Civilizations - A historical perspective
One World, Many Civilizations
According to time, place and circumstances, various civilizations took birth in various parts of the world. They grew to the peak of their glory and then declined and went into oblivion. Following are some of the civilizations that the world has seen in last five thousand years.
African and Eurasian Civilizations of The "Old World"
Vedic civilization 3000 BC - present
Sumer 3000–2334 BC
Indus Valley and the Indian subcontinent 3200–1700 BC
Ancient Egypt 3200–343 BC
Elamite (Iran) (2700–539 BC)
Canaan (Mediterranean ) (2350 BC -100 AD)
China 2200 BC–present
Greece 2000 BC–present
Korea c. 900 BC - present
Etruscans and Ancient Rome 900BC-500AD
Persia (Iran)(550 B.C -- 650 A.D)
Norte Chico 3000-1600 BC South America
Olmec (Mesoamerican) (New World) 1200–450 BC
Sumer 3000–2334 BC
Indus Valley and the Indian subcontinent 3200–1700 BC
Ancient Egypt 3200–343 BC
Elamite (Iran) (2700–539 BC)
Canaan (Mediterranean ) (2350 BC -100 AD)
China 2200 BC–present
Greece 2000 BC–present
Korea c. 900 BC - present
Etruscans and Ancient Rome 900BC-500AD
Persia (Iran)(550 B.C -- 650 A.D)
Norte Chico 3000-1600 BC South America
Olmec (Mesoamerican) (New World) 1200–450 BC
Prehistoric Civilizations
Since the days of Plato there has been the suggestion at different times that there were in fact a number of additional ancient civilizations that disappeared. These include:
Atlantis: first spoken of by Plato, further supported by Ignatius L. Donnelly, and now part of the New Age movement.
Lemuria
Mu (Pacific)
Atlantis: first spoken of by Plato, further supported by Ignatius L. Donnelly, and now part of the New Age movement.
Lemuria
Mu (Pacific)
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Look back over the past, with its changing empires that rose and fell, and you can foresee the future, too. |
Civilizations evolved independently, in many different places, at different times throughout the history. Karl Jaspers, the German historical philosopher, proposed that the ancient civilizations were affected greatly by an Axial Age in the period between 600 BCE-400 BCE during which a series of sages, prophets, religious reformers and philosophers, from India, China, Iran, Israel and Greece, changed the direction of civilizations forever.
Civilizations affected by these developments include
Mediterranean Civilizations of the Classical Period
Ancient Greece and Hellenic civilization
The Roman Empire
Phoenicia
Second Temple Judaism
Middle Eastern Civilizations
Iranian Civilization since the Archaemenids
Islamic Civilizations
Georgian and Armenian Civilizations
Indian Hindu and Buddhist Civilizations
Mauryan and Post-Mauryan Indian Civilization
Gupta Empire in North India
Chola Empire in South India
Civilizations of ancient Ceylon
East Asian Civilizations
The Mandarinate of Chinese Civilization
Pre-modern Korean Civilization
Pre-modern Vietnamese Civilization
Japanese Civilization
Civilizations affected by these developments include
Mediterranean Civilizations of the Classical Period
Ancient Greece and Hellenic civilization
The Roman Empire
Phoenicia
Second Temple Judaism
Middle Eastern Civilizations
Iranian Civilization since the Archaemenids
Islamic Civilizations
Georgian and Armenian Civilizations
Indian Hindu and Buddhist Civilizations
Mauryan and Post-Mauryan Indian Civilization
Gupta Empire in North India
Chola Empire in South India
Civilizations of ancient Ceylon
East Asian Civilizations
The Mandarinate of Chinese Civilization
Pre-modern Korean Civilization
Pre-modern Vietnamese Civilization
Japanese Civilization
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"If a path to the better there be, it begins with a full look at the worst," |
The Civilizations of South East Asia
Funan and Chen-la
Angkor Cambodia
Sri Vijaya, Shailendra and Majapahit Civilizations
Burmese, Thai and Lao Civilizations
Central Asian Civilization
Tibetan Civilization
Turkic and Mongol Civilizations
European Civilizations
Western Christendom
Byzantium and Eastern Orthodox Christendom
Russian and Ukrainian Civilization
Planetary Industrial World Civilization
Since the voyages of discovery by European explorers of the 15th and 16th century, another development has occurred whereby European forms of government, industry, commerce and culture have spread from Western Europe, to the Americas, South Africa, Australia, and through colonial empires, to the rest of the planet. Today it would appear that we are all parts of a planetary industrial world civilization, divided between many nations and languages.
Funan and Chen-la
Angkor Cambodia
Sri Vijaya, Shailendra and Majapahit Civilizations
Burmese, Thai and Lao Civilizations
Central Asian Civilization
Tibetan Civilization
Turkic and Mongol Civilizations
European Civilizations
Western Christendom
Byzantium and Eastern Orthodox Christendom
Russian and Ukrainian Civilization
Planetary Industrial World Civilization
Since the voyages of discovery by European explorers of the 15th and 16th century, another development has occurred whereby European forms of government, industry, commerce and culture have spread from Western Europe, to the Americas, South Africa, Australia, and through colonial empires, to the rest of the planet. Today it would appear that we are all parts of a planetary industrial world civilization, divided between many nations and languages.
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Dr. Patel: They say, sir, that the Aryan civilization, cradle of Aryan civilization near the North Pole, is somewhere in Russia. From there they started transmigrating. People went to Europe, from there to America, then south down to Iran, and then to India and all that. When they have such extreme cold they were able to civilize themselves to that extent. |
Cradle of Civilization
The cradle of civilization is any of the possible locations for the emergence of civilization. Following were the places where civilizations developed.
Near East
India
Mesopotamia.
Egypt
China
The Americas
South America
Mesoamerica
Near East
India
Mesopotamia.
Egypt
China
The Americas
South America
Mesoamerica
Collapse of Civilization
Civilization collapse is the large scale breakdown or long term decline of the culture, civil institutions or other major characteristics of a society or a civilization, temporarily or permanently. The breakdown of cultural and social institutions is perhaps the most common feature of collapse. Societies may not end or die when they collapse. Instead, they may adapt and be born anew. Collapse may also result in a degree of empowerment for the most disenfranchised sections of the collapsing society.
