Leading authorities discuss the key questions, beginning with the truth behind myths and legends. Was there ever a Garden of Eden? Did the flood in Genesis actually occur? What became of the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel? And what is the significance of the Aboriginal Dreamtime? The book then examines mysteries of the Stone Age: the beginnings of language, the fate of the Neanderthals, and the meaning of cave paintings. The enigma of the European megaliths is addressed, and the question of whether there was ever a mother goddess cult. The ancient civilizations present equally fascinating puzzles: were the Egyptians black Africans, and how did Tutankhamun die? And mysteries are found in all parts of the globe: did the Olmecs originate in Africa, were the Bog People of northern Europe murder victims, why did the Incas sacrifice children, and what was the purpose of the world-famous Nazca lines?

The book pays close attention to puzzling sepulchers like Tomb 55 in Egypt's Valley of the Kings—possibly the pharaoh Akhenaten's burial place — and to undeciphered scripts, from Cretan Linear A to Etruscan, runes, and rongorongo. Finally, it examines the controversies surrounding the collapse of such civilizations as the Minoan, the Maya, and the Moche of lowland Peru.

Packed with diagrams, photographs, plans, and maps, The Seventy Great Mysteries of the Ancient World is a unique guide to some of the most contentious issues of the human past, offering a completely up-to-date account of mysteries that fascinate us all.