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WILLIAM SHATNER:
Abandoned cities,
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ancient cultures
nearly erased by time,
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and colossal empires
that simply vanished
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without a trace.
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How does a civilization
become lost?
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Is it decimated by wars,
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or does it die off as the result
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of some deadly plague
or cataclysm?
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What could cause a once-thriving
group of people--
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like the Mayans, for example--
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to just abandon
their great cities,
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never to return?
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Well, that is what we'll try
and find out.
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♪
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SHATNER:
Explorers John Lloyd Stephens
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and Frederick Catherwood mount
an expedition to investigate
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reports of mysterious ruins
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located in this remote,
largely uncharted region.
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After scouting and mapping miles
of dark, impenetrable jungle,
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they find some unusual features
in the dense brush.
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Oddly-shaped stones,
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peculiar carvings
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and strange artifacts
that could only be manmade.
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It isn't long
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before they realize they've made
an incredible discovery:
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the remains of the mysterious
ancient Maya civilization,
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deep in the rainforest.
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CARL WENDT:
And what was so remarkable
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to Stephens and Catherwood is, eventually,
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they found temples and platforms
and pyramids.
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There was monumental
architecture and conical mounds
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and other building platforms
in the rainforest.
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And to look at these cities
in the jungle,
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kind of coming out
of the jungle was...
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was just absolutely remarkable,
and it got people's attention.
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SHATNER:
On their return
to the United States,
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Stephens and Catherwood publish
an illustrated book
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of their findings,
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detailing 44 individual ruins.
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Readers are astounded by the
book's meticulous illustrations,
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which portray
a sophisticated ancient society.
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And news of the astonishing find
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quickly spreads
around the world.
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WENDT:
The Maya become more mysterious
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as we collect more information.
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They have
a sophisticated writing system.
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They obviously have a
sophisticated religious system,
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a calendar system.
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And so, the calendar which would
have been a very useful tool
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for the Maya elite and priests
to be able to understand,
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say, for example, when there was
gonna be a solar eclipse.
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They were ancient astronomers
and architects.
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They have social structure
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that we're just beginning
to understand,
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and their cities are remarkable.
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SHATNER:
At its peak,
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the Maya civilization stretched
from Guatemala and Belize
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to western Honduras
and El Salvador.
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Their total population was
estimated to be in the millions,
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and concentrated
in large city centers
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like Copán, Tikal and Calakmul.
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And then, suddenly,
during the ninth century A.D.,
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this advanced society
just collapsed.
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Vast cities, ornate palaces,
towering pyramids--
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all of it completely abandoned,
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left to be reclaimed
by the jungle.
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But why?
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ED BARNHART:
The mystery
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of why Maya civilization
collapsed is one
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that archeology has been
debating forever.
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830 is right about when all
of the cities in the Maya area
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and all over Mesoamerica
are falling apart.
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They drop their tools,
and they walk away.
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They're abandoning those cities,
and it's a mystery.
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Where did the people go?
Why did they leave?
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If you have such
a sophisticated civilization,
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how do these things collapse?
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What went wrong?
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SHATNER:
For decades,
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archaeologists have speculated
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as to what might have caused
the sudden demise of the Maya.
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Dozens of theories--
blaming everything
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from drought, to disease,
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to devastating earthquakes--
have been proposed.
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Yet, the simple truth is no one
knows what really happened.
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But a recent study--
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using state-of-the-art
technology--
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might have provided
a significant clue.
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An airplane operated
by the University of Houston's
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National Center
for Airborne Laser Mapping
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flies 2,000 feet
above the thick jungle canopy.
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As the plane reaches
its target area,
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an advanced scanning technology
called "lidar" is used
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to fire laser pulses through
the trees at the ground below.
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When the resulting data
is later compiled
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into a three-dimensional
rendering of the area,
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the scientists are stunned
by what they see.
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Once lidar got involved,
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we saw roads leading
out into other city centers.
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We saw thousands
upon thousands of houses.
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Collectively, all the areas
that they covered
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were over 60,000 new buildings
that we didn't see before.
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Previously, they thought
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that the Maya reached probably
a maximum level
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of population
of around five million.
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But the estimates now take us up
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to at least 15 to 20 million.
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SHATNER:
Ever since the rediscovery
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of Maya ruins by Europeans
in the 19th century,
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nearly every piece of data
uncovered about the Maya
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raised more and more questions.
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But now, after scientists
began using lidar,
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they finally started
to find answers,
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such as the possible cause
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of the Maya civilization's
collapse: war.
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WENDT:
Once we started going out
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and recording
and mapping these sites,
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we see defense
warfare structures.
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[indistinct chatter
and shouting]
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This is a remarkable thing
that we never knew
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that these defensive works
were out there,
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leading archeologists
to scratch their heads
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and basically say, "Oh, my gosh.
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The Maya were warlike,
and warfare was very important."
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[grunts]
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DAVID WHITEHEAD:
We know there was
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warfare going on.
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They were building all kinds
of defensive structures.
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Could that have something to do
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with the vanishing
of the Mayans?
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BARNHART:
More and more,
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as the classic period went on,
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monuments became full
of war imagery
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and people taking captives
and people being beheaded.
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So we know war was a factor.
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If it was just war, the victors
would have claimed the land,
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and the losers
would have beat it.
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But that's not the fact.
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Everybody left.
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Why?
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SHATNER:
According to the Popol Vuh,
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the written history of the Maya,
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they believed that time
was cyclical in nature.
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Each cycle lasted
for a fixed number of years,
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at which time, a great cataclysm
would wipe the slate clean
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so a new world could be born
from the old one's ashes.
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So was this the real reason?
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Did the Maya abandon their great
cities and disband their culture
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simply because
an ancient prophecy
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told them when exactly to do it?
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BARNHART
The timing is very interesting.
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In 830, a great cycle is ending.
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There was certainly evidence
for them
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to believe
that things were going bad.
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There were climate problems.
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There were resource problems.
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There were people fighting.
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Were they timing
the leaving of their cities
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to the calendar
that they created?
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That's a... a big possibility.
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SHATNER:
Right or wrong,
the Maya believed
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that the end of
their civilization was at hand.
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And while that may seem like
a farfetched notion,
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there actually exists
one group of people
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that hold similar beliefs:
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the descendants of the Maya.
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When you talk
to modern Maya people
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in the Guatemalan Highlands,
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people called day keepers,
Ajq'ij--
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they are priests
who still follow the calendar,
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and they teach people
that things begin
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and they come to an end,
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and that to be in harmony
with the world, you need
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to know these cycles and change
before the world changes you.
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It's very possible
that back then,
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when all the signs that
the world was going a serious
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wrong direction,
that the Maya civilization
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as a whole said,
"These are the signs.
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"The time is now.
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Let's collectively
change ourselves."
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SHATNER:
Was the collapse
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of the Maya civilization
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simply the result
of a self-fulfilling prophecy?
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There are many
who aren't so sure.
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As far as they're concerned,
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something more
sinister happened.
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And they believe
the evidence can be found
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by studying the fate of another
ancient civilization,
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one found much closer to home:
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the Anasazi.
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SHATNER:
Set into the high cliffs
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of Mesa Verde National Park
in southwestern Colorado
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is what many consider to be
America's biggest mystery.