The most common factors contributing to the collapse of society are environmental, social and cultural. Usually civilization collapse results from the convergence of all three factors, but in many instances one factor may be the dominant cause. In many cases a natural disaster (e.g. tsunami, earthquake, massive fire) may wreak such havoc on a culture that it can no longer sustain itself through past social processes and it undergoes massive change. In other instances significant inequity in the social structure may result in the lower classes rising up and taking power from a smaller wealthy elite. Civilization collapse may occur over a relatively short period of time, or as a result of an event or series of events which lead to significant depopulation (e.g. natural disaster, war, genocide, famine, pandemic). The groups which comprise a society may also make a deliberate or voluntary decision to disperse or relocate which in effect amounts to the “collapse” of that society, or presents to later archaeologists or researchers as a collapse.
Civilization collapse has recurred throughout history and is an aspect of the human condition which may await all human societies.
The most common factors contributing to the collapse of society are environmental, social and cultural. Usually civilization collapse results from the convergence of all three factors, but in many instances one factor may be the dominant cause. In many cases a natural disaster (e.g. tsunami, earthquake, massive fire) may wreak such havoc on a culture that it can no longer sustain itself through past social processes and it undergoes massive change. In other instances significant inequity in the social structure may result in the lower classes rising up and taking power from a smaller wealthy elite. Civilization collapse may occur over a relatively short period of time, or as a result of an event or series of events which lead to significant depopulation (e.g. natural disaster, war, genocide, famine, pandemic). The groups which comprise a society may also make a deliberate or voluntary decision to disperse or relocate which in effect amounts to the “collapse” of that society, or presents to later archaeologists or researchers as a collapse.
Civilization collapse has recurred throughout history and is an aspect of the human condition which may await all human societies.
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Surely the only sound foundation for a civilization is a sound state of mind. |
Manifestations of Civilization Collapse
Civilization collapse occurs in one of two ways:
1. Its adaptive capacity is reduced by social complexity, leading to a destabilization of social institutions and eventual massive shifts in population and social dynamics. In nearly all cases civilizations revert to less complex, less centralized and a more simple technological or socio-political forms. Examples of such societal collapse are: the Hittite Empire, the Mycenaean civilization, the Western Roman Empire, the Mauryan and Gupta states of India, the Mayas, the Angkor in Cambodia, and the Han and Tang dynasties in China.
Collapse By The First Method
Sumer
Hittite Empire
Mycenaean Greece
The Neo-Assyrian Empire
Indus Valley Civilization
Mauryan and Gupta states
Angkor civilization of the Khmer Empire
Han and Tang Dynasty of China
Anasazi
Etruscans
Western Roman Empire
Izapa
Maya
Munhumutapa Empire
Olmec
1. Its adaptive capacity is reduced by social complexity, leading to a destabilization of social institutions and eventual massive shifts in population and social dynamics. In nearly all cases civilizations revert to less complex, less centralized and a more simple technological or socio-political forms. Examples of such societal collapse are: the Hittite Empire, the Mycenaean civilization, the Western Roman Empire, the Mauryan and Gupta states of India, the Mayas, the Angkor in Cambodia, and the Han and Tang dynasties in China.
Collapse By The First Method
Sumer
Hittite Empire
Mycenaean Greece
The Neo-Assyrian Empire
Indus Valley Civilization
Mauryan and Gupta states
Angkor civilization of the Khmer Empire
Han and Tang Dynasty of China
Anasazi
Etruscans
Western Roman Empire
Izapa
Maya
Munhumutapa Empire
Olmec
“Formerly, great civilizations flourished by promoting theistic values. The Vedic civilization of India is an example. It organized society in such a way that the citizens could take care of life's ordinary requirements with minimum anxiety. At the same time it encouraged people to concentrate on spiritual principles that might be considered esoteric in modern life.”
- Sthita-dhi-muni dasa
2. It may be gradually incorporated into a more dynamic, more complex inter-regional social structure. This happened in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, the Levantine cultures, the Eastern Roman Empire, the Mughal and Delhi Sultanates in India, Sung China, the Aztec and Inca cultures in Mesoamerica, and the modern civilizations of China, Japan, and India as well as many modern states in the Middle East and Africa.
Collapse By The Second Method
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Babylonia
Ancient Levant
Classical Greece
Eastern Roman Empire (Medieval Greek) of the Byzantines
Modern North East Asian civilizations, Hindu and Mughal
India
Chin, Sung, Mongol and Manchu China
Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan
Aztecs and Incas
Apart from these two methods, Societal collapse may also manifests itself in various other ways:
Collapse By The Second Method
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Babylonia
Ancient Levant
Classical Greece
Eastern Roman Empire (Medieval Greek) of the Byzantines
Modern North East Asian civilizations, Hindu and Mughal
India
Chin, Sung, Mongol and Manchu China
Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan
Aztecs and Incas
Apart from these two methods, Societal collapse may also manifests itself in various other ways:
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We shall require a substantially new manner of thinking if mankind is to survive. |
Complex societies stratified on the basis of class, gender, race or some other salient factor become much more homogeneous or horizontally structured. In many cases past social stratification slowly becomes irrelevant following collapse and societies become more egalitarian.
One of the most characteristic features of complex civilizations (and in many cases the yardstick to measure complexity) is a high level of job specialization. The most complex societies are characterized by artisans and tradespeople who specialize intensely in a given task. Indeed, the rulers of many past societies were hyper-specialized priests or priestesses who were completely supported by the work of the lower classes. During societal collapse the social institutions supporting such specialization are removed and people tend to become more generalized in their work and daily habits.
As power becomes decentralized people tend to be more self-regimented and have many more personal freedoms. In many instances of collapse there is a slackening of social rules and etiquette. Geographically speaking, communities become more parochial or isolated. For example, following the collapse of the Mayan civilization many Maya returned to their traditional hamlets, moving away from the large cities that had been the epicenters of the empire.
