Specifically in cultures prior to/without large bodies of written work we can translate.
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City plans, written works, artifacts – we know it from a combination of these things and any other authentic evidence.
It’s both archaeological evidence *and* guesswork, but the guesswork is pretty skilled and based on the evidence.
For example, suppose that we find a mural of a woman who seems to be applying cosmetics, and the cosmetics are coming from a specifically-shaped container. We then find such a container, and we chemically test the inside, and we find cobalt chemicals in it. We know the cosmetics they used were blue based on the murals they made, and cobalt dyes are blue. We can then make a pretty good guess that the cobalt chemicals we found *were* the dyes they were using.
We can then use what we know about local geology to say hey, wait a minute, cobalt ores don’t show up around here. But we know they traded with their neighbors, who *did* have a cobalt mine, so okay, they probably bought their cosmetics from their neighbor.
(And so on.)
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