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[Graham] When did humans
first reach the Americas?
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If you were at school
any time between roughly 1960 and 2010,
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chances are you were taught this story.
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That during the last Ice Age,
bands of hunter-gatherers
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passed over a land bridge
connecting Asia to North America,
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where the Bering Strait is now.
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And that somewhere around
13,000 years ago as the ice melted,
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they migrated south
into the American Heartland.
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Archaeology was convinced
that the Americas
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were not inhabited by human beings
until about 13,000 years ago.
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This was a dominant paradigm
in the study of ancient America.
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But it was wrong.
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The old notion
has been completely overturned
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by the discovery
of much older archaeological remains.
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Fossilized human footprints
have been found in the New Mexican desert
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that date to 22,000 years ago,
the height of the last Ice Age.
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And though still contested,
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evidence for an even earlier
human presence
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dating back as much as 130,000 years
has recently begun to emerge.
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It's high time
to reconsider the whole timeline
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of the human story in the Americas.
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[audience applause]
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Very little is left
of the ancient North American monuments.
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More than 90% of the structures
that were documented in the 19th century
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are now completely gone,
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and of the less than 10% that remain,
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the majority have been
vandalized and destroyed.
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[birds chirping]
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It's disturbing to imagine
what precious secrets of the ancients
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were lost in colonial land grabs,
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and in the systematic crushing
of indigenous beliefs,
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traditions, and monuments that followed.
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The few sites that survive
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may be critical in establishing
the possibility of a lost civilization.
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Sites like this one,
known as Poverty Point.
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It gets its somewhat unusual name
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from the plantation
that used to be on this spot,
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just 15 miles west
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of the Mississippi River
in northeastern Louisiana.
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For a long time,
this was thought to be just a scenic hill
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rising up out of the farmland.
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But this isn't just a hill.
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Archaeologists no longer dispute
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that it's an immense
man-made earthen structure,
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today known simply as Mound A.
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And when the surrounding area
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was found to be littered
with clay artifacts and human figures…
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archaeologists realized that Mound A
is part of a much larger ancient complex.
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Climbing Mound A
is really worth the effort.
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You get a perspective up here
that you don't get down at ground level.
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What I notice immediately
is how flat this land is.
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If you remove the trees,
and I believe the ancients did that,
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you have a perfectly flat horizon
in 360 degrees all around you.
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But this is not some kind of
defensive structure. So what is it?
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Even from above,
it's hard to get the full picture.
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But we have a good idea
of the original layout of the site.
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And it's like nothing else
from the ancient world.
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Mound A likely
originally stood as high as 100 feet,
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anchoring a 43-acre plaza.
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With six concentric ridges,
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each perhaps as tall as six feet
and leveled off at the top
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creating a half circle with a diameter
of three quarters of a mile,
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broken up by a series of aisles,
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like some kind of amphitheater.
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And scattered nearby are no less
than six massive man-made mounds
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labeled by archaeologists,
simply "A" through "F".
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Poverty Point is one of the largest
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and most complex ancient sites
in North America.
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Its oldest sections
date back to 3,700 years ago…
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long before its builders
farmed the land or kept livestock.
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And the ancient Americans of Poverty Point
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then spent the next 600 years
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continuously developing
and improving the site.
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Why?
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No documents or traditions have survived
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to tell us
what Poverty Point's purpose was.
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So archaeologists are left guessing.
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Site manager
and historian, Mark Brink Jr.,
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is the first to admit
that mainstream archaeology
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hasn't been able to confirm much
about this mysterious site.
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Tell me everything
you know about this site.
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So Mound A is massive,
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the largest mound constructed
in the Western Hemisphere at the time,
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which shows you that Poverty Point
was the center of something truly big.
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It suggests, then,
a strong motive behind it.
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Do you have any thoughts
on what that motive could be?
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We really don't know.
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It was a ceremonial center
for some reason, but we don't know yet.
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-Can we add the "yet"?
-Yeah.
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We do have an idea
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as to why it was built here
and not someplace else,
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and it has to do with an even more
ancient site about two miles to the south.
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As we go south from Poverty Point
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we come to a place
called Lower Jackson Mound.
