1
00:00:14,203 --> 00:00:16,683
[Graham] When did humans
first reach the Americas?

2
00:00:18,283 --> 00:00:22,923
If you were at school
any time between roughly 1960 and 2010,

3
00:00:23,003 --> 00:00:25,363
chances are you were taught this story.

4
00:00:26,523 --> 00:00:29,683
That during the last Ice Age,
bands of hunter-gatherers

5
00:00:29,763 --> 00:00:33,483
passed over a land bridge
connecting Asia to North America,

6
00:00:34,163 --> 00:00:36,243
where the Bering Strait is now.

7
00:00:36,923 --> 00:00:41,083
And that somewhere around
13,000 years ago as the ice melted,

8
00:00:41,163 --> 00:00:44,123
they migrated south
into the American Heartland.

9
00:00:45,283 --> 00:00:47,403
Archaeology was convinced
that the Americas

10
00:00:47,483 --> 00:00:50,843
were not inhabited by human beings
until about 13,000 years ago.

11
00:00:50,923 --> 00:00:54,163
This was a dominant paradigm
in the study of ancient America.

12
00:00:56,483 --> 00:00:57,763
But it was wrong.

13
00:00:59,243 --> 00:01:01,843
The old notion
has been completely overturned

14
00:01:01,923 --> 00:01:04,603
by the discovery
of much older archaeological remains.

15
00:01:06,083 --> 00:01:09,763
Fossilized human footprints
have been found in the New Mexican desert

16
00:01:09,843 --> 00:01:14,803
that date to 22,000 years ago,
the height of the last Ice Age.

17
00:01:16,163 --> 00:01:18,083
And though still contested,

18
00:01:18,163 --> 00:01:20,523
evidence for an even earlier
human presence

19
00:01:20,603 --> 00:01:26,363
dating back as much as 130,000 years
has recently begun to emerge.

20
00:01:28,603 --> 00:01:32,163
It's high time
to reconsider the whole timeline

21
00:01:32,243 --> 00:01:34,803
of the human story in the Americas.

22
00:01:54,083 --> 00:01:55,083
[audience applause]

23
00:01:55,163 --> 00:01:58,563
Very little is left
of the ancient North American monuments.

24
00:01:58,643 --> 00:02:04,363
More than 90% of the structures
that were documented in the 19th century

25
00:02:04,443 --> 00:02:06,443
are now completely gone,

26
00:02:06,523 --> 00:02:09,643
and of the less than 10% that remain,

27
00:02:09,723 --> 00:02:11,723
the majority have been
vandalized and destroyed.

28
00:02:13,003 --> 00:02:14,483
[birds chirping]

29
00:02:16,643 --> 00:02:20,883
It's disturbing to imagine
what precious secrets of the ancients

30
00:02:20,963 --> 00:02:23,323
were lost in colonial land grabs,

31
00:02:23,403 --> 00:02:28,003
and in the systematic crushing
of indigenous beliefs,

32
00:02:28,083 --> 00:02:30,643
traditions, and monuments that followed.

33
00:02:33,603 --> 00:02:34,923
The few sites that survive

34
00:02:35,003 --> 00:02:39,363
may be critical in establishing
the possibility of a lost civilization.

35
00:02:41,283 --> 00:02:45,163
Sites like this one,
known as Poverty Point.

36
00:02:50,203 --> 00:02:52,523
It gets its somewhat unusual name

37
00:02:52,603 --> 00:02:55,283
from the plantation
that used to be on this spot,

38
00:02:56,643 --> 00:02:57,963
just 15 miles west

39
00:02:58,043 --> 00:03:01,083
of the Mississippi River
in northeastern Louisiana.

40
00:03:03,883 --> 00:03:07,523
For a long time,
this was thought to be just a scenic hill

41
00:03:07,603 --> 00:03:09,563
rising up out of the farmland.

42
00:03:11,603 --> 00:03:14,403
But this isn't just a hill.

43
00:03:15,923 --> 00:03:17,963
Archaeologists no longer dispute

44
00:03:18,043 --> 00:03:21,243
that it's an immense
man-made earthen structure,

45
00:03:21,803 --> 00:03:24,563
today known simply as Mound A.

46
00:03:29,603 --> 00:03:31,163
And when the surrounding area

47
00:03:31,243 --> 00:03:34,683
was found to be littered
with clay artifacts and human figures…

48
00:03:38,523 --> 00:03:44,643
archaeologists realized that Mound A
is part of a much larger ancient complex.

49
00:03:47,323 --> 00:03:50,083
Climbing Mound A
is really worth the effort.

50
00:03:50,163 --> 00:03:53,363
You get a perspective up here
that you don't get down at ground level.

51
00:03:55,883 --> 00:03:59,963
What I notice immediately
is how flat this land is.

52
00:04:00,763 --> 00:04:03,643
If you remove the trees,
and I believe the ancients did that,

53
00:04:03,723 --> 00:04:08,403
you have a perfectly flat horizon
in 360 degrees all around you.

54
00:04:11,523 --> 00:04:15,323
But this is not some kind of
defensive structure. So what is it?

55
00:04:17,963 --> 00:04:21,163
Even from above,
it's hard to get the full picture.

56
00:04:22,923 --> 00:04:26,483
But we have a good idea
of the original layout of the site.

57
00:04:27,683 --> 00:04:30,523
And it's like nothing else
from the ancient world.

58
00:04:34,723 --> 00:04:38,243
Mound A likely
originally stood as high as 100 feet,

59
00:04:39,563 --> 00:04:41,843
anchoring a 43-acre plaza.

