyramidal structures, and surprisingly complex urban planning. Besides their architectural accomplishments, the Olmec are also notable for their contributions to the Mesoamerican calendar, writing system, and the concept of the number zero. Their religious beliefs, involving a pantheon of gods associated with natural elements and jaguars, heavily influenced the Mayan and Aztec religions that followed.

While the reasons for the Olmec civilization’s decline remain a subject of debate among scholars, their influence persisted. But they deserve more attention than they often get. 

6. Norte Chico Civilization

Also known as the Caral-Supe civilization, the Norte Chico civilization stands as one of the earliest and most enigmatic of ancient cultures in the Americas. Emerging around 3000 BCE and flourishing until 1800 BCE in areas of what’s now Peru, they predate the Olmec of Mesoamerica, making it the single oldest known civilization in the Americas. 

Remarkably, the Norte Chico achieved its civilizational status without the presence of ceramics, which are often associated with ancient societies. That’s impressive enough, but, they’re also notable for substantial architectural prowess, most notably their step pyramids and sunken circular plazas. The city of Caral is the most studied and is often referred to as the “oldest city in the New World.” 

One of the most intriguing aspects of the Norte Chico civilization is its reliance on maritime resources. Instead of depending primarily on agriculture, like many of their peers, they took maximum advantage of the nearby eastern Pacific. 

We’re still not sure why the Norte Chico civilization declined. But we do know they laid foundational cultural practices that influenced the subsequent Andean cultures that are more widely known, like the Moche and Inca.

5. Hittite Empire

The Hittites, an ancient Anatolian people, emerged as a dominant power in the Middle East around 1600 BCE, establishing an empire that spanned throughout modern-day Turkey and northern Syria. Their influence would last until roughly 1200 BCE. But despite that, you probably know a lot less about them than you do about contemporary empires like Egypt. 

The Hittite capital, Hattusa, located near modern-day Bo?azkale in Turkey, was a sprawling city with grand temples, palaces, and impressive fortifications. The city stands as a testament to their architectural and urban planning skills. But the empire’s strength wasn’t just architectural; they had an organized and efficient bureaucracy, as well as a robust legal system with laws that were actually pretty progressive for their time, covering a range of issues from inheritance and divorce and consumer protection.

Militarily, the Hittites are particularly renowned for their chariots, which played a crucial role in their confrontations with neighboring states. The most famous of these conflicts was the Battle of Kadesh in 1274 BCE against the Egyptians under Pharaoh Ramses II. While both sides claimed victory, the battle’s aftermath led to one of the earliest known peace treaties in history, signifying a truce between the two superpowers.

The decline of the Hittite Empire around 1200 BCE is part of a larger, mysterious collapse that affected several ancient civilizations of the Mediterranean and Near East. Despite their decline, the Hittites left an indelible mark on the region’s history and deserve to be remembered. 

4. Nok Culture

Named after the village of Nok in Nigeria, where the first artifacts from this civilization were discovered in the 1920s, the Nok Culture is West Africa’s earliest known ancient civilization. Flourishing between 1500 BCE and 300 CE, they’re primarily known for their distinctive terracotta figurines, which stand as some of the earliest and finest examples of sculpture in Sub-Saharan Africa. These terracotta sculptures are diverse in representation, ranging from humanoid figures with intricate details, like beads, scarification, and elaborate hairstyles, to various animals. The purpose of these figurines is still a subject of debate among archaeologists. While some suggest they had ritualistic or religious significance, others propose they might have been used as charms or status symbols.

Beyond their artistry, there’s evidence they were smelting iron long before many other cultures in the surrounding region. This had profound implications, not only for agriculture and warfare but also for various societal advancements. Despite that advantage, the Nok disappeared abruptly around 300 CE for reasons that remain unclear.  And as evidenced by their inclusion on this list, they’re largely forgotten since then.

3. Caral-Supe Civilization

The Caral-Supe civilization, often just referred to as Caral, holds the distinction of being the oldest known civilization in the Americas. Situated in the Supe Valley of modern-day Peru, it dates all the way back to around 3000 BCE, flourishing until roughly 1800 BCE. This places its rise well before other pre-Columbian cultures in the region, and it’s contemporary to ancient civilizations like Ancient Egypt and the Sumerians of Mesopotamia.

At the heart of the Caral-Supe civilization is the city of Caral, a sprawling urban center that showcases advanced city planning, impressive pyramidal architecture, and sunken circular plazas. As was the case with many ancient civilizations in the Americas, the city was dominated by a towering pyramid, covering an area nearly equivalent to four football fields. 