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And the three principal mounds
of Poverty Point
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are lined up precisely north-south
with Lower Jackson Mound.
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And Lower Jackson Mound
is much older than Poverty Point.
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It dates to 3500 BC, 5,500 years old.
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And yet, the makers of Poverty Point
were not only aware of it,
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but they used it
as the anchor of their whole site.
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Clearly the ancient builders
understood geography
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and how to
orient structures to true north.
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But there's something else
going on here at Poverty Point
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that archaeologists
don't like to acknowledge
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encoded in its unique geometry.
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You see, the flat horizon all around
allows you to observe
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the rising and the setting of the Sun
and the Moon and the stars.
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This is a place for astronomers.
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Most of us are not aware of this today.
Why should we be?
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We live in light-polluted cities.
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We can hardly see the skies at all,
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but if you were the ancients
and you studied the skies,
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you would notice this phenomenon.
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The Sun has
its stopping points on the horizon.
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We call them the solstices.
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The Sun stops still
on the summer solstice,
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stays roughly in the same place
for two or three days,
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and then starts to move back
like a pendulum swing along the horizon.
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Same on the winter solstice.
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Archaeoastronomer William Romain
discovered that these important dates,
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the solstices, respectively the longest
and shortest days of the year,
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were actually marked at Poverty Point
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by a skillfully designed
system of alignments.
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If you stand at the eastern edge
of the oval space
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at the heart of the plaza,
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the summer solstice sunset
falls directly in line with Mound B,
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the oldest mound.
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And from the same vantage point,
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the winter solstice sunset
falls directly behind Mound E.
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Move over to the western edge
of that same inner oval,
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and you'll find that the summer solstice
Sun rises directly over Mound C,
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while the winter solstice Sun
rises directly over Mound D.
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And if you gaze directly west
through the center of the plaza
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on either the spring or fall equinox,
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the Sun appears to roll down
the northern edge of Mound A
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before sinking below the horizon.
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Poverty Point may have
more intriguing structures
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designed to track changes in the sky.
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In one corner of the site,
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archaeologists found
a large circle of holes
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marked today by restored white posts.
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We don't know how tall the original posts
in those holes would have been,
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but in its overall conception and design,
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it reminds me of the prehistoric Woodhenge
excavated near Stonehenge in England.
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What's unique about Poverty Point
is how many woodhenges it boasts.
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These circles,
how many of them are there here?
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Well, there's probably
at least 40 of them.
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Scale? Across--
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So, some of them are pretty small,
maybe 60 feet in diameter,
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some are larger,
200 or more feet in diameter,
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but the dates on these vary wildly.
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[Graham] They were created
over the course of hundreds of years,
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spanning generations of ancient Americans,
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who kept tweaking
their position and size over time.
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I'm reminded of Malta
where the megalith builders
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kept changing
the orientation of their temples
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to face the star Sirius,
culminating with Ġgantija.
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And of Göbekli Tepe in Turkey
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where the ancients
built a series of temples
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over a period of about a thousand years,
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also, I believe,
to track the movement of the stars.
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These are all massive projects,
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featuring structures repeatedly rebuilt
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and shifted in their orientation
over generations.
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Could the multiple post circles
of Poverty Point
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also have been designed
to track something in the heavens?
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Sophisticated knowledge, true science
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is evidenced by the geometry
and the astronomy of the site.
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Yet mainstream archaeologists
are reluctant
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to recognize astronomy of any kind
in Poverty Point's wood circles.
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-Here, I don't think they make sense.
-Mmm-hmm.
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Why should the people
who lived here and created this place,
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why should they
not have been interested in the sky?
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-I'm not saying they weren't.
-No.
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I bet they were.
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Okay. So what do you think
the circles were used for?
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We don't know. We don't know yet
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if they were used
for astronomy purposes or not.
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[Graham] Yeah.
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Ancient cultures
were very fixated upon the sky.
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That notion isn't in itself disputed,
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but archaeology
tends to regard it as irrelevant.
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I think that the reason is, in part,
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because most archaeologists
just don't understand astronomy at all.
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It's not what they've been taught to do,
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and secondly,
they regard it as an intrusion
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into their domain by outsiders.