60
00:04:43,003 --> 00:04:45,243
With six concentric ridges,

61
00:04:45,323 --> 00:04:49,523
each perhaps as tall as six feet
and leveled off at the top

62
00:04:49,603 --> 00:04:53,803
creating a half circle with a diameter
of three quarters of a mile,

63
00:04:55,123 --> 00:04:57,283
broken up by a series of aisles,

64
00:04:57,363 --> 00:04:59,323
like some kind of amphitheater.

65
00:05:00,883 --> 00:05:05,483
And scattered nearby are no less
than six massive man-made mounds

66
00:05:05,563 --> 00:05:09,123
labeled by archaeologists,
simply "A" through "F".

67
00:05:14,803 --> 00:05:16,683
Poverty Point is one of the largest

68
00:05:16,763 --> 00:05:19,203
and most complex ancient sites
in North America.

69
00:05:21,123 --> 00:05:25,363
Its oldest sections
date back to 3,700 years ago…

70
00:05:26,843 --> 00:05:30,163
long before its builders
farmed the land or kept livestock.

71
00:05:32,883 --> 00:05:35,283
And the ancient Americans of Poverty Point

72
00:05:35,363 --> 00:05:37,883
then spent the next 600 years

73
00:05:37,963 --> 00:05:41,123
continuously developing
and improving the site.

74
00:05:43,883 --> 00:05:44,883
Why?

75
00:05:48,403 --> 00:05:50,403
No documents or traditions have survived

76
00:05:50,483 --> 00:05:53,283
to tell us
what Poverty Point's purpose was.

77
00:05:53,363 --> 00:05:55,443
So archaeologists are left guessing.

78
00:05:57,523 --> 00:06:00,283
Site manager
and historian, Mark Brink Jr.,

79
00:06:00,363 --> 00:06:03,323
is the first to admit
that mainstream archaeology

80
00:06:03,403 --> 00:06:06,963
hasn't been able to confirm much
about this mysterious site.

81
00:06:08,163 --> 00:06:10,443
Tell me everything
you know about this site.

82
00:06:10,523 --> 00:06:12,763
So Mound A is massive,

83
00:06:12,843 --> 00:06:17,483
the largest mound constructed
in the Western Hemisphere at the time,

84
00:06:17,563 --> 00:06:20,963
which shows you that Poverty Point
was the center of something truly big.

85
00:06:21,043 --> 00:06:24,043
It suggests, then,
a strong motive behind it.

86
00:06:24,123 --> 00:06:26,963
Do you have any thoughts
on what that motive could be?

87
00:06:27,043 --> 00:06:28,203
We really don't know.

88
00:06:28,283 --> 00:06:32,163
It was a ceremonial center
for some reason, but we don't know yet.

89
00:06:32,243 --> 00:06:34,723
-Can we add the "yet"?
-Yeah.

90
00:06:35,323 --> 00:06:36,603
We do have an idea

91
00:06:36,683 --> 00:06:40,123
as to why it was built here
and not someplace else,

92
00:06:41,123 --> 00:06:45,963
and it has to do with an even more
ancient site about two miles to the south.

93
00:06:46,043 --> 00:06:48,483
As we go south from Poverty Point

94
00:06:48,563 --> 00:06:50,563
we come to a place
called Lower Jackson Mound.

95
00:06:50,643 --> 00:06:53,443
And the three principal mounds
of Poverty Point

96
00:06:53,523 --> 00:06:57,843
are lined up precisely north-south
with Lower Jackson Mound.

97
00:06:58,643 --> 00:07:01,443
And Lower Jackson Mound
is much older than Poverty Point.

98
00:07:01,523 --> 00:07:06,683
It dates to 3500 BC, 5,500 years old.

99
00:07:06,763 --> 00:07:11,043
And yet, the makers of Poverty Point
were not only aware of it,

100
00:07:11,123 --> 00:07:14,043
but they used it
as the anchor of their whole site.

101
00:07:17,363 --> 00:07:19,883
Clearly the ancient builders
understood geography

102
00:07:19,963 --> 00:07:22,323
and how to
orient structures to true north.

103
00:07:23,563 --> 00:07:26,083
But there's something else
going on here at Poverty Point

104
00:07:26,163 --> 00:07:28,883
that archaeologists
don't like to acknowledge

105
00:07:29,603 --> 00:07:32,083
encoded in its unique geometry.

106
00:07:33,163 --> 00:07:37,523
You see, the flat horizon all around
allows you to observe

107
00:07:37,603 --> 00:07:41,643
the rising and the setting of the Sun
and the Moon and the stars.

108
00:07:44,283 --> 00:07:46,723
This is a place for astronomers.

109
00:07:52,003 --> 00:07:54,243
Most of us are not aware of this today.
Why should we be?

110
00:07:54,323 --> 00:07:55,683
We live in light-polluted cities.

111
00:07:57,123 --> 00:07:59,043
We can hardly see the skies at all,

112
00:07:59,803 --> 00:08:02,643
but if you were the ancients
and you studied the skies,

113
00:08:03,963 --> 00:08:06,043
you would notice this phenomenon.

114
00:08:07,523 --> 00:08:10,043
The Sun has
its stopping points on the horizon.

115
00:08:10,123 --> 00:08:11,683
We call them the solstices.

116
00:08:11,763 --> 00:08:13,923
The Sun stops still
on the summer solstice,

117
00:08:14,003 --> 00:08:16,243
stays roughly in the same place
for two or three days,

118
00:08:16,323 --> 00:08:20,443
and then starts to move back
like a pendulum swing along the horizon.

119
00:08:20,523 --> 00:08:22,043
Same on the winter solstice.

