The who’s who of ancient people
Most people have heard of an ancient culture like the Celts or the Egyptians, but who exactly were they and what happened to them? Here’s a list of the most well-known ancient cultures that have existed around the world and what happened to them if anything, as some are still living today as they did hundreds of years ago.
Aboriginal Australians – 50,000 BCE to present
Even though they never formed an actual civilization, the Aboriginal Australians are thought to have become a group that became isolated from the rest of the people on earth about 50,000 years ago and continued to live without mixing their DNA with other human races, making them genetically distinct. They are simply tribal people who have very low levels of technology and still exist today in isolated parts of the country living like they did thousands of years ago.
Amazon tribes – unknown (probably around 2000 BCE) to present
There are hundreds of different tribes that live in this huge jungle, but most of them have their own names, languages, and cultures. The term Amazon tribe is given to any group of people living a tribal lifestyle that inhabits the Amazon jungle. Many of these tribes have contact with the outside world and trade what they can produce from the jungle in exchange for tools, clothing, and medicine, but there are many tribes believed to have never been contacted that still produce everything for themselves. These tribes, especially the uncontacted ones still live the same way they did since there ever were people living in this jungle, but unfortunately, they aren’t well known for writing things down and no one knows how long it’s been since people first lived there.
Aztecs – 1200 AD to 1521 AD
This warrior tribe lived in modern-day Mexico and built a capital city called Tenochtitlán where Mexico City now stands. They were a fierce tribe and almost constantly at war with their neighbours who they dominated some time in the 15th century, making them rulers of most of the country. They were quite advanced as far as tribal people go and had a complex system of religion and social structures. They lived as the superpower in the region until the arrival of Hernán Cortés in 1519, a Spanish conquistador in charge of an expedition to explore the region.
After recruiting a few local tribes to his side and wiping out a large percentage of the country with smallpox, Hernán Cortés eventually took the Aztec capital and held its king as a hostage. After the Aztec king died somehow the Spanish were forced to flee the city and barely escaped with their lives, but it didn’t take long for the Spanish to return. They came back with an army that massacred the Aztecs and struck the final blow needed to start the end of a once-prosperous people.
Celts – 2000 BCE to 200 AD
The word Celt or Celtic is a term created by the Romans to describe the ancient people of mainland Eastern Europe who shared many similarities in their cultures and languages. There are two main types of Celtic people which are mainland and insular, with the latter coming from the British Isles. Since boats weren’t exactly great several thousand years ago people didn’t travel much between mainland Europe and the British Isles, and so the Insular Celtic people progressed independently from their mainland counterparts and formed a unique culture.
The individual tribes each had their own names and didn’t refer to themselves as Celts until the Romans came along and collectively named them as such, but in order to qualify as a Celt all you had to do was live in Eastern Europe during the age of the Roman Empire.
Egyptians – 3,100 BCE to 30 BCE
There have been people living in Egypt for many thousands of years but it wasn’t until the reign of King Narmer around the year 3,100 BCE that Egypt was unified and formed what is commonly referred to as the ancient Egyptians. Before this, the country was divided between several independent city nations who all had their own cultures and traditions, but it wasn’t until King Narmer conquered them and declared himself ruler of Egypt that the golden age of the Ancient Egyptians began.
They were the most advanced civilization in the world during their prime and created the pyramids which still stand to this day along with a number of other impressive creations, the most well-known of which is the Sphinx. Cleopatra VII is recognized as being the last ruler of the empire and after she died in 30 BCE the civilization crumbled and the territory conquered by invading forces, the most famous of which was the Romans.
Gauls – 500 BCE to 500 AD
Gaul was a territory that spread from modern-day France eastwards towards central Germany and as far south as northern Italy. It was simply a name given to a region that spanned close to 500,000 km² and included hundreds of independent tribes. At times the area of Gaul was considered different from the Celtic territories but over time and due to a lack of sea borders the two territories formed into one and shared the same people.
There is no real difference between Gauls and Celts apart from the regions they started in before their people mixed with each other, but it wouldn’t be incorrect to call people who lived in France during the 1st century by either name.
Germanic Tribes – 500 BCE to 400 AD
The name says it all, tribes from Germany. These people were considered different from Celts because they had a significantly different language and culture. They invaded many of the surrounding countries during their prime and put up fierce resistance to the Romans when they arrived. Unlike the Western Celtic tribes, the Germanic people were influenced by other cultures further to the east and so formed their own unique differences from the Western European Celts.
Like so many other tribes no one knows exactly when these people first came about as early Iron Age tribes often didn’t have a written language, but they were at their peak a few centuries into the Iron Age, probably somewhere around 500 BCE. As with so many other civilizations, the Germanic tribes came up against the Romans and saw their people shattered and thrown into a new era.