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I'm not claiming
that Poverty Point was created
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by the lost advanced civilization
I'm looking for.
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But I'm interested in the origins
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of the sophisticated
astronomy and geometry
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that were deployed here.
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There's evidence
that advanced architectural,
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Earth-measuring and astronomical knowledge
was inherited from earlier times,
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but inherited from whom
and how much earlier?
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I'm not saying
the ancient Americans living here
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weren't capable
of discovering and incorporating
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these astronomical observations
into their sites by themselves.
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On the contrary.
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I think we've passed the point
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where we should regard
the Native American cultures
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as simply hunter-gatherers.
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They were much more complicated than that
and much more sophisticated.
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And their vision
of Earth's place in the cosmos
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expressed by the alignments
at Poverty Point
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is essentially the same vision
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that we've seen in other ancient sites
around the world,
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sharing the same focus
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on the sacred connection
between Earth and sky.
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Poverty Point is just
one of 800 Mound Builder sites
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surviving across the state of Louisiana.
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While in North America as a whole,
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out of an original estimated total
of one million mounds,
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around 100,000 still remain.
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Amongst these,
the most spectacular example of a mound
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expressing the sacred connection
between Earth and sky,
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lies about 600 miles to the northeast
of Poverty Point in Ohio,
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a site that may just hold the key
to understanding what happened
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to the lost civilization
I've been searching for.
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Perched atop a densely forested ridge
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lies a stunning example
of an effigy mound.
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A gigantic earthwork
shaped into the form of a living creature.
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In this case, a 400-meter-long snake.
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It's called Serpent Mound.
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Starting from its coiled tail,
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seven bends in its body
wind their way to the head,
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where gaping jaws appear
about to engulf a separate oval earthwork.
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Even from the air,
it's hard to make out all the detail.
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But by taking into account new discoveries
about its original construction
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and stripping away the trees,
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we can reveal what the effigy
would have looked like in its prime.
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Serpent Mound extends
more than quarter of a mile
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from its jaws in the northwest
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to its tail on the southwestern corner
of the hilltop.
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Originally, there was a circle
of standing stones by the head,
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function unknown.
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And just behind the head,
two decorative extensions,
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function, likewise, unknown.
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Serpent Mound
is a remarkable, graceful structure,
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one that instills wonder
in those who visit.
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It's clearly an ancient
and mysterious place.
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But who built the huge effigy, and why?
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The sign of the site will tell you
it was built around 1000 AD
244
00:16:17,320 --> 00:16:21,120
by an indigenous people
referred to as the Fort Ancient Culture.
245
00:16:22,680 --> 00:16:27,360
But the sign, like so many
of these historical markers, is wrong.
246
00:16:28,880 --> 00:16:33,080
Truth is that nobody really knows
how old Serpent Mound is.
247
00:16:35,200 --> 00:16:37,200
That date of 1000 AD
248
00:16:37,280 --> 00:16:40,240
was based on just two
of the organic samples
249
00:16:40,320 --> 00:16:43,760
taken from parts of the mound
that may have been later reconstructed,
250
00:16:45,280 --> 00:16:49,280
because another archaeological survey
found samples from the serpent's base
251
00:16:49,360 --> 00:16:52,840
dating back to 321 BC.
252
00:16:54,480 --> 00:16:56,680
The evidence that Serpent Mound was
253
00:16:56,760 --> 00:16:59,640
the subject of a restoration
is very clear.
254
00:16:59,720 --> 00:17:03,280
I suggest that these restorations
go back deep into the past.
255
00:17:05,040 --> 00:17:08,200
There's just one problem
with investigating my theory.
256
00:17:09,079 --> 00:17:13,319
The administrators of Serpent Mound
have decided to ban me.
257
00:17:15,800 --> 00:17:20,000
We've made repeated efforts
to get permission to film here,
258
00:17:20,079 --> 00:17:22,079
but they denied us that permission.
259
00:17:24,200 --> 00:17:29,200
On what I regard as ideological
and indeed rather personal grounds,
260
00:17:29,280 --> 00:17:31,160
let me read from their email.