120
00:08:25,603 --> 00:08:30,043
Archaeoastronomer William Romain
discovered that these important dates,

121
00:08:30,123 --> 00:08:34,843
the solstices, respectively the longest
and shortest days of the year,

122
00:08:34,923 --> 00:08:36,923
were actually marked at Poverty Point

123
00:08:37,003 --> 00:08:39,763
by a skillfully designed
system of alignments.

124
00:08:43,763 --> 00:08:46,683
If you stand at the eastern edge
of the oval space

125
00:08:46,763 --> 00:08:48,483
at the heart of the plaza,

126
00:08:48,563 --> 00:08:52,843
the summer solstice sunset
falls directly in line with Mound B,

127
00:08:52,923 --> 00:08:54,123
the oldest mound.

128
00:08:55,483 --> 00:08:57,203
And from the same vantage point,

129
00:08:57,283 --> 00:09:01,523
the winter solstice sunset
falls directly behind Mound E.

130
00:09:02,803 --> 00:09:05,683
Move over to the western edge
of that same inner oval,

131
00:09:05,763 --> 00:09:10,523
and you'll find that the summer solstice
Sun rises directly over Mound C,

132
00:09:11,523 --> 00:09:15,443
while the winter solstice Sun
rises directly over Mound D.

133
00:09:17,603 --> 00:09:21,443
And if you gaze directly west
through the center of the plaza

134
00:09:21,523 --> 00:09:23,643
on either the spring or fall equinox,

135
00:09:24,803 --> 00:09:28,043
the Sun appears to roll down
the northern edge of Mound A

136
00:09:28,123 --> 00:09:30,203
before sinking below the horizon.

137
00:09:36,603 --> 00:09:39,003
Poverty Point may have
more intriguing structures

138
00:09:39,083 --> 00:09:41,443
designed to track changes in the sky.

139
00:09:42,683 --> 00:09:44,003
In one corner of the site,

140
00:09:44,083 --> 00:09:47,243
archaeologists found
a large circle of holes

141
00:09:49,363 --> 00:09:51,803
marked today by restored white posts.

142
00:09:53,163 --> 00:09:57,003
We don't know how tall the original posts
in those holes would have been,

143
00:09:57,843 --> 00:10:00,363
but in its overall conception and design,

144
00:10:00,443 --> 00:10:05,763
it reminds me of the prehistoric Woodhenge
excavated near Stonehenge in England.

145
00:10:07,243 --> 00:10:12,443
What's unique about Poverty Point
is how many woodhenges it boasts.

146
00:10:13,883 --> 00:10:16,203
These circles,
how many of them are there here?

147
00:10:16,803 --> 00:10:19,643
Well, there's probably
at least 40 of them.

148
00:10:20,603 --> 00:10:22,203
Scale? Across--

149
00:10:22,283 --> 00:10:25,603
So, some of them are pretty small,
maybe 60 feet in diameter,

150
00:10:25,683 --> 00:10:28,683
some are larger,
200 or more feet in diameter,

151
00:10:29,323 --> 00:10:32,043
but the dates on these vary wildly.

152
00:10:33,923 --> 00:10:36,603
[Graham] They were created
over the course of hundreds of years,

153
00:10:37,283 --> 00:10:40,123
spanning generations of ancient Americans,

154
00:10:40,203 --> 00:10:43,283
who kept tweaking
their position and size over time.

155
00:10:44,963 --> 00:10:47,563
I'm reminded of Malta
where the megalith builders

156
00:10:47,643 --> 00:10:49,883
kept changing
the orientation of their temples

157
00:10:49,963 --> 00:10:54,443
to face the star Sirius,
culminating with Ġgantija.

158
00:10:55,603 --> 00:10:57,803
And of Göbekli Tepe in Turkey

159
00:10:57,883 --> 00:10:59,923
where the ancients
built a series of temples

160
00:11:00,003 --> 00:11:02,603
over a period of about a thousand years,

161
00:11:02,683 --> 00:11:06,123
also, I believe,
to track the movement of the stars.

162
00:11:07,763 --> 00:11:10,243
These are all massive projects,

163
00:11:10,323 --> 00:11:12,803
featuring structures repeatedly rebuilt

164
00:11:12,883 --> 00:11:16,483
and shifted in their orientation
over generations.

165
00:11:17,603 --> 00:11:20,643
Could the multiple post circles
of Poverty Point

166
00:11:20,723 --> 00:11:23,683
also have been designed
to track something in the heavens?

167
00:11:25,963 --> 00:11:28,923
Sophisticated knowledge, true science

168
00:11:29,003 --> 00:11:32,083
is evidenced by the geometry
and the astronomy of the site.

169
00:11:33,723 --> 00:11:36,403
Yet mainstream archaeologists
are reluctant

170
00:11:36,483 --> 00:11:40,163
to recognize astronomy of any kind
in Poverty Point's wood circles.

171
00:11:42,643 --> 00:11:45,043
-Here, I don't think they make sense.
-Mmm-hmm.

172
00:11:45,123 --> 00:11:47,963
Why should the people
who lived here and created this place,

173
00:11:48,043 --> 00:11:50,243
why should they
not have been interested in the sky?

174
00:11:50,323 --> 00:11:51,843
-I'm not saying they weren't.
-No.

175
00:11:51,923 --> 00:11:53,163
I bet they were.

176
00:11:53,243 --> 00:11:55,403
Okay. So what do you think
the circles were used for?

177
00:11:56,243 --> 00:11:57,883
We don't know. We don't know yet

178
00:11:57,963 --> 00:11:59,963
if they were used
for astronomy purposes or not.

179
00:12:00,043 --> 00:12:01,043
[Graham] Yeah.

180
00:12:02,683 --> 00:12:05,683
Ancient cultures
were very fixated upon the sky.