What’s especially intriguing about Caral is its apparent lack of warfare-related artifacts. No weapons or fortifications have been found, suggesting a peaceful society that perhaps prioritized trade and religion. Instead of warfare, it appears that their society revolved around agriculture, with evidence of irrigation systems and cultivation of crops like cotton, beans, and squash. Despite that, they lasted for more than a millennium. 

2. Aksumite Empire

The Aksumite Empire, often simply referred to as Aksum, was a formidable trading empire that rose to prominence in the Horn of Africa around the 1st century CE and maintained its power until the 10th century CE. Its heartland was in present-day northern Ethiopia and Eritrea, and at its zenith, its influence extended across parts of Sudan, Yemen, and even southern Arabia.

One of the significant markers of the Aksumite Empire was its impressive architectural achievements, most notably the stelae – tall, carved stone pillars, some of which are the largest single pieces of stone ever quarried in the ancient world. If that wasn’t impressive enough, they managed to position themselves as a crucial trading hub, linking the Roman Empire and later the Byzantine Empire with India and the Far East. It was through these trade networks that Aksum amassed its considerable wealth, trading goods like ivory, gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

Here’s another interesting note: the Aksumite Empire holds a special place in history as one of the first major empires to adopt Christianity. They didn’t last forever, but they left a huge imprint on subsequent cultures. 

1. Xiongnu Confederation

The Xiongnu Confederation was a powerful nomadic empire that emerged around the 3rd century BCE in the steppes of Central and Eastern Asia, roughly spanning areas of modern-day Mongolia, southern Siberia, and parts of northern China. This meant that contact, and conflict, with the Han Dynasty of China, was inevitable. Their wars played a pivotal role in shaping the political and military dynamics of the region at the time. 

Interestingly, these battles saw the Great Wall of China being fortified and extended to defend against Xiongnu raids. The Han Dynasty, seeking both military and diplomatic solutions, also established the famous Silk Road trade routes in part to facilitate relations with the Western regions and to form alliances against the Xiongnu.

So despite being relatively unknown today, the Xiongnu were directly involved in the formation of two of the most iconic symbols of ancient Asia.

Despite their strength and vast territorial control, though, the Xiongnu Confederation eventually faced internal divisions and external pressures, and by the late 1st century CE had split into northern and southern halves. Over time, they were assimilated into other tribal groups or subdued by emerging powers in the region.

The word “civilization” is open to interpretation, but archaeologists usually refer to ancient civilizations as human societies “with a high level of cultural and technological development.”^[1] Although the Aboriginal people of Australia, for example, are commonly believed to be the oldest continuous culture to inhabit the earth, their nomadic habits and lack of infrastructure usually means that they are not counted as a civilization. This is open to much debate.

Most people have heard about the ancient Egyptians, the Aztecs, and the Incas. But there are many more ancient civilizations that are not so well-known but which have left behind tantalizing glimpses into an older and very different way of life. Here are just a few of them.

10 Indus Valley Civilization
3300–1300 BC

The Indus Valley Civilization was located in an area that spans parts of modern-day Pakistan, Afghanistan, and India, on the plains near the Indus River. Archaeologists have discovered evidence of farming communities as well as entire cities.

Two prominent cities that have been excavated are Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa. They found that many of the houses had their own wells and bathrooms, along with a sophisticated underground drainage system. Documents found in Sumeria recorded commercial, religious, and artistic events happening in these areas and described their “exotic wares.”

The Indus Valley people had a writing system, but to date, attempts to decipher examples of their writing, found on pottery and copper tablets, have failed.

It is not yet clear whether the Indus Valley was a civilization in itself or whether it formed part of a larger kingdom. It would be likely that if it was part of a larger kingdom, artifacts would have been found showing this—statues of known kings, for example, or depictions of wars, but to date, no such articles have been found.^[2]

It is entirely possible that the Indus River people were an isolated civilization with their own language and lifestyle, which is only now being uncovered. One of the many structures uncovered is the Great Bath at Mohenjo Daro, measuring 83 square meters (897 ft²), which is believed to have been used for ritual bathing.

The reason for the decline of the civilization is unclear. Historians have developed a number of possible theories, including the drying up of the river or, alternatively, flooding, trade difficulties with Mesopotamia, or invasion by an unknown enemy.