261
00:17:33,079 --> 00:17:34,600
"Our role is to ensure that
262
00:17:34,680 --> 00:17:37,240
Serpent Mound's integrity
and preservation,
263
00:17:37,320 --> 00:17:38,360
both physically
264
00:17:38,440 --> 00:17:41,520
and in its historical interpretation,
are maintained."
265
00:17:42,480 --> 00:17:47,200
"Because the presenter
of this series, Graham Hancock,
266
00:17:47,280 --> 00:17:51,040
proposes a theory
and story that do not align
267
00:17:51,120 --> 00:17:54,880
with what we know
to be true about Serpent Mound,
268
00:17:54,960 --> 00:17:57,480
your request is declined."
269
00:18:00,280 --> 00:18:05,440
A correct word for this so-called mission
to protect the interpretation of the site
270
00:18:05,520 --> 00:18:07,920
is, of course, censorship.
271
00:18:08,000 --> 00:18:10,440
And what more effective way
272
00:18:10,520 --> 00:18:16,360
for archaeologists to censor
and restrain and crush opposing views
273
00:18:16,440 --> 00:18:20,080
than to deny access
to archaeological sites?
274
00:18:21,840 --> 00:18:24,520
It's by no means
the first time this has happened.
275
00:18:24,600 --> 00:18:29,040
This unfortunately
is systematic and consistent behavior
276
00:18:29,120 --> 00:18:30,200
amongst archaeologists.
277
00:18:30,280 --> 00:18:32,120
They do practice censorship.
278
00:18:32,200 --> 00:18:37,560
They practice censorship by ridiculing
and insulting alternative ideas.
279
00:18:39,760 --> 00:18:43,040
So what exactly is it
in this theory of mine
280
00:18:43,120 --> 00:18:45,360
that's deemed so objectionable?
281
00:18:46,840 --> 00:18:49,800
Quite simply,
it's because I dare to suggest
282
00:18:49,880 --> 00:18:53,240
that the idea
behind the design of Serpent Mound
283
00:18:53,320 --> 00:18:57,480
goes back to a time
much earlier than 300 BC,
284
00:18:58,640 --> 00:19:03,200
more than 10,000 years earlier
to the end of the last Ice Age.
285
00:19:05,200 --> 00:19:10,960
And for me, the proof of this lies in
one of its most stunning attributes,
286
00:19:11,040 --> 00:19:14,360
one that mainstream archaeologists
don't like to acknowledge.
287
00:19:15,000 --> 00:19:17,880
Because again, it involves the sky.
288
00:19:19,960 --> 00:19:24,960
If you overfly Serpent Mound
on the summer solstice around June 21st,
289
00:19:25,040 --> 00:19:27,800
you'll immediately notice
that the jaws of the serpent
290
00:19:27,880 --> 00:19:32,120
are aligned almost directly
to the point where the Sun sets.
291
00:19:34,880 --> 00:19:38,880
So this is what happens at sunset
on the summer solstice.
292
00:19:38,960 --> 00:19:42,680
You see the head of the serpent,
it seems to be seeking out the Sun,
293
00:19:42,760 --> 00:19:45,760
and then as the Sun begins to go down,
you get it more clearly,
294
00:19:45,840 --> 00:19:49,520
this beautiful alignment
between Earth and sky,
295
00:19:49,600 --> 00:19:52,360
then the majesty of the site
just overwhelms you.
296
00:19:54,320 --> 00:19:57,440
It's obvious to anybody today
297
00:19:57,520 --> 00:20:01,000
that that is what the head
of the great serpent is pointing at.
298
00:20:01,600 --> 00:20:06,400
But that idea was ignored and rejected
by archaeology for a very long time.
299
00:20:07,280 --> 00:20:09,960
The organization, which runs the site,
300
00:20:10,040 --> 00:20:13,800
has allowed an enormous number of trees
to grow up around the head of the serpent.
301
00:20:13,880 --> 00:20:17,000
I think they believe
it provides shade to tourists.
302
00:20:17,080 --> 00:20:20,440
But what it does
is it limits that massive impact
303
00:20:20,520 --> 00:20:23,800
of seeing the head of the serpent
pointing directly at the setting Sun.