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[bird caws]
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A mystery carved in solid rock.
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[bird caws]
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Cliff Palace,
as it has come to be known,
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contains more than 150 chambers
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connected by extensive ramps
and stairways.
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According to most archaeologists
and historians,
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it was constructed
almost a thousand years ago
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by a tribe
of Ancestral Puebloans
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known as the Anasazi.
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BARNHART: The Ancestral Pueblo
are a people
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that grew up in the Four Corners
area of the United States.
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00:11:09,827 --> 00:11:14,206
They're actually in an area
called the San Juan Basin,
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where they spent most
of their culture's history,
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all the way
into Paleo-Indian times,
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which is about 12,000 years ago.
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They're a culture
we call Basket Maker,
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and they did most
of their cooking and gathering
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in pit houses
and weaved baskets.
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I think one of the things
that's the most admirable
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about the Ancestral Pueblo
is their ability to live
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in such
a resource-poor environment.
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It was highland desert.
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00:11:46,793 --> 00:11:49,379
There were not
many natural plants to eat.
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00:11:49,482 --> 00:11:52,068
It was very difficult
to grow corn.
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00:11:52,172 --> 00:11:54,551
There were not a whole lot
of animals to hunt,
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00:11:54,655 --> 00:11:58,413
and yet they found a way
to live in that niche
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00:11:58,517 --> 00:12:00,379
and survive.
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00:12:01,827 --> 00:12:03,689
SHATNER:
Starting in the ninth century,
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00:12:03,793 --> 00:12:06,206
the Anasazi expanded
their civilization
224
00:12:06,310 --> 00:12:10,448
by building massive structures
throughout the Southwest,
225
00:12:10,551 --> 00:12:13,689
first in New Mexico's
Chaco Canyon
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00:12:13,793 --> 00:12:16,275
and later in the cliffs
of Mesa Verde.
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There was a big explosion
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in the kind of architecture
they were making
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00:12:23,241 --> 00:12:26,448
and its scale
and its sophistication.
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There were already tens of
thousands of little communities,
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00:12:31,896 --> 00:12:35,551
but now they started building
these gigantic buildings.
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00:12:35,655 --> 00:12:37,724
We call them "great houses,"
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00:12:37,827 --> 00:12:39,758
and they were
apartment complexes
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but on a scale
that the Pueblo had never made.
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Hundreds of individual rooms
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00:12:45,689 --> 00:12:48,275
would make up
these great houses,
237
00:12:48,379 --> 00:12:52,275
and they could be upwards
of five stories tall.
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SHATNER:
For years,
239
00:12:57,241 --> 00:12:59,655
people studying the Anasazi
have wondered
240
00:12:59,758 --> 00:13:01,655
how a simple group of people
241
00:13:01,758 --> 00:13:05,206
developed into an advanced
civilization so quickly.
242
00:13:05,310 --> 00:13:08,862
But perhaps an even more
intriguing question is:
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00:13:08,965 --> 00:13:11,000
Why would those same people
244
00:13:11,103 --> 00:13:14,655
go to such great lengths
to build incredible structures,
245
00:13:14,758 --> 00:13:17,344
only to abandon them?
246
00:13:19,034 --> 00:13:20,931
TOK THOMPSON:
And then, during the 1200s,
247
00:13:21,034 --> 00:13:24,000
very mysteriously,
suddenly, it disappeared.
248
00:13:24,103 --> 00:13:27,206
When archaeologists looked
at these remains
249
00:13:27,310 --> 00:13:30,172
at the time of
the civilization disappearance,
250
00:13:30,275 --> 00:13:32,655
it was very sudden, as if people
just grabbed what they could
251
00:13:32,758 --> 00:13:35,344
and took off.
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00:13:35,448 --> 00:13:37,517
People just up and left.
253
00:13:37,620 --> 00:13:40,275
They left behind
all of their belongings.
254
00:13:40,379 --> 00:13:45,965
And there is evidence that this
activity occurred very quickly.
255
00:13:46,068 --> 00:13:50,620
It was almost as if
they left behind ghost towns.
256
00:13:50,724 --> 00:13:54,068
So, what really happened
to the Anasazi?
257
00:13:54,172 --> 00:13:58,344
We know that drought
must have been a factor,
258
00:13:58,448 --> 00:14:00,586
because there were periods
259
00:14:00,689 --> 00:14:03,172
when there was
virtually no rain.
260
00:14:03,275 --> 00:14:07,965
BARNHART:
We can say they left
for drought reasons,
261
00:14:08,068 --> 00:14:10,482
but if these
perfectly good places
262
00:14:10,586 --> 00:14:12,275
were good again
after the drought,
263
00:14:12,379 --> 00:14:13,724
why didn't they come back?
264
00:14:13,827 --> 00:14:17,103
It had to be more than
just a practical
265
00:14:17,206 --> 00:14:19,965
"Well, we can't plant here
anymore."
266
00:14:20,931 --> 00:14:22,586
SHATNER:
If it wasn't drought
267
00:14:22,689 --> 00:14:26,379
that forced the Anasazi
to leave their cliff dwellings,
268
00:14:26,482 --> 00:14:29,965
then what was it?
269
00:14:30,068 --> 00:14:32,931
According to
some anthropologists,
270
00:14:33,034 --> 00:14:35,275
the answer may lie
in their own mythology
271
00:14:35,379 --> 00:14:39,344
and a tale about
a shadowy supernatural figure
272
00:14:39,448 --> 00:14:42,275
known as the Gambler.
273
00:14:45,758 --> 00:14:48,931
ROB WEINER:
The story of the Gambler tells
of a very powerful figure.
274
00:14:49,034 --> 00:14:51,896
He challenges all the people
of the Four Corners region
275
00:14:52,000 --> 00:14:54,793
to these gambling matches,
and he always wins.
276
00:14:54,896 --> 00:14:56,724
And in these stories,
277
00:14:56,827 --> 00:14:58,482
the people give away
their goods.
278
00:14:58,586 --> 00:15:02,586
Eventually, they're giving away
even their homes and their food
279
00:15:02,689 --> 00:15:05,620
and eventually themselves
as slaves
280
00:15:05,724 --> 00:15:08,034
to this powerful gambler figure.
281
00:15:09,931 --> 00:15:11,482
And in their mythology,
282
00:15:11,586 --> 00:15:14,034
they say the Gambler
is the one who taught them
283
00:15:14,137 --> 00:15:16,517
how to build these great houses
284
00:15:16,620 --> 00:15:18,827
and asked them to do it, basically,
285
00:15:18,931 --> 00:15:20,620
in terms of slavery.
286
00:15:20,724 --> 00:15:23,241
They were then his to command.
287
00:15:23,344 --> 00:15:25,482
WEINER:
Eventually, in the story,
288
00:15:25,586 --> 00:15:29,620
the gods decide that the Gambler
has overstepped.
289
00:15:29,724 --> 00:15:32,896
He has become full of hubris.
290
00:15:33,000 --> 00:15:35,206
He's behaving in a way
he shouldn't.
291
00:15:35,310 --> 00:15:38,551
So he's eventually defeated
and banished from Chaco Canyon.
