Maps of the most ancient river and ancient civilizations. Ancient civilizations of the world. Ancient Egyptian civilization

There are high cultures that have accumulated many interesting discoveries, created masterpieces of literature and art, but at the same time did not strive to pass on their achievements to neighboring peoples. Such peaks of civilizations as the ancient one, or, surrounded by a sea of ​​savage, barbarian tribes, lived for themselves. They fought or traded with their neighbors, but never shared with them. Their refined culture did not spur the development of others, which is why its own pace slowed down. The vessel remained clean, but the water in it stopped.

Hearth of ancient cultures, originated in the Mediterranean, was fundamentally different. It appeared at the crossroads of trade routes, in the crucible of mixing peoples, in a moving world, where the sea and land were constantly in motion due to volcanic activity, the coastline and the height of the mountains changed more than once. The word "antique" simply means "ancient", but in the strict sense called antique(Hellas) and . Each of them, in the eras of its power, influenced a wide range of peoples who lived nearby or were conquered as a result of wars. These tribes, partly voluntarily, partly by force, adopted the customs of first the Hellenes, then the Romans - they were Hellenized and Latinized.

The range of Hellenistic states that arose as a result of the campaigns of Alexander the Great is incredibly wide. And here the advanced achievements of Greek science, urban planning, and military affairs were superimposed on local traditions, which gave a second flourishing to the old eastern civilizations.

Map of ancient civilizations

With Rome it was different. It was never conquered by the Greeks or the soldiers of King Alexander. On the contrary, it ultimately swallowed Hellas and... was reborn from the inside. "Greece captured the winner." What happened was not a superimposition of cultures, but a complete restructuring of Latin civilization.

The main thing that the brilliant imitators of the Romans learned from Greek culture was not the painting of vases, not the shape of houses, not even theater and literature. The main thing was the ability to convey - broadcast - one's culture to hundreds of peoples with whom Rome interacted. To this primordial Hellenic skill, the Romans added their own: the ability to draw on the achievements of other cultures, improve them and use them as their own. The world, captured and arranged by the Romans to their liking, was constantly expanding. It is not surprising that the most convenient form of such cultural transfer was the empire.

When the western part of the Roman Empire fell under the attack of the barbarians, its eastern part with the capital continued to transfer the accumulated achievements to the huge barbarian region from the Balkans to the Caucasus. This eastern part was inhabited mainly by Greeks, who adopted Latin state values ​​and became Christians.

Piri Reis

Until 1959, no one paid attention to this map, until Professor Charles H. Hapgood from Kean College one evening, while sorting through regular archival documents, noticed the outline of Antarctica on it and decided to send it for examination. The conclusion he received caused the effect of a bomb exploding. It turned out that Antarctica could have looked like this many millions of years ago, long before we appeared as a biological species. Who were those ancient cartographers who were able to map with such accuracy a continent that would be discovered much later than the map itself?

Charles Hapgood taught history of science at Keene College, New Hampshire, USA. He was neither a geologist nor an expert on the history of the ancient world. It is possible, however, that future generations will remember him as a man who undermined the fundamental principles of world history, and at the same time a large part of geology.

Albert Einstein was among the first to recognize this when he chose to author the foreword to a book written by Hapgood in 1953, several years before Hapgood began researching the Piri Reis map: “I often receive correspondence from people who want to know my opinion about their unpublished ideas. It is clear that these ideas very rarely have scientific value. However, the very first message I received from Mr. Hapgood literally electrified me. His idea is original, very simple and, if confirmed, will be of great importance for everything connected with the history of the surface of the Earth."