9 The Kingdom Of Aksum
AD 100–940

Aksum was a kingdom in what is now Northern Ethiopia. It was a society of power and influence, and at its height, it extended from the edge of the Sahara in the west to the Arabian desert in the east.^[3]

Aksumites developed their own written script, Ge’ez, and traded with other nations across the Eastern Mediterranean. It was described by a Persian writer as one of the four greatest powers in the world. Despite this, comparatively little is known of Aksum today, and it is generally held to be a “lost” civilization. It is believed that the society was an ordered one, based on a hierarchy of kings and noblemen.

In the fourth century AD, Aksum embraced Orthodox Christianity. The king had been converted by a former Syrian prisoner, who was later made bishop of Aksum

Aksum has been claimed as the birthplace of the Queen of Sheba and the home of the Ark of the Covenant. The ark was said to have been taken by Menelik I, son of the Queen of Sheba and King Solomon, and brought home, where it resides in a local church. (No one is allowed to see it, so who knows?)

8 Konar Sandal
4500–3000 BC

Konar Sandal is located in Jiroft, a city in the southern part of Iran. In 2002, a ziggurat (a terraced temple complex) was discovered, one of the largest and oldest of its kind in the world. To date, two mounds have been excavated at Konar Sandal, and finds have included a large two-story building with very thick walls, suggesting that they formed some type of fortification.

The discovery of the ziggurat strongly suggests a structured civilization based on ritual and belief. It is believed to date to around 2200 BC and was possibly built by the Aratta, a Bronze Age kingdom which had been described in Sumerian texts but whose whereabouts have not been discovered. The head of the archaeological excavation described the site as an “independent, autochthonous Bronze Age civilization with its own architecture and language.”^[4]

The site has been subject to looting and unauthorized excavations, and it is not known how many treasures have been lost. Despite this, it is thought that the civilization may provide evidence of the oldest written language in the world.

Work is ongoing, and as the site contains evidence of religious, domestic, agricultural, and industrial dwellings, it is hoped that there is much more still to find.

7 Sanliurfa, Turkey

Sanliurfa, in modern-day Turkey, originally named Urfa, has a long and checkered history, with many religions claiming an affinity with the area. It boasts a number of interesting archaeological features, such as a cave said to be the birthplace of the Prophet Abraham. It was considered to be a major center of Syrian culture.

Situated very near Sanliura is Gobekli Tepe, where megalithic carved stones were cut and arranged before the known invention of metal tools—and 6,000 years before Stonehenge came into existence. Gobekli Tepe may be the site of the world’s oldest temple.^[5]

The stones, up to 5 meters (16 ft) tall, are arranged in circles, and each weigh between 7 and 10 tons. The largest circle measures 20 meters (65 ft) in diameter, and some of the stones are carved with carved with images of creatures such as foxes, lions, scorpions, and vultures.

It is thought that people would have traveled from Urfa to the temple of Gobekli Tepe for religious ceremonies, though to date, no evidence has been found to show what this involved. Surveys of the area suggest that there may be as many as 16 similar circles. Unfortunately, in 2018, inexpert conservation work damaged parts of the site when concrete was poured over it.

6 Vinca Civilization
5000–3500 BC

The Vinca Civilization (aka the Danube Valley Civilization) boasts what some believe to be one of the earliest writing systems in the world, with around 700 characters, most of which have been found carved in pottery. Although the language has not been translated, it is believed by those who think it is a language to contain a form of numbers as well as letters. Their advanced farming system made it one of the most sophisticated Neolithic cultures we know of.^[6]

Evidence of the Vinca Civilization has been found along the banks of the Danube River and is thought to have existed long before the great civilizations of Mesopotamia and Egypt.

The first archaeological evidence was discovered in 1908 at Belo Brdo Hill near Belgrade. The settlements are thought to have lasted more than 1,000 years before being abandoned. Each settlement housed a few thousand people, in homes made of wattle and daub clay. They kept animals and grew crops and even had a type of plow for sewing cereals. Evidence has also been found of copper utensils, around 1,000 years before their general use in Europe.

At a necropolis near Varna, the “Varna Gold Treasure” was discovered. Dating between to around 6,500 years old, it is possibly the oldest gold smithy in the world. It is not known why the Vinca Civilization vanished, but when they did, they seem to have taken their knowledge and their innovations with them.

5 Aryan Kingdom
1500 BC

Around 1500 BC, a large group of nomads, possibly including the remnants of the Indus Valley Civilization, moved into India. It is unclear whether this mass migration was a result of fleeing from a natural disaster or whether it was, in fact, an invasion.

