It’s easy to get so caught up in the present that we forget to honor the past. From National Geographic, Lost Cities, Ancient Tombs: 100 Discoveries That Changed the World is a sweeping overview of mankind’s accomplishments through archeological finds. Edited by Ann R. Williams and with contributions from five authors credited and support from members of the National Geographic Society, this tome is a feat of discovery in and of itself.
(National Geographic)
Presented chronologically, chapters are broken up into chunks of time, going as far back as 3.6 million years ago to as recently as 1912. This also allows some themes to emerge within the groupings, such as “The Dawn of Culture” and “Rituals & Religion.” True to the title, the archeological discoveries presented either contain human remains or evidence of manmade structures that had been lost to time.
Lost Cities, Ancient Tombs gives credit to the archaeologists and scientists who contributed to the database of knowledge about each find, each one like a patch in a large quilt that tells the story of homo sapien evolution. While the finds themselves are based on carbon dating, the discoveries themselves come from more recent history. In cases where the finds predate modern scientific methods, the writers also add additional data that has been collected more recently to help solve the mysteries of pre-recorded history.
With so many cultures represented, the book is also a celebration of diversity and culture. It prompts self-examination from readers to consider the origins of their own ancestral path and how the culture they exist in was formed. But more than that, it serves as a stark reminder that for all our differences, we’re all very much the same. We’re one human race, benefiting from each other’s technological advancements. And without ever mentioning climate impact, it also paints a picture of how humans have reshaped the landscape of the world over centuries of time, declaring certain resources precious and charting a path of destruction to get more of it.
With each archeological find spanning just a few pages, most accompanied by a color photo, Lost Cities, Ancient Tombs: 100 Discoveries That Changed the World makes for easy bedtime reading. You don’t have to worry about your eyes becoming too heavy in the middle of a long chapter, but it also paints pictures in your head of times long ago, perfect pre-dream fodder. And as with any good National Geographic product, it puts you in the shoes of the explorers who made these fascinating discoveries, quenching your own thirst for knowledge and exploration.
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Lost Cities, Ancient Tombs: 100 Discoveries That Changed the World: National Geographic, Amazon.com