This "idea", formulated in Hapgood's 1953 book, is essentially a global geological theory that elegantly explains how and why large areas of Antarctica remained ice-free until 4000 BC, as well as many other anomalies in Earth Science. Briefly, his arguments boil down to the following:
Antarctica was not always covered in ice and was once much warmer than it is today.
It was warmer because at that time it was not physically at the South Pole, but was located about 2000 miles to the north. This "brought it beyond the Antarctic Circle and placed it in a zone of temperate or cold-temperate climate."
The continent moved to its current position within the Arctic Circle as a result of what is known as “crustal displacement.” This mechanism, which should not be confused with plate tectonics or continental drift, is associated with periodic movements of the lithosphere, the outer crust of the Earth, as a whole “around a soft inner body, just as the peel of an orange might move around the pulp if the connection between them were weakened "
During this “journey” to the south, Antarctica gradually cooled, and the ice cap gradually but inevitably grew over several thousand years until it acquired its current shape.
The Piri Reis map seems to contain surprising confirmation of the thesis of a recent, on a geological scale, glaciation of Antarctica following a sudden shift of the earth's crust to the south. Moreover, since such a map could have been drawn no later than 4000 BC, its implications for the history of human civilizations could be stunning. After all, it is generally accepted that before 4000 BC. highly developed civilizations did not exist! And suddenly this card.

If Piri Reis was the only cartographer who had access to such anomalous information, it would be wrong to attach too much importance to his map. However, the Turkish admiral was not the only one who possessed this seemingly incredible and inexplicable geographical knowledge. Regardless of how this knowledge was passed down through the centuries, it is certain that other cartographers had access to the same curious secrets. And Charles Hapgood continued his search, which was again crowned with success.

Ancient map of Antarctica

The general outline of the continent coincides remarkably with that shown on modern maps. The South Pole was practically in place, almost in the center of the continent. The mountain ranges bordering the shores resembled the numerous ranges discovered in recent years, enough so as not to be considered an accidental result of the cartographer's imagination. These ridges were identified, some were coastal, some were located in the distance. Rivers flowed from many of them to the sea, very naturally and convincingly fitting into the folds of the relief. Of course, this assumed that the coast was ice-free at the time the map was drawn. The central part of the continent on the map is free of rivers and mountains, which suggests the presence of an ice cap there.”

This was confirmed by the results of drilling the bottom of the Ross Sea, which was carried out in 1949 by one of Baird’s Antarctic expeditions. The cores clearly show layers of sedimentary rocks, reflecting the state of the environment in different eras: large glacial deposits, medium glacial deposits, small glacial deposits, etc. Most surprising is the discovery of layers of fine-grained, well-mixed sediments carried to the sea by rivers whose sources are located in temperate (i.e., ice-free) lands.”

Using a radioisotope dating method developed by Dr. W. D. Uhry, scientists at the Carnegie Institution of Washington have been able to establish with reasonable accuracy that the great Antarctic rivers that were the source of these fine sediments actually flowed approximately 6,000 years ago, as shown on the Orontheus map Finius. Only after this date, around 4000 BC. e., “glacial-type sediments began to accumulate at the bottom of the Ross Sea...

Not only on these maps was marked ancient Antarctica. On the maps drawn by the most famous cartographer of the 16th century, Gerard Kremer, also known as Mercator, Antarctica is indicated in numerous details, which, of course, were not known at that time.

Bouache Map

At the same time, the peculiarity of Buache's map was that it was apparently based on maps created even earlier, perhaps thousands of years earlier than those used by Mercator and Oronteus Finius. Buache gives an accurate picture of Antarctica at a time when it was completely ice-free. His map shows the subglacial topography of the entire continent, which we did not fully understand until 1958, when detailed seismographic studies were carried out as part of the International Geophysical Year (IGY).

These studies only confirmed what Bouache had previously demonstrated when he published his map of Antarctica in 1737. Based on now-lost sources, the French academic depicted an expanse of water in the middle of the southern continent, dividing it into two subcontinents lying east and west of the line where the Transantarctic Mountains are now depicted. Such a strait connecting the Ross, Wedell and Bellingshausen Seas would undoubtedly exist if Antarctica were ice-free. As research under the IGY-58 program has shown, this continent, which is depicted as a single continent on modern maps, is in fact an archipelago of large islands covered with ice a kilometer thick. But not only the southern continent was marked on these maps, but also the territories of South America.

Thus, on the map of the same Pierce, which was drawn in 1513, there is clearly an inexplicable knowledge of South America - and not only the east coast, but also the Andes in the west of the continent, unknown at that time. The map correctly shows the Amazon, rising in these unexplored mountains and flowing east.

Based on more than twenty documentary sources dating from different eras, Piri Reis map depicts the Amazon not once, but twice - most likely as a result of the inadvertent overlap of two sources used by the Turkish admiral.