292
00:15:41,034 --> 00:15:43,000
So, when the Gambler
was finally defeated,
293
00:15:43,103 --> 00:15:46,827
it's said that he laid
some kind of curse on the land.
294
00:15:48,137 --> 00:15:51,206
He said,
"I will kill you with lightning,
295
00:15:51,310 --> 00:15:53,551
"and I will send war
and disease among you.
296
00:15:53,655 --> 00:15:56,448
"May the cold freeze you.
297
00:15:56,551 --> 00:15:58,344
"May the fire burn you.
298
00:15:58,448 --> 00:16:01,448
May the waters drown you."
299
00:16:01,551 --> 00:16:05,448
Some groups say he opened up
some kind of vortex.
300
00:16:05,551 --> 00:16:09,241
And because there was so much
badness and so much suffering,
301
00:16:09,344 --> 00:16:12,827
everyone made the decision
to leave
302
00:16:12,931 --> 00:16:15,241
and never go there again.
303
00:16:17,034 --> 00:16:21,000
SHATNER:
Many cultures have tales
of a wily trickster,
304
00:16:21,103 --> 00:16:23,827
someone who cheats people
out of hearth and home
305
00:16:23,931 --> 00:16:25,827
before laying a curse
on their village
306
00:16:25,931 --> 00:16:28,000
and vanishing
in a puff of smoke.
307
00:16:28,103 --> 00:16:31,448
But could the Anasazi legend
of the Gambler
308
00:16:31,551 --> 00:16:36,517
have actually been based
on a real-life event?
309
00:16:36,620 --> 00:16:38,103
I went into museum collections,
310
00:16:38,206 --> 00:16:41,448
and I found hundreds
of gambling pieces excavated
311
00:16:41,551 --> 00:16:43,793
from Pueblo Bonito and the other
buildings in the canyon,
312
00:16:43,896 --> 00:16:47,862
things like dice or pieces used
in different guessing games.
313
00:16:47,965 --> 00:16:49,931
There's a lot
of archaeological evidence
314
00:16:50,034 --> 00:16:51,931
for gambling at Chaco Canyon.
315
00:16:52,034 --> 00:16:54,586
And I do think
the stories are literal
316
00:16:54,689 --> 00:16:58,172
in the sense that it was
a major aspect of the society.
317
00:16:58,275 --> 00:17:01,310
It has to do with actual people,
historical events.
318
00:17:03,103 --> 00:17:05,413
SHATNER: Does archaeological
evidence of gambling
319
00:17:05,517 --> 00:17:07,793
mean the Anasazi legend
of the Gambler
320
00:17:07,896 --> 00:17:11,655
is simply a parable about
the dangers of unchecked vice?
321
00:17:11,758 --> 00:17:14,896
Or were the Anasazi forced
to flee from their homes
322
00:17:15,000 --> 00:17:16,586
after being tormented
by some sort
323
00:17:16,689 --> 00:17:20,517
of dark, supernatural force?
324
00:17:20,620 --> 00:17:23,034
Very often, abandoned villages
or abandoned sites
325
00:17:23,137 --> 00:17:25,103
are held to be haunted
by the ghosts.
326
00:17:25,206 --> 00:17:28,620
This is probably
a very widespread notion that,
327
00:17:28,724 --> 00:17:30,344
when a civilization collapses,
328
00:17:30,448 --> 00:17:32,655
very often,
something went wrong.
329
00:17:32,758 --> 00:17:36,310
And it's not purely physical.
It's something spiritual.
330
00:17:36,413 --> 00:17:39,413
Today, Pueblo people
will go to Chaco,
331
00:17:39,517 --> 00:17:41,862
and they will honor
their ancestors there.
332
00:17:41,965 --> 00:17:44,379
But some groups of them say
333
00:17:44,482 --> 00:17:47,068
that there was a very bad thing
that happened there
334
00:17:47,172 --> 00:17:50,655
and that their ancestors,
for a long period of time,
335
00:17:50,758 --> 00:17:53,965
didn't go there and they wanted
nothing to do with it.
336
00:17:57,827 --> 00:18:01,482
Could a deadly curse
really have caused the Anasazi
337
00:18:01,586 --> 00:18:04,551
to abandon
their elaborate cliff dwellings?
338
00:18:04,655 --> 00:18:08,068
There are those who believe that
dark forces were responsible
339
00:18:08,172 --> 00:18:11,448
and that similar forces
were also behind
340
00:18:11,551 --> 00:18:13,965
the mysterious disappearance
of what might have been
341
00:18:14,068 --> 00:18:15,827
the world's first civilization,
342
00:18:15,931 --> 00:18:19,000
the one located
at a place now known
343
00:18:19,103 --> 00:18:21,551
as Gobekli Tepe.
344
00:18:31,000 --> 00:18:32,758
WSHATNER::
While plowing his field,
345
00:18:32,862 --> 00:18:35,931
shepherd Safak Yildiz spots
a strangely shaped stone
346
00:18:36,034 --> 00:18:38,931
emerging from the parched earth.
347
00:18:39,034 --> 00:18:40,896
When he brushes away the dirt,
348
00:18:41,000 --> 00:18:44,862
he realizes the stone may be
part of a much larger object.
349
00:18:44,965 --> 00:18:47,137
After reporting his find,
350
00:18:47,241 --> 00:18:50,344
he is visited
by archaeologist Klaus Schmidt
351
00:18:50,448 --> 00:18:53,724
and a team from the German
Archaeological Institute.
352
00:18:55,517 --> 00:18:57,172
Further excavation reveals
353
00:18:57,275 --> 00:18:59,931
the stone is actually part
of a massive,
354
00:19:00,034 --> 00:19:02,896
elaborately carved stone pillar,
355
00:19:03,000 --> 00:19:06,241
one in what turns out
to be dozens
356
00:19:06,344 --> 00:19:10,827
that form an ancient
underground complex.
357
00:19:12,206 --> 00:19:15,551
Gobekli Tepe is
arguably the most important
358
00:19:15,655 --> 00:19:18,724
archaeological discovery
in recent years.
359
00:19:18,827 --> 00:19:23,758
We're talking about
a whole series of stone circles
360
00:19:23,862 --> 00:19:27,172
built on the top of a mountain.
361
00:19:27,275 --> 00:19:30,586
If you can imagine
Stonehenge in England
362
00:19:30,689 --> 00:19:33,724
but multiply it by 20 times
363
00:19:33,827 --> 00:19:36,689
and have these stones in circles
364
00:19:36,793 --> 00:19:40,896
facing towards two massive,
great monoliths
365
00:19:41,000 --> 00:19:44,344
as much as
18 and a half feet tall,
366
00:19:44,448 --> 00:19:47,551
weighing between 15 and 20 tons,
367
00:19:47,655 --> 00:19:52,241
this is what we see
at Gobekli Tepe.
368
00:19:52,344 --> 00:19:57,103
Gobekli Tepe could very well be
the first lost civilization.
369
00:19:57,206 --> 00:20:00,068
We've only uncovered
a small percentage of it,
370
00:20:00,172 --> 00:20:01,379
like ten or 15%.
371
00:20:01,482 --> 00:20:04,620
We have no idea, really,
how much bigger this is
372
00:20:04,724 --> 00:20:07,724
and what else
we're gonna find there.
