Hidden Cities: The Discovery and Loss of Ancient North American Civilizations

Most people do not know that for 5000 years, until as recently as the 18th century, the Ohio and Mississippi valleys were home to well organized, highly advanced civilizations. American Indians built huge geometrical structures to precisely related dimensions across distances of hundreds of miles. They lived in cities such as Balbansha, near present-day New Orleans, that were filled with carefully planned buildings, plazas, and streets. And they walked on highways like the Great Hope Road, a causeway for religious pilgrims that was begun in the 13th century. In describing their discovery by George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and other Founding Fathers, this book holds a mirror to distant and recent ancestors, as well as to deeply ingrained misconceptions about the past of the American continent.