8 Lost Civilizations: From Easter Island to the Anasazi

One of the many lost civilizations that disappeared for mysterious reasons is the Minoans. They were a Bronze Age culture that centered on the island of Crete and were known for their monumental architecture and energetic art. Not only were they often regarded as the first civilization in Europe, but they’re also known for being the first to use a written language called Linear A.

While their group consisted of a variety of workers, from merchants to warriors, their art is one of the main things about the Minoans. Their art included elaborately decorated pottery, seals, figures, and colorful frescoes. The subjects revolved around nature and ritual and were described as having a fantastical or ecstatic quality.

But while their art and beauty have stayed, they unfortunately did not. By the middle of the 15th century, the palace culture on Crete was destroyed by conquerors from the mainland. They established a new order on Crete, and the island experienced a fusion of Cretan and mainland skills.

Tourists who want to understand more of their art and architecture can explore the ruins of the Minoan palaces at Knossos and Phaistos.  

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Vikings, while a constant threat for many back in the day, are a hot topic in pop culture. But would you believe that one of the lost civilizations in the world centers around Vikings?

Apparently, around A.D. 985, Erik the Red led a fleet of 25 boats to colonize Greenland. Once there, they set up two colonies: a large Eastern Settlement and a small Western Settlement. They herded goats, sheep, cattle, hunted caribou and seals, and built stone churches that can still be seen today.

They essentially thrived for hundreds of years, growing a population of roughly 5,000. Yet, when a missionary expedition arrived in 1721 in hopes of converting them to Protestantism, they found nothing but ruins. Research believes that the small Western Settlement failed around A.D. 1400, and the Eastern Settlement was then abandoned decades later.

They believe that the Little Ice Age that occurred in the 14th century was also a factor, as it clogged the route in and out of Greenland with sea ice, and shortened the growing season. However, even with all these thoughts and possibilities, no one really knows what happened.

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Located in Southeast Asia, the Khmer Empire was a Hindu-Buddhist empire centered around hydraulic cities in what is now northern Cambodia. The empire grew out of the former civilization of Chenla and lasted from 802 to 1431. The period is also known as the Angkor period in Cambodian history, as the empire’s most well-known capital was called Angkor.

Interestingly enough, while earlier kingdoms were advanced polities with complex economies, the Khmer Empire surpassed them in power, splendor, and influence.

The empire left behind beautiful structures, with one being considered one of Cambodia’s most impressive temples, the rose-colored sandstone shrine of Banteay Srei, which is built on the outskirts of the capital (shown in photo).

But even with all its extravagance, it’s still considered one of the lost civilizations. The decline began after the death of Jayavarman VII, who ruled from 1160-66 and was a national hero for establishing greatness in Cambodia and bringing into being a welfare state that was motivated by Buddhism.

By the 15th century, Khmer was almost entirely gone. Some believe that a mass conversion of the populace to Theravada Buddhism undermined the existing social hierarchy. Others believe that serious environmental degradation undermined the region’s virtual irrigation system.

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The Maya Civilization was the most advanced civilization of the pre-Columbian era. This is one of the lost civilizations that is centered in the tropical lowlands that are now known as Guatemala.

The civilization reached its peak around the 6th century A.D. The Maya people were experts in the fields of agriculture, calendar making, mathematics, pottery, and hieroglyph writing.

They left behind a surprising amount of architecture and artwork some of which still survive. The great stone cities of Maya were abandoned by A.D. 900.

Scholars still debate over the reason behind the decline of the Maya civilization. Some scholars believe that by the 9th A.D., many people in the society realized that their environment could not sustain the growing population and therefore left the cities and moved towards other locations. Others term constant warfare as the reason behind the decline, and some say that an intense period of drought wiped out civilization.

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The Indus Valley Civilization is one of the earliest civilizations to have ever existed on the planet. Situated in current Pakistan and India, the Indus settlement began nearly 8000 years ago.

The Indus Civilization had a well-developed writing script that is still to be decrypted. The most astonishing finding was the sanitation system of the Indus Valley which was unparalleled until the Romans.

The civilization occupied an area of 386,000 square miles around the coast of the Indus River, the largest river in Pakistan. The civilization met its doom around 1900 B.C. when the population left the city and migrated to other regions in Southeast Asia.

There are contradictory findings when it comes to the reasons for the migration of the Indus Valley, including Aryan invasion, flood, earthquake, outbreaks of malaria or cholera, and difficulty in agriculture as the monsoon cycle stopped for nearly two centuries.

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The literal meaning of Anasazi is ‘ancient outsider’, the term was associated with a civilization that existed in the four corner regions of the United States.

The Anasazi employed a wide variety of products for high-yield crops in the area of low rainfall. However, the cliff dwelling of Anasazi is their defining characteristic that still mesmerizes archeologists, historians, and tourists (shown in photo). Some of these stone dwellings even contained hundreds of rooms and no other building in the United States was taller than them until the contraction of the first skyscraper in the 1880s.

Researchers believe that the decline of the civilization occurred due to massacre and cannibalism, signs of which have been found along with deforestation, water crisis, and long-term drought. The Anasazi left their homeland by 1300 A.D. and moved towards Southern regions.

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Four centuries before Columbus landed on American soil, Cahokia was the largest and most influential urban settlement of the Mississippian culture. Cahokia was situated a few miles away from present-day St. Louis.

The civilization at its peak is known to have a population of around 20,000. The city featured many plazas and at least 20 earthen mounds, the largest of which is called the Monk Mound (shown in photo).

The city was a natural trade hub during the 1000s and 1100s A.D. due to its geographical location. Researchers believe that the doom of this city was brought by flood along with other social factors.

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Easter Island is one of the most isolated locations on the planet, it stands 1,200 miles east of Pitcairn Island and 2,200 miles west of Chile, and is one of the most mysterious lost civilizations. The alleged first people to settle on the island were an organized party of immigrants dating back around 700-800 A.D., while some argue it was around the year 400.

Easter Island is famed for its 900 giant stone structures. These structures can still be found in different locations on the Island, and it is still unknown how these people managed to carve and carry these large and heavy structures.

Allegedly, the civilization fell into decline because of a civil war between powerful families that resulted in the death of thousands, and the remaining residents fled to escape the devastation.