373
00:20:07,827 --> 00:20:09,827
COLLINS:
We have to ask ourselves:
374
00:20:09,931 --> 00:20:12,862
Could Gobekli Tepe been
375
00:20:12,965 --> 00:20:15,931
a place of commerce and trade?
376
00:20:16,034 --> 00:20:19,965
And I think the answer
is an undoubted yes,
377
00:20:20,068 --> 00:20:24,586
because its construction
would have necessitated
378
00:20:24,689 --> 00:20:27,172
the presence
of not just hundreds
379
00:20:27,275 --> 00:20:32,068
but many thousands of people
coming from across the region
380
00:20:32,172 --> 00:20:35,275
who, at the beginning,
were hunter-gatherers.
381
00:20:36,758 --> 00:20:39,103
SHATNER:
While there are many theories,
382
00:20:39,206 --> 00:20:43,103
the true purpose of Gobekli Tepe
remains shrouded in mystery.
383
00:20:43,206 --> 00:20:46,689
But no less mysterious
than the stones themselves
384
00:20:46,793 --> 00:20:50,827
is the lost civilization
that fashioned them.
385
00:20:50,931 --> 00:20:54,068
Because when sediment layers
of the site were carbon-dated,
386
00:20:54,172 --> 00:20:58,000
it was shockingly revealed
that Gobekli Tepe
387
00:20:58,103 --> 00:21:01,275
is more than 12,000 years old.
388
00:21:03,551 --> 00:21:05,793
PAUL BAHN: Gobekli Tepe
really did send shock waves
389
00:21:05,896 --> 00:21:08,758
through the whole world
of early prehistory,
390
00:21:08,862 --> 00:21:11,068
because we'd never before
known or imagined, even,
391
00:21:11,172 --> 00:21:12,931
that simple hunter-gatherers
392
00:21:13,034 --> 00:21:15,931
could produce such spectacular
monumental structures
393
00:21:16,034 --> 00:21:18,793
as-as are found at Gobekli Tepe.
394
00:21:18,896 --> 00:21:20,551
Now, many of these pillars
395
00:21:20,655 --> 00:21:24,000
also have remarkable carvings
on them, wonderful carvings
396
00:21:24,103 --> 00:21:26,758
and bas-reliefs of animals,
birds, insects,
397
00:21:26,862 --> 00:21:28,103
all kinds of things.
398
00:21:28,206 --> 00:21:30,103
So to fashion those
and carve them
399
00:21:30,206 --> 00:21:31,931
and set them up
in these structures
400
00:21:32,034 --> 00:21:34,137
was just absolutely amazing.
401
00:21:36,206 --> 00:21:38,724
SHATNER:
More than one-third
of Gobekli Tepe's stone pillars
402
00:21:38,827 --> 00:21:41,379
contain elaborate
bas-relief carvings
403
00:21:41,482 --> 00:21:43,068
of various animals.
404
00:21:43,172 --> 00:21:46,827
But what has many archaeologists
and historians puzzled
405
00:21:46,931 --> 00:21:49,137
is that many
of the species depicted,
406
00:21:49,241 --> 00:21:53,517
like geese and armadillos
and wild boar,
407
00:21:53,620 --> 00:21:57,000
are not indigenous to the area.
408
00:21:57,103 --> 00:22:01,379
That location just happens
to be near where Noah
409
00:22:01,482 --> 00:22:05,206
and the animals in the ark
ended the long journey
410
00:22:05,310 --> 00:22:07,034
through the flood.
411
00:22:07,137 --> 00:22:10,379
And these giant pillars
in Gobekli Tepe
412
00:22:10,482 --> 00:22:14,655
have carvings of animals,
many different kinds of animals.
413
00:22:14,758 --> 00:22:17,655
Are these the animals
from the ark?
414
00:22:17,758 --> 00:22:20,586
Did the stories
about those animals
415
00:22:20,689 --> 00:22:24,034
end up being depicted in stone?
416
00:22:25,448 --> 00:22:27,172
SHATNER:
Could there really
be a connection
417
00:22:27,275 --> 00:22:29,655
between Gobekli Tepe
and the Great Flood?
418
00:22:29,758 --> 00:22:31,137
Perhaps.
419
00:22:31,241 --> 00:22:34,655
But according to
another audacious theory,
420
00:22:34,758 --> 00:22:37,068
the animal carvings
at Gobekli Tepe
421
00:22:37,172 --> 00:22:39,344
may have been inspired
by another,
422
00:22:39,448 --> 00:22:42,482
even older biblical story.
423
00:22:44,620 --> 00:22:49,379
COLLINS:
Gobekli Tepe is
located in the very area
424
00:22:49,482 --> 00:22:54,344
that the Bible tells us
the Garden of Eden was located.
425
00:22:54,448 --> 00:22:58,793
It is said that Eden was where
the four rivers of paradise
426
00:22:58,896 --> 00:23:00,896
took their rise.
427
00:23:01,000 --> 00:23:05,655
Two of those rivers were
the Euphrates and the Tigris
428
00:23:05,758 --> 00:23:08,103
that flowed through Mesopotamia.
429
00:23:08,206 --> 00:23:12,275
And these both rose
in the same area
430
00:23:12,379 --> 00:23:14,310
as Gobekli Tepe.
431
00:23:14,413 --> 00:23:18,413
Professor Klaus Schmidt,
the German archaeologist,
432
00:23:18,517 --> 00:23:20,896
even suggested himself
433
00:23:21,000 --> 00:23:23,758
that this could be
the area of Eden
434
00:23:23,862 --> 00:23:28,103
and the point of foundation
of civilization.
435
00:23:29,896 --> 00:23:31,965
SHATNER:
The Garden of Eden?
436
00:23:32,068 --> 00:23:35,275
It's a fascinating theory
437
00:23:35,379 --> 00:23:39,448
but one that is not
without its problems.
438
00:23:39,551 --> 00:23:42,793
Because archaeological evidence
shows that Gobekli Tepe
439
00:23:42,896 --> 00:23:45,896
was not only later abandoned,
440
00:23:46,000 --> 00:23:49,310
but also backfilled
and deliberately buried.
441
00:23:49,413 --> 00:23:51,344
Why...
442
00:23:51,448 --> 00:23:55,448
would anyone want to leave--
and bury--
443
00:23:55,551 --> 00:23:57,655
paradise?
444
00:23:57,758 --> 00:24:00,689
COLLINS:
Around 8000 B.C.,
445
00:24:00,793 --> 00:24:04,103
the people of Gobekli Tepe
just vanish.
446
00:24:04,206 --> 00:24:06,482
They just disappear.
447
00:24:06,586 --> 00:24:09,448
So we have to ask ourself:
Where did they go?
448
00:24:09,551 --> 00:24:13,379
Did they just vanish
into oblivion?
449
00:24:13,482 --> 00:24:17,344
What we know is that recently
archaeologists discovered
450
00:24:17,448 --> 00:24:21,206
a number of human skulls
that had been modified.
451
00:24:22,793 --> 00:24:26,896
And what this means is
that they had been sculpted,
452
00:24:27,000 --> 00:24:29,896
or that they had been pierced,
453
00:24:30,000 --> 00:24:32,827
uh, so that they
could be hung up
454
00:24:32,931 --> 00:24:35,689
perhaps on some kind
of frame or platform.