304
00:20:28,080 --> 00:20:32,040
Jeff Wilson, who owns much of the property
next to the ancient effigy,
305
00:20:32,120 --> 00:20:36,080
is the president of an independent group
called The Friends of Serpent Mound,
306
00:20:37,160 --> 00:20:41,800
dedicated to preserving and promoting this
and other Native American sites.
307
00:20:43,000 --> 00:20:46,160
Clearly Serpent Mound
is very important to you.
308
00:20:46,240 --> 00:20:48,440
Yes, it's very personal to me.
309
00:20:48,520 --> 00:20:52,400
It's one of the most spiritual places
I've ever visited.
310
00:20:52,480 --> 00:20:53,800
It's a sacred place.
311
00:20:53,880 --> 00:20:55,200
When you encounter it,
312
00:20:55,280 --> 00:20:59,440
you walk away feeling changed
by the experience when you come here.
313
00:21:02,960 --> 00:21:06,160
It's the most amazing
archaeoastronomy site in North America,
314
00:21:06,240 --> 00:21:07,080
-bar none.
-Yes.
315
00:21:09,160 --> 00:21:12,960
What makes it so is the recent
confirmation that the Mound Builders
316
00:21:13,040 --> 00:21:16,920
cleverly incorporated a whole series
of sky ground alignments
317
00:21:17,000 --> 00:21:18,640
into Serpent Mound's design.
318
00:21:22,600 --> 00:21:25,040
The center of the second bend
behind the head
319
00:21:25,120 --> 00:21:28,880
points eastward to where the Sun rises
on the summer solstice,
320
00:21:31,000 --> 00:21:32,960
and the center of the following bend
321
00:21:33,040 --> 00:21:36,440
targets the sunrise
on the spring and fall equinoxes
322
00:21:36,520 --> 00:21:39,080
when night and day are of equal length.
323
00:21:41,440 --> 00:21:43,480
While the center of the final bend
324
00:21:43,560 --> 00:21:46,800
is aimed where the Sun rises
on the winter solstice,
325
00:21:46,880 --> 00:21:48,760
the shortest day of the year.
326
00:21:50,320 --> 00:21:52,880
As for that intricately coiled tail,
327
00:21:53,600 --> 00:21:56,840
if you draw a straight line
from its exact center
328
00:21:56,920 --> 00:21:59,040
through the hinge of the serpent's jaws,
329
00:21:59,120 --> 00:22:03,400
you'll find it's precisely oriented
to true astronomical north.
330
00:22:07,280 --> 00:22:10,240
To construct it and to figure out
331
00:22:10,320 --> 00:22:14,280
where all these astronomical alignments
that are incorporated into its design
332
00:22:14,360 --> 00:22:16,480
is just an amazing sheer work of genius…
333
00:22:16,560 --> 00:22:17,840
It's a work of genius, yeah.
334
00:22:17,920 --> 00:22:19,520
…from the prehistoric Native Americans.
335
00:22:19,600 --> 00:22:23,160
Yeah. And that genius
is easily overlooked, actually.
336
00:22:23,240 --> 00:22:26,560
Is archaeology taking
the astronomy of this site seriously?
337
00:22:26,640 --> 00:22:29,000
Are enough archaeologists
taking it seriously?
338
00:22:29,080 --> 00:22:31,080
I don't think so, no.
339
00:22:31,160 --> 00:22:32,360
Um…
340
00:22:32,440 --> 00:22:37,280
There's very few people that even
pay attention to it or consider it.
341
00:22:41,800 --> 00:22:45,000
It's as though mainstream archaeologists
want us to believe
342
00:22:45,080 --> 00:22:48,760
that all these astronomical alignments
happen by accident.
343
00:22:50,200 --> 00:22:55,200
I think it's fair to say that there were
people in ancient Native America
344
00:22:55,280 --> 00:22:59,760
with advanced surveying,
geometrical and astronomical skills,
345
00:22:59,840 --> 00:23:03,200
and they put those skills to work
in the creation of enormous monuments,
346
00:23:03,280 --> 00:23:06,640
most of which have
tragically been swept away.
347
00:23:08,560 --> 00:23:13,760
These precise solar alignments
manifested on such a gigantic scale
348
00:23:13,840 --> 00:23:16,760
represent an extraordinary achievement
for hunter-gatherers
349
00:23:16,840 --> 00:23:18,880
living in the 3rd century BC.