Whatever the cause, a new civilization was born on the Indian subcontinent. The Aryan language developed, and the new settlers developed agriculture. The Aryan civilization was widely established by around 1000 BC.^[7] (Note that the name “Aryan” comes from the Sanskrit word arya, which is what these migrants to India referred to themselves as.)

Today, there is little historical record of this civilization, though it is mentioned in the Vedas—a collection of religious texts—with tales of war and other conflicts. However, there is no way of knowing how accurate these texts are. There are few remaining artifacts of the period, though archaeological research is ongoing.

4 Mehrgarh
7000 BC

In 1974, excavations began at Mehrgarh in Pakistan, but a lack of government interest, erosion of the land, and chronic looting of the site has kept Mehrgarh a relatively hidden civilization. Additionally, archaeological digs have been made more difficult by ongoing tribal feuds and lax security for the diggers.

That’s a shame, because Mehrgarh is one of the oldest civilizations in the world. Those artifacts that weren’t pinched show a highly developed society with established trade links with different regions. It is believed to have been in existence around 7000 BC, thousands of years before the Indus Valley Civilization in the same region.^[8]

Mehrgarh is thought to have had a population of around 25,000, and evidence of daily life there is still being discovered, including indications of dental surgery. Many of the remains are buried deep in the ground, and uncovering them poses as challenge. Remains excavated so far include a complex of well-preserved buildings made from mud bricks and even a formal cemetery.

3 Nineveh
6000—612 BC

Nineveh (modern-day Mosul in Iraq), was the site of one of the oldest and greatest civilizations. The early city was damaged in a series earthquakes, including the destruction of the first temple of Ishtar, but the city continued to grow. King Sennacherib (704–681 BC) made Nineveh the capital of the Assyrian Empire, building a 15-gate great wall around the city as well as parks, aqueducts, canals, and an 80-room palace, which, being a modest man, he proclaimed a “palace without rival.” Some scholars believe that the famous Hanging Gardens of Babylon were actually located in Nineveh and commissioned by the king.^[9]

A library was constructed, containing over 30,000 inscribed clay tablets, an enormous number of works for the time. Scholars and scribes flocked to the city, and it became a center for the development of the arts, sciences, and architecture. One of the most unusual tablets found at the site told the story of a great flood which drowned the whole world and a man who survived by building a boat and who released a dove in search of dry land. This version of the Noah’s Ark story was part of an epic poem written in 1800 BC, 1,000 years before it was included in the Hebrew Bible. Much of the contents of Nineveh’s library now lie in the vaults of the British Library.

A royal feud in 627 BC led to the breakup of the Assyrian Empire, and in 612 BC, Nineveh was burned to the ground by a combined force of Persians, Babylonians, and others, who divided the region between them, allowing the grand buildings to fall into ruin. The ruins began to be excavated in 1846, and work has continued to the present day, though it has suffered during recent unrest and been damaged by vandalism.

2 Nubia

Nubia, which lay to the south of Egypt in Sudan, was a civilization that once ruled Egypt. Nubia had its own pyramids; the remains of 223 can still be seen today. Ancient Egypt’s 25th Dynasty, also known as the Black Dynasty because of the dark skin of the Nubian pharaohs, was a period of stability and prosperity, with much emphasis on culture and the arts.^[10]

The kingdom had its own written language and culture, and the region was rich in gold. Nubia had their own symbols of kingship, but their influence was over when Pharaoh Sneferu raided Nubia and established it as an outpost for mineral extraction. Far from being a land of status, it became a region of Egypt under the pharaoh’s control.

The Nubian people largely assimilated into the Egyptian population, though archaeological evidence of their civilization remains. Like the Egyptians, they favored carved images of themselves, though they did, at times, like to portray themselves as overweight.

To each his own.

1 Norte Chico Civilization
3500–1800 BC

The Norte Chico Civilization is one of mystery. To date, very little is known about this pre-Columbian society in Peru, which is possibly the oldest known civilization in the Americas.

Evidence of huge constructions, including pyramids, and the remains of complex irrigation systems have been found, but there is little to show how people lived their daily lives. To date, six pyramids have been discovered, the largest of which is known as Piramide Mayor. Though not as elaborate as the later Inca architecture, the pyramids were still complex structures.

Norte Chico settlements were situated north of modern-day Lima. It is interesting that Norte Chico is one of the few civilizations at that time which did not appear to know how to make pottery, as there have been no such artifacts discovered at the sites. It is believed that they used gourds instead, which would have been of limited use in cooking food.^[11]

To date, few examples of art or decoration have been found on their artifacts, though there does seem to have been some belief in a deity, though it is not possible as yet to say what form their beliefs took.