One of the most characteristic features of complex civilizations (and in many cases the yardstick to measure complexity) is a high level of job specialization. The most complex societies are characterized by artisans and tradespeople who specialize intensely in a given task. Indeed, the rulers of many past societies were hyper-specialized priests or priestesses who were completely supported by the work of the lower classes. During societal collapse the social institutions supporting such specialization are removed and people tend to become more generalized in their work and daily habits.
As power becomes decentralized people tend to be more self-regimented and have many more personal freedoms. In many instances of collapse there is a slackening of social rules and etiquette. Geographically speaking, communities become more parochial or isolated. For example, following the collapse of the Mayan civilization many Maya returned to their traditional hamlets, moving away from the large cities that had been the epicenters of the empire.
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What do they know? Great civilizations were existing on this earth hundreds of thousands of years ago. They are thinking that everything begins with them, with cavemen or monkeys. But in ages past, Maharaj Bharat ruled the entire world, and there were great civilizations everywhere. Who can deny that Sanskrit is the mother of languages? So-called scholars are simply concocting nonsense, proposing theories. Their business is: ‘You propose a theory, and I propose a greater theory.' But Bhagavad-gita is not theory. It is a fact. |
Institutions, processes, and artifacts are all manifest in the archaeological record in abundance in large civilizations. After collapse, types of artifacts left or evidence of institutions changes dramatically as people are forced to adopt more self-sufficient lifestyles.
Societal collapse is almost always associated with a decline in population densities. In extreme cases, the collapse in population is so severe that the society disappears entirely, such as happened with the Greenland Vikings, or a number of Polynesian islands. In less extreme cases, populations are reduced until a demographic balance is reestablished between human societies and the depleted natural environment. A classic example is the case of ancient Rome which had a population of about 1.5 million during the reign of Trajan, but had only 15,000 inhabitants by the 9th century.
Societal collapse is almost always associated with a decline in population densities. In extreme cases, the collapse in population is so severe that the society disappears entirely, such as happened with the Greenland Vikings, or a number of Polynesian islands. In less extreme cases, populations are reduced until a demographic balance is reestablished between human societies and the depleted natural environment. A classic example is the case of ancient Rome which had a population of about 1.5 million during the reign of Trajan, but had only 15,000 inhabitants by the 9th century.
Models of Civilization Collapse
According to Joseph Tainter, in his book The Collapse of Complex Societies (1990), societies that inevitably collapse adhere to one or more of the following three models in the face of collapse:
1. Dinosaur Model: The best example is a large scale society in which resources are being depleted at an exponential rate and yet nothing is done to rectify the problem because the ruling elite are unwilling or unable to adapt to said changes. In such examples rulers tend to oppose any solutions that diverge from their present course of action. They will favor intensification and commit an increasing number of resources to their present plans, projects and social institutions.
2. Runaway Train Model: An example would be a society that only functions when growth is present. Societies based almost exclusively on acquisition, including pillage or exploitation, cannot be sustained indefinitely. The society of the Assyrians and the Mongols, for example, both fractured and collapsed when no new conquests were forthcoming. Tainter argues that Capitalism can be seen as an example of the Runaway Train model as it requires whole economies, individual sectors, and companies to constantly grow on a three month basis. Current methods of resource extraction and food production may be unsustainable, however, the philosophy of consumerism and planned obsolescence encourage the purchase of an ever increasing number of goods and services to sustain the economy.
3. House of Cards Model: In this aspect of Tainter’s model societies that grow to be so large and include so many complex social institutions that they are inherently unstable and prone to collapse.
Let us take an example of Easter Island to see how these factors operate in disintegrating a civilization. These factors do not necessarily act independently. Usually they are interconnected occurrences that reinforce each other. For example, leaders on Easter Island saw a rapid decline of trees but ruled out change (Dinosaur model). Timber was used as rollers to transport and erect large statues called moai as a form of religious reverence to their ancestors. Reverence was believed to result in a more prosperous future. It gave the people an impetus to intensify moai production (i.e. Runaway Train model). Easter Island also has a fragile ecosystem because of its isolated location (i.e. House of Cards model). Deforestation led to soil erosion and insufficient resources to build boats for fishing or tools for hunting. Competition for dwindling resources resulted in warfare and many casualties. Together these events led to the collapse of the civilization.
1. Dinosaur Model: The best example is a large scale society in which resources are being depleted at an exponential rate and yet nothing is done to rectify the problem because the ruling elite are unwilling or unable to adapt to said changes. In such examples rulers tend to oppose any solutions that diverge from their present course of action. They will favor intensification and commit an increasing number of resources to their present plans, projects and social institutions.
2. Runaway Train Model: An example would be a society that only functions when growth is present. Societies based almost exclusively on acquisition, including pillage or exploitation, cannot be sustained indefinitely. The society of the Assyrians and the Mongols, for example, both fractured and collapsed when no new conquests were forthcoming. Tainter argues that Capitalism can be seen as an example of the Runaway Train model as it requires whole economies, individual sectors, and companies to constantly grow on a three month basis. Current methods of resource extraction and food production may be unsustainable, however, the philosophy of consumerism and planned obsolescence encourage the purchase of an ever increasing number of goods and services to sustain the economy.
3. House of Cards Model: In this aspect of Tainter’s model societies that grow to be so large and include so many complex social institutions that they are inherently unstable and prone to collapse.
Let us take an example of Easter Island to see how these factors operate in disintegrating a civilization. These factors do not necessarily act independently. Usually they are interconnected occurrences that reinforce each other. For example, leaders on Easter Island saw a rapid decline of trees but ruled out change (Dinosaur model). Timber was used as rollers to transport and erect large statues called moai as a form of religious reverence to their ancestors. Reverence was believed to result in a more prosperous future. It gave the people an impetus to intensify moai production (i.e. Runaway Train model). Easter Island also has a fragile ecosystem because of its isolated location (i.e. House of Cards model). Deforestation led to soil erosion and insufficient resources to build boats for fishing or tools for hunting. Competition for dwindling resources resulted in warfare and many casualties. Together these events led to the collapse of the civilization.
