Advanced Civilizations of Prehistoric America

The examination of four great civilizations that existed before Columbus’s arrival in North America offers evidence of sustained contact between the Old and New Worlds

• Describes the cultural splendor, political might, and incredibly advanced technology of these precursors to our modern age

• Shows that North America’s first civilization, the Adena, was sparked by ancient Kelts from Western Europe and explores links between Hopewell Mound Builders and prehistoric Japanese seafarers

Before Rome ruled the Classical World, gleaming stone pyramids stood amid smoking iron foundries from North America’s Atlantic seaboard to the Mississippi River. On its east bank, across from today’s St. Louis, Missouri, flourished a walled city more populous than London was one thousand years ago, with a pyramid larger--at its base--than Egypt’s Great Pyramid. During the 12th century, hydraulic engineers laid out a massive irrigation network spanning the American Southwest that, if laid end to end, would stretch from Phoenix, Arizona, to the Canadian border. On a scale to match, they built a five-mile-wide dam from ten million cubic yards of rock. While Europe stumbled through the Dark Ages, a metropolis of weirdly shaped, multistory superstructures, precisely aligned to the sun and moon, sprawled across the New Mexico Desert.

Who was responsible for such colossal achievements? Where did their mysterious builders come from, and what became of them? These are some of the questions investigated by Frank Joseph in his examination of ancient influences at work on our continent. He reveals that modern civilization is not the first to arise in North America but was preceded instead by four high cultures that rose and fell over the past three thousand years: the Adena, Hopewell, Mississippian, and Anasazi-Hohokam. How they achieved greatness and why they vanished so completely are the intriguing enigmas explored by this unconventional prehistory of our country, Advanced Civilizations of Prehistoric America.

Frank Joseph is the editor in chief of Ancient American magazine and the author of The Destruction of Atlantis, The Lost Civilization of Lemuria, Survivors of Atlantis, and The Lost Treasure of King Juba. He lives in Minnesota.

“Advanced Civilizations of Prehistoric America contains much tinder for the fires of controversy regarding pre-Columbian civilizations that rose, flourished, and fell in North America.  Frank Joseph has written a startling book with much evidence to consider.  The book you’re holding sifts through the evidence in an easy-to-understand manner.  Read this book with an open mind and you’ll begin to see our history in a much different way.”
Scott H. Colborn, host of Exploring Unexplained Phenomena

“No one brings American prehistory alive like Frank Joseph.”
Philip Coppens, author of Servants of the Grail

" . . . the evidence is compelling and presented in a way that is informative and engaging. It is not a dry, boring academic work. . . . Read it and decide for yourself if Mr. Joseph's conclusions hold up. If nothing else, it will help you learn to think outside the box."
Michael Gleason, reviewer, Jan 2010

"The author, who has written four other books and is editor of Ancient American magazine, suggests that a study of these early kingdoms, all of which died out because of internal decay and reliance on limited resources, might serve as cautionary tales for our present day. His carefully researched details, together with his bibliography of over 300 sources, will appeal to readers and researchers interested in accounts of early advanced civilizations often omitted from standard historical study."

Richard D. Wright, New Age Retailer, Feb 2010

"Frank Joseph's book is an eye-opener for its documentation of these lost cultures and their legacies. It's also a cautionary tale with implications for our own survival."
Nexus New Times Magazine, Vol. 17, No. 4, Jun/Jul 2010