Incas – 1,200 AD to 1572 AD
The Incas were a South American tribe that lived primarily in modern-day Chile and the southern half of Peru but expanded over the years into Argentina and Bolivia. The tribe was similar to many other South and Central American tribes but had its own distinctive culture and created the most impressive structures in all of ancient South America.
The Incas created an empire much bigger than any other in South America and didn’t end until the Spanish executed Tupac Amaru, the last Inca emperor in 1572 AD. One of the seven ancient wonders of the world called Machu Picchu was built by the Incas and still stands today on a mountaintop.
Inuit – Unknown to present
The real age of the Inuit people will forever remain unknown, but it is thought they descended from people who migrated from Asia tens of thousands of years ago. The Inuit people live in Greenland, Alaska, and Canada but shouldn’t be confused with the term Eskimo. The Inuit are genetically different from the tribes that can be found living in the northern reaches of Russia and Europe who all have their own names. The word Eskimo is a blanket term used to describe people who live this lifestyle, and it’s no different from referring to someone who’s white as being simply European.
Mayans – 250 AD to 900 AD
An advanced civilization that lived in central Mexico and spread south through Belize, Honduras, and western Guatemala. They were much like the Aztecs and Incas but had their own gods and traditions. Much like many other cultures they built small pyramids and temples and reigned as the superpower in the region for hundreds of years. The interesting thing about the Mayans is that no one really knows for sure what happened to them.
The reason behind the decline of the Mayans is debated and there isn’t one definitive answer, but the most common reasons include disease, war, overpopulation, and an extended drought or famine. Any one of these could be the leading cause of their downfall, but whichever it was did enough damage to the empire to see it split into many smaller tribes who never re-united into an empire, and so the Mayans faded away into history.
Mesopotamia – 3300 BC to 750 BC
The Mesopotamian civilizations are widely believed to be the first civilizations in human history. There were many people and groups that existed before this but none of them were able to form into what is classed as a civilization, making Mesopotamia the first one. It was a land located in the Middle East and sat between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in a very fertile area of land, perfect for mass-producing crops.
The flat lands around the river frequently flooded and created especially fertile soil which attracted many independent nations over the years including the Akkadian, Babylonian, Sumerians, and Assyrians. Which of these came first is unclear but whoever it was created the first civilization, something never before seen on earth.
Romans – 800 BCE to 500 AD
If you’ve never heard of the Romans before then you’ve probably never opened a history book. This empire stretched from Eastern Europe to England and covered parts of northern Africa. The Romans started with the founding of Rome around the year 800 BCE but it wasn’t until hundreds of years later it would rise to the level of power most people know it for. The Romans were people from modern-day Italy and spread their technology across the lands they conquered, building roads and showing people how to make better versions of everything. It was the Romans who brought the technology to Britain of how to make steel, ending the Iron Age in the country.
The empire ended due to political differences that saw the empire split into two. After this it never reformed and constant invasions from neighbouring countries put an end to the once mighty Roman empire.
Saxons – 400 AD to 1066 AD
The Saxons were a people who lived in modern-day Germany and parts of Denmark and the Netherlands. They were more advanced than the Germanic tribes that still lived in small villages that each had their own leader, as the Saxons were a unified people who shared the same language and created a new culture and their own beliefs. They started raiding Britain before the Romans left in the late 4th century but were beaten back on each attempt, but after the Romans left the country they invaded and conquered large portions of territory.
Over the years the native Celtic people of Britain mixed with Saxons to become what is known as the Anglo-Saxons, a civilization more advanced than either one individually. The Saxons lasted until the Norman Invasion of 1066 which started the medieval age in Britain.
Vikings – 700 AD to 1000 AD
The Vikings were people who lived in Scandinavia presumably for hundreds of years but it wasn’t until around the year 700 AD that someone figured out how to sail from their homeland to the shores of Britain, starting centuries of raids and making them feared across the known world. They left behind traces of their genetics and traditions on the lands they conquered and built a few forts here and there, but normally weren’t interested in settling down on foreign soil, instead preferring to steal as much as possible to make their homeland richer.
They did at one point conquer much of Britain and if not for a defeat at the Battle of Eddington by King Alfred the Great of Wessex in 878 AD, they could well have permanently conquered the British Isles. After three centuries of attacking anyone they could sail to, the Vikings found themselves technologically behind many other European civilizations and no longer held the advantage of just having bigger and stronger fighters. After the Norman invasion in 1066, the fleets of the British and surrounding nations could stop the smaller Viking longboats before they even arrived, and even the fiercest Viking warrior was no match for a knight in plate armor.
