These civilizations disappeared, never to be seen again. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the top 10 ancient cultures lost to time.
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00:00 "Seemingly overnight, this ancient metropolis of nearly a million souls vanished."
00:07 Welcome to WatchMojo,
00:09 and today we're counting down our picks for the Top 10 Ancient Cultures Lost to Time.
00:14 "Most Maya cities had collapsed.
00:17 Among the theories are warfare, a volcanic eruption, and, perhaps most likely, drought."
00:27 Mesoamerica was home to many famous lost cultures.
00:30 The earliest were the Olmecs,
00:32 whose civilization lasted over a thousand years between roughly 1500 BCE and 400 BCE.
00:38 "They were one of the first civilizations of the Americas.
00:43 They built the first pyramid and the first planned city in this part of the Americas,
00:49 devised one of the earliest known systems of writing."
00:52 Primarily located on the Gulf Coast of present-day Mexico,
00:55 the Olmecs are most famous for carving large stone heads as well as several pyramids.
01:00 However, much about them remains a mystery.
01:03 "It's clear that by 900 BCE, the Olmec had become a supremely confident society."
01:09 Why their culture died out is the biggest question mark,
01:12 with theories suggesting environmental changes as the most likely culprit.
01:17 "But whilst the Olmec civilization faded from history, their influence outlasted them."
01:22 Even the Olmec's name for themselves is unknown,
01:25 since the word "Olmec" is merely the Aztec term for the ancestral people who lived in the area,
01:31 meaning "rubber people."
01:33 Also called the Aksumite Empire,
01:38 the Kingdom of Aksum was located in present-day Ethiopia and parts of the Horn of Africa,
01:43 as well as the southern Arabian Peninsula.
01:46 "The rulers of the Kingdom of Aksum controlled trade between Africa, Arabia, and India,
01:51 and according to local tradition, Aksum was founded by the son of the legendary Queen of Sheba."
01:57 Aksum became a great power during antiquity,
02:00 due to its near-monopoly on the trade between Rome and India.
02:03 Aksum is also famous for its elaborate gravestones known as stelae or obelisks.
02:08 "The distinctive monumental feature of these narrow stelae was how the rulers marked their tombs.
02:15 They were built from solid stone and are believed to date from around 300 AD."
02:20 These became less common following the Kingdom's conversion to Christianity.
02:24 The rise of Islam in the Middle East heralded the beginning of a gradual decline for the Kingdom,
02:29 and Aksum became virtually lost to history after its collapse.
02:32 "And how in time, Aksum's decline gave rise to new Christian and Islamic kingdoms."
02:39 One of the first major Greek civilizations,
02:44 the Mycenaeans flourished during the last part of the Bronze Age.
02:47 "We can see what a profound influence the Mycenaean culture had on the Greeks."
02:52 "The Mycenaean civilization handed down its own image to posterity."
03:01 Much of their culture was centered around palaces
03:03 in which administrative and commercial business was conducted.
03:06 The biggest of these was located at Mycenae, hence the civilization's name.
03:11 "Its monumental gate, overlooked by two lions, still inspires awe."
03:17 While the Mycenaean civilization declined,
03:19 along with many others in the late Bronze Age collapse,
03:22 much of their culture was passed on to successive Greek civilizations.
03:26 This included everything from their gods to the origins of city-states such as Athens and Thebes.
03:32 The Mycenaeans may even have been those who took part in the semi-legendary Trojan War.
03:37 "The Mycenaeans fought a war against this city
03:40 that has captured the imagination of historians and generations of students."
03:45 Number 7. The Minoan Civilization
03:48 A previous culture related to and eventually taken over by the Mycenaeans,
03:53 the Minoan civilization was primarily centered on the island of Crete
03:56 and may have been the first civilization in Europe.
04:00 "From the very beginning, the Minoans ventured out into the world beyond their shores
04:04 because they lacked the material that defined their age...
04:09 bronze."
04:10 Like the Mycenaeans, the Minoan civilization was also palatial.
04:14 However, very little about their religion or social structure is known compared to their contemporaries.