Toynbee’s Theory of Decay
The British historian Arnold J. Toynbee, in his 12-volume magnum opus A Study of History, theorized that all civilizations pass through several distinct stages: genesis, growth, time of troubles, universal state, and disintegration.
Toynbee argues that the breakdown of civilizations is not caused by loss of control over the environment, over the human environment, or attacks from outside. Rather, it comes from the deterioration of the “Creative Minority,” which eventually ceases to be creative and degenerates into merely a “Dominant Minority” (who forces the majority to obey without meriting obedience). He argues that creative minorities deteriorate due to a worship of their “former self,” by which they become prideful, and fail to adequately address the next challenge they face.
He argues that the ultimate sign a civilization has broken down is when the dominant minority forms a “Universal State,” which stifles political creativity. He states:
“First the Dominant Minority attempts to hold by force— against all right and reason—a position of inherited privilege which it has ceased to merit; and then the Proletariat repays injustice with resentment, fear with hate, and violence with violence when it executes its acts of secession. Yet the whole movement ends in positive acts of creation—and this on the part of all the actors in the tragedy of disintegration. The Dominant Minority creates a universal state, the Internal Proletariat a universal church, and the External Proletariat a bevy of barbarian war-bands.”
He argues that in this environment, people resort to archaism (idealization of the past), futurism (idealization of the future), detachment (removal of oneself from the realities of a decaying world), and transcendence (meeting the challenges of the decaying civilization with new insight, as a Prophet). He argues that those who Transcend during a period of social decay give birth to a new Church with new and stronger spiritual insights, around which a subsequent civilization may begin to form after the old has died.
Toynbee’s use of the word ‘church’ refers to the collective spiritual bond of a common worship, or the same unity found in some kind of social order.
Toynbee argues that the breakdown of civilizations is not caused by loss of control over the environment, over the human environment, or attacks from outside. Rather, it comes from the deterioration of the “Creative Minority,” which eventually ceases to be creative and degenerates into merely a “Dominant Minority” (who forces the majority to obey without meriting obedience). He argues that creative minorities deteriorate due to a worship of their “former self,” by which they become prideful, and fail to adequately address the next challenge they face.
He argues that the ultimate sign a civilization has broken down is when the dominant minority forms a “Universal State,” which stifles political creativity. He states:
“First the Dominant Minority attempts to hold by force— against all right and reason—a position of inherited privilege which it has ceased to merit; and then the Proletariat repays injustice with resentment, fear with hate, and violence with violence when it executes its acts of secession. Yet the whole movement ends in positive acts of creation—and this on the part of all the actors in the tragedy of disintegration. The Dominant Minority creates a universal state, the Internal Proletariat a universal church, and the External Proletariat a bevy of barbarian war-bands.”
He argues that in this environment, people resort to archaism (idealization of the past), futurism (idealization of the future), detachment (removal of oneself from the realities of a decaying world), and transcendence (meeting the challenges of the decaying civilization with new insight, as a Prophet). He argues that those who Transcend during a period of social decay give birth to a new Church with new and stronger spiritual insights, around which a subsequent civilization may begin to form after the old has died.
Toynbee’s use of the word ‘church’ refers to the collective spiritual bond of a common worship, or the same unity found in some kind of social order.
Lost Cities
lost cities were real, prosperous, well-populated areas of human habitation that fell into terminal decline and whose location was later lost. Most known lost cities have been studied extensively by scientists. Abandoned urban sites of relatively recent origin are generally referred to as ghost towns. This chapter however includes places where people lived that were important local centres, without applying a specific test of size.
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“There are many humorous things in the world; among them, the white man's notion that he is less savage than the other savages.” |
Lost cities generally fall into three broad categories: those whose disappearance has been so complete that no knowledge of the city existed until the time of its rediscovery and study, those whose location has been lost but whose memory has been retained in the context of myths and legends, and those whose existence and location have always been known, but which are no longer inhabited. The search for such lost cities by European adventurers in the Americas, Africa and in Southeast Asia from the 15th century onwards eventually led to the development of the science of archaeology.
Cities may become lost for a variety of reasons, including geographic, economic, social (e.g. war), others, or some combination of these.
Cities may become lost for a variety of reasons, including geographic, economic, social (e.g. war), others, or some combination of these.
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There is a song in the Bengali language which states, “I constructed this home for happiness, but unfortunately there was a fire, and everything has now been burnt to ashes.” This illustrates the nature of material happiness. Everyone knows it, but nonetheless one plans to hear or think something very pleasing. Unfortunately, all of one’s plans are annihilated in due course of time. There were many politicians who planned empires, supremacy and control of the world, but in due time all their plans and empires— and even the politicians themselves—were vanquished. Everyone should take lessons from Prahlada Maharaja about how we are engaged in so-called temporary happiness through bodily exercises for sense enjoyment. All of us repeatedly make plans, which are all repeatedly frustrated. |
Lost Cities By Continent
Lost Cities of Africa
Akhetaten, Egypt – Capital during the reign of 18th Dynasty pharaoh Akhenaten. Later abandoned and almost totally destroyed. Modern day el Amarna.
Canopus, Egypt – Located on the nowdry Canopic branch of the Nile, east of Alexandria.
Itjtawy, Egypt – Capital during the 12th Dynasty. Exact location still unknown, but it is believed to lie near the modern town of el-Lisht.
Tanis, Egypt – Capital during the 21st and 22nd Dynasties, in the Delta region.
Memphis, Egypt – Administrative capital of ancient Egypt. Little remains.
Avaris, capital city of the Hyksos in the Nile Delta.
Leptis Magna – Roman city located in present day Libya. It was the birthplace of Emperor Septimius Severus, who lavished an extensive public works programme on the city, including diverting the course of a nearby river. The river later returned to its original course, burying much of the city in silt and sand.
Dougga, Tunisia – Roman city located in present day Tunisia.
Carthage – Initially a Phoenician city, destroyed and then rebuilt by Rome. Later served as the capital of the Vandal Kingdom of North Africa, before being destroyed by the Arabs after its capture in AD 697.
Great Zimbabwe
Aoudaghost – Wealthy Berber city in medieval Ghana, sacked by mujahideen, location unknown.
