More and more highly specialized scientists are taking over the investigation of the past. Using satellites, aircraft and helicopters, they are screening entire regions around the world in an attempt to find hidden traces of the past. What's more, their discoveries are changing our views of prehistoric civilizations - and the new views are often in complete contrast to archaeology's established schools of thought. It is becoming clear that the ancients knew more than we ever expected - perhaps more than we can imagine. What was the effect of the volcanic eruption of Thera? What caused the collapse of the Minoan kingdom on Crete? Did Atlantis ever exist? Where was the cradle of western civilization? In this work, geoarchaeologist Eberhard Zangger addresses these and many other questions. He takes the reader into the field to look at various excavations around the world; explains current thinking in archaeological research; and explores the new methods and techniques that have only recently become available and the new insights gained from them.