Lost Empires of the Americas

The phrase “lost empires” is often applied to the great civilizations of the Americas whose cities were abandoned, overgrown or destroyed, and whose full histories had to be pieced back together by later researchers. Across Mesoamerica and the Andes, a long sequence of cultures rose and fell over many centuries, building monumental architecture and developing complex political and religious systems before the arrival of Europeans brought their independent histories to an abrupt end.

Reconstructing these societies is largely the work of archaeology. By excavating temple platforms, palaces and ordinary dwellings, and by studying pottery, sculpture, textiles and burials, researchers infer how people lived, what they believed and how their states were organised. In the case of the Maya, surviving carved inscriptions and a few manuscripts, once deciphered, transformed understanding by revealing the names of rulers, dynastic histories and precise calendar dates. For cultures without a written script, such as the Inca, interpretation relies more heavily on physical remains and on accounts recorded after European contact.

The Inca of the Andes, and the Maya and Aztec of Mesoamerica, are the most famous of these civilizations, but they were preceded and surrounded by many other peoples. Studying them illustrates both how complex societies arise and flourish and how fragile they can be, and it shows how anthropology and archaeology together recover histories that were once thought lost.

Frequently asked questions

Why are American civilizations called lost empires?

Many of their cities were abandoned or destroyed and their histories forgotten, becoming known again mainly through later archaeological investigation.

How do archaeologists learn about cultures without writing?

They study physical remains such as buildings, pottery, art and burials, and combine these with accounts written after European contact.

How did deciphering Maya script help?

Reading Maya inscriptions revealed rulers' names, dynastic histories and exact calendar dates, greatly improving understanding of their civilization.