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

there are a lot of other factors that determine a cities ability to recover from major events (war, famine, disease, natural disaster, political instability), but ill stick to what i think is most important:

i think a lot of it comes down to geography. a city in a central trade route, near a lot of resources, maybe part of a large system of governance, is a city that well most definitely be rebuilt and repopulated over time, even if a large portion of the population is wiped out or displaced. the accessibility of resources pretty much determines a city’s value to the people in it and the people running it.

cities outside of resourceful areas are much more susceptible to the aftermath of major events. what’s left of these cities isn’t likely to be repopulated by surviving members, or not worth claiming by opportunistic conquerors.

its the reason why some cities are still active after thousands of years of conquest and disaster and death and being passed back and forth, whereas other cities might have turned into ruins after a blip of troubles.