The Most Mysterious Civilizations

Despite all our advancement in archaeology, some civilizations continue to elude us. With that in mind, here are 20 civilizations that few people have heard of, and for good reason!

1. Norte Chico Civilization

The Norte Chico Civilization is one of the most mysterious finds when it comes to ancient civilizations. While there’s a number of constructions and pyramids found, there is little to nothing that shows how people lived their daily lives. One very interesting detail about this civilization is that it is the oldest known civilization in the Americas.

2. Indus Valley Civilization

Spanning across modern-day India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan, the Indus Valley Civilization had entire cities and even farming communities. The interiors of houses had their own drainage systems as well as wells and bathrooms. One of the most intriguing things left by the Indus Valley people are pots and tablets with writing on them, but to this date, attempts to decipher what the writings say have failed.

3. Nubia

Nubia was a civilization that used to rule Egypt. This civilization had their own pyramids, which survived in surprising numbers and are able to be seen today. While the civilization was very rich in gold, had their own language and culture, their influence was over after Pharaoh Sneferu raided Nubia and made it into a mineral extraction outpost.

4. The Kingdom of Aksum

Aksum was a kingdom that was located where modern Ethiopia is today. This society was considered to be powerful and influential, having extensive trades with other nations and a powerful hierarchy of kings and noblemen. Aksumites had their own written script as well, but aside from all that, not much else is known about this lost civilization.

5. Nineveh

Nineveh was the capital of the Assyrian Empire, and is considered to be one of the oldest and greatest civilizations. Although the city suffered a number of earthquakes and destruction, it kept being rebuilt stronger. King Sennacherib built a 15-gate great wall around the city, with the inside of the walls containing parks, canals, and one of the biggest palaces ever made that has to this day been called “rivalless”.

6. Konar Sandal

Konar Sandal seems to hold secrets to a lost civilization from around 2200 BC. With the excavation site being subject to looting and some unauthorized excavations, it is sadly unknown how many treasures and lost pieces of history have been stolen. What is hypothesized by the head of the official archaeological team for this site is that the civilization was most likely based on ritual and belief, as well as they were from the Bronze Age and had their own architecture and language.

7. Mehrgarh

Mehrgarh is considered to be one of the oldest civilizations in the world. Located in modern-day Pakistan, artifacts found in the excavations show a highly developed society with established trade links and even indications of knowledge of dental surgery. While this society is believed to have existed thousands of years before the Indus Valley Civilization in the same region, some of the artifacts and important pieces of history have been looted or even destroyed due to lack of security around the excavation site.

8. Sanliurfa

Sanliurfa, originally known as Urga, is an area that has a very intertwined and checkered history, with a number of religions claiming to have a connection to the area. One of the most interesting things found here were megalithic carved stones, carved, cut, and arranged before the known invention of metal tools. This was determined to have come into existence over six thousand years before Stonehenge, which would make it the world’s oldest temple.

9. Aryan Kingdom

The Aryan Kingdom was established as a result of a large group of nomads from the Indus Valley Civilization moving onto the Indian subcontinent. It is not fully understood if this mass migration happened due to natural disasters or some sort of war, although some mentions of this civilization in religious texts suggest war was the most likely result. Nevertheless, this civilization was one of migrants that developed their own language and culture, different from the Indus Valley one.

10. Vinca Civilization

The Vinca Civilization, also known as the Danube Valley Civilization, is the birthplace of what is believed to be one of the earliest writing systems ever. Over seven hundred different characters have been identified carved into pottery and other artifacts. Although attempts to translate the writings have not been successful, it is believed that amongst those symbols are not just letters, but numbers as well, forming an even more complex and sophisticated way of communication for an ancient civilization.

11. Hittite Empire

The Hittite Empire was one of the first formed major civilizations of the Bronze Age. The history and significance of this civilization are mostly known due to texts found in various archives of Babylonia and Egypt. From these texts, historians were able to determine the creation and existence of the Hittite language, which is considered to be one of the oldest historically attested languages.

12. Sao Civilization

The Sao Civilization was based in the territory of today's Cameroon and Chad. They were some of the earliest civilizations to have left traces found today very clearly indicating their existence. After their conversion to Islam around the 16th century, the cultural identity of the Sao people changed completely.

13. Elam

Located in the southwest part of modern-day Iran, Elam was an ancient civilization considered to be among the leading political forces of its time. One of the most interesting facts about Elam is that their language was quite unique. It is considered to be unrelated to any other language, even though it remained in official use after the Elam civilization and during the Persian Achaemenid dynasty.

14. The Kingdom of Silla

Silla was one of three Korean kingdoms that existed between 57 BCE and 935 CE. Having the lowest population of the three kingdoms, Silla had formed an alliance with Sui China and Tang China to conquer the other two Korean kingdoms. The current capital of South Korea, Seoul, is a shortened form of Seorabeol, meaning capital city in the kingdom of Silla.

15. Sogdia

Sogdia was an ancient civilization that had a high impact and significance during their existence. Sogdians had merchants and diplomats that travelled far across the land and were crucial in trade and as middlemen. Their initial faiths were Zoroastrianism and Buddhism; they eventually and gradually converted to Islam.

16. The Tuwana Kingdom

Tuwana or Tyana was an ancient city found in modern-day Turkey. It was one of the most significant cities during the Hittite period, as it became the capital of a smaller kingdom that followed the fall of the Hittite Empire. Throughout history, it came to be one of the major Greek cities, and later, a part of the Roman Empire.

17. The Kingdom of Urartu

The Kingdom of Urartu was an Iron Age kingdom that left behind some of the most intriguing and interesting archaeological and historic finds. Amongst fortresses and very sophisticated metalwork, there were inscriptions found written in the Urartian language. It became weakened by constant conflict within, and was eventually conquered in the early 6th century BC.

18. Jomon

The Jomon period was a very significant time in the history of Japan. This civilization existed between the times of 14,000 and 300 BCE and were thought to be very diverse and capable hunter-gatherers. Many things were uncovered regarding this ancient civilization, most interestingly some of the oldest pottery figures in the world, decorated by impressing cords into wet clay surfaces.

19. Tocharian Civilization

The Tocharian Civilization has some of the most intriguing historic finds in modern-day archaeology. The Tarim mummies, which seem to have been perfectly preserved and date from 1800 BC, show an incredibly detailed look into the history of this civilization. The Tocharians were speakers of the Tocharian languages, which was a group of Indo-European languages known from thousands of historic documents.

20. Bactria

An ancient Iranian civilization in Central Asia, Bactria was strategically located for natural defenses and security of the people. The mountains surrounding this civilization served as natural protective walls on three sides, leaving only one side as an entrance and exit. While it was eventually conquered by Alexander the Great, Bactria is considered to be one of the sixteen perfect Iranian lands created by Ahura Mazda, the supreme deity.