350
00:23:20,440 --> 00:23:24,080
But there's evidence suggesting
that the ridge where Serpent Mound sits
351
00:23:24,160 --> 00:23:27,920
was considered sacred
for thousands of years before that.
352
00:23:29,600 --> 00:23:33,360
Every single culture
that ever existed here,
353
00:23:33,440 --> 00:23:37,880
dating back to the last Ice Age,
left cultural remains at Serpent Mound.
354
00:23:37,960 --> 00:23:41,080
What it says to me,
this continuous human presence here,
355
00:23:41,760 --> 00:23:45,600
it kind of suggests to me that the site's
been sacred for a very long time.
356
00:23:45,680 --> 00:23:46,520
Right.
357
00:23:46,600 --> 00:23:48,760
It seems to me
that should be taken into account
358
00:23:48,840 --> 00:23:50,520
in the archaeological narrative.
359
00:23:50,600 --> 00:23:52,640
It should be part of the story
of Serpent Mound.
360
00:23:52,720 --> 00:23:53,560
Yes.
361
00:23:56,520 --> 00:24:00,360
Archaeologists have been wrong before
and they could be wrong again.
362
00:24:00,960 --> 00:24:05,720
All in all, it's obvious that the origins
of Serpent Mound are complicated.
363
00:24:07,080 --> 00:24:12,080
What if 321 BC doesn't mark the year
of Serpent Mound's construction,
364
00:24:12,760 --> 00:24:15,320
but one of its many reconstructions?
365
00:24:17,600 --> 00:24:20,560
Let's not forget
we're dealing with a serpent here,
366
00:24:20,640 --> 00:24:24,880
and that serpents are creatures renowned
for their ability to change their skin.
367
00:24:26,800 --> 00:24:31,200
It's a possibility actually suggested
by Serpent Mound's unique alignment.
368
00:24:32,080 --> 00:24:34,800
You see, it isn't quite perfect.
369
00:24:36,920 --> 00:24:40,480
Today the summer solstice Sun,
as viewed from Serpent Mound,
370
00:24:40,560 --> 00:24:44,680
actually sets about two degrees
off the exact center of the jaws.
371
00:24:45,840 --> 00:24:47,880
Seems close enough to the naked eye.
372
00:24:49,840 --> 00:24:54,080
But it's hard to believe that the people
who conceived of and created
373
00:24:54,160 --> 00:24:58,240
this sophisticated effigy mound,
tracking all those calendar moments,
374
00:24:58,880 --> 00:25:02,840
would go to all this trouble
and not get it exactly right.
375
00:25:04,560 --> 00:25:06,440
I think they did get it right.
376
00:25:08,280 --> 00:25:12,240
It all has to do with the way the Earth
shifts on its axis over the millennia.
377
00:25:13,800 --> 00:25:16,240
In a phenomenon long known to astronomers
378
00:25:16,840 --> 00:25:20,120
who refer to it as
the obliquity of the ecliptic.
379
00:25:21,080 --> 00:25:22,440
To put it in simple terms,
380
00:25:22,520 --> 00:25:24,720
the Earth, as we know,
is tilted on its axis,
381
00:25:24,800 --> 00:25:27,120
but that tilt is not fixed and constant.
382
00:25:27,200 --> 00:25:30,680
It changes over a 41,000-year cycle.
383
00:25:30,760 --> 00:25:33,520
It changes roughly
two-and-a-half degrees over that cycle.
384
00:25:33,600 --> 00:25:35,120
It nods back and forward,
385
00:25:35,800 --> 00:25:40,040
and that affects the rising position
of the Sun on the summer solstice.
386
00:25:42,640 --> 00:25:44,720
Instead of asking why the serpent's jaws
387
00:25:44,800 --> 00:25:48,080
aren't perfectly aligned
to the summer solstice sunset,
388
00:25:49,800 --> 00:25:52,080
what if we asked a different question?
389
00:25:53,360 --> 00:25:57,720
When, if one takes into account
this obliquity of the ecliptic,
390
00:25:57,800 --> 00:26:01,680
did the gaping jaws
and the setting Sun line up perfectly?
