A new book Incredible Archaeology: Inspiring Places From Our Human Past, out this month from Smithsonian Books, explores some of the world's most spectacular ancient wonders. (Alpineguide/Alamy). SMITHSONIANMAG.COM | Nov. 30, 2020, 9 a.m.
Incredible Archaeology: Inspiring Places from Our Human Past is a global tour of ancient sites, from the famous and much-visited Machu Picchu to lesser-traversed places, like North America's Viking Settlement, L'anse Aux Meadows, or the rock paintings of the San people in South Africa's Game Pass Shelter. The collection, offered by Smithsonian Books and assembled by writer and editor Paul Bahn, includes breathtaking photos of temples entangled in jungle, settlements once concealed by rising water, and ancient cities long abandoned. Incredible Archaeology takes readers on an arm-chair journey to far-flung corners of the globe and spans thousands of years, from our earliest ancestors to the Battle of the Little Bighorn.
These selected 12 places sampled from Incredible Archeology are a testament to human ingenuity and perseverance.
The Viking Settlement of L'Anse Aux Meadows
The Great Houses of Chaco Canyon in New Mexico held great symbolic and ceremonial importance to the Chacoan people. (Efrain Padro / Alamy)
The Mountaintop City of Monte Albán
The Geoglyph Nazca Lines
The Iron Age Settlement at Biskupin
The Sanctuary of Delphi
The Twin Temples at Abu Simbel
Game Pass Shelter
The City of Ur
Cave Temples and Monasteries at Ajanta
Aboriginal Art in Kakadu National Park
Gyeongju: Museum Without Walls
