About the life of ancient civilizations we know not so much.
Many ancient civilizations, which in our world was enough, turns out to have been highly developed and advanced in many aspects. Some of them, such as the Egyptians, well researched, while others, such as garamante, remains for scientists a riddle. Nevertheless, modern scientists make interesting discoveries that reveal secrets of the ancient civilizations.
1. Sanxingdui civilization that disappeared because of the earthquake
Sanxingdui is an ancient Chinese civilization that flourished in China’s Sichuan province. However, for thousands of years, this once-advanced culture was completely lost and forgotten. It was rediscovered only in 1929 when a farmer found jade and stone artifacts while repairing a sewage ditch. Two predominant theories about the mysterious disappearance of Sanxingdui are war and flood. However, Niannian fan, a geologist from the Tsinghua University in Chengdu, said these theories “not very convincing”. In 2014 he published the findings of a study in which it was described how an earthquake could lead to the disappearance of the Sanxingdui civilization. According to research Fania, a strong earthquake nearly 3,000 years ago caused catastrophic landslides that redirected the flow of the river.” Residents just moved then to the new river in the Sochi.
2. War and the Minoans
Contrary to popular belief, the Minoans, who flourished on Crete during the bronze age, was not a peace-loving people. Since this civilization was rediscovered over a century ago, the Minoans regarded as “a society that was devoid of war, where he escaped the cruelty and violence”. However, a new study by archaeologist Barry Molloy of the University of Sheffield has shown that the war played an important role in Minoan society.
Molloy came to this conclusion after the discovery of numerous evidence demonstrating that the violence in the images and the symbolic grammar of ancient Crete. Molloy also argues that one of the main manifestations of the Minoan male identity was the identity of the warrior. In addition, many types of weapons that dominated Europe until the middle ages, such as spears and swords may have originated in the Minoan civilization.
3. The Minoans were indigenous Europeans
For many years the origin of the ancient Minoan civilization was fiercely debated by scientists. Some speculated that they originated from Africa, in particular Egypt and Libya. Others believed that they came from the Middle East and Anatolia. In 2013, this dispute was finally put to an end when Professor George Stamatoyannopoulos from the University of Washington published a study which showed that the ancient Minoans were indigenous Europeans.
Stamatoyannopoulos analyzed mitochondrial DNA 37 ancient Minoans whose remains were discovered in a cave on the Eastern part of Crete. His analysis showed that the Minoan civilization was genetically distant from the peoples of North Africa and the Middle East. More importantly, the results showed that “the ancient Minoan DNA was most similar to the population of Western and Northern Europe”.
4. War was not the cause of the collapse of civilization of Easter island
One of the greatest mysteries of the ancient civilization that flourished in Rapa Nui, Chile, beginning of the 13th century, is the cause of its disappearance. The basic theory among most scientists considered mass dissension among the residents, caused by the reduction of resources. This theory is supported by thousands of triangular objects, known as “Mata’a” that are all over the island.
Scientists believe that these objects were used as weapons by the inhabitants. However, a new analysis of Mata a, conducted by the anthropologist Carl Lipo of Binghamton University, showed that the so-called triangular weapon “was not used in hostilities”.
5. Climate change and the disappearance of the Harappan civilization
Of all the first great urban civilizations in the world, the Harappan civilization is the least known. This is rather surprising, given the fact that this unknown society had more territory, more populous, more democratic and more advanced than ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. At its peak the development of the Harappan civilization covered an area of more than 1 million square kilometers of land that now belong to India, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Pakistan).
About 4,000 years ago, this great civilization mysteriously disappeared. The reason remained a mystery until recently . Geologist Oceanographic Institute in woods Hall Liviu Giosan recreated the landscape of rivers and plains, where flourished the civilization of Harappa. He found that the ancient climate change caused the drying up of rivers that support agriculture Harappan civilization. Eventually, large cities were abandoned and people migrated to the East.
6. Women brewers of civilization Vari
Wari, the ancient civilization that preceded the Incas flourished for hundreds of years in the Peruvian Andes, before their society was forgotten for centuries. In 2005, a study conducted by researchers from the University of Florida and the Museum of natural history. Field showed that the beer in the Empire Vari cooked… women. Even more strikingly, the researchers found that women brewers were neither slaves nor women of low status. Instead, they were the elite of beautiful women. This finding proves that “women played a more important role in ancient Andean societies than it is claimed the history books”.
7. Garamante were highly civilized
The ancient civilization of the garamantes flourished in the territory of modern Libya. Most of what scientists know about this mysterious society, was gleaned from the Roman historians who described them as “nomadic barbarians and troublemakers on the outskirts of the Roman Empire”. However, new discovery shows that the garamantes civilization was really advanced and historically more important than previously thought. In 2011 a group of researchers led by archeologist David Mattingly from the University of Leicester have discovered more than 100 fortified farms, villages, villages with samopodoben structures in Libya, which date from 1 – 500 years BC
Contrary to what he wrote the Romans, these structures and settlements prove that garamante was very civilized. They were engaged in TRANS-Saharan trade and were the pioneers of the construction of the oases. The researchers made this remarkable discovery after studying aerial photographs and satellite images.
8. The decline of civilization Nazca
Nazca is one of the most mysterious civilizations in the history of mankind. About 1,500 years ago, this advanced society in Peru, mysteriously sunk into oblivion. Scientists have suggested that the culprit of this was during the El Nino, which changed the climate. However, a new study shows that the key role in the destruction of civilization Nazca played mass deforestation. Archaeologist David Beresford-Jones from the University of Cambridge found that the ancient Nazca cut down the trees, huarango to plant corn, cotton and other crops.
But, huarango played an important role in the semi-desert climate of Nazca. These trees increased soil moisture, making it more fertile and strengthen riverbeds. In the end, when the giant current El Nino has changed its direction, trees, huarango that would somehow prevent the erosion of river channels, was not. The floods damaged the irrigation system and Nazca has become a place completely unsuitable for agriculture.
9. Dwarfs in Ancient Egypt
In 2005 a study published in the American journal of medical genetics, showed that the ancient Egyptians respected dwarfs very in the year 4500 ad. The researchers came to this conclusion after studying historical sources and biological remains of dwarfs in ancient Egypt. They found that the vast majority of dwarfs images on vases, statues, tomb walls and other forms of art showed them as “personal servants, guards, people who cared about animals, jewelers, dancers and entertainers”. In addition, the researchers found that some of the dwarfs have held important positions and was quite honored to be buried in the tombs of the pharaohs.
10. Child sacrifice of the Carthaginians
For decades, scientists have debated whether practiced in ancient Carthage, which existed from 800 BC to 146 BC, the sacrifice of children. According to the results of a joint study conducted by researchers from various institutions worldwide, it became clear that the vast amount of archaeological, literary, documentary, epigraphic and historical data indicates that Carthaginian parents sacrificed their children to the gods.