181
00:12:07,083 --> 00:12:09,443
That notion isn't in itself disputed,

182
00:12:09,523 --> 00:12:11,683
but archaeology
tends to regard it as irrelevant.

183
00:12:12,643 --> 00:12:14,603
I think that the reason is, in part,

184
00:12:14,683 --> 00:12:18,203
because most archaeologists
just don't understand astronomy at all.

185
00:12:18,283 --> 00:12:20,083
It's not what they've been taught to do,

186
00:12:20,163 --> 00:12:22,603
and secondly,
they regard it as an intrusion

187
00:12:22,683 --> 00:12:26,043
into their domain by outsiders.

188
00:12:30,123 --> 00:12:33,243
I'm not claiming
that Poverty Point was created

189
00:12:33,323 --> 00:12:36,203
by the lost advanced civilization
I'm looking for.

190
00:12:38,123 --> 00:12:40,323
But I'm interested in the origins

191
00:12:40,403 --> 00:12:42,843
of the sophisticated
astronomy and geometry

192
00:12:42,923 --> 00:12:44,243
that were deployed here.

193
00:12:45,843 --> 00:12:48,523
There's evidence
that advanced architectural,

194
00:12:48,603 --> 00:12:53,683
Earth-measuring and astronomical knowledge
was inherited from earlier times,

195
00:12:53,763 --> 00:12:57,323
but inherited from whom
and how much earlier?

196
00:12:59,923 --> 00:13:02,203
I'm not saying
the ancient Americans living here

197
00:13:02,283 --> 00:13:04,963
weren't capable
of discovering and incorporating

198
00:13:05,043 --> 00:13:09,003
these astronomical observations
into their sites by themselves.

199
00:13:09,403 --> 00:13:10,563
On the contrary.

200
00:13:11,203 --> 00:13:12,483
I think we've passed the point

201
00:13:12,563 --> 00:13:15,443
where we should regard
the Native American cultures

202
00:13:15,523 --> 00:13:17,203
as simply hunter-gatherers.

203
00:13:17,283 --> 00:13:21,043
They were much more complicated than that
and much more sophisticated.

204
00:13:23,243 --> 00:13:26,203
And their vision
of Earth's place in the cosmos

205
00:13:26,283 --> 00:13:28,643
expressed by the alignments
at Poverty Point

206
00:13:28,723 --> 00:13:30,963
is essentially the same vision

207
00:13:31,043 --> 00:13:34,483
that we've seen in other ancient sites
around the world,

208
00:13:34,563 --> 00:13:36,483
sharing the same focus

209
00:13:36,563 --> 00:13:39,043
on the sacred connection
between Earth and sky.

210
00:13:45,803 --> 00:13:49,163
Poverty Point is just
one of 800 Mound Builder sites

211
00:13:49,843 --> 00:13:52,323
surviving across the state of Louisiana.

212
00:13:53,323 --> 00:13:55,323
While in North America as a whole,

213
00:13:55,403 --> 00:13:59,363
out of an original estimated total
of one million mounds,

214
00:13:59,443 --> 00:14:02,003
around 100,000 still remain.

215
00:14:04,163 --> 00:14:08,643
Amongst these,
the most spectacular example of a mound

216
00:14:08,723 --> 00:14:11,443
expressing the sacred connection
between Earth and sky,

217
00:14:12,363 --> 00:14:17,963
lies about 600 miles to the northeast
of Poverty Point in Ohio,

218
00:14:19,003 --> 00:14:22,563
a site that may just hold the key
to understanding what happened

219
00:14:22,643 --> 00:14:25,283
to the lost civilization
I've been searching for.

220
00:14:28,323 --> 00:14:30,603
Perched atop a densely forested ridge

221
00:14:31,683 --> 00:14:34,563
lies a stunning example
of an effigy mound.

222
00:14:36,843 --> 00:14:40,563
A gigantic earthwork
shaped into the form of a living creature.

223
00:14:42,443 --> 00:14:45,603
In this case, a 400-meter-long snake.

224
00:14:48,123 --> 00:14:50,243
It's called Serpent Mound.

225
00:14:52,483 --> 00:14:54,443
Starting from its coiled tail,

226
00:14:54,523 --> 00:14:57,363
seven bends in its body
wind their way to the head,

227
00:14:58,643 --> 00:15:03,363
where gaping jaws appear
about to engulf a separate oval earthwork.

228
00:15:06,083 --> 00:15:09,643
Even from the air,
it's hard to make out all the detail.

229
00:15:10,523 --> 00:15:14,963
But by taking into account new discoveries
about its original construction

230
00:15:15,043 --> 00:15:16,523
and stripping away the trees,

231
00:15:17,163 --> 00:15:20,523
we can reveal what the effigy
would have looked like in its prime.

232
00:15:25,483 --> 00:15:28,403
Serpent Mound extends
more than quarter of a mile

233
00:15:28,483 --> 00:15:30,243
from its jaws in the northwest

234
00:15:30,323 --> 00:15:33,323
to its tail on the southwestern corner
of the hilltop.

235
00:15:36,523 --> 00:15:40,243
Originally, there was a circle
of standing stones by the head,

236
00:15:40,323 --> 00:15:41,643
function unknown.

237
00:15:43,123 --> 00:15:46,923
And just behind the head,
two decorative extensions,

238
00:15:47,003 --> 00:15:48,883
function, likewise, unknown.

239
00:15:55,923 --> 00:15:59,363
Serpent Mound
is a remarkable, graceful structure,

240
00:15:59,443 --> 00:16:02,483
one that instills wonder
in those who visit.

241
00:16:03,843 --> 00:16:06,763
It's clearly an ancient
and mysterious place.