391
00:26:05,800 --> 00:26:08,200
Turns out it wasn't a thousand years ago,
392
00:26:08,280 --> 00:26:10,680
or even 2,300 years ago,
393
00:26:10,760 --> 00:26:14,240
when archaeologists insist
Serpent Mound was first constructed.
394
00:26:15,200 --> 00:26:18,800
The serpent's mouth
was exactly centered on the Sun
395
00:26:18,880 --> 00:26:21,920
around 12,800 years ago
396
00:26:23,040 --> 00:26:24,800
at the end of the last Ice Age,
397
00:26:27,280 --> 00:26:29,080
when the ridge on which
the serpent was built
398
00:26:29,160 --> 00:26:33,440
itself occupied
an extraordinarily significant spot.
399
00:26:37,840 --> 00:26:42,720
At the very peak of the Ice Age,
around 20,000 years ago,
400
00:26:42,800 --> 00:26:48,000
much of North America was covered
by an immense ice cap over a mile deep.
401
00:26:51,040 --> 00:26:55,600
Today, Ohio's Serpent Mound Valley
is a forest-covered wilderness,
402
00:26:56,200 --> 00:26:58,320
but let's not look at it as it is now.
403
00:26:59,200 --> 00:27:02,720
Let's look at it as it was
during the last Ice Age.
404
00:27:04,120 --> 00:27:08,080
This very valley,
where the great serpent was constructed,
405
00:27:08,160 --> 00:27:12,560
actually marks the furthest south
that the North American ice sheet reached.
406
00:27:13,760 --> 00:27:17,240
The giant ice cliffs
rising just by this ridge
407
00:27:17,320 --> 00:27:20,240
would have looked like
something out of a fantasy novel.
408
00:27:21,400 --> 00:27:23,720
To the people
who lived through this period,
409
00:27:23,800 --> 00:27:27,360
it must have seemed that
some benign magical power was at work.
410
00:27:29,240 --> 00:27:32,800
But any celebration of the halt of the ice
would have been short-lived,
411
00:27:34,160 --> 00:27:37,280
because sometime around 12,800 years ago,
412
00:27:37,960 --> 00:27:41,720
when the serpent was perfectly aligned
with the summer solstice,
413
00:27:41,800 --> 00:27:45,080
something huge was happening
all over the planet.
414
00:27:45,640 --> 00:27:46,480
[thunderclap]
415
00:27:46,560 --> 00:27:48,760
Something apocalyptic
416
00:27:50,560 --> 00:27:52,240
called the Younger Dryas.
417
00:27:53,600 --> 00:27:57,680
It was a period of radical climate change
and rising sea levels.
418
00:27:59,800 --> 00:28:02,480
Humanity survived, but barely.
419
00:28:09,400 --> 00:28:14,320
I find it intriguing, by means of its
alignment to the summer solstice sunset,
420
00:28:15,080 --> 00:28:19,800
that Serpent Mound serves
as a signpost, a date stamp,
421
00:28:19,880 --> 00:28:24,440
drawing our attention to the skies
of 12,800 years ago,
422
00:28:24,520 --> 00:28:27,960
a time when we know
there was a global cataclysm
423
00:28:28,040 --> 00:28:31,000
big enough to have destroyed
an advanced civilization.
424
00:28:34,600 --> 00:28:37,000
Again, I'm reminded of Göbekli Tepe,
425
00:28:37,080 --> 00:28:40,760
where figures of creatures carved
into one of the most spectacular pillars
426
00:28:41,400 --> 00:28:45,160
seem to depict the position
of the stars at the summer solstice
427
00:28:45,240 --> 00:28:47,240
during the time of the Younger Dryas.
428
00:28:48,920 --> 00:28:53,200
It's no accident in my view
that the serpent's solstitial alignment
429
00:28:53,280 --> 00:28:56,400
also speaks to that same
cataclysmic epoch.
430
00:28:57,840 --> 00:28:59,320
But why a serpent?
431
00:29:04,360 --> 00:29:06,120
Of the greatest relevance, I think,
432
00:29:06,200 --> 00:29:08,720
are numerous Native American
myths and traditions
433
00:29:08,800 --> 00:29:13,960
in which giant serpents are directly
associated with cataclysmic Earth changes.
