Mysteries of the Ancient World

Description

Massive sentinels of stone guard the rock-bound shores of tiny Easter Island in the Pacific Ocean. Man-made mountains, the pyramids of Egypt loom above the Nile. Sprawling ruins of Minoan palaces share the hillsides of Crete with age-old olive groves. Despite decades of research, many such intriguing remnants of the past remain enigmas, often provoking questions rather than providing answers. In Mysteries of the Ancient World you will search through the secrets of long-dead cultures and civilizations and discover the riddles that still persist. Ice Age hunters of more than 10,000 years ago painted the walls of scores of caves in France and Spain. Why? What do the drawings of these earliest artists mean? Without iron tools, horses, or even wheels, how did the Egyptians build the pyramids—and for what purpose? In a short span of time, the Mycenaeans of Greece amassed vast treasures. How? And what fears haunted their final decades? A startling demise overtook two other flourishing peoples: the Harappans of ancient India and the Etruscans of Italy. What chains of events brought these mighty civilizations to ruin? In their attempts to understand the mysteries of the past, the authors and photographers of this book have combed the globe for clues. Probe the ruins of Jericho with them to investigate the origins of cities. Observe a summer solstice at the awesome monument of Stonehenge. Penetrate the eerie subterranean crypts of the Etruscans. From dusty archeological sites to book-lined dens, seek the expert advice of scholars who help interpret the enticing realms of old. Striking photographs capture the land and the legacies of the ancients, and more than a dozen specially commissioned paintings re-create their lives. Mysteries of the Ancient World enriches the present by evoking the grandeur, the glory, and the puzzles of the past. Weathered watchman, a 13-foot-high statue beholds its isolated home—Easter Island. How people there erected these gigantic stone figures—and why they later tried to destroy them—perplexes archeologists. Around the globe, similar mysteries defy solution.

Subjects

Series Statement

• National Geographic Society Special Publications