Timgad - Roman city founded by the emperor Trajan around 100 AD, covered by the sand at 7th century.
Canopus, Egypt – Located on the nowdry Canopic branch of the Nile, east of Alexandria.
Itjtawy, Egypt – Capital during the 12th Dynasty. Exact location still unknown, but it is believed to lie near the modern town of el-Lisht.
Tanis, Egypt – Capital during the 21st and 22nd Dynasties, in the Delta region.
Memphis, Egypt – Administrative capital of ancient Egypt. Little remains.
Avaris, capital city of the Hyksos in the Nile Delta.
Leptis Magna – Roman city located in present day Libya. It was the birthplace of Emperor Septimius Severus, who lavished an extensive public works programme on the city, including diverting the course of a nearby river. The river later returned to its original course, burying much of the city in silt and sand.
Dougga, Tunisia – Roman city located in present day Tunisia.
Carthage – Initially a Phoenician city, destroyed and then rebuilt by Rome. Later served as the capital of the Vandal Kingdom of North Africa, before being destroyed by the Arabs after its capture in AD 697.
Great Zimbabwe
Aoudaghost – Wealthy Berber city in medieval Ghana, sacked by mujahideen, location unknown.
Timgad - Roman city founded by the emperor Trajan around 100 AD, covered by the sand at 7th century.
Lost Cities of Asia
Far East Asia
Yamatai – Japan.
Southeast Asia
Sukhothai
Ayutthaya
Angkor and surrounds
South Asia
Vijayanagar
Poompuhar – Located in South India
Mohenjodaro – Located in Pakistan Sindh
Harappa – Located in Pakistan Punjab
Taxila – Located in Pakistan’s Northwest Frontier Province
Muziris
Dwarka – ancient seat of Krishna, hero of the Mahabharata. Now largely excavated. Off the coast of the Indian state of Gujarat.
Central Asia
Abaskun – Medieval Caspian Sea trading port
Ani – Medieval Armenian capital
Harappa – early city part of the Indus Valley Civilization
Mohenjo Daro – early city part of the Indus Valley Civilization
Niya – Located in the Taklamakan Desert, on the ancient Silk Road route.
Loulan – Located in the Taklamakan Desert, on the ancient Silk Road route.
Subashi – Located in the Taklamakan Desert, on the ancient Silk Road route.
Otrar – City located along the Silk Road, important in the history of Central Asia.
Karakorum – Capital of Genghis Khan.
Old Urgench – Capital of Khwarezm.
Mangazeya, Siberia
Turquoise - Mountain Capital of Afghanistan, destroyed in 1220
Sarai - Capital of the Golden Horde
Western Asia/Middle East
Akkad
Babylon
Catalhöyük – A Neolithic and Chalcolithic settlement, located near the modern city of Konya, Turkey.
Choqa Zanbil
Ctesiphon
Iram of the Pillars – Lost Arabian city in the Empty Quarter.
Kourion, Cyprus
Hattusa – Capital of the Hittite Empire. Located near the modern village of Bodazköy in north-central Turkey.
Yamatai – Japan.
Southeast Asia
Sukhothai
Ayutthaya
Angkor and surrounds
South Asia
Vijayanagar
Poompuhar – Located in South India
Mohenjodaro – Located in Pakistan Sindh
Harappa – Located in Pakistan Punjab
Taxila – Located in Pakistan’s Northwest Frontier Province
Muziris
Dwarka – ancient seat of Krishna, hero of the Mahabharata. Now largely excavated. Off the coast of the Indian state of Gujarat.
Central Asia
Abaskun – Medieval Caspian Sea trading port
Ani – Medieval Armenian capital
Harappa – early city part of the Indus Valley Civilization
Mohenjo Daro – early city part of the Indus Valley Civilization
Niya – Located in the Taklamakan Desert, on the ancient Silk Road route.
Loulan – Located in the Taklamakan Desert, on the ancient Silk Road route.
Subashi – Located in the Taklamakan Desert, on the ancient Silk Road route.
Otrar – City located along the Silk Road, important in the history of Central Asia.
Karakorum – Capital of Genghis Khan.
Old Urgench – Capital of Khwarezm.
Mangazeya, Siberia
Turquoise - Mountain Capital of Afghanistan, destroyed in 1220
Sarai - Capital of the Golden Horde
Western Asia/Middle East
Akkad
Babylon
Catalhöyük – A Neolithic and Chalcolithic settlement, located near the modern city of Konya, Turkey.
Choqa Zanbil
Ctesiphon
Iram of the Pillars – Lost Arabian city in the Empty Quarter.
Kourion, Cyprus
Hattusa – Capital of the Hittite Empire. Located near the modern village of Bodazköy in north-central Turkey.
“Modern man is just ancient man... with way better electronics.”
- unknown
Lost Cities of South America
Inca cities
Machu Picchu – Possibly Pachacuti’s Family Palace.
Vilcabamba – Currently known as Espiritu Pampa.
Paititi – A legendary city and refuge in the rainforests where Peru, Bolivia and Brazil meet.
Choquequirao - Considered to be the last bastion of Incan resistance against the Spainiards and refuge of Manco Inca Yupanqui.
Other
Chan Chan – Chimu. Located near Trujillo, in present day Peru.
Tiahuanaco – pre-Inca. Located in present day Bolivia.
Cahuachi – Nazca, in present day Peru.
Caral – An important center of the Norte Chico civilization, in present day Peru.
Ciudad de los Cesares - City of the Caesars, A legendary city in Patagonia, never found. Also variously known as City of the Patagonia, Wandering City, Trapalanda or Trapananda, Lin Lin or Elelín,
Santa Maria de la Antigua del Darien – First city in the mainland of the American continent, in the Darien region between Colombia and Panama. Founded by Vasco Nuñez de Balboa in 1510.
Lost City of Z - A city allegedly located in the jungles of the Matto Grosso region of Brazil, was said to have been seen by the British explorer Col. Percy Harrison sometime prior to World War I.
Kuelap - A massive ruined city still covered in jungle that was the capital of the Chachapoyas culture in Northern Peru.
