Some findings suggest human activity predates known civilizations, but no conclusive proof exists of an advanced lost civilization. Mainstream archaeology holds that civilization, meaning organized societies with cities, agriculture, and written language, began around 5,000–6,000 years ago with cultures like Mesopotamia, Egypt, and the Indus Valley.
However, some discoveries challenge this timeline, suggesting that human societies may have been more advanced earlier than believed. For example, Göbekli Tepe, a 12,000-year-old archaeological site in Turkey, predates known civilizations by thousands of years. This suggests that early humans were capable of complex construction and organization long before expected. Similarly, some ancient flood myths and lost city legends fuel speculation that advanced societies may have existed before recorded history.
However, no conclusive evidence supports the idea that a highly advanced civilization predating known history existed and was lost due to catastrophe. While new discoveries continue to reshape our understanding of early human societies, mainstream archaeology still finds no proof of an unknown advanced civilization predating the earliest known cultures.
