It might be quite disturbing to know that there are so many civilizations that have disappeared without leaving back a single trace.
There are stories of whole nations getting wiped off.
And currently it is interesting to try to understand about how that happened.
We have no idea how revolutions took place in these civilizations.
Most of these ancient civilizations that disappeared had a very rich history and culture.
So, I have listen down 26 ancient civilizations that disappeared without a trace:
1. The Maya:
The maya people migrated to the Central America by the early 1800 BC.
We know them widely for the pyramid temples that they built.
At the same time agriculture was a major part of their society.
They invented the calendars that we used to make newer calendars.
Archaeologists have also found ruins of pottery, paintings and stone structures.
However, their ancient cities are now in ruins.
Even though there are still small groups of people in the Central American, most of their ancient knowledge is lost.
2. Indus Valley Civilization:
Also called as the Harappan Civilization, Indus Valley civilization was one of the biggest ancient one’s in the world that disappeared without a trace.
This lost civilization used to be located in the Modern day India, Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan.
However, the only remains that we have of these cities are brick hives of houses.
People believe that the residents left the cities at around 3000 years ago. This city was one of the most intricate societies of that period.
3.Easter Island:
When Europeans reached the Island first, they believed that these huge Moai’s were made my thousands of people.
But after enough research, archeologists found out that the Rapa Nui people consisted only 3000 people.
Although there are still ancient people of Rapa Nui civilization in various parts of Hawaii, Chile and other nearby places.
Archaeologists believe that they abandoned the island after they recklessly used up all the trees.
They moved on because the resources wasn’t enough to sustain them.
4. Catalhöyük:
Among one of the most ancient civilizations that were lost is Catalhöyük.
It was a very large ancient settlement in the Southern Anatolia.
It probably lasted 7500 BC -5700 BC. Listed as one of the UNESCO World Heritage sites, this is one of the most unique civilizations.
They built underground houses and used ladders in order to climb up to the surface.
The houses were linked to one another. People also think that it was a matriarchal society due to large number of female deities recorded.
5. Cahokia:
Among the civilizations that disappeared without a trace, Cahokia is one of the oldest one’s.
UNESCO also declared it as one of the world heritage sites.
The civilization mostly lasted in around 600BC. Although archeologists found no written records.
But, it is visible in the site that the cities were very well planned and organized.
6. Göbekli Tepe:
Another lost ancient civilization is Göbekli Tepe.
This which dates back to 10th-8th Millennium BCE situated in Anatolia region of Turkey.
The T-shaped pillars found in the sites are one of the oldest ruins found in the world.
However, we still don’t understand the function of these pillars found on the site.
It is definitely an interesting one, and one of the oldest one’s. There is a lot of mystery around their settlement. So, try to learn more about it.
7. Angkor Wat:
Angkor wat is one of the most popular destinations of tourists in Cambodia.
This ancient civilization flourished from 9th to 15th centuries.
The residents of Angkor wat had abandoned the place during the late 14th century.
There are many theories on the reason why these people left the city.
However, some of the major reasons might have been natural disasters, internal wars, looting, political neglect and so on.
8.Firozkoh or The Turquoise Mountain:
This is one of the ancient cities in Afghanistan. This lost capital of Ghurid dynasty was destroyed by Tolui, the son of Genghis Khan.
This ancient city was the trading centre for Jewish community.
The hold of the Taliban in the location was broken during 2001.
After which the looters hunted the place for ancient jwelleries.
Currently the people sell those stolen things in markets of Kabul, Tehran and Herat.
This is another ancestral city in the Southern part of Jordan.
The earliest settlement that archeologists record in this place is from 9000 BC.
Earthquakes around the place was probably the major reason for the empire collapse.
Along with that the Roman rule had significantly reduces the population of the place.
However, the city is now in ruins. There has been much research to find out about the people and culture of this ancient lost civilization that has no trace.