Tayuna (Ciudad Perdida) located in present day Colombia
Machu Picchu – Possibly Pachacuti’s Family Palace.
Vilcabamba – Currently known as Espiritu Pampa.
Paititi – A legendary city and refuge in the rainforests where Peru, Bolivia and Brazil meet.
Choquequirao - Considered to be the last bastion of Incan resistance against the Spainiards and refuge of Manco Inca Yupanqui.
Other
Chan Chan – Chimu. Located near Trujillo, in present day Peru.
Tiahuanaco – pre-Inca. Located in present day Bolivia.
Cahuachi – Nazca, in present day Peru.
Caral – An important center of the Norte Chico civilization, in present day Peru.
Ciudad de los Cesares - City of the Caesars, A legendary city in Patagonia, never found. Also variously known as City of the Patagonia, Wandering City, Trapalanda or Trapananda, Lin Lin or Elelín,
Santa Maria de la Antigua del Darien – First city in the mainland of the American continent, in the Darien region between Colombia and Panama. Founded by Vasco Nuñez de Balboa in 1510.
Lost City of Z - A city allegedly located in the jungles of the Matto Grosso region of Brazil, was said to have been seen by the British explorer Col. Percy Harrison sometime prior to World War I.
Kuelap - A massive ruined city still covered in jungle that was the capital of the Chachapoyas culture in Northern Peru.
Tayuna (Ciudad Perdida) located in present day Colombia
Lost Cities of North America
Mexico and Central America
Maya cities
Chichen Itza – This ancient place of pilgrimage is still the most visited Maya ruin.
Copán – In modern Honduras.
Calakmul – One of two “superpowers” in the classic Maya period.
Naachtun – Rediscovered in 1922, it remains one of the most remote and least visited Maya sites. Located 44 km (27 miles) south-south-east of Calakmul, and 65 km (40 miles) north of Tikal, it is believed to have had strategic importance to, and been vulnerable to military attacks by both neighbours. Its ancient name was identified in the mid-1990s as Masuul.
Palenque — in the Mexican state of Chiapas, known for its beautiful art and architecture
Tikal — One of two “superpowers” in the classic Maya period.
Olmec cities
La Venta – In the present day Mexican state of Tabasco.
San Lorenzo Tenochtitlán – In the present day Mexican state of Veracruz.
United States
The cities of the Ancestral Pueblo (or Anasazi) culture, located in the Four Corners region of the Southwest United States – The best known are located at Chaco Canyon and Mesa Verde.
Cahokia – Located near present-day St. Louis, Missouri. At its height Cahokia is believed to have had a population of between 40,000 and 80,000 people, making it amongst the largest pre-Columbian cities of the Americas. It is known chiefly for its huge pyramidal mounds of compacted earth.
Kennett, California was lost under 400 feet of water when Shasta Dam was built.
Kane, Wyoming was a city that was lost when the Yellowtail Dam was built.
Dana, Enfield, Greenwich, and Prescott, Massachusetts, were submerged beneath the Quabbin Reservoir in 1938.
Napoleon, Arkansas was a city along the Arkansas Delta wich was destroyed during a flood.
Lost counties, cities, and towns of Virginia
Pattenville, New Hampshire was flooded when the Moore Dam was built.
Pueblo Grande de Nevada a complex of villages, located near Overton, Nevada
Canada
L’Anse aux Meadows – Viking settlement founded around 1000.
Other
Aztlán- the ancient home of the aztecs
Izapa – Chief city of the Izapa civilization, whose territory extended from the Gulf Coast across to the Pacific Coast of Chiapas, in present day Mexico, and Guatemala.
Teotihuacan – Pre-Aztec Mexico.
Maya cities
Chichen Itza – This ancient place of pilgrimage is still the most visited Maya ruin.
Copán – In modern Honduras.
Calakmul – One of two “superpowers” in the classic Maya period.
Naachtun – Rediscovered in 1922, it remains one of the most remote and least visited Maya sites. Located 44 km (27 miles) south-south-east of Calakmul, and 65 km (40 miles) north of Tikal, it is believed to have had strategic importance to, and been vulnerable to military attacks by both neighbours. Its ancient name was identified in the mid-1990s as Masuul.
Palenque — in the Mexican state of Chiapas, known for its beautiful art and architecture
Tikal — One of two “superpowers” in the classic Maya period.
Olmec cities
La Venta – In the present day Mexican state of Tabasco.
San Lorenzo Tenochtitlán – In the present day Mexican state of Veracruz.
United States
The cities of the Ancestral Pueblo (or Anasazi) culture, located in the Four Corners region of the Southwest United States – The best known are located at Chaco Canyon and Mesa Verde.
Cahokia – Located near present-day St. Louis, Missouri. At its height Cahokia is believed to have had a population of between 40,000 and 80,000 people, making it amongst the largest pre-Columbian cities of the Americas. It is known chiefly for its huge pyramidal mounds of compacted earth.
Kennett, California was lost under 400 feet of water when Shasta Dam was built.
Kane, Wyoming was a city that was lost when the Yellowtail Dam was built.
Dana, Enfield, Greenwich, and Prescott, Massachusetts, were submerged beneath the Quabbin Reservoir in 1938.
Napoleon, Arkansas was a city along the Arkansas Delta wich was destroyed during a flood.
Lost counties, cities, and towns of Virginia
Pattenville, New Hampshire was flooded when the Moore Dam was built.
Pueblo Grande de Nevada a complex of villages, located near Overton, Nevada
Canada
L’Anse aux Meadows – Viking settlement founded around 1000.
Other
Aztlán- the ancient home of the aztecs
Izapa – Chief city of the Izapa civilization, whose territory extended from the Gulf Coast across to the Pacific Coast of Chiapas, in present day Mexico, and Guatemala.
Teotihuacan – Pre-Aztec Mexico.
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The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: Time I am, the great destroyer of the worlds, and I have come here to destroy all people. With the exception of you [the Pandavas], all the soldiers here on both sides will be slain. |
Lost Cities of Europe
Akrotiri – On the island of Thera, Greece.
Atil, Tmutarakan, Sarai Berke – Capitals of the steppe peoples.