455
00:24:37,517 --> 00:24:40,137
WHITEHEAD:
They found skulls
that are smashed in.
456
00:24:40,241 --> 00:24:42,931
They found remains that look
as if there's been some kind
457
00:24:43,034 --> 00:24:46,655
of mass ritual or murder
or sacrifice going on.
458
00:24:46,758 --> 00:24:50,310
There may have actually been
a skull cult there.
459
00:24:50,413 --> 00:24:51,827
Do we know
what these people were doing?
460
00:24:51,931 --> 00:24:53,206
Of course not,
because they were doing this
461
00:24:53,310 --> 00:24:55,137
thousands of years
before writing took place.
462
00:24:55,241 --> 00:24:57,068
We can try and guess.
463
00:24:57,172 --> 00:25:00,068
We-we know important rituals
took place there.
464
00:25:00,172 --> 00:25:03,275
[distorted screaming]
465
00:25:03,379 --> 00:25:06,551
Klaus Schmidt
would talk about this as Eden.
466
00:25:06,655 --> 00:25:08,965
I think what he meant was
this is an Edenic society.
467
00:25:09,068 --> 00:25:11,137
Because if you look at the story
468
00:25:11,241 --> 00:25:13,724
of the Garden of Eden
in the Bible,
469
00:25:13,827 --> 00:25:15,413
that's
a hunter-gatherer society.
470
00:25:15,517 --> 00:25:18,586
That's before we discover agriculture.
471
00:25:18,689 --> 00:25:22,413
And so the fact that here's
this place, Gobekli Tepe,
472
00:25:22,517 --> 00:25:24,448
it's really challenging
our understandings
473
00:25:24,551 --> 00:25:27,724
of our own origins,
our own religious origins.
474
00:25:27,827 --> 00:25:30,068
And you start thinking about
what else we're gonna find.
475
00:25:30,172 --> 00:25:32,000
BAHN:
It remains to be seen
what will be found
476
00:25:32,103 --> 00:25:33,413
in the rest of the site.
477
00:25:33,517 --> 00:25:35,724
But, certainly,
I'm sure Gobekli Tepe
478
00:25:35,827 --> 00:25:37,344
has plenty more surprises
for us.
479
00:25:37,448 --> 00:25:39,275
Every new enclosure excavated,
480
00:25:39,379 --> 00:25:41,655
every new piece of evidence puts
another piece in the jigsaw
481
00:25:41,758 --> 00:25:43,275
but also, at the same time,
482
00:25:43,379 --> 00:25:47,000
raises new questions that we
find very difficult to answer.
483
00:25:49,275 --> 00:25:51,034
SHATNER:
Whether Gobekli Tepe has
484
00:25:51,137 --> 00:25:54,482
a connection
to biblical stories or not,
485
00:25:54,586 --> 00:25:56,103
one thing is certain:
486
00:25:56,206 --> 00:25:59,448
its builders chose to bury
their great creation,
487
00:25:59,551 --> 00:26:03,413
and we may never know why
or where they went,
488
00:26:03,517 --> 00:26:06,241
not unlike
another ancient civilization
489
00:26:06,344 --> 00:26:09,724
that also buried
their most important artifacts,
490
00:26:09,827 --> 00:26:12,758
giant stone heads that suggest
491
00:26:12,862 --> 00:26:15,758
they might have possessed
the ability to harness
492
00:26:15,862 --> 00:26:20,482
one of the most powerful forces
in the universe.
493
00:26:29,931 --> 00:26:31,620
WILLIAM SHATNER:
Archaeologist Matthew Stirling
494
00:26:31,724 --> 00:26:34,172
is excavating an ancient site
495
00:26:34,275 --> 00:26:36,862
once occupied
by the Olmec people,
496
00:26:36,965 --> 00:26:40,827
a lost Mesoamerican civilization
497
00:26:40,931 --> 00:26:44,034
dating as far back as 1200 B.C.
498
00:26:44,137 --> 00:26:48,724
As Stirling's team unearths
and catalogs numerous artifacts,
499
00:26:48,827 --> 00:26:51,379
they notice a number
of unusually large,
500
00:26:51,482 --> 00:26:54,931
rounded boulders buried nearby.
501
00:26:55,034 --> 00:26:59,034
What emerges from the ground
are, quite literally,
502
00:26:59,137 --> 00:27:02,482
some of the largest
archaeological finds
503
00:27:02,586 --> 00:27:04,931
of the 20th century.
504
00:27:05,034 --> 00:27:07,068
Over the next several decades,
505
00:27:07,172 --> 00:27:12,000
17 colossal heads
carved from solid basalt
506
00:27:12,103 --> 00:27:14,896
were ultimately discovered
in the area,
507
00:27:15,000 --> 00:27:18,655
the largest measuring
a staggering 11 feet tall
508
00:27:18,758 --> 00:27:22,103
and weighing 50 tons.
509
00:27:22,206 --> 00:27:24,344
When you walk up
to these imposing,
510
00:27:24,448 --> 00:27:25,965
you know, stone monuments,
511
00:27:26,068 --> 00:27:28,275
you see these things
are-are huge,
512
00:27:28,379 --> 00:27:31,241
with these just amazing
lifelike features.
513
00:27:31,344 --> 00:27:33,275
It would have taken
thousands of people
514
00:27:33,379 --> 00:27:36,344
to drag these stones
through the rainforest,
515
00:27:36,448 --> 00:27:40,344
through mud and swamps,
onto the tops of their sites.
516
00:27:40,448 --> 00:27:43,758
SHATNER:
But perhaps what's most striking
about these giant heads
517
00:27:43,862 --> 00:27:45,896
is not their size
518
00:27:46,000 --> 00:27:49,000
or how they were brought
to the middle of the jungle
519
00:27:49,103 --> 00:27:53,862
but rather who they seem
to be depicting.
520
00:27:53,965 --> 00:27:56,482
COLLINS:
The colossal heads have
521
00:27:56,586 --> 00:27:59,413
an African appearance.
522
00:27:59,517 --> 00:28:02,241
But, also, equally,
523
00:28:02,344 --> 00:28:07,344
they've been seen to have
a Polynesian appearance as well.
524
00:28:07,448 --> 00:28:11,103
Is it possible
that the Olmec were the result
525
00:28:11,206 --> 00:28:16,034
of transpacific
or even transatlantic migrations
526
00:28:16,137 --> 00:28:19,275
of peoples
from other continents?
527
00:28:19,379 --> 00:28:21,896
SHATNER:
Although mainstream historians
dismiss the notion
528
00:28:22,000 --> 00:28:25,034
that the Olmec originated
in Asia or Africa,
529
00:28:25,137 --> 00:28:27,862
the appearance
of the Olmec heads
530
00:28:27,965 --> 00:28:31,000
suggests that it is possible.
531
00:28:31,103 --> 00:28:34,896
But not only do we not know
where the Olmec came from,
532
00:28:35,000 --> 00:28:39,482
we also don't know
where they went.
533
00:28:39,586 --> 00:28:42,448
One of the real frustrations
to archaeologists
534
00:28:42,551 --> 00:28:43,965
who study the Olmec
535
00:28:44,068 --> 00:28:47,724
is that we don't have
a single Olmec skeleton
536
00:28:47,827 --> 00:28:50,551
that we can look at and analyze.
