Another volume of the most interesting encyclopedia "Vanished Civilizations". This time we'll talk about the legendary builders of mounds - burial mounds located in the US territory east of the Mississippi and rivaling the Egyptian pyramids.

Sinagua is just one of a long list of ancient American cultures that flourished and died before how European settlers claimed the New World as their own. These cultures left no records of their achievements, customs, religious beliefs or daily life. We don't even know what they called themselves. Therefore, archaeologists named cultures based on the characteristics of their habitat, like Sinagua, or the name of an area rich in archaeological finds. Fortunately, material evidence of the existence of these amazing cultures has been preserved. Basically, these are impressive-sized structures that make you think about the power of their creators. But small finds can also tell a lot - fragments of ceramics, baskets, human bones, stone spearheads, grains, pollen and even the remains of food prepared several centuries ago. With their help, the scientist, with the meticulousness of a detective, recreates a picture of the lives of real people, hidden behind silent objects.

CONTENTS: PART I. ADEN AND HOPEWELL: A MONUMENTAL HERITAGE 7 Earthly colossi 33 PART II. TEMPLE MOUND BUILDERS: POWERFUL AND MAGNIFICENT 43Keys to the Universe 69PART III. FLOWERING DESERT OF THE SOUTHWEST 79The Saga of Mesa Verde 109PART IV. AN AS A3 I: LORDS OF CANYONS AND ROCKS 121Wonders of Chaco Canyon 150Bibliography 164Index 166