04:20 The Minoans specialized in the production of the desirable rather than the strictly useful.
04:25 Deluxe pottery, cosmetics, fancy metalwork...
04:28 There may have been some cultural influence between the two,
04:32 though to what degree is uncertain.
04:34 The Minoan subsumption into Mycenaean civilization and the chaos of the Bronze Age collapse
04:39 led to them becoming nearly forgotten for millennia,
04:42 with their rediscovery only truly occurring in the 20th century.
04:46 "It would be a combination of seaborne disasters that would cause the eclipse of Minoan civilization
04:53 and its journey into the shadowlands of myth."
04:57 Number 6. The Mississippian Culture
05:00 No, not the residents of the modern U.S. state of Mississippi.
05:03 Rather, this pre-Columbian Native American culture thrived throughout the region of what is now the USA
05:09 from roughly 800 to 1600 CE.
05:12 "Located at the confluence of three rivers, whose waters provided both food and transportation,
05:18 Cahokia reached an estimated population of 20,000 people by 1150 AD,
05:24 which was larger than London at the time."
05:27 Originating from the Mississippi River Valley,
05:29 the Mississippians are perhaps best known for their mounds.
05:32 These were large earthen platforms atop of which they built their settlements,
05:37 the largest of which was called Cahokia, located in present-day Illinois.
05:41 "It was a city complete with suburbs, plazas, and markets.
05:46 Now, keep in mind that there were many permanent Mississippian settlements
05:50 scattered throughout North America, but this one was by far the largest and most influential."
05:55 While they had no form of writing, some of their cultural practices survived in successor tribes.
06:01 Their civilization was already on the decline by the time European settlers arrived,
06:05 with some explanations pointing to environmental causes and famine.
06:09 "No one knows what happened to the great Mississippian mound builders. They simply vanished."
06:14 5. The Indus Valley Civilization
06:17 Everyone knows about ancient cradles of civilization - Egypt, Mesopotamia, China.
06:23 But their more obscure and crucial contemporary was the Indus Valley Civilization,
06:28 also known as the Harappan Civilization.
06:30 "It appears that the Harappans were the beneficiary of a favorable climate window
06:37 when the monsoons were not too strong so that you can practice the inundation agriculture."
06:43 Based in what is today Pakistan and northwestern India in the Indus Valley,
06:47 this civilization possessed impressive architectural achievements for the time,
06:51 with evidence of urban planning as well as drainage and water supply systems.
06:56 "Because of Mohenjo-Daro's grand scale,
06:59 archaeologists believe it may have served as a seat of power for the Indus Civilization."
07:04 However, despite the Indus Civilization's size,
07:07 it eventually dispersed, with drought being the most commonly theorized reason.
07:11 Despite its influence on successive cultures,
07:14 the Indus Valley Civilization's language remains currently undeciphered,
07:18 leaving much about it still mysterious.
07:20 "In 1800 BCE, however, the monsoon was weaker and changed the course of the river,
07:27 directly impacting the fall of the civilization."
07:30 4. The Khmer Empire
07:33 The Khmer Empire, or Khambuja, was a dominant force in Asia between 802 and 1431 CE.
07:40 Its capital city Angkor boasted the incredible Angkor Wat Temple Complex,
07:44 still a hugely important site in modern Cambodia.
07:47 "The temple of Angkor Wat is one of hundreds of temples
07:52 that make up the Angkor World Heritage Site.
07:55 Angkor was once the largest city on Earth."
08:00 The Khmer Empire maintained control through access to water,
08:03 utilizing elaborate systems of canals and reservoirs to facilitate trade and agriculture.
08:09 "This is the reason why the Angkor Civilization was extremely successful,
08:13 because their engineering achievements in terms of water management
08:16 were unparalleled pretty much anywhere else in the world."
08:19 It also had one of the world's earliest healthcare systems, boasting over 100 hospitals.
08:24 The empire's striking palaces and architecture remain,
08:28 and much of what is known about its culture is derived from Angkor Wat's Ba reliefs,
08:32 as well as historical accounts from visiting Chinese diplomats.