537
00:28:50,655 --> 00:28:53,137
For over a thousand years,
538
00:28:53,241 --> 00:28:56,965
the Olmec were the culture
in the middle of Mesoamerica.
539
00:28:57,068 --> 00:28:59,724
But then they faded away.
540
00:28:59,827 --> 00:29:04,172
And why exactly they stopped
541
00:29:04,275 --> 00:29:06,551
is something we're not sure of.
542
00:29:08,517 --> 00:29:11,275
SHATNER:
The Olmec disappeared
so completely,
543
00:29:11,379 --> 00:29:15,068
all that's left of them
are scattered remains,
544
00:29:15,172 --> 00:29:18,413
some sculptures and figurines.
545
00:29:18,517 --> 00:29:21,103
Which means,
if we're to answer the riddle
546
00:29:21,206 --> 00:29:25,103
of the Olmecs' disappearance,
there's only one place to look:
547
00:29:25,206 --> 00:29:28,241
those huge,
imposing stone heads,
548
00:29:28,344 --> 00:29:31,965
staring back at us through time
549
00:29:32,068 --> 00:29:35,896
with their odd,
sphinxlike gazes.
550
00:29:37,931 --> 00:29:41,000
One of the most remarkable discoveries
551
00:29:41,103 --> 00:29:44,655
in connection with the art
of the Olmec
552
00:29:44,758 --> 00:29:47,517
is the presence of magnetism.
553
00:29:48,931 --> 00:29:51,724
In a number
of different statues,
554
00:29:51,827 --> 00:29:54,379
when a compass
is brought up to them,
555
00:29:54,482 --> 00:29:56,896
the needles move.
556
00:29:57,000 --> 00:30:00,103
Archaeologists in the late 1960s
and early 1970s
557
00:30:00,206 --> 00:30:02,931
used magnetometers to find many
558
00:30:03,034 --> 00:30:06,103
of the most remarkable
colossal heads.
559
00:30:06,206 --> 00:30:07,965
BRANDENBURG:
The Olmec heads
560
00:30:08,068 --> 00:30:10,586
probably gave off
magnetic signatures,
561
00:30:10,689 --> 00:30:12,275
because they're made of basalt,
562
00:30:12,379 --> 00:30:15,758
a dense volcanic rock
that becomes magnetic
563
00:30:15,862 --> 00:30:18,724
as it cools.
564
00:30:18,827 --> 00:30:22,206
So, by making the heads
of basalt
565
00:30:22,310 --> 00:30:24,827
that came
from the volcano itself,
566
00:30:24,931 --> 00:30:26,965
that same energy
567
00:30:27,068 --> 00:30:30,379
was inherited
by those colossal heads.
568
00:30:30,482 --> 00:30:34,827
What all of this suggests
is that the Olmec
569
00:30:34,931 --> 00:30:38,206
went out
and deliberately chose rocks
570
00:30:38,310 --> 00:30:41,137
that had this magnetic effect.
571
00:30:42,103 --> 00:30:44,344
SHATNER:
Magnetic stones.
572
00:30:46,034 --> 00:30:48,586
If the Olmec
were harnessing magnetism,
573
00:30:48,689 --> 00:30:51,896
what were they using it for?
574
00:30:52,000 --> 00:30:53,586
There are many theories
about how the Olmecs
575
00:30:53,689 --> 00:30:55,344
may have used magnetism.
576
00:30:55,448 --> 00:30:58,931
One interesting speculation
is whether they could have moved
577
00:30:59,034 --> 00:31:02,896
some of the large stones
using magnetic levitation.
578
00:31:03,000 --> 00:31:05,068
It's very simple to get magnets
579
00:31:05,172 --> 00:31:08,034
to either attract
or repel each other
580
00:31:08,137 --> 00:31:10,655
if their poles are opposing.
581
00:31:10,758 --> 00:31:15,482
It's difficult to imagine even
using modern moving technology
582
00:31:15,586 --> 00:31:16,965
to move very large stones.
583
00:31:17,068 --> 00:31:18,724
Yet they were moved.
584
00:31:18,827 --> 00:31:20,931
SHATNER:
Levitation?
585
00:31:21,034 --> 00:31:23,034
It's a fascinating theory,
586
00:31:23,137 --> 00:31:25,206
although one
that's hard to prove,
587
00:31:25,310 --> 00:31:28,103
not unlike another theory
that suggests
588
00:31:28,206 --> 00:31:31,379
that the Olmec may have been
using the magnetic properties
589
00:31:31,482 --> 00:31:35,172
in their giant stone heads
for healing purposes.
590
00:31:36,896 --> 00:31:40,758
Colossal head ten from San
Lorenzo has what appears to be
591
00:31:40,862 --> 00:31:43,931
these little
multiperforated beads
592
00:31:44,034 --> 00:31:46,862
all over all of the head
in his headdress.
593
00:31:46,965 --> 00:31:50,413
In a recent excavation, the lead
archeologists found thousands,
594
00:31:50,517 --> 00:31:55,275
144,000 of
these little magnetic cubes.
595
00:31:55,379 --> 00:31:58,206
And they could have been then
strung together in mats
596
00:31:58,310 --> 00:32:00,482
and possibly,
in this case, the headdress.
597
00:32:03,310 --> 00:32:05,379
And leading
some archeologists to say,
598
00:32:05,482 --> 00:32:07,137
"What about
the magnetic qualities
599
00:32:07,241 --> 00:32:09,137
that might have been used
in possible healing?"
600
00:32:09,241 --> 00:32:10,931
We know the importance
601
00:32:11,034 --> 00:32:13,413
of magnets used
in certain therapies.
602
00:32:13,517 --> 00:32:15,586
And did the Olmec--
did they already discover
603
00:32:15,689 --> 00:32:18,827
the important health benefits
of-of magnetic therapy?
604
00:32:18,931 --> 00:32:21,758
SHATNER:
If the Olmec leaders
605
00:32:21,862 --> 00:32:24,137
were using the power
of magnetism
606
00:32:24,241 --> 00:32:26,241
for some type of healing,
607
00:32:26,344 --> 00:32:29,896
it may have had
the opposite affect.
608
00:32:30,000 --> 00:32:33,275
Magnetic fields can be
healing or harmful.
609
00:32:33,379 --> 00:32:36,241
In some cases,
people who have been exposed
610
00:32:36,344 --> 00:32:38,206
to very strong magnetic fields
611
00:32:38,310 --> 00:32:41,448
have lapsed into comas,
had seizures.
612
00:32:41,551 --> 00:32:44,379
Some people have even died
after being exposed
613
00:32:44,482 --> 00:32:46,172
to very strong magnetic fields.
614
00:32:46,275 --> 00:32:48,172
COLLINS:
So, could the presence
615
00:32:48,275 --> 00:32:51,241
of magnetism in the art objects
616
00:32:51,344 --> 00:32:53,655
that were fashioned
by the Olmecs
617
00:32:53,758 --> 00:32:55,551
have had something to do
618
00:32:55,655 --> 00:32:59,172
with why
they deliberately buried many
619
00:32:59,275 --> 00:33:03,137
of their statues and figurines?