The settlements were abandoned sometime around 1800 BC, but it is not yet clear why. There is no evidence that they were ever involved in war or conflict, nor that they were hit by a natural disaster. The settlements were centered around three main rivers, so it it possible that a prolonged drought caused the population to migrate elsewhere, but this cannot be proved.

So the mystery remains.

Ward Hazell is a writer who travels, and an occasional travel writer.

While there’s no official definition of the term ‘Bronze Age’, it generally refers to the period between the Stone and Iron ages. It was a pivotal era in human history, as most early advances crucial for civilization – like writing and the wheel – were made during this time, thanks to prominent civilizations and cultures like the Sumerians, Assyrians, Akkadians, and many others. It wasn’t all happy times, either, as the Bronze Age also gave birth to powerful armies backed by newfound metal weapons and military tactics. 

10. Nuragic Civilization

The Nuragic civilization on the Mediterranean island of Sardinia originated from prehistoric Neolithic settlements around 7000-1600 BC. It was an indigenous, autonomous culture that we know little about due to their lack of written language, though we know that the island had a history of human settlement thousands of years before that.

A characteristic feature of the Nuragic civilization was their construction of nuraghi towers – circular stone structures that could reach heights of over 90 feet. We don’t exactly know what they were used for, though going by their shape and structure, they could have been homes, fortresses, or even observatories. 

Their eventual decline has been attributed to various possible factors, including foreign invasions, changing ecosystems, and technological advances in nearby regions that rendered Nuragic technology obsolete. 

9. Akkadian Empire

Also referred to as one of the first empires in history, the Akkadian Empire was an ancient Mesopotamian civilization founded around 2350 BC by an emperor called Sargon. It was a historical shift for the region, unifying the indigenous Akkadian-speaking Semites and Sumerian speakers under a single rule for the first time. At its peak, the Akkadian Empire controlled vast territories across ancient Mesopotamia, parts of Iran, and the Levant. 

Throughout this time, trade routes flourished across the region, connecting emerging markets with resources from places like Anatolia’s silver mines and Afghanistan’s lapis lazuli mines. All of this was supported by an interconnected network of agricultural farms in northern Mesopotamia, protected by a network of fortresses.

Ultimately, the empire fell to the Gutian invasion of 2150 BC, leading to a period of regional decline, famine, and drought across Mesopotamia. 

8. Canaan

Canaan refers to the historical region in the Levant region centered in modern-day Palestine, along with the territories of present-day Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and Israel. The origin of its name is still debated, with theories suggesting connections to the biblical grandson of Noah, the purple dye trade flourishing in the region at the time, or even philosophical concepts of order and chaos. Regardless of its name, however, there’s little doubt that it was a distinct civilization with its own culture. 

Archaeological evidence traces human settlement in the area all the way back to the Paleolithic Age, particularly around Jericho – one of the world’s oldest urban centers. Cities of Canaan began to flourish during the early Bronze Age, as Canaanites established trade routes with civilizations across the region, especially Egypt. Canaan was also one of the most-affected civilizations during the mysterious Bronze Age Collapse, directly leading to the rise of the Hebrews and the kingdoms of Israel and Judah.

7. Shang Dynasty

Modern historians recognize the Shang dynasty as the earliest confirmed Chinese dynasty based on documentary and archaeological evidence. It existed in the north-Chinese plains from around 1600 BC to 1046 BC, though its exact founding and ending dates vary among sources. The Dynasty is still remembered for its contributions to Bronze-Age Chinese civilization, especially in bronze craftsmanship that gave them a distinct strategic advantage in warfare.

The Shang’s origins could be traced back to the overthrow of the mythical Xia dynasty. Archaeological excavations at Anyang in present-day Henan Province have revealed numerous bones and bronze artifacts from the era. Thanks to that, we now know that the Shang society had a functioning, well-defined social hierarchy, with kings serving sacred, often-ritualistic roles while a council of advisers managed the kingdom’s day-to-day affairs.

6. New Kingdom Of Egypt

The New Kingdom of Egypt flourished from around 1550 to 1070 BC. It was a pivotal era in ancient-Egyptian history, marked by imperial expansion, memorable pharaoh kings, and cultural achievements that had an influence on many future civilizations around the world. This period is also sometimes called ‘Imperial Egypt’ due to its similarity to the empires of the future. 