242
00:16:06,843 --> 00:16:09,363
But who built the huge effigy, and why?

243
00:16:12,403 --> 00:16:17,283
The sign of the site will tell you
it was built around 1000 AD

244
00:16:17,363 --> 00:16:21,163
by an indigenous people
referred to as the Fort Ancient Culture.

245
00:16:22,723 --> 00:16:27,403
But the sign, like so many
of these historical markers, is wrong.

246
00:16:28,923 --> 00:16:33,123
Truth is that nobody really knows
how old Serpent Mound is.

247
00:16:35,243 --> 00:16:37,243
That date of 1000 AD

248
00:16:37,323 --> 00:16:40,283
was based on just two
of the organic samples

249
00:16:40,363 --> 00:16:43,803
taken from parts of the mound
that may have been later reconstructed,

250
00:16:45,323 --> 00:16:49,323
because another archaeological survey
found samples from the serpent's base

251
00:16:49,403 --> 00:16:52,883
dating back to 321 BC.

252
00:16:54,523 --> 00:16:56,723
The evidence that Serpent Mound was

253
00:16:56,803 --> 00:16:59,683
the subject of a restoration
is very clear.

254
00:16:59,763 --> 00:17:03,323
I suggest that these restorations
go back deep into the past.

255
00:17:05,083 --> 00:17:08,243
There's just one problem
with investigating my theory.

256
00:17:09,122 --> 00:17:13,362
The administrators of Serpent Mound
have decided to ban me.

257
00:17:15,843 --> 00:17:20,043
We've made repeated efforts
to get permission to film here,

258
00:17:20,122 --> 00:17:22,122
but they denied us that permission.

259
00:17:24,243 --> 00:17:29,243
On what I regard as ideological
and indeed rather personal grounds,

260
00:17:29,323 --> 00:17:31,203
let me read from their email.

261
00:17:33,122 --> 00:17:34,643
"Our role is to ensure that

262
00:17:34,723 --> 00:17:37,283
Serpent Mound's integrity
and preservation,

263
00:17:37,363 --> 00:17:38,403
both physically

264
00:17:38,483 --> 00:17:41,563
and in its historical interpretation,
are maintained."

265
00:17:42,523 --> 00:17:47,243
"Because the presenter
of this series, Graham Hancock,

266
00:17:47,323 --> 00:17:51,083
proposes a theory
and story that do not align

267
00:17:51,163 --> 00:17:54,923
with what we know
to be true about Serpent Mound,

268
00:17:55,003 --> 00:17:57,523
your request is declined."

269
00:18:00,323 --> 00:18:05,483
A correct word for this so-called mission
to protect the interpretation of the site

270
00:18:05,563 --> 00:18:07,963
is, of course, censorship.

271
00:18:08,043 --> 00:18:10,483
And what more effective way

272
00:18:10,563 --> 00:18:16,403
for archaeologists to censor
and restrain and crush opposing views

273
00:18:16,483 --> 00:18:20,123
than to deny access
to archaeological sites?

274
00:18:21,883 --> 00:18:24,563
It's by no means
the first time this has happened.

275
00:18:24,643 --> 00:18:29,083
This unfortunately
is systematic and consistent behavior

276
00:18:29,163 --> 00:18:30,243
amongst archaeologists.

277
00:18:30,323 --> 00:18:32,163
They do practice censorship.

278
00:18:32,243 --> 00:18:37,603
They practice censorship by ridiculing
and insulting alternative ideas.

279
00:18:39,803 --> 00:18:43,083
So what exactly is it
in this theory of mine

280
00:18:43,163 --> 00:18:45,403
that's deemed so objectionable?

281
00:18:46,883 --> 00:18:49,843
Quite simply,
it's because I dare to suggest

282
00:18:49,923 --> 00:18:53,283
that the idea
behind the design of Serpent Mound

283
00:18:53,363 --> 00:18:57,523
goes back to a time
much earlier than 300 BC,

284
00:18:58,683 --> 00:19:03,243
more than 10,000 years earlier
to the end of the last Ice Age.

285
00:19:05,243 --> 00:19:11,003
And for me, the proof of this lies in
one of its most stunning attributes,

286
00:19:11,083 --> 00:19:14,403
one that mainstream archaeologists
don't like to acknowledge.

287
00:19:15,043 --> 00:19:17,923
Because again, it involves the sky.

288
00:19:20,003 --> 00:19:25,003
If you overfly Serpent Mound
on the summer solstice around June 21st,

289
00:19:25,083 --> 00:19:27,843
you'll immediately notice
that the jaws of the serpent

290
00:19:27,923 --> 00:19:32,163
are aligned almost directly
to the point where the Sun sets.

291
00:19:34,923 --> 00:19:38,923
So this is what happens at sunset
on the summer solstice.

292
00:19:39,003 --> 00:19:42,723
You see the head of the serpent,
it seems to be seeking out the Sun,

293
00:19:42,803 --> 00:19:45,803
and then as the Sun begins to go down,
you get it more clearly,

294
00:19:45,883 --> 00:19:49,563
this beautiful alignment
between Earth and sky,

295
00:19:49,643 --> 00:19:52,403
then the majesty of the site
just overwhelms you.

296
00:19:54,363 --> 00:19:57,483
It's obvious to anybody today

297
00:19:57,563 --> 00:20:01,043
that that is what the head
of the great serpent is pointing at.

298
00:20:01,643 --> 00:20:06,443
But that idea was ignored and rejected
by archaeology for a very long time.

299
00:20:07,323 --> 00:20:10,003
The organization, which runs the site,

300
00:20:10,083 --> 00:20:13,843
has allowed an enormous number of trees
to grow up around the head of the serpent.