620
00:33:03,241 --> 00:33:06,724
We do not have
any definitive answers.
621
00:33:06,827 --> 00:33:08,965
But what we do know is
622
00:33:09,068 --> 00:33:13,034
that the Olmec culture dissolved.
623
00:33:13,137 --> 00:33:16,310
It disappeared
almost into oblivion.
624
00:33:20,034 --> 00:33:22,482
Did the Olmecs meddle
with magnetic powers
625
00:33:22,586 --> 00:33:25,689
that were simply
beyond their ability to control?
626
00:33:25,793 --> 00:33:27,482
Recent findings suggest
627
00:33:27,586 --> 00:33:31,137
such a fantastic notion
is entirely possible.
628
00:33:31,241 --> 00:33:33,379
Theirs is a cautionary tale
629
00:33:33,482 --> 00:33:37,758
of technology run amok,
and, just like our next example,
630
00:33:37,862 --> 00:33:41,379
the consequence
of trying to harness a power
631
00:33:41,482 --> 00:33:44,482
far too deadly to be contained.
632
00:33:52,758 --> 00:33:53,827
WILLIAM SHATNER: Located more
than 2,000 miles
633
00:33:53,931 --> 00:33:55,827
west of South America,
634
00:33:55,931 --> 00:34:00,034
it is one of the most remote and
desolate islands in the world.
635
00:34:00,137 --> 00:34:04,137
It is also the home
of nearly 1,000 moai,
636
00:34:04,241 --> 00:34:07,241
a collection of giant
megalithic stone sentinels
637
00:34:07,344 --> 00:34:10,103
whose purpose remains
as mysterious
638
00:34:10,206 --> 00:34:12,724
as the lost civilization
that carved them.
639
00:34:16,034 --> 00:34:18,827
Located in what is now Cambodia,
640
00:34:18,931 --> 00:34:23,206
this enormous, 402-acre
temple complex was once part
641
00:34:23,310 --> 00:34:28,379
of the thriving city of Angkor,
the capital of the Khmer Empire.
642
00:34:28,482 --> 00:34:30,344
Although most historians agree
643
00:34:30,448 --> 00:34:32,758
that the Khmer people
were most likely vanquished
644
00:34:32,862 --> 00:34:36,310
by a series of devastating wars,
the real reason
645
00:34:36,413 --> 00:34:40,172
for their complete disappearance
is unknown.
646
00:34:42,827 --> 00:34:44,862
Located on an island
647
00:34:44,965 --> 00:34:47,896
in what is now Dare County,
North Carolina.
648
00:34:48,000 --> 00:34:51,931
This English colony was
originally conceived in 1585
649
00:34:52,034 --> 00:34:56,000
as part of Sir Walter Raleigh's
plan to settle North America.
650
00:34:56,103 --> 00:34:58,827
When English explorers returned
651
00:34:58,931 --> 00:35:01,482
to check in on the colony
in 1590,
652
00:35:01,586 --> 00:35:06,344
they found that its estimated
121 inhabitants
653
00:35:06,448 --> 00:35:09,413
had vanished.
654
00:35:09,517 --> 00:35:13,000
The only clue they left behind
was the word "Croatoan,"
655
00:35:13,103 --> 00:35:15,172
mysteriously carved into a tree.
656
00:35:17,137 --> 00:35:19,275
All of these, and more,
657
00:35:19,379 --> 00:35:23,103
are examples of civilizations
that simply vanished.
658
00:35:24,206 --> 00:35:25,965
But why?
659
00:35:26,068 --> 00:35:28,793
And how?
660
00:35:28,896 --> 00:35:30,862
Perhaps the answer can be found
661
00:35:30,965 --> 00:35:33,344
by examining
a more recent cataclysm,
662
00:35:33,448 --> 00:35:38,137
one that forced an entire city
to be abandoned.
663
00:35:44,344 --> 00:35:46,862
[rumbling]
664
00:35:46,965 --> 00:35:49,586
A magnitude
nine point earthquake
665
00:35:49,689 --> 00:35:52,172
triggers a devastating tsunami
666
00:35:52,275 --> 00:35:55,482
along the country's
eastern shore.
667
00:35:55,586 --> 00:35:58,620
Giant waves up to 50 feet tall
668
00:35:58,724 --> 00:36:00,758
are sent crashing
into the coast,
669
00:36:00,862 --> 00:36:03,310
killing almost 16,000 people
670
00:36:03,413 --> 00:36:05,620
and destroying hundreds
of buildings,
671
00:36:05,724 --> 00:36:09,793
including the Fukushima Daiichi
Nuclear Power Plant.
672
00:36:09,896 --> 00:36:12,517
As seawater pours
into the plant,
673
00:36:12,620 --> 00:36:14,068
it triggers a chain reaction
674
00:36:14,172 --> 00:36:18,034
that leads to
three nuclear meltdowns,
675
00:36:18,137 --> 00:36:20,137
multiple hydrogen explosions,
676
00:36:20,241 --> 00:36:22,689
and a massive flood
of radioactive contamination
677
00:36:22,793 --> 00:36:24,241
into the surrounding area.
678
00:36:26,241 --> 00:36:29,620
200,000 people
are immediately evacuated.
679
00:36:32,620 --> 00:36:37,482
In less than 48 hours,
this once-thriving city
680
00:36:37,586 --> 00:36:40,172
becomes a ghost town.
681
00:36:40,275 --> 00:36:41,620
BRANDENBURG:
An entire city
682
00:36:41,724 --> 00:36:43,068
was abandoned
683
00:36:43,172 --> 00:36:45,000
in the middle
of the Fukushima crisis.
684
00:36:45,103 --> 00:36:46,448
Something like from
685
00:36:46,551 --> 00:36:49,206
a post-apocalyptic
science fiction movie.
686
00:36:49,310 --> 00:36:52,896
Food still
on the shelf in stores.
687
00:36:53,000 --> 00:36:54,931
People literally did not go down
688
00:36:55,034 --> 00:36:56,827
into the house
to grab their coats.
689
00:36:56,931 --> 00:36:58,896
They just got theirselves
690
00:36:59,000 --> 00:37:01,931
and their family into the car
and drove
691
00:37:02,034 --> 00:37:03,862
because of the danger
of radiation leakage.
692
00:37:03,965 --> 00:37:05,793
PAUL SPRINGER:
The Japanese didn't
693
00:37:05,896 --> 00:37:08,034
prepare adequately for tsunamis
694
00:37:08,137 --> 00:37:10,000
because this was just
an unforeseen consequence
695
00:37:10,103 --> 00:37:12,965
of a catastrophically large earthquake.
696
00:37:13,068 --> 00:37:15,344
The earthquake that caused
the tsunami was one
697
00:37:15,448 --> 00:37:17,862
of the-the nastiest earthquakes
ever recorded.
698
00:37:17,965 --> 00:37:20,000
Nobody had envisioned this level
699
00:37:20,103 --> 00:37:23,275
of catastrophe happening
all at once.
700
00:37:23,379 --> 00:37:26,034
WHITEHEAD:
We know that no one will ever
go and live there again.
701
00:37:26,137 --> 00:37:27,724
This place is gonna have to be
vacant for years
702
00:37:27,827 --> 00:37:29,379
because it's radioactive.
