Exploring ancient cities
I'm writing a story which involves characters exploring a newly discovered ancient city that's been empty for roughly a thousand years, and I have some questions about the state it would be in. The city is set up with military and religious buildings forming a big, rectangular wall made of stone. In the center of that was a big field, which was filled with wooden homes.
My question is basically this: How much stuff would be left after a thousand years, and how much would fall apart and decompose? I'm assuming wood would rot after that much time; would there be anything left at all? What about cloths, like cotton or animal skins? The city is located in a rain forest, if the climate makes any difference. If anyone has any tips on anything that might be found in an ancient city that people might not think of, I'd really appreciate that, too.
I've been Googling and Wikipedia-ing Mayan and Aztec ruins all night, because my city is very loosely based on them, and I've read articles about them on a variety of websites. I've basically been searching for archaeologists' reports, photos of the ruins, and so on, but I'm not really sure what sort of search terms I'd have to use to find the answers I want.
ETA: I just had a thought. The people who lived in this city are supposed to have been wiped out as a result of a war (and probably other contributing factors, but I want that to be the most blatant). If an invading army were to have burned down the wooden buildings in the center, would there be any way to tell after so much time? As for bodies left to the elements, would there be any skeletons left, or would those have decomposed as well?
My question is basically this: How much stuff would be left after a thousand years, and how much would fall apart and decompose? I'm assuming wood would rot after that much time; would there be anything left at all? What about cloths, like cotton or animal skins? The city is located in a rain forest, if the climate makes any difference. If anyone has any tips on anything that might be found in an ancient city that people might not think of, I'd really appreciate that, too.
I've been Googling and Wikipedia-ing Mayan and Aztec ruins all night, because my city is very loosely based on them, and I've read articles about them on a variety of websites. I've basically been searching for archaeologists' reports, photos of the ruins, and so on, but I'm not really sure what sort of search terms I'd have to use to find the answers I want.
ETA: I just had a thought. The people who lived in this city are supposed to have been wiped out as a result of a war (and probably other contributing factors, but I want that to be the most blatant). If an invading army were to have burned down the wooden buildings in the center, would there be any way to tell after so much time? As for bodies left to the elements, would there be any skeletons left, or would those have decomposed as well?