08:36 The Khmer Empire faced a slow decline from internal and external strife,
08:40 as well as climate change.
08:42 "When the system failed during the drought,
08:45 Angkor could not grow enough rice to sustain itself."
08:49 3. Çatalhöyük
08:51 One of the world's oldest discovered cities,
08:54 Çatalhöyük was located in the south of modern Turkey.
08:57 "9,000 year old settlement.
08:59 9,000 years old."
09:05 "Amazing, isn't it?
09:05 So, at its maximum extent, it's 13 hectares."
09:11 Founded over 9,000 years ago,
09:13 this Neolithic city's most striking feature is the fact that its buildings were clustered together,
09:18 with few, if any, formal streets,
09:20 and most buildings being accessed through the rooftops.
09:23 "The people who lived here walked across town over the rooftops.
09:27 The roofs were also where they worked."
09:30 The interconnected, stacked nature of the city has led to its remarkable preservation.
09:35 Çatalhöyük appeared to have an egalitarian society,
09:38 and its people may have worshipped a goddess.
09:41 "Life here seems to have been pretty egalitarian.
09:44 So far, there's no evidence of any hierarchy in terms of buildings or spaces,
09:49 and everyone's house seems to have been pretty much the same size."
09:53 While much about the city is still being uncovered,
09:56 the lack of nearby water sources likely led to its eventual abandonment prior to the Bronze Age.
10:01 Number 2. The Maya Civilization.
10:04 The Maya Civilization is arguably the most famous one on our list.
10:09 This Mesoamerican civilization ruled over the Yucatan Peninsula
10:12 to varying degrees for over a millennium.
10:15 "They're considered one of the most advanced civilizations
10:19 to have existed in the Americas before the Spanish conquest."
10:23 Known for its massive step pyramids, advanced architecture,
10:26 calendar, as well as innovations in mathematics and astronomy,
10:30 the Mayans were among the most advanced North American cultures.
10:33 "The Maya built magnificent urban centers consisting of stone structures,
10:39 including pyramid temples that were central to Maya religious practices."
10:43 Millions of Maya descendants still live in essentially the same region.
10:47 However, while their spoken language has survived with many variations,
10:51 Spanish colonizers destroyed most examples of their written heritage,
10:55 which led to much of the history of the Maya civilization being lost.
10:59 "More than 7 million Maya are estimated to be alive today
11:03 in their indigenous homelands and around the world.
11:06 While they participate in modern global life,
11:09 they continue to follow agricultural and ceremonial practices of their ancestors."
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11:29 Number 1. The Sea Peoples
11:33 During the Late Bronze Age Collapse, one of the contributing factors to the downfall of many of
11:39 the notable civilizations of the time is suggested to have been the so-called Sea Peoples.
11:44 "Evidence from archaeological sites across this region point to wave after wave of invasion from
11:49 the sea. Hordes of marauders raising entire cities to the ground. Right at the point,
11:56 the Bronze Age Collapse occurred."
11:59 These raiders attacked several eastern Mediterranean cultures,
12:02 including Egypt, Cyprus, and Phoenicia. Unlike most lost civilizations,
12:07 information about the Sea Peoples is particularly scant.
12:10 The primary source of information about them comes from their victims.
12:14 "Crucially, the hieroglyphs detail a previously unknown group of people arriving by sea.
12:20 An armada of marauders, unified together and strong enough to attack the mighty Egyptians."
12:29 Hypotheses about their possible origins include everything from nationless pirates to the
12:33 Trojans. But without a way to connect the Sea Peoples to a specific home,
12:38 their origins remain a mystery.
12:41 "At least part of the equation has got to be a large proportion of the population who was
12:46 disaffected, dissatisfied, disenfranchised, unable to feed themselves, rootless, stateless people,
12:54 who are reduced to raiding."
12:56 Is there a lost civilization that we're uncivilized for forgetting? Enlighten us in the comments.
13:02 The end of the Aksumite dynasty spelt the rise of a new one known as the Zagwe dynasty.
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13:17 [Music]