eli5: Why were some ancient cities like Palmyra and Machu Picchu left to ruin and fall apart over hundreds of years instead of being repopulated?

Question

eli5: Why were some ancient cities like Palmyra and Machu Picchu left to ruin and fall apart over hundreds of years instead of being repopulated?

In: 1677

Answer 1

One reason is the city didn’t grow organically from the needs of the society.

If it’s a cultural/religious center it may have been built in a location due to aesthetics or geographic location (inaccessible, or perhaps central).

It’s not at a location like a river with lots of trade traffic, or a pass through some mountains, or by a great lake or coast.

So if the powers that “want” the city in that unusual location, basically as a flex, fall out of favor or power there is no incentive for people to build there again.