The Famous Lost Cities Of The World

1. L'Anse aux Meadows (Canada)

L'Anse aux Meadowsis an archaeological site on the northernmost tip of the island of Newfoundland in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Discovered in 1960, it is the only known site of a Norse village in Canada, and in North America outside of Greenland. The site remains the only widely-accepted instance of pre-Columbian trans-oceanic contact, and is notable for possible connections with the attempted colony of Vinland established by Leif Ericson around 1003, or more broadly with Norse exploration of the Americas. The name "L'Anse aux Meadows" made its first appearance as Anse à la Medée on a map of 1862, when it may have derived its name from a ship called Medée. (based on a wikipedia article / cc by-sa)

2. Ancient Pueblo (USA)

Ancient Pueblo People or Ancestral Puebloans were an ancient Native American culture centered on the present-day Four Corners area of the United States, comprising southern Utah, northern Arizona, northwest New Mexico, and a lesser section of Colorado. The cultural group has often been referred to in archaeology as the Anasazi, although the term is not preferred by the modern Puebloan peoples. The word Anasazi is Navajo for "Ancient Ones" or "Ancient Enemy". Archaeologists still debate when this distinct culture emerged, but the current consensus, based on terminology defined by the Pecos Classification, suggests their emergence around 1200 BC, during the archaeologically designated Basketmaker II Era. Beginning with the earliest explorations and excavations, researchers have believed that the Ancient Puebloans are ancestors of the modern Pueblo peoples. (based on a wikipedia article / cc by-sa)

3. Machu Picchu (Peru)

Machu Picchuis a pre-Columbian Inca site located 2,430 metres (7,970 ft) above sea level. It is situated on a mountain ridge above the Urubamba Valley in Peru, which is 80 kilometres (50 mi) northwest of Cuzco and through which the Urubamba River flows. Most archaeologists believe that Machu Picchu was built as an estate for the Inca emperor Pachacuti (1438–1472). Often referred to as "The Lost City of the Incas", it is perhaps the most familiar icon of the Inca World. One of the earliest theories about the purpose of the citadel, by Hiram Bingham, is that it was the traditional birthplace of the Incan "Virgins of the Suns". Research conducted by scholars, such as John Rowe and Richard Burger, has convinced most archaeologists that Machu Picchu was an estate of the Inca emperor, Pachacuti. (based on a wikipedia article / cc by-sa)

4. Tikal (Guatemala)

Tikal (or Tik’al according to the modern Mayan orthography) is one of the largest archaeological sites and urban centres of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization. It is located in the archaeological region of the Petén Basin in what is now northern Guatemala. Situated in the department of El Petén, the site is part of Guatemala's Tikal National Park and in 1979 it was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Population estimates for Tikal vary from 10,000 to as high as 90,000 inhabitants, with the most likely figure being at the upper end of this range. Because of the low salt content of the Maya diet, it is estimated that Tikal would have had to import 131 tons of salt each year, based on a conservative population estimate of 45,000. (based on a wikipedia article / cc by-sa)

5. Copán (Honduras)

Copán is an archaeological site of the Maya civilization located in the Copán Department of western Honduras, not far from the border with Guatemala. It was the capital city of a major Classic period kingdom from the 5th to 9th centuries AD. The city was located in the extreme southeast of the Mesoamerican cultural region, on the frontier with the Isthmo-Colombian cultural region, and was almost surrounded by non-Maya peoples. K'inich Popol Hol inherited the throne of Copán from K'inich ax K'uk' Mo', who was his father. He undertook major construction projects with the redesign of the core of Copán. Popol Hol is not the original name of this king but rather a nickname based on the appearance of his Teotihuacan-linked name glyph. (based on a wikipedia article / cc by-sa)

6. Calakmul (Mexico)

Calakmul (also Kalakmul and other less frequent variants) is the modern name of one of the largest and most powerful ancient Maya cities ever uncovered in the Maya lowlands. It is located in the 1,800,000-acre (7,300 km2) Calakmul Biosphere Reserve in the Mexican state of Campeche, deep in the jungles of the greater Petén Basin region, 35 kilometres (22 mi) from the Guatemalan border. In ancient times the city core was known as Ox Te' Tuun. Calakmul is located in Campeche state in southeastern Mexico, about 35 kilometres (22 mi) north of the border with Guatemala and 38 kilometres (24 mi) north of the ruins of El Mirador. The ruins of El Tintal are 68 kilometres (42 mi) to the southwest of Calakmul and were linked to both El Mirador and Calakmul itself by causeway. (based on a wikipedia article / cc by-sa)

7. Chichen Itza (Mexico)

Chichen Itzais a large pre-Columbian archaeological site built by the Maya civilization located in the northern center of the Yucatán Peninsula, in the Yucatán state, present-day Mexico. The site contains many fine stone buildings in various states of preservation, and many have been restored. The buildings are connected by a dense network of formerly paved roads, called sacbeob. Archaeologists have found almost 100 sacbeob criss-crossing the site, and extending in all directions from the city. The buildings of Chichén Itza are grouped in a series of architectonic sets, and each set was at one time separated from the other by a series of low walls. (based on a wikipedia article / cc by-sa)

8. Coba (Mexico)

Coba (Cobá in the Spanish language) is a large ruined city of the Pre-Columbian Maya civilization, located in the state of Quintana Roo, Mexico. It is located about 90 km east of the Maya site of Chichen Itza, about 40 km west of the Caribbean Sea, and 44 km northwest of the site of Tulum, with which it is connected by a modern road. Coba is located around two lagoons. A series of elevated stone and plaster roads radiate from the central site to various smaller sites near and far. These are known by the Maya term sacbe (plural sacbeob). Some of these causeways go east to the Caribbean coast, and the longest runs over 100 kilometres (62 mi) westwards to the site of Yaxuna. (based on a wikipedia article / cc by-sa)

9. Palenque (Mexico)

Palenque (Bàak' in Modern Maya) was a Maya city state in southern Mexico that flourished in the seventh century CE. After its decline it was absorbed into the jungle, but has been excavated and restored and is now a famous archaeological site attracting thousands of visitors. It is located near the Usumacinta River in the Mexican state of Chiapas, located about 130 km south of Ciudad del Carmen (see map) about 150 meters above sea-level. Palenque is a medium-sized site, much smaller than such huge sites as Tikal or Copán, but it contains some of the finest architecture, sculpture, roof comb and bas-relief carvings the Maya produced. (based on a wikipedia article / cc by-sa)

10. Teotihuacan (Mexico)

Teotihuacan – also written Teotihuacán, with an orthographic accent on the last syllable, following the conventions of Spanish orthography – is an enormous archaeological site in the Basin of Mexico, containing some of the largest pyramidal structures built in the pre-Columbian Americas. Apart from the pyramidal structures, Teotihuacan is also known for its large residential complexes, the Avenue of the Dead, and numerous colorful, well-preserved murals. The original name of the city is unknown, but it appears in hieroglyphic texts from the Maya region as puh, or "Place of Reeds". This suggests that the Maya of the Classic period understood Teotihuacan as a Place of Reeds similar to other Postclassic Central Mexican settlements that took the name Tollan, such as Tula-Hidalgo and Cholula. (based on a wikipedia article / cc by-sa)

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