One of these channels reaches the mouth of the Para River, but the rather large island of Marajo is missing here. According to Hapgood, this may mean that the corresponding source must date from a time when the Para River formed the main or only channel of the Amazon, and the island of Marajo formed part of the mainland on its northern shore (possibly about 15,000 years ago). On the other hand, the second version of the Amazon channel shows the island of Marajo, and with fantastically accurate details, although it was discovered only in 1543. And again the assumption arises about the existence of an unknown civilization, which for thousands of years was engaged in surveying and mapping the earth's surface, and Piri Reis had at his disposal several maps dating back to different periods of this activity.

For example, not known until 1592, the Falkland Islands are shown on the 1513 map at their latitude, as well as many other details that were not known at the time.

Haji Ahmed Map

The most strange, if not stunning, feature of Hadji Ahmed's compilation is the clearly depicted strip of land almost 1,000 miles wide connecting Alaska to Siberia. Such a bridge, according to geologists, actually once existed on the site of the Bering Strait, but disappeared under the surface of the sea at the end of the last ice age.

Map of Claudius Ptolemy

The significance of this is obvious. As well as the meaning of another map, or, as it was otherwise called, “portolan” (the word comes from the purpose of these maps, which served as directions from port to port), compiled in 1487 by Yehudi ibn Ben Zara. This map of Europe and North Africa is based perhaps on a source even older than Ptolemy's, since it shows glaciers well south of Sweden - at about the latitude of England - and shows the Mediterranean, Adriatic and Aegean seas as they appeared before the melting. European ice cap. In this case, of course, the sea level should have been significantly lower than in our time. It is therefore interesting that Ibn Ben Zara's map of the Aegean Sea shows many more islands than currently exist. At first glance, this seems strange. However, this contradiction can be easily resolved if the source used by Ibn Ben Zara was from 10 to 20 thousand years old: since then, part of the islands has simply disappeared, hidden by rising sea levels at the end of the last ice age.

And again we have to look for traces of a disappeared civilization, capable of creating surprisingly accurate maps of parts of the world distant from each other.

How did human mentality and psychology lead to these huge changes? It continues to be a popular topic among historians and anthropologists and a serious discussion today. Let's highlight some of the oldest civilizations that have ever existed in the world.

Of course, we will talk about civilizations that, as we know, really exist, in contrast to those that are shrouded in myths and speculation (the civilizations of Atlantis, Lemuria and Rama...).

In order to correctly display the most ancient of civilizations in chronological order, it becomes necessary to look at the very cradle of civilization. Having said that, here is a list of the ten oldest civilizations that have ever existed in the world:

Inca civilization

Period: 1438 AD - 1532 AD
Starting place: current Peru
Current location: Ecuador, Peru and Chile

The Incas were the largest Empire in South America during the pre-Columbian era. This civilization flourished in the areas of present-day Ecuador, Peru and Chile and had its administrative, military and political center located in Cusco, which is located in modern-day Peru. The Incas had their societies quite well developed, and the empire was prosperous from the very beginning.

The Incas were devout followers of the Sun God Inti. They had a king who was called "Sapa Inca", which means "child of the Sun". The first Inca emperor Pachacuti transformed it from a humble village into a great city laid out in the shape of a puma. He expanded the traditions of ancestor worship.

When the ruler died, his son took control of the people, but all his wealth would be distributed among his other relatives, who in return supported his political influence. This significantly led to the sudden rise in power of the Incas. The Incas continued to become great builders, they continued to build fortresses and places like Machu Picchu and the city of Cusco, which are still preserved on our planet.

Aztec civilization

Period: 1345 AD - 1521 AD
Starting location: South-central region of pre-Columbian Mexico
Current location: Mexican

The Aztecs came onto the “scene,” one might say, at a time when the Incas were emerging as powerful rivals in South America. Around the 1200s and early 1300s, people in what is now Mexico lived in their three major rival cities - Tenochtitlan, Texcoco and Tlacopan. Around 1325, these rivals formed an alliance, and thus the new state was brought under the authority of the Valley of Mexico. By the way, back then people preferred the name Mexica rather than Aztec. The rise of the Aztecs occurred during the century of the fall of another influential civilization in Mexico and Central America, the Mayans.

