Contest: ENTER Misc Avatar Contest: "Lost Civilizations"

[RJDiogenes]

Please enter our new Avatar Contest-- while you still can.

History is rife with examples of mighty civilizations that rose to great, seemingly unassailable, heights, only to collapse and be reduced to museum exhibits. The reasons for this are many. Some were defeated by invaders, some succumbed to climate change, some collapsed under the weight of their own stupidity, some mysteriously evaporated on the winds of time. In any case, today seems like a good point to stop and take the measure of our noble predecessors, who believed that their way of life would endure forever, and yet were unable to get it together enough to save themselves. I don't know what brought this to mind. Just random inspiration, I guess.

For an example, we have here the ancient Minoan Civilization of Crete, home of the Minotaur, location of the labyrinth, trendsetter of toplessness, tourist destination of space aliens, and likely source of the legend of Atlantis. Pictured are the ruins of the palace of Knossos. I'm not sure if that's sunrise or sunset, but let's all pretend that it's sunset for the sake of poetry.

Your contribution can be any image that symbolizes your favorite lost civilization from any place or any time. The Anasazi or the Clovis People, the Aztecs or the Incas, Classical Greece or the Holy Roman Empire, Carthage or Numidia. There's no shortage. The usual rules about size and media apply.

Look upon our works, ye mighty, and despair!

 

[think]

Pompeii and the volcano I got this image from the wiki..I don't know seemed to be the correct avatar size.

the wiki quote..

"Garden of the Fugitives".
Plaster casts of victims still in situ;
many casts are in the
Archaeological Museum of Naples.

and on YouTube..

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[Locutus of Bored]

Cahokia, chief city of the vast midwest and southern Mississippian Culture, and the largest pre-Columbian city north of Mexico, located between present day East St. Louis and Collinsville, Illinois and directly across the Mississippi River from St. Louis, Missouri, which used to be known as "Mound City" due to its 40+ Earthen mounds and pyramids, which were sadly all flattened except for one to make way for modern developments. Cahokia and the surrounding farmland held upwards of 40,000+ people at its height of ~1100 AD, and counted what would become modern St. Louis as one of its many "suburbs."

The central ceremonial and civic feature of the city, which still stands today and is visible from miles around (including St. Louis), is Monks Mound, the largest pre-Columbian pyramid north of Mexico, measuring 100 ft (30 m) high x 951 ft (290 m) long x 836 ft (255 m) wide (roughly equivalent in size at the base to the Great Pyramid at Giza). There was also an extremely precise agricultural calendar made up of a huge circle of tall wooden posts, nicknamed "Woodhenge" like the one in Britain, that marked the solstices and equinoxes for farmers.

 

[auntiehill]

The Mayan temples at Chichen Itza
:

 

[RJDiogenes]

These are all fantastic.

 

[rhubarbodendron]

Though it looks metallic, this pretty jar isn't made of metal but of clay. It's covered with graphite (yep, the very stuff that's inside a pencil) to make it pretty and waterproof.
It was made here in Eastern Bavaria some 7000 years ago, in the Neolithic era. As glacings weren't invented yet, these pots were the first fired ceramics that was absolutely watertight. Hence, this sort of gleaming pottery was traded all over Europe and as far as to northern Asia.
In the bronze age the same tribes specialized in high quality metalwork that they traded as far as Pakistan. Then the Romans and after them Christian monks came, and under their influence this once so important culture dwindled into oblivion until nowadays it's just a handfull of backwater villages and country towns.

What I find most remarkable about that vanished culture is that their pottery is so esthetically pleasing that even today no household would be ashamed to own one of these =)

 

[Avro Arrow]

OK, since you specified "favourite", I have to go with ancient Egypt. However, I don't know if this qualifies as "lost", since, well Egypt and the Egyptian people still exist. But the ancient civilization itself was conquered (many times!) and technically no longer exists.

So, please let me know whether or not this is OK. If not, no worries, I have many other ideas, even if they're not my first "favourite"!

Instead of the usual pyramids at Giza, or the Sphinx, I went with the Pyramid of Djoser at Saqqara:

 

[RJDiogenes]

Then the Romans and after them Christian monks came, and under their influence this once so important culture dwindled into oblivion until nowadays it's just a handfull of backwater villages and country towns.

This is why ancient civilizations are so fascinating and so melancholy at the same time-- almost like remembering childhood on a planetary scale.

However, I don't know if this qualifies as "lost", since, well Egypt and the Egyptian people still exist. But the ancient civilization itself was conquered (many times!) and technically no longer exists.

Yes, you are correct. Places like Egypt and Greece still exist, but the ancient civilizations that preceded can be considered lost. Your entry is perfect.

 

[rhubarbodendron]

makes you wonder when our currnt civilisation will vanish. At the rate good manners, good spelling and good sense are vanishing I'd say pretty soon.

 

[tharpdevenport]

I remember seeing something about a previously unknown lost civilization being found under a deep lake, but nothing further on it.

 

[RJDiogenes]

makes you wonder when our currnt civilisation will vanish. At the rate good manners, good spelling and good sense are vanishing I'd say pretty soon.

I'm hoping we'll last long enough to finish this avatar contest. I'm going to try to get the voting thread up on Thursday morning.

I remember seeing something about a previously unknown lost civilization being found under a deep lake, but nothing further on it.

The Great Lakes, maybe? There's been a few ruins spotted in several of them, I think.

 

[Kai "the spy"]

After long deliberation I've decided to go with the Picts:

 

[rhubarbodendron]

great idea, Kai! I'd never have thought of them but they are a perfect example for a celtic culture.

 

[RJDiogenes]

Nice pics of the Picts.

 

[RJDiogenes]

Okay, we've got seven, which isn't bad these days. I'll give it 24 more hours and put the poll up tomorrow morning about this time. Last call!

 

[DimesDan]

Well here is my entry, it's a random pile of stones that are not far from where I grew up, there are many theories as to why and better yet, how it was built, it's of course a Henge of Stones!

 

[RJDiogenes]

^^ Cool. I love henges, especially stoned.

The Voting Thread is up here.

 

[Kai "the spy"]

Well here is my entry, it's a random pile of stones that are not far from where I grew up, there are many theories as to why and better yet, how it was built, it's of course a Henge of Stones!

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