We’ve only known about the Minoans for about a hundred years, which isn’t a lot of time to unravel much of their mysteries. They laid the groundwork for the study of the night sky, but left when the region became too arid to support the people. Nearly 11,000 years ago, these people were creating stone circles that helped diagram the stars. Likely the same group that would later found Egypt and major civilizations in the Mesopotamia region, architects and astronomers were certainly among these early geniuses. Climate change or assimilation is decreed to be the downfall of the Cucuteni-Trypillian arsonists. They then would build atop the ashes a new place, which would be put to the torch a few generations later. Neolithic humans who enjoyed patterned pottery, they also would burn their entire village to the ground every 60 to 80 years. The Cucuteni-Trypillian People View in gallery via A sophisticated city, why its unusual architects left, never to create another like it is anyone’s guess. No roads or pathways mark the city, as has been the custom, because each home was entered by ladder or climbing hole placed in the roof. The reason this city is notable is because it is built like a hive.
Known to many as “the world’s oldest city,” this is the capital of a larger group that lived in lower Turkey. The first major empire to convert to Christianity, they had a developed alphabet, and liked to build obelisks, like the Obelisk of Axum, which stands today. Both these immense bodies traded heavily with the largely unknown Aksumites. The Roman Empire largely worked with the other major superpower of the time, the Indian Empire. The best guess as to what became of these chiselers is that they used up too many resources and had to abandon their homeland for, literally, greener pastures. Clearly artists and artisans of grand skill they were also capable of island hopping around treacherous waters, proving they were nimble atop the sea. Rapa Nui View in gallery via Ĭapable of building impressive heads (Moai) that are attached to immense stone bodies, the Rapa Nui are better known as the Eastern Islanders. How they declined is an unknown quantity, though invasion, regional earthquakes, or civil unrest.
Popping up in southern Greece around 1600 BCE, the Mycenaeans were known to be a powerful naval force and adept traders.
The best guesses point to climate change and internecine warfare. What isn’t precisely clear is why this powerhouse fell. Mayans View in gallery via įormer pride of the Yucatán with massive structures spreading across the land from Mexico into South America, there’s quite a bit known of Mayan teachings, as their complex calendar, mathematics, and engineering systems can still be seen in the scientific community. Existing largely around the 12th century, BCE, the Anasazi didn’t disappear so much as suddenly leave their homeland in the 12th and 13th centuries, CE. The name is commonly known, particularly in the southwest where many small cliff dwellings are carved out of the living mountain. Currently, there is some debate, as new relics have been found that pre-date the Clovis. All we know of them are a set of stone tools found in New Mexico. Historically thought to be the oldest culture in North America, the Clovis have no written records, which is the only reason they don’t throw all of us out for trespassing. The Thai people then claimed it, turning it into Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar, and other regions of Southeast Asia. Sprawling and grand, Khmer died from overfarming, war, and droughts that caused scarcity of resources. The Khmer is a vast area that encapsulates what is now Angkor Wat, but was once the metropolis of Angkor. The foundation of nearly all Mesoamerican culture, natural disaster or possibly their own reckless form of agriculture doomed them. They managed to determine the number “0,” a concept that was groundbreaking mathematics for the time. Though vicious, they also managed to invent a written language, potentially predating the Phoenicians. Once residing in the tropical region of Mexico, the Olmec were a nasty group who tended to favor human sacrifice and bloodletting. They are the 19 most mysterious civilizations the world has ever known. These are entire groups that rose, and often fell, leaving indelible marks on history, and more than a little confusion about them.
These forgotten pockets of humankind exist in every proverbial corner of our planet.
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