301
00:20:13,923 --> 00:20:17,043
I think they believe
it provides shade to tourists.

302
00:20:17,123 --> 00:20:20,483
But what it does
is it limits that massive impact

303
00:20:20,563 --> 00:20:23,843
of seeing the head of the serpent
pointing directly at the setting Sun.

304
00:20:28,123 --> 00:20:32,083
Jeff Wilson, who owns much of the property
next to the ancient effigy,

305
00:20:32,163 --> 00:20:36,123
is the president of an independent group
called The Friends of Serpent Mound,

306
00:20:37,203 --> 00:20:41,843
dedicated to preserving and promoting this
and other Native American sites.

307
00:20:43,043 --> 00:20:46,203
Clearly Serpent Mound
is very important to you.

308
00:20:46,283 --> 00:20:48,483
Yes, it's very personal to me.

309
00:20:48,563 --> 00:20:52,443
It's one of the most spiritual places
I've ever visited.

310
00:20:52,523 --> 00:20:53,843
It's a sacred place.

311
00:20:53,923 --> 00:20:55,243
When you encounter it,

312
00:20:55,323 --> 00:20:59,483
you walk away feeling changed
by the experience when you come here.

313
00:21:03,003 --> 00:21:06,203
It's the most amazing
archaeoastronomy site in North America,

314
00:21:06,283 --> 00:21:07,123
-bar none.
-Yes.

315
00:21:09,203 --> 00:21:13,003
What makes it so is the recent
confirmation that the Mound Builders

316
00:21:13,083 --> 00:21:16,963
cleverly incorporated a whole series
of sky ground alignments

317
00:21:17,043 --> 00:21:18,683
into Serpent Mound's design.

318
00:21:22,643 --> 00:21:25,083
The center of the second bend
behind the head

319
00:21:25,163 --> 00:21:28,923
points eastward to where the Sun rises
on the summer solstice,

320
00:21:31,043 --> 00:21:33,003
and the center of the following bend

321
00:21:33,083 --> 00:21:36,483
targets the sunrise
on the spring and fall equinoxes

322
00:21:36,563 --> 00:21:39,123
when night and day are of equal length.

323
00:21:41,483 --> 00:21:43,523
While the center of the final bend

324
00:21:43,603 --> 00:21:46,843
is aimed where the Sun rises
on the winter solstice,

325
00:21:46,923 --> 00:21:48,803
the shortest day of the year.

326
00:21:50,363 --> 00:21:52,923
As for that intricately coiled tail,

327
00:21:53,643 --> 00:21:56,883
if you draw a straight line
from its exact center

328
00:21:56,963 --> 00:21:59,083
through the hinge of the serpent's jaws,

329
00:21:59,163 --> 00:22:03,443
you'll find it's precisely oriented
to true astronomical north.

330
00:22:07,323 --> 00:22:10,283
To construct it and to figure out

331
00:22:10,363 --> 00:22:14,323
where all these astronomical alignments
that are incorporated into its design

332
00:22:14,403 --> 00:22:16,523
is just an amazing sheer work of genius…

333
00:22:16,603 --> 00:22:17,883
It's a work of genius, yeah.

334
00:22:17,963 --> 00:22:19,563
…from the prehistoric Native Americans.

335
00:22:19,643 --> 00:22:23,203
Yeah. And that genius
is easily overlooked, actually.

336
00:22:23,283 --> 00:22:26,603
Is archaeology taking
the astronomy of this site seriously?

337
00:22:26,683 --> 00:22:29,043
Are enough archaeologists
taking it seriously?

338
00:22:29,123 --> 00:22:31,123
I don't think so, no.

339
00:22:31,203 --> 00:22:32,403
Um…

340
00:22:32,483 --> 00:22:37,323
There's very few people that even
pay attention to it or consider it.

341
00:22:41,843 --> 00:22:45,043
It's as though mainstream archaeologists
want us to believe

342
00:22:45,123 --> 00:22:48,803
that all these astronomical alignments
happen by accident.

343
00:22:50,243 --> 00:22:55,243
I think it's fair to say that there were
people in ancient Native America

344
00:22:55,323 --> 00:22:59,803
with advanced surveying,
geometrical and astronomical skills,

345
00:22:59,883 --> 00:23:03,243
and they put those skills to work
in the creation of enormous monuments,

346
00:23:03,323 --> 00:23:06,683
most of which have
tragically been swept away.

347
00:23:08,603 --> 00:23:13,803
These precise solar alignments
manifested on such a gigantic scale

348
00:23:13,883 --> 00:23:16,803
represent an extraordinary achievement
for hunter-gatherers

349
00:23:16,883 --> 00:23:18,923
living in the 3rd century BC.

350
00:23:20,483 --> 00:23:24,123
But there's evidence suggesting
that the ridge where Serpent Mound sits

351
00:23:24,203 --> 00:23:27,963
was considered sacred
for thousands of years before that.

352
00:23:29,643 --> 00:23:33,403
Every single culture
that ever existed here,

353
00:23:33,483 --> 00:23:37,923
dating back to the last Ice Age,
left cultural remains at Serpent Mound.

354
00:23:38,003 --> 00:23:41,123
What it says to me,
this continuous human presence here,

355
00:23:41,803 --> 00:23:45,643
it kind of suggests to me that the site's
been sacred for a very long time.

356
00:23:45,723 --> 00:23:46,563
Right.

357
00:23:46,643 --> 00:23:48,803
It seems to me
that should be taken into account

358
00:23:48,883 --> 00:23:50,563
in the archaeological narrative.

359
00:23:50,643 --> 00:23:52,683
It should be part of the story
of Serpent Mound.

360
00:23:52,763 --> 00:23:53,603
Yes.

