How long does stuff last after death/collapse of an empire?

[Insight]

It's a bit nit-picky, but this is far from the truth. Anatomically modern humans have been around for almost 200,000 years, and have been making objects the entire time, as did their ancestors. There's a hand-axe in the British Museum that's about 1 million years old. More recently, there are plenty of artifacts present from the last Ice Age (ended app. 12,000ya). These objects are for the most part stone and bone tools, though in some areas (Monte Verde in Chile, for instance) organic materials have been preserved. As others have mentioned, cave paintings exist in Europe that are up to 32,000 years old.

One thing to remember is that you're playing in a fantasy world. Obviously, we gamers take for granted that the laws of physics work much as they do on Earth (excepting magic, of course), but that doesn't have to be the case. It's not very hard to imagine a place where materials exist that simply don't wear down, or take tens of thousands of years to do so. And there's always the old fall-back of "it's magic, that's why it's still here after a million years!"

Mor

I was referring specifically to artifacts with WRITING, not hand axes and cave paintings, which are not hallmarks of civilization. Sorry for the confusion.

 

[Jürgen Hubert]

Many buildings built in the middle ages were intended to outlast their creators for many, many centuries. Take the Grand Cathedral of Cologne - construction was started in 1248, but it wasn't finished until 1880. Sure, the original planners probably hadn't intended for the construction process to last that long, but multi-generational projects were far from uncommon. So it stands to reason that at least the foundations will last for a very long time indeed.

 

[Evilhalfling]

The oldest relic I know is the figureine Venus of Willendorf (limestone, about 24,000 to 26,000 years old)
It is a faceless fat, large breasted female figure, apparently coated in ochre at one point.

the wiki page listed a few others that might be as old as 31,000 years.

 

[James Heard]

I think that construction is one of those weird areas once you start thinking in terms of lifespans of some of the longer lived D&D races. If a dragon decides to build anything, or direct anyone to build anything, for instance, they're not likely to ask anyone to build something that won't live at least as long as they might dream of living barring pesky adventurers. In a place like Eberron's Aerenal, where elves are constructing buildings not only to satisfy their own long-lived expected lifespans' needs but also need to think ahead to possible usage by undying ancestors for the near eternity?

On the other hand, if you're an orc or a kobold then why do you need long-lasting construction? Why engage in the effort of building something (or at least very many things) that your window of usage for is so short? That's certainly not the only consideration, but an awful lot of existing ruins from the past aren't buildings for actual people but designed to house the divine and the dead - two sorts of occupants who could take residence a lot longer than their historic builders' lifetimes.

 

[Obryn]

For a great overview of worldwide cultures and their artifacts from 20,000 to 5,000 BCE, you should try and find [ame=http://www.amazon.com/After-Ice-Global-History-000-5000/dp/0674019997/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1215101559&sr=8-1]After the Ice[/ame]. It can get somewhat repetitive, but it's extremely comprehensive.

I've gotten tons of adventure ideas from it. Sure, most are for my CoC games, but it may help with what you're looking for.

-O

 

[Greatwyrm]

For a neat modern example, do a little digging into what the city of Chernobyl is like today. It's been largely uninhabited for more than 20 years now. Your local library might have access to a documentary or two you can watch as well.

Kind of creepy to see what has survived and what hasn't.