434
00:29:16,760 --> 00:29:19,120
There's an ancient legend of the Iroquois
435
00:29:19,200 --> 00:29:23,520
whose domain at the height of their power
extended deep into Ohio.
436
00:29:23,600 --> 00:29:27,440
The villain of the legend
is a giant horned serpent.
437
00:29:30,880 --> 00:29:34,520
Long ago, a village was plagued
by a great serpent
438
00:29:34,600 --> 00:29:36,240
who dwelt in a nearby lake.
439
00:29:37,080 --> 00:29:41,520
So the great spirit in the sky
sent down a hero to defeat him.
440
00:29:43,240 --> 00:29:47,080
In a vicious battle,
bolts of lightning struck the serpent,
441
00:29:48,440 --> 00:29:52,000
the sound shook the Earth,
and the flashes were so bright
442
00:29:52,080 --> 00:29:56,760
that the people shielded their eyes,
covered their ears, and hid in fear.
443
00:29:58,520 --> 00:30:02,320
The very constellations
were dislodged from the night sky
444
00:30:02,400 --> 00:30:07,240
and came crashing to Earth
with a ferocious blast and scorching heat.
445
00:30:07,320 --> 00:30:10,720
One star fell into the lake,
wounding the horned serpent.
446
00:30:13,040 --> 00:30:15,920
As the great serpent
thrashed its tail in pain,
447
00:30:16,000 --> 00:30:17,600
it sent 100-foot waves
448
00:30:17,680 --> 00:30:20,840
crashing through the valleys
in a series of colossal floods.
449
00:30:22,600 --> 00:30:26,800
Most of the tribe didn't survive,
but the serpent was driven away.
450
00:30:30,840 --> 00:30:35,600
We've already seen such serpent imagery
in ancient monuments all over the world.
451
00:30:37,000 --> 00:30:38,280
On the temples in Mexico,
452
00:30:38,360 --> 00:30:41,760
dedicated to Quetzalcoatl,
the feathered serpent,
453
00:30:42,360 --> 00:30:45,480
carved into the temple
of Ġgantija on Malta,
454
00:30:46,200 --> 00:30:49,800
and raining down from the skies
on the pillars of Göbekli Tepe.
455
00:30:51,160 --> 00:30:52,880
It's a powerful symbol
456
00:30:52,960 --> 00:30:56,240
found at sites
that invite us to look to the heavens.
457
00:30:57,680 --> 00:30:58,760
Why?
458
00:31:00,760 --> 00:31:04,960
I think this Iroquois legend
has more than a kernel of truth to it.
459
00:31:05,040 --> 00:31:06,440
Perhaps the stars,
460
00:31:06,520 --> 00:31:10,160
or something resembling stars,
did fall to Earth.
461
00:31:10,240 --> 00:31:12,480
Perhaps there was
great flooding afterwards,
462
00:31:12,560 --> 00:31:16,440
part of those earthshaking cataclysms
of the Younger Dryas.
463
00:31:18,560 --> 00:31:20,640
If the original version of Serpent Mound
464
00:31:20,720 --> 00:31:25,240
was designed sometime around
the end of the last Ice Age, as I believe,
465
00:31:25,320 --> 00:31:29,600
then perhaps it was intended
to carry a message to the future,
466
00:31:29,680 --> 00:31:34,280
a warning even, as to what caused
that apocalyptic series of events
467
00:31:34,360 --> 00:31:36,600
around 12,800 years ago,
468
00:31:37,240 --> 00:31:42,000
a warning to look to the heavens
for stars falling from the sky.
469
00:31:46,080 --> 00:31:48,040
A quarter of the way around the Earth,
470
00:31:48,120 --> 00:31:51,640
there's evidence that
other ancient peoples also lived in terror
471
00:31:51,720 --> 00:31:53,560
of just such a threat from above,
472
00:31:54,520 --> 00:31:56,720
and took steps to protect themselves
473
00:31:56,800 --> 00:32:00,360
deep in the heart of Cappadocia
in modern-day Turkey,
474
00:32:01,120 --> 00:32:03,080
which is where I'm heading next.