361
00:23:56,563 --> 00:24:00,403
Archaeologists have been wrong before
and they could be wrong again.

362
00:24:01,003 --> 00:24:05,763
All in all, it's obvious that the origins
of Serpent Mound are complicated.

363
00:24:07,123 --> 00:24:12,123
What if 321 BC doesn't mark the year
of Serpent Mound's construction,

364
00:24:12,803 --> 00:24:15,363
but one of its many reconstructions?

365
00:24:17,643 --> 00:24:20,603
Let's not forget
we're dealing with a serpent here,

366
00:24:20,683 --> 00:24:24,923
and that serpents are creatures renowned
for their ability to change their skin.

367
00:24:26,843 --> 00:24:31,243
It's a possibility actually suggested
by Serpent Mound's unique alignment.

368
00:24:32,123 --> 00:24:34,843
You see, it isn't quite perfect.

369
00:24:36,963 --> 00:24:40,523
Today the summer solstice Sun,
as viewed from Serpent Mound,

370
00:24:40,603 --> 00:24:44,723
actually sets about two degrees
off the exact center of the jaws.

371
00:24:45,883 --> 00:24:47,923
Seems close enough to the naked eye.

372
00:24:49,883 --> 00:24:54,123
But it's hard to believe that the people
who conceived of and created

373
00:24:54,203 --> 00:24:58,283
this sophisticated effigy mound,
tracking all those calendar moments,

374
00:24:58,923 --> 00:25:02,883
would go to all this trouble
and not get it exactly right.

375
00:25:04,603 --> 00:25:06,483
I think they did get it right.

376
00:25:08,323 --> 00:25:12,283
It all has to do with the way the Earth
shifts on its axis over the millennia.

377
00:25:13,843 --> 00:25:16,283
In a phenomenon long known to astronomers

378
00:25:16,883 --> 00:25:20,163
who refer to it as
the obliquity of the ecliptic.

379
00:25:21,123 --> 00:25:22,483
To put it in simple terms,

380
00:25:22,563 --> 00:25:24,763
the Earth, as we know,
is tilted on its axis,

381
00:25:24,843 --> 00:25:27,163
but that tilt is not fixed and constant.

382
00:25:27,243 --> 00:25:30,723
It changes over a 41,000-year cycle.

383
00:25:30,803 --> 00:25:33,563
It changes roughly
two-and-a-half degrees over that cycle.

384
00:25:33,643 --> 00:25:35,163
It nods back and forward,

385
00:25:35,843 --> 00:25:40,083
and that affects the rising position
of the Sun on the summer solstice.

386
00:25:42,683 --> 00:25:44,763
Instead of asking why the serpent's jaws

387
00:25:44,843 --> 00:25:48,123
aren't perfectly aligned
to the summer solstice sunset,

388
00:25:49,843 --> 00:25:52,123
what if we asked a different question?

389
00:25:53,403 --> 00:25:57,763
When, if one takes into account
this obliquity of the ecliptic,

390
00:25:57,843 --> 00:26:01,723
did the gaping jaws
and the setting Sun line up perfectly?

391
00:26:05,843 --> 00:26:08,243
Turns out it wasn't a thousand years ago,

392
00:26:08,323 --> 00:26:10,723
or even 2,300 years ago,

393
00:26:10,803 --> 00:26:14,283
when archaeologists insist
Serpent Mound was first constructed.

394
00:26:15,243 --> 00:26:18,843
The serpent's mouth
was exactly centered on the Sun

395
00:26:18,923 --> 00:26:21,963
around 12,800 years ago

396
00:26:23,083 --> 00:26:24,843
at the end of the last Ice Age,

397
00:26:27,323 --> 00:26:29,123
when the ridge on which
the serpent was built

398
00:26:29,203 --> 00:26:33,483
itself occupied
an extraordinarily significant spot.

399
00:26:37,883 --> 00:26:42,763
At the very peak of the Ice Age,
around 20,000 years ago,

400
00:26:42,843 --> 00:26:48,043
much of North America was covered
by an immense ice cap over a mile deep.

401
00:26:51,083 --> 00:26:55,643
Today, Ohio's Serpent Mound Valley
is a forest-covered wilderness,

402
00:26:56,243 --> 00:26:58,363
but let's not look at it as it is now.

403
00:26:59,243 --> 00:27:02,763
Let's look at it as it was
during the last Ice Age.

404
00:27:04,163 --> 00:27:08,123
This very valley,
where the great serpent was constructed,

405
00:27:08,203 --> 00:27:12,603
actually marks the furthest south
that the North American ice sheet reached.

406
00:27:13,803 --> 00:27:17,283
The giant ice cliffs
rising just by this ridge

407
00:27:17,363 --> 00:27:20,283
would have looked like
something out of a fantasy novel.

408
00:27:21,443 --> 00:27:23,763
To the people
who lived through this period,

409
00:27:23,843 --> 00:27:27,403
it must have seemed that
some benign magical power was at work.

410
00:27:29,283 --> 00:27:32,843
But any celebration of the halt of the ice
would have been short-lived,

411
00:27:34,203 --> 00:27:37,323
because sometime around 12,800 years ago,

412
00:27:38,003 --> 00:27:41,763
when the serpent was perfectly aligned
with the summer solstice,

413
00:27:41,843 --> 00:27:45,123
something huge was happening
all over the planet.

414
00:27:45,683 --> 00:27:46,523
[thunderclap]

415
00:27:46,603 --> 00:27:48,803
Something apocalyptic

416
00:27:50,603 --> 00:27:52,283
called the Younger Dryas.

417
00:27:53,643 --> 00:27:57,723
It was a period of radical climate change
and rising sea levels.