Attila’s Fortified Camp, Romania – Probably the great ruins at Saden (Zsadany, Jadani, now Cornesti -jud. Timis) from or to which the Hun tribe Sadagariem took or gave their name.
Avars’Khan Fortified Camp, Romania - Probably the re-occupied city of Attila at Saden (Zsadany, Jadani, now Cornesti -jud. Timis).
Birka, Sweden
Biskupin, Poland
Calleva Atrebatum, Silchester, England - Large Romano-British walled city 10 miles south of present day Reading, Berkshire. Just the walls remain and a street pattern can be discerned from the air.
Chryse Island in the Aegean, reputed site of an ancient temple still visible on the sea floor.
Damasia – Sank into the Ammersee, Germany.
Dunwich, England, United Kingdom – Lost to coastal erosion.
Hedeby, Germany
Helike, Greece on the Peloponese – Sunk by an earthquake in the 4th century BC and rediscovered in the 1990s.
Kaupang - In Viksfjord near Larvik, Norway. Largest trading city around the Oslo Fjord during the Viking age. As sea levels retreated (the shoreline is 7m lower today than in 1000) the city was no longer accessible from the ocean and was abandoned.
Atil, Tmutarakan, Sarai Berke – Capitals of the steppe peoples.
Attila’s Fortified Camp, Romania – Probably the great ruins at Saden (Zsadany, Jadani, now Cornesti -jud. Timis) from or to which the Hun tribe Sadagariem took or gave their name.
Avars’Khan Fortified Camp, Romania - Probably the re-occupied city of Attila at Saden (Zsadany, Jadani, now Cornesti -jud. Timis).
Birka, Sweden
Biskupin, Poland
Calleva Atrebatum, Silchester, England - Large Romano-British walled city 10 miles south of present day Reading, Berkshire. Just the walls remain and a street pattern can be discerned from the air.
Chryse Island in the Aegean, reputed site of an ancient temple still visible on the sea floor.
Damasia – Sank into the Ammersee, Germany.
Dunwich, England, United Kingdom – Lost to coastal erosion.
Hedeby, Germany
Helike, Greece on the Peloponese – Sunk by an earthquake in the 4th century BC and rediscovered in the 1990s.
Kaupang - In Viksfjord near Larvik, Norway. Largest trading city around the Oslo Fjord during the Viking age. As sea levels retreated (the shoreline is 7m lower today than in 1000) the city was no longer accessible from the ocean and was abandoned.
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“America is the only country that went from barbarism to decadence without civilization in between.” |
Kitezh, Russia - Legendary underwater city which supposedly may be seen in good weather.
Niedam near Rungholt
Ny Varberg, Sweden
Old Sarum, England, United Kingdom
Paestum - Greek and Roman city south of Naples, abandoned after attacks by Muslim pirates. Three famous Greek temples.
Pompeii and Herculaneum in Italy - buried by the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD and rediscovered in the 18th century
Roxburgh, Scotland - abandoned in the 15th century
Rungholt – Sunken in the Wadden Sea, Germany.
Saeftinghe, Netherlands - prosperous city lost to the sea in 1584.
Selsey, England, United Kingdom - mostly abandoned to coastal erosion after 1043.
Skara Brae, Scotland, United Kingdom - Neolithic settlement buried under sediment. Uncovered by a winter storm in 1850.
Sybaris, Italy - Ancient Greek colonial city of unsurpassed wealth utterly destroyed by its arch-rival Crotona in 510 BCE.
Teljä, Finland
Trellech, Wales, United Kingdom.
Uppåkra, Sweden
Vineta – Legendary city somewhere at the Baltic coast of Germany or Poland.
Winchelsea, East Sussex, UK Old Winchelsea, Important Channel port, pop 4000+, abandoned after 1287 inundation and coastal erosion. Modern Winchelsea, 2 miles inland, was built to replace it as a planned town by Edward I of England
Ys - Legendary city on the western coast of France.
Niedam near Rungholt
Ny Varberg, Sweden
Old Sarum, England, United Kingdom
Paestum - Greek and Roman city south of Naples, abandoned after attacks by Muslim pirates. Three famous Greek temples.
Pompeii and Herculaneum in Italy - buried by the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD and rediscovered in the 18th century
Roxburgh, Scotland - abandoned in the 15th century
Rungholt – Sunken in the Wadden Sea, Germany.
Saeftinghe, Netherlands - prosperous city lost to the sea in 1584.
Selsey, England, United Kingdom - mostly abandoned to coastal erosion after 1043.
Skara Brae, Scotland, United Kingdom - Neolithic settlement buried under sediment. Uncovered by a winter storm in 1850.
Sybaris, Italy - Ancient Greek colonial city of unsurpassed wealth utterly destroyed by its arch-rival Crotona in 510 BCE.
Teljä, Finland
Trellech, Wales, United Kingdom.
Uppåkra, Sweden
Vineta – Legendary city somewhere at the Baltic coast of Germany or Poland.
Winchelsea, East Sussex, UK Old Winchelsea, Important Channel port, pop 4000+, abandoned after 1287 inundation and coastal erosion. Modern Winchelsea, 2 miles inland, was built to replace it as a planned town by Edward I of England
Ys - Legendary city on the western coast of France.
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Eternal time enters anywhere and everywhere, but it cannot enter the kingdom of god. There everything is in its original existence, free from the domination of time. Time cannot deteriorate or interfere with the conditions in the spiritual world. |
The Sentinelese - A Tale of Survival and A Lesson To The ‘Civilized’
60000 Years And Still Going Strong
After citing a number of civilizations that could not withstand the test of time, let us take a look at the Sentinelese Tribe of Andaman Islands (India).
The Sentinelese are one of the Andamanese indigenous peoples of the Andaman Islands, located in the Bay of Bengal. They exclusively inhabit North Sentinel Island which lies westwards off the southern tip of the Great Andaman archipelago. They are noted for vigorously maintaining their independence and sovereignty over the island, and resisting attempts of contact by outsiders. By their long-standing separation from any other human society they are among the most isolated and unassimilated peoples on Earth, their social practices being almost entirely free of any recorded external influence.