The city of Tenochtitlan was the military force that led the conquest of the new territory. But the Aztec emperor did not rule over every city, but had the subordination of the entire people. Local authorities remained in place, but were forced to pay various amounts to the Triple Alliance.

In the early 1500s, the Aztec civilization was truly at the height of its power. But then the Spaniards arrived with plans to expand their lands. This eventually led to a huge battle between the Incas and the alliance of Spanish conquistadors and local allies they assembled under the famous Hernán Cortés in 1521. The defeat in this decisive battle ultimately led to the fall of the once famous Aztec Empire.

Roman civilization

Period:
Place of origin: Latini village
Current location: Rome

Roman civilization entered the “picture of the world” around the 6th century BC. Even the story behind ancient Rome is a legend, full of myths. But at the height of their power, the Romans controlled the largest piece of land in that era - the entire current district that surrounds the modern Mediterranean Sea was part of ancient Rome.

Early Rome was ruled by kings, but after only seven of them reigned, the Romans seized control of their own city and ruled themselves. They then had a council known as the "senate" that ruled over them. From this moment we can already talk about the “Roman Republic”.

Rome also saw the rise and fall of some of the greatest emperors in human civilization, such as Julius Caesar, Trajan and Augustus. But over time, the empire of Rome became so vast that it was simply impossible to bring it to uniform rules. But eventually the Roman Empire was overrun by millions of barbarians from the north and east of Europe.

Persian civilization

Period: 550 BC - 465 BC
Place of origin: Egypt in the west to Turkey in the north and through Mesopotamia to the Indus River in the east.
Current location: Modern day Iran

There was a time when the ancient Persian civilization was, in fact, the most powerful empire in the world. Although only ruling for a little over 200 years, the Persians captured lands that covered more than 2 million square miles. From the southern parts of Egypt to parts of Greece, and then east to parts of India, the Persian Empire was known for its military strength and wise rulers. They created such a vast empire only 200 years later (until 550 BC), the Persian Empire (or Persis as it was called then) was previously divided into factions among a number of certain leaders.

But then King Cyrus II, who later became known as Cyrus the Great, came to power and united the entire Persian kingdom. He then went on to conquer ancient Babylon. In fact, its conquest was so rapid that by the end of 533 BC. he had already invaded India, far to the east. And even when Cyrus passed away, his bloodline continued its merciless expansion and even fought in the legendary battle with the brave Spartans.

At one time, ancient Persia ruled all of Central Asia, most of Europe and Egypt. But everything changed when the legendary soldier of Macedon, the great Alexander, brought the entire Persian Empire to its knees and effectively “ended” civilization in 530 BC.

Ancient Greek civilization

Period: 2700 BC - 1500 BC
Starting location: Italy, Sicily, North Africa and as far west as France
Current location: Greece

The ancient Greeks may not have been the oldest civilization, but they are undoubtedly one of the most influential civilizations that has ever existed in the world. Although the rise of ancient Greece originated from the Cycladic and Minoan civilization (2700 BC - 1500 BC), there is evidence of burials discovered in the Franchti Cave in Argolis, Greece, which dates back to 7250 BC.

The history of this civilization is spread over such a huge period of time that historians had to divide it into different periods, the most popular of which were the Archaic, Classical and Hellenistic periods.

These periods also saw many ancient Greeks come into the spotlight - many of them changing the direction of the entire world forever. Many of them still talk about it to this day. The Greeks created the ancient Olympic Games, the concept of democracy and the Senate. They created the basis for modern geometry, biology, physics and much more. Pythagoras, Archimedes, Socrates, Euclid, Plato, Aristotle, Alexander the Great... the books of history are full of names whose inventions, theories, beliefs and heroics had a significant impact on subsequent civilizations.

Chinese civilization

Period: 1600 BC E. - 1046 BC
Starting location: Yellow River and the Yangtze region.
Current location: Country China

Ancient China - also known as Han China is undoubtedly one of the most varied stories about this civilization. The Yellow River Civilization is said to be the cradle of all Chinese civilization, as the earliest dynasties were founded here. It was around 2700 BC that the legendary Yellow Emperor began his reign in a moment that would later lead to the birth of many dynasties that would go on to rule the Chinese mainland.