418
00:27:59,843 --> 00:28:02,523
Humanity survived, but barely.

419
00:28:09,443 --> 00:28:14,363
I find it intriguing, by means of its
alignment to the summer solstice sunset,

420
00:28:15,123 --> 00:28:19,843
that Serpent Mound serves
as a signpost, a date stamp,

421
00:28:19,923 --> 00:28:24,483
drawing our attention to the skies
of 12,800 years ago,

422
00:28:24,563 --> 00:28:28,003
a time when we know
there was a global cataclysm

423
00:28:28,083 --> 00:28:31,043
big enough to have destroyed
an advanced civilization.

424
00:28:34,643 --> 00:28:37,043
Again, I'm reminded of Göbekli Tepe,

425
00:28:37,123 --> 00:28:40,803
where figures of creatures carved
into one of the most spectacular pillars

426
00:28:41,443 --> 00:28:45,203
seem to depict the position
of the stars at the summer solstice

427
00:28:45,283 --> 00:28:47,283
during the time of the Younger Dryas.

428
00:28:48,963 --> 00:28:53,243
It's no accident in my view
that the serpent's solstitial alignment

429
00:28:53,323 --> 00:28:56,443
also speaks to that same
cataclysmic epoch.

430
00:28:57,883 --> 00:28:59,363
But why a serpent?

431
00:29:04,403 --> 00:29:06,163
Of the greatest relevance, I think,

432
00:29:06,243 --> 00:29:08,763
are numerous Native American
myths and traditions

433
00:29:08,843 --> 00:29:14,003
in which giant serpents are directly
associated with cataclysmic Earth changes.

434
00:29:16,803 --> 00:29:19,163
There's an ancient legend of the Iroquois

435
00:29:19,243 --> 00:29:23,563
whose domain at the height of their power
extended deep into Ohio.

436
00:29:23,643 --> 00:29:27,483
The villain of the legend
is a giant horned serpent.

437
00:29:30,923 --> 00:29:34,563
Long ago, a village was plagued
by a great serpent

438
00:29:34,643 --> 00:29:36,283
who dwelt in a nearby lake.

439
00:29:37,123 --> 00:29:41,563
So the great spirit in the sky
sent down a hero to defeat him.

440
00:29:43,283 --> 00:29:47,123
In a vicious battle,
bolts of lightning struck the serpent,

441
00:29:48,483 --> 00:29:52,043
the sound shook the Earth,
and the flashes were so bright

442
00:29:52,123 --> 00:29:56,803
that the people shielded their eyes,
covered their ears, and hid in fear.

443
00:29:58,563 --> 00:30:02,363
The very constellations
were dislodged from the night sky

444
00:30:02,443 --> 00:30:07,283
and came crashing to Earth
with a ferocious blast and scorching heat.

445
00:30:07,363 --> 00:30:10,763
One star fell into the lake,
wounding the horned serpent.

446
00:30:13,083 --> 00:30:15,963
As the great serpent
thrashed its tail in pain,

447
00:30:16,043 --> 00:30:17,643
it sent 100-foot waves

448
00:30:17,723 --> 00:30:20,883
crashing through the valleys
in a series of colossal floods.

449
00:30:22,643 --> 00:30:26,843
Most of the tribe didn't survive,
but the serpent was driven away.

450
00:30:30,883 --> 00:30:35,643
We've already seen such serpent imagery
in ancient monuments all over the world.

451
00:30:37,043 --> 00:30:38,323
On the temples in Mexico,

452
00:30:38,403 --> 00:30:41,803
dedicated to Quetzalcoatl,
the feathered serpent,

453
00:30:42,403 --> 00:30:45,523
carved into the temple
of Ġgantija on Malta,

454
00:30:46,243 --> 00:30:49,843
and raining down from the skies
on the pillars of Göbekli Tepe.

455
00:30:51,203 --> 00:30:52,923
It's a powerful symbol

456
00:30:53,003 --> 00:30:56,283
found at sites
that invite us to look to the heavens.

457
00:30:57,723 --> 00:30:58,803
Why?

458
00:31:00,803 --> 00:31:05,003
I think this Iroquois legend
has more than a kernel of truth to it.

459
00:31:05,083 --> 00:31:06,483
Perhaps the stars,

460
00:31:06,563 --> 00:31:10,203
or something resembling stars,
did fall to Earth.

461
00:31:10,283 --> 00:31:12,523
Perhaps there was
great flooding afterwards,

462
00:31:12,603 --> 00:31:16,483
part of those earthshaking cataclysms
of the Younger Dryas.

463
00:31:18,603 --> 00:31:20,683
If the original version of Serpent Mound

464
00:31:20,763 --> 00:31:25,283
was designed sometime around
the end of the last Ice Age, as I believe,

465
00:31:25,363 --> 00:31:29,643
then perhaps it was intended
to carry a message to the future,

466
00:31:29,723 --> 00:31:34,323
a warning even, as to what caused
that apocalyptic series of events

467
00:31:34,403 --> 00:31:36,643
around 12,800 years ago,

468
00:31:37,283 --> 00:31:42,043
a warning to look to the heavens
for stars falling from the sky.

469
00:31:46,123 --> 00:31:48,083
A quarter of the way around the Earth,

470
00:31:48,163 --> 00:31:51,683
there's evidence that
other ancient peoples also lived in terror

471
00:31:51,763 --> 00:31:53,603
of just such a threat from above,

472
00:31:54,563 --> 00:31:56,763
and took steps to protect themselves

473
00:31:56,843 --> 00:32:00,403
deep in the heart of Cappadocia
in modern-day Turkey,

474
00:32:01,163 --> 00:32:03,123
which is where I'm heading next.