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Throughout the course of human history, great civilizations have been built, thrived, and declined. Many of these have been well documented by historians, and later civilizations have been able to track their rise and fall. But some seem to have suddenly disappeared. Some civilizations left clues as to what caused their demise, while the loss of others remains a mystery. Here are some of these puzzling lost civilizations.
The Maya
c. 800
Ygunza/FPG
At its height, the Maya empire extended throughout the Yucatán Peninsula, modern-day Guatemala, Belize, and parts of Mexico, making it one of the most dominant civilizations of its time. The Maya were quite advanced, demonstrating remarkable engineering skills and employing complex mathematics. The civilization appeared unable to sustain itself and experienced a dramatic decline about 900 CE. Archeologists now believe that the Maya were victims of ongoing war coupled with climate change t
A central ceremonial plaza provided the nucleus of a Mississippian town, and each settlement had one or more pyramidal or oval earth mounds, surmounted by a temple or chief’s residence, grouped around the plaza. This settlement pattern was typical of most of Middle America (central and southern Mexico and Guatemala) since as early as 850 bce, but it had not diffused into North America until the advent of the Mississippian culture. The scale of public works in the Mississippian culture can be estimated from the largest of the earthworks, Monks Mound, in the Cahokia Mounds near Collinsville, Illinois, which is approximately 1,000 feet (300 metres) long, 700 feet (200 metres) wide, and 100 feet (30 metres) high. The magnitude of such public works and the distribution of temples suggest a dominant religious cult and a cadre of priest-rulers who could command the services of a large, stable, and docile population, as well as several artist-craftsman guilds.
Cahokia Mounds reservations now available
March 4, 2021
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COLLINSVILLE Visitors to Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site are reminded to make advance reservations if they wish to tour the site’s Interpretive Center.
Visitors should call 618-346-5160 to schedule an appointment time for free admission to the Cahokia Mounds Interpretive Center. Appointment times are available each Thursday through Sunday beginning at 9 a.m. with the last appointment time at 4 p.m.
Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site grounds are open seven days a week from dawn until dusk.
Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site, operated by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, is in Collinsville off Interstate 55-70 (Exit 6) and Interstate 255 (Exit 24) on Collinsville Road.
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We tend to think of the United States as the home of all things bright, shiny and new, not a land of ancient cultures and archaeological sites that fascinate history buffs and experts alike.
That’s what happens when one operates on assumptions and misinformation, instead of truths and cold, hard facts – we end up with metaphorical egg on our faces.
In fact, there are several places in America that rival some of the most important archaeological sites in Greece and Rome. Sites that are truly ancient.
Sites that date back thousands of years. Sites that continue to offer insights and valuable information to the folks who study America’s geographic development, as well as the country’s Native populations who lived there long before Columbus crossed the Atlantic from Europe.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
The long-haul migration undertaken by some of the first Americans can be seen in the common language, Athabaskan, shared by the people who settled in Alaska and northwestern Canada about 7000 BCE and the Apaches and Navajos of the southwestern United States. The warming climate and topographical diversity of North America after the Ice Age contributed to the development of a wide variety of cultures and lifestyle among these. Wait a minute. What should these folks be called?
First Americans: Nomenclature
The Smithsonian Institution s National Museum of the American Indian emphasizes the transmission of contemporary native cultural practices as well as those from the past.