In 2070 B.C. The Xia dynasty became the first power of all China, as described in ancient historical chronicles. From then on, many dynasties emerged that held control over China at different times until the end of the Qing Dynasty in 1912 with the Xinhai Revolution. And thus ended more than four thousand years of history of ancient Chinese civilization, which also fascinates historians and ordinary people to this day. But this would not have happened before they gave the world some of the most useful inventions and products such as gunpowder, paper, printing, compass, alcohol, cannons and many others.

Mayan civilization

Period: 2600 BC - 900 AD
Place of origin: Around the present day Yucatan
Current location: Yucatan, Quintana Roo, Campeche, Tabasco and Chiapas in Mexico and south through Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador and Honduras

The ancient Mayan civilization flourished in Central America from around 2600 BC and has been much talked about recently due to the timing of their famous calendar.

After the civilization was created, it continued to flourish and become one of the most complex civilizations with a rapidly growing population of 19 million people. By 700 BC. The Mayans had already developed their own way of writing, which they used to create their own solar calendars carved out of stone. According to them, the world was created on August 11, 3114 BC, this is the date from which their calendar starts. And the supposed end was December 21, 2012.

The ancient Mayans were culturally richer compared to many modern civilizations. The Mayans and Aztecs built pyramids, many of which were larger than those in Egypt. But their sudden decline and abrupt end have long been one of the most intriguing mysteries of ancient history: Why did the Mayans, an amazingly sophisticated civilization of more than 19 million people, suddenly collapse sometime in the 8th or 9th century? Although the Mayan people never completely disappeared, their descendants still live throughout Central America.

Ancient Egyptian civilization

Period: 3100-2686
Place of origin: bank of the Nile river
Current location: Egypt

Ancient Egypt is one of the oldest and culturally rich civilizations on this list. The ancient Egyptians are known for their stunning culture, standing pyramids, sphinx, pharaohs and the once magnificent civilization that lay along the banks of the Nile River. The civilization came together around 3150 BC (according to traditional Egyptian chronology) with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh. But this might not have been possible if early settlers had not appeared around the Nile Valley in early 3500 BC.

The history of ancient Egypt took place in a series of reigns of stable Kingdoms, separated by periods of relative instability known as the intermediate periods: the Old Kingdom of the Early Bronze Age, the Middle Kingdom of the Middle Bronze Age, and the New Kingdom of the Late Bronze Age.

Ancient Egypt gave the world pyramids, mummies that preserve ancient pharaohs to this day, the first of solar calendars, hieroglyphs and much more.

Ancient Egypt reached its apex by the New Kingdom, where pharaohs like Ramesses the Great ruled with such power that another modern civilization, the Nubians, also came under Egyptian rule.

Indus Valley Civilization

Period: 2600 BC -1900 BC
Place of origin: Around the Indus River basins
Current location: Northeast Afghanistan to Pakistan and northwest India

One of the oldest civilizations on this list is the Indus Valley Civilization. It lies at the very cradle of civilization, which arose in the Indus Valley region. This civilization flourished in areas stretching from what is today northeastern Afghanistan to Pakistan and northwestern India.

Along with Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, it was one of the three early civilizations of the Old World, and of the three most widespread - its area is 1.25 million km! Entire populations of people were settled around the basins of the Indus River, one of the major rivers in Asia, and another river called the Ghaggar-Hakra, which once ran through northeastern India and eastern Pakistan.

Also known as the Harappan civilization and the Mohenjo-Daro civilization, named after the excavations where the remains of the civilization were found, the peak phase of this civilization is said to have lasted from 2600 BC until around 1900 BC.

A sophisticated and technologically advanced urban culture is evident in the Indus Valley Civilization, making them the first urban centers in the region. The people of the Indus civilization achieved high precision in measuring length, mass and time. And, based on the artifacts found in the excavations, it is obvious that the culture was quite rich in arts and crafts.

Mesopotamian civilization

Period: 3500 BC -500 BC
Place of origin: northeast, Zagros Mountains, southeast of the Arabian Plateau
Current location: Iran, Syria and Türkiye

And now - the first civilization that ever arose on planet Earth after the evolution of people. The origins of Mesopotamia date back further, and there is no known evidence of any other civilized society before it. The time scale of ancient Mesopotamia is generally around 3300 BC. - 750 BC Mesopotamia is generally credited with being the first place where civilized societies truly began to take shape.