The New Kingdom era gave birth to some of the most well-known Egyptian pharaohs today, including Hatshepsut, Akhenaten, Tutankhamun, and Ramesses II. It was also the first time the term ‘pharaoh’ was used to refer to Egyptian kings. It’s the most well-documented period of Egyptian history, thanks to literacy, foreign diplomacy, and trade relations that proliferated during this time. As Egypt interacted with other nations, written contracts, treaties, and letters between rulers became essential, resulting in the extensive written records from the period we can still access today. 

5. Oxus Civilization

The Oxus civilization – or the Bactria–Margiana Archaeological Complex, based on early terminology surrounding the research site in the former Soviet Union and Afghanistan – existed from around 2300 to 1700 BC. It was spread across a vast region spanning modern-day north Afghanistan, east Turkmenistan, south Uzbekistan, and west Tajikistan, predominantly along the upper Amu Darya or Oxus River. 

While we don’t know much about this civilization, we know that at its peak, the BMAC featured sprawling urban centers, fortified structures, advanced pottery, and sophisticated craftsmanship in tools and jewelry. It was primarily a desert society existing in the harsh climate of the Karakum Desert, as they relied on ancient oasis agriculture for sustenance. Despite these challenges, however, they developed extensive irrigation systems for wheat and barley cultivation and raised livestock on a large scale.

4. Minoan Civilization

Also sometimes referred to as one of the earliest Western European civilizations, the Minoan Civilization was a Middle Bronze Age culture founded sometime around 2000 BC on the Greek island of Crete. The Minoans were known for their unique art, architecture, and cultural influence across the Aegean, forming the basis for ancient Greece, Rome, and many more western civilizations to follow. 

The Minoan civilization featured elaborate palace complexes, vibrant, giant frescoes, intricate gold jewelry, and pottery made with advanced techniques for the time. The term ‘Minoan’ was coined by Sir Arthur Evans – an archaeologist that made groundbreaking discoveries at Knossos between 1900 and 1905, proving the existence of an advanced Cretan culture we didn’t know about until that time. Interestingly, the ruins showed no signs of military fortifications, suggesting a culture of relative peace among its communities. 

3. Gojoseon

While we don’t know exactly when it was founded, the Gojoseon dynasty had turned into an important early-Korean kingdom by the fourth century BC. According to some instances in Korean mythology, it was established in 2333 BCE by Dangun Wanggeom – a mythical king born from a god and a bear-turned-woman. While we’re not sure about the legitimacy of this claim, Dangun’s birthdate is still celebrated as National Foundation Day in South Korea.

Gojoseon is believed to have formed through alliances of small fortified towns in the Daedong and Liao River basins, likely beginning in the seventh century BC and solidifying around the fourth century BC. It marked an advanced cultural period in the early history of the Korean Peninsula, setting the stage for more centralized states in later periods. Still, many aspects of this society remain a mystery due to lack of records, like its precise status as a state, the location of its capital, and the true extent of its territorial power.

2. Assyrian Empire

Assyria was a major Semitic kingdom in the ancient Near East that existed as an independent state from about 2500 BC to 604 BC. Situated in the northern Mesopotamian region covering modern-day northern Iraq, northeastern Syria, and southeastern Turkey, it reached its peak during the Neo-Assyrian period from 911 BC to 612 BC, covering a vast territory from the Mediterranean to Persia, and from the Caucasus Mountains to Egypt. 

Assyria was an important Bronze Age civilization known for its technological advancements across the known world, including the use of bronze – and later iron – for weaponry and the development of an extensive road network. The Assyrian society was heavily militarized, with mandatory military service for free male citizens.

1. Sumer

Another strong contender for the earliest civilization in history, Sumer was founded between 4500 and 4000 BC in the southernmost region of Mesopotamia between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. It began with the arrival of the Ubaid people, bringing their knowledge of agriculture, trade, and craftsmanship – including metalwork, pottery, and weaving – with them. These advancements would give rise to one of the greatest and most-influential early civilizations – by 3300 BCE, the Sumerians had established themselves as the dominant culture in the region.

Sumer thrived as a collection of monarchist city states, including Uruk, Ur, and Nippur, with each city worshiping its own deity. The Sumerians were known for their contributions to language, notably the invention of cuneiform writing that allowed extensive record-keeping and the creation of the earliest known laws. Their art and architecture was also advanced for the time, with grand religious structures, ziggurats, and intricate sculptures found across the major cities of the civilization.