The Sentinelese maintain an essentially hunter-gatherer society, obtaining their subsistence through hunting, fishing, and collecting wild plants.
Their dwellings are either shelter-type huts with no side walls and a floor sometimes laid out with leaves, which provide enough space for a nuclear family of 3 or 4 and their belongings, or larger communal dwellings which may be some dozen square meters and are more elaborately constructed, with raised floors and partitioned family quarters.
Sentinelese wear no clothes, but utilize leaves, fibre strings or similar material as decorations, and they fashion belts which are apparently worn to provide some protection to the groin during potentially dangerous activity such as hunting or when encountering potentially hostile strangers.
Their weaponry consists of javelins, and an excellent flatbow with high accuracy against human-sized targets up to nearly 100 meters. At least 3 varieties of arrows, apparently for fishing and hunting, and untipped ones for shooting warning shots have been documented.
The Sentinelese are one of the Andamanese indigenous peoples of the Andaman Islands, located in the Bay of Bengal. They exclusively inhabit North Sentinel Island which lies westwards off the southern tip of the Great Andaman archipelago. They are noted for vigorously maintaining their independence and sovereignty over the island, and resisting attempts of contact by outsiders. By their long-standing separation from any other human society they are among the most isolated and unassimilated peoples on Earth, their social practices being almost entirely free of any recorded external influence.
The Sentinelese maintain an essentially hunter-gatherer society, obtaining their subsistence through hunting, fishing, and collecting wild plants.
Their dwellings are either shelter-type huts with no side walls and a floor sometimes laid out with leaves, which provide enough space for a nuclear family of 3 or 4 and their belongings, or larger communal dwellings which may be some dozen square meters and are more elaborately constructed, with raised floors and partitioned family quarters.
Sentinelese wear no clothes, but utilize leaves, fibre strings or similar material as decorations, and they fashion belts which are apparently worn to provide some protection to the groin during potentially dangerous activity such as hunting or when encountering potentially hostile strangers.
Their weaponry consists of javelins, and an excellent flatbow with high accuracy against human-sized targets up to nearly 100 meters. At least 3 varieties of arrows, apparently for fishing and hunting, and untipped ones for shooting warning shots have been documented.
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If the Aborigine drafted an I.Q. test, all of Western civilization would presumably flunk it. |
Perhaps no people on Earth remain more genuinely isolated than the Sentinelese and are believed to have lived on their island home for 60,000 years.
Like so many isolated tribal people with a fearsome reputation, the Sentinelese are often inaccurately described as ‘savage’ or ‘backward’. Their hostility to outsiders, though, is easily understandable, for the outside world has brought them little but violence and contempt.
In 1879, for example, an elderly couple and some children were taken by force and brought to the islands’ main town, Port Blair. The colonial officer in charge of the kidnapping wrote that the entire group, ‘sickened rapidly, and the old man and his wife died, so the four children were sent back to their home with quantities of presents.’ Despite being responsible for the deaths of at least two people, and quite possibly starting an epidemic amongst the islanders, the same officer expressed no remorse, but merely remarked on the Sentinelese’s ‘peculiarly idiotic expression of countenance, and manner of behaving.’
The Sentinelese enjoy excellent health, unlike those Andamans tribes whose lands have been destroyed.
Like so many isolated tribal people with a fearsome reputation, the Sentinelese are often inaccurately described as ‘savage’ or ‘backward’. Their hostility to outsiders, though, is easily understandable, for the outside world has brought them little but violence and contempt.
In 1879, for example, an elderly couple and some children were taken by force and brought to the islands’ main town, Port Blair. The colonial officer in charge of the kidnapping wrote that the entire group, ‘sickened rapidly, and the old man and his wife died, so the four children were sent back to their home with quantities of presents.’ Despite being responsible for the deaths of at least two people, and quite possibly starting an epidemic amongst the islanders, the same officer expressed no remorse, but merely remarked on the Sentinelese’s ‘peculiarly idiotic expression of countenance, and manner of behaving.’
The Sentinelese enjoy excellent health, unlike those Andamans tribes whose lands have been destroyed.
The islanders are clearly extremely healthy, alert and thriving, in marked contrast to the two Andaman tribes who have ‘benefited’ from Western civilization, the Onge and the Great Andamanese, whose numbers have crashed and who are now largely dependent on state handouts just to survive.
Pressure from Survival and other organisations has led the Indian government to alter its policy towards the Sentinelese, from attempting to make contact, to recognising that similar policies have proved disastrous for other Andaman tribes, and accepting that they have the right to decide for themselves how they wish to live. Underpinning this shift is the simple acknowledgment that the people themselves are best placed to decide what is in their own interests.
Pressure from Survival and other organisations has led the Indian government to alter its policy towards the Sentinelese, from attempting to make contact, to recognising that similar policies have proved disastrous for other Andaman tribes, and accepting that they have the right to decide for themselves how they wish to live. Underpinning this shift is the simple acknowledgment that the people themselves are best placed to decide what is in their own interests.
Sentinelese Unaffected By Tsunami
In the days after the cataclysmic tsunami of 2004, as the full scale of the destruction and horror wreaked upon the islands of the Indian Ocean became apparent, the fate of the tribal peoples of the Andaman Islands remained a mystery.
It seemed inconceivable, above all, that the Sentinelese islanders could have survived, living as they did on a remote island directly in the tsunami’s path.
Yet when a helicopter flew low over the island, a Sentinelese man rushed out on to the beach, aiming his arrow at the pilot in a gesture that clearly said, ‘We don’t want you here’. Alone of the tens of millions of people affected by the disaster, the Sentinelese needed no help from anyone.
It seemed inconceivable, above all, that the Sentinelese islanders could have survived, living as they did on a remote island directly in the tsunami’s path.
Yet when a helicopter flew low over the island, a Sentinelese man rushed out on to the beach, aiming his arrow at the pilot in a gesture that clearly said, ‘We don’t want you here’. Alone of the tens of millions of people affected by the disaster, the Sentinelese needed no help from anyone.
And the wind shall say
“Here were decent godless people;
Their only monument the asphalt road
And a thousand lost golf balls.”