Somewhere around 8000 BC. people found the concept of agriculture and slowly began to domesticate animals both for food purposes and to assist in farming. Previously, all this was what created art. But all this was part of human culture, not human civilization. And then the Mesopotamians rose up, refined, added to, and formalized all of these systems, combining them to form the first civilization. They flourished in the regions of modern Iraq - then known as Babylonia, Sumer and Assyria.

Approximately 5-7 thousand years ago, in the 7 main centers of agriculture, primitive people moved from a nomadic lifestyle to a sedentary lifestyle, which entailed the formation of ancient civilizations of the world.

Civilizations of Mesopotamia

Mesopotamia - between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. It is believed that it was there that the most ancient civilization (4-3 thousand BC) of the Ancient World - the Sumerians - was located. Their origins are still unknown, because in Mesopotamia the Sumerians were alien people from the island of Delmun, who are not on any ancient map. The Sumerians were skilled farmers. Their cities of Uruk, Sippar, Kish and others had extensive irrigation systems. They had their own cuneiform writing system. The peculiarity of this civilization was the ability to smelt metals, deep astronomical knowledge and a high degree of urbanization of the state. The Sumerians' technologies were far ahead of many other peoples who developed in parallel with them.

Rice. 1. Centers of agriculture according to Vavilov.

The main cultural heritage of the Sumerians is the myth of the Anunnaki and the creation of man. According to the modern interpretation, man was created by the Anunnaki through genetic engineering as a slave to perform hard physical work for the “gods.”

In the 3rd millennium BC. The Sumerians were absorbed by the growing power of Babylon.

Rice. 2. Sumerian city.

African civilization

The state of Ancient Egypt arose along the banks of the Nile around the 4th millennium BC. The Egyptians had a unique religion with more than 3 thousand different gods.

The Egyptians left behind a huge number of artifacts, including not only pyramids and sarcophagi, but also a huge amount of hieroglyphs, pottery and papyri.

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The Egyptians report an even more ancient state - Punt. Many expeditions were sent there for the exchange of goods, but there is very little information about it. Punt is believed to be the pre-civilization of Ethiopia.

Mayan civilization

The Indian Mesoamerican civilization arose approximately 4 thousand years ago. The people were represented by many city-states akin to the Sumerians - agriculture was developed in them. In addition, the Mayans achieved great success in jade carving, sculpture and painting. Their astronomical calculations were far ahead of their time and incredibly accurate. The Mayan people built stone pyramids akin to the Egyptian ones (according to another version, they came to ready-made cities abandoned by the previous civilization) and observatories for observing the celestial bodies.

Rice. 3. Mayan pyramids.

At the beginning of the 21st century, the Mayan calendar ending in 2012 became widely known, which created the hypothesis of a mathematically calculated date for the end of the world. However, as studies have shown, the Mayan priests simply calculated the time with a reserve, and by 2012 their descendants should have simply updated the data. The calendar was divided into three parts - religious (260 days), practical (365 days) and chronological (360 days).

Civilizations of India and China

The Chinese civilization arose approximately 5,000 years ago along the Yellow River. The legendary period of the Three Rulers of the Five Emperors marked the beginning of their statehood. Despite the isolation of the Chinese, they will show their achievements, except for porcelain, to the world much later than other civilizations.

The civilization of India arose along the Indus and Ganges rivers. This happened in the 3rd millennium BC. India's fame was brought not only by the complex caste system of relationships, but also by the legends about the “war of the gods” in the area of ​​the city of Mohenjo-Daro. They had their own unique language and writing. Since ancient times, Hindus have been good mathematicians and builders, and medicine has reached a high level in India.

General characteristics of ancient civilizations

While tribal relations existed in Europe, the first states arose in the main “Vavilov” centers of agriculture. The role of ancient civilizations is that, thanks to their scattered location on the planet, humanity begins to form trade relations, foreign policies, and unique linguistic and racial groups. Specialization of production and the first religious polytheistic cults are formed.