703
00:37:29,482 --> 00:37:32,724
SHATNER:
We tend to think that just
because we live in a world
704
00:37:32,827 --> 00:37:35,241
with advanced technology,
modern medicine,
705
00:37:35,344 --> 00:37:38,586
and the ability to fly around
the world in a single day,
706
00:37:38,689 --> 00:37:41,931
that our civilization is safe
from extinction.
707
00:37:43,000 --> 00:37:45,000
But disasters,
708
00:37:45,103 --> 00:37:50,206
like the one at Fukushima,
prove that is not the case.
709
00:37:50,310 --> 00:37:55,586
I look at an event like
Fukushima and see a pattern:
710
00:37:55,689 --> 00:37:58,206
that we are not that different
711
00:37:58,310 --> 00:38:00,793
than the people
that lived in the past.
712
00:38:00,896 --> 00:38:06,206
We have, as civilizations, again
and again created technologies,
713
00:38:06,310 --> 00:38:11,000
and forgotten the power
of nature.
714
00:38:12,172 --> 00:38:16,379
COLLINS:
Civilizations disappear rapidly.
715
00:38:16,482 --> 00:38:20,206
So we have to ask ourselves
whether, in past ages,
716
00:38:20,310 --> 00:38:23,827
natural catastrophes
can have combined
717
00:38:23,931 --> 00:38:27,689
with the presence
of human civilizations
718
00:38:27,793 --> 00:38:32,758
to create cataclysms
that completely obliterated
719
00:38:32,862 --> 00:38:35,482
entire civilizations.
720
00:38:35,586 --> 00:38:38,758
SHATNER:
Whether by natural catastrophe
721
00:38:38,862 --> 00:38:42,655
or by war, famine or disease,
722
00:38:42,758 --> 00:38:44,931
all civilizations, even our own,
723
00:38:45,034 --> 00:38:47,241
are destined
not to last forever.
724
00:38:47,344 --> 00:38:51,241
But is there any way to stop
the inevitable from happening,
725
00:38:51,344 --> 00:38:53,965
or are we really doomed
726
00:38:54,068 --> 00:38:57,000
to repeat the mistakes
of the past?
727
00:39:07,931 --> 00:39:11,172
A panel of experts from
the Future of Humanity Institute
728
00:39:11,275 --> 00:39:13,827
publish the results
of a survey regarding
729
00:39:13,931 --> 00:39:16,172
the global catastrophic risks
730
00:39:16,275 --> 00:39:19,413
that humanity will face
in the 21st century.
731
00:39:19,517 --> 00:39:23,068
The results of the questionnaire
are both surprising
732
00:39:23,172 --> 00:39:24,931
and concerning,
733
00:39:25,034 --> 00:39:29,793
because the experts agree that
there is a one-in-five chance
734
00:39:29,896 --> 00:39:34,241
of human extinction
before the year 2100.
735
00:39:39,620 --> 00:39:41,620
SPRINGER:
At the 2008 Oxford conference,
736
00:39:41,724 --> 00:39:44,241
participants considered nanotechnology,
737
00:39:44,344 --> 00:39:47,206
artificial intelligence and war
to be the three categories
738
00:39:47,310 --> 00:39:49,655
that were most likely to
bring about such an event.
739
00:39:51,310 --> 00:39:55,000
Personally, the one
that keeps me awake at night
740
00:39:55,103 --> 00:39:58,862
is the unbridled development
of artificial intelligence.
741
00:39:58,965 --> 00:40:01,827
It's partially because of
the weaponization
742
00:40:01,931 --> 00:40:04,379
of artificial intelligence,
743
00:40:04,482 --> 00:40:08,310
and what I like to refer to as
the dark triad of offensive,
744
00:40:08,413 --> 00:40:10,172
lethal, autonomous machines.
745
00:40:10,275 --> 00:40:13,758
The possibility
of programming errors
746
00:40:13,862 --> 00:40:16,413
or of users deliberately
inflicting these
747
00:40:16,517 --> 00:40:18,896
upon enemy populations is
748
00:40:19,000 --> 00:40:21,241
the type of thing
that makes me nervous.
749
00:40:21,344 --> 00:40:23,172
The development
of artificial intelligence
750
00:40:23,275 --> 00:40:25,724
is supposed to make lives
a lot easier,
751
00:40:25,827 --> 00:40:27,517
but in practice might represent
752
00:40:27,620 --> 00:40:29,344
the biggest existential threat
of all.
753
00:40:29,448 --> 00:40:32,655
When we see a civilization
that effectively disappears
754
00:40:32,758 --> 00:40:35,931
without a record of
precisely why they left,
755
00:40:36,034 --> 00:40:37,586
the answer is often rooted
in the development
756
00:40:37,689 --> 00:40:39,137
of advanced technology,
757
00:40:39,241 --> 00:40:43,310
because advanced technology
enables a larger population
758
00:40:43,413 --> 00:40:45,034
to live in a smaller area.
759
00:40:45,137 --> 00:40:49,586
But if something happens
to the resources themselves,
760
00:40:49,689 --> 00:40:51,137
then you don't have the capacity
761
00:40:51,241 --> 00:40:53,172
to support
the population anymore.
762
00:40:53,275 --> 00:40:55,862
BARNHART: When I look at
an episode like
763
00:40:55,965 --> 00:40:59,206
Rome making an incredible
drainage system
764
00:40:59,310 --> 00:41:02,689
out of lead pipes,
and then everyone goes nuts--
765
00:41:02,793 --> 00:41:06,965
Is it all that different
than human society
766
00:41:07,068 --> 00:41:10,275
building up technology
to the point where we forget
767
00:41:10,379 --> 00:41:13,517
that we're really
just part of an ecosystem
768
00:41:13,620 --> 00:41:16,586
that's much more powerful than
us no matter what we build?
769
00:41:16,689 --> 00:41:19,344
SPRINGER:
We have a tendency to assume
that we can always
770
00:41:19,448 --> 00:41:22,896
innovate our way out of
the crisis of the moment.
771
00:41:23,000 --> 00:41:25,172
There's also no guarantee
that technology will save
772
00:41:25,275 --> 00:41:28,862
a civilization when it's faced
with an existential threat.
773
00:41:32,482 --> 00:41:34,034
Will we live to see the day
774
00:41:34,137 --> 00:41:37,103
when our own civilization
comes to an end?
775
00:41:37,206 --> 00:41:40,206
Given how advanced we've become,
it seems unlikely
776
00:41:40,310 --> 00:41:42,862
that all of
our current technology--
777
00:41:42,965 --> 00:41:45,862
our cities, architecture,
culture--
778
00:41:45,965 --> 00:41:48,793
could ever be reduced to
a giant pile of rocks
779
00:41:48,896 --> 00:41:50,896
and a few carvings,
but then again,
780
00:41:51,000 --> 00:41:54,931
maybe it's our naive belief
that it can't happen to us
781
00:41:55,034 --> 00:41:57,965
that makes our demise inevitable.
782
00:41:58,068 --> 00:42:00,896
So is there any way
we can prevent it?
783
00:42:01,000 --> 00:42:05,275
Perhaps the answer will be
one more that for now remains
784
00:42:05,379 --> 00:42:07,344
unexplained.
62167
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