Netflix's Ancient Apocalypse: The Americas has generated considerable buzz and talk. The new season goes more into Graham Hancock's claims. Hancock is a writer who has significantly different views from mainstream ideas over ancient human history.
Ancient Apocalypse argues that during the ice age, there existed a sophisticated and cohesive human civilization.
While some are fascinated by the show, others tout it as pseudoscience, with archaeologists panning his use of speculative data and selective evidence. But the series grabs viewers with dramatic storytelling, and stunning cinematography, and even throws in an appearance from Keanu Reeves.
Another pivotal focus in Ancient Apocalypse: The Americas is the existence of fossilized human footprints at White Sands, New Mexico. Considering that, let us talk about three major theories' aspects presented in season 2 dealing with footprints, age, and Hancock's arguments on human civilization.
White Sands footprints in Ancient Apocalypse Season 2
Fossilized human footprints were uncovered in a barren lake bed that was later revealed to be in White Sands National Park in 2009. This was one of the most significant archaeological discoveries because it pushed back the timeline for human existence in North America.
Experts believed that this was only 16,000 years old. But grass seeds carbon-dated around the footprints hinted they may be as old as 23,000 years. Found with the prints of these prehistoric animals, (including a giant ground sloth) these human footprints are a part of the history of humans and prehistoric animals.
Beyond just correcting the timeline, however, is Hancock's interpretation of the Ancient Apocalypse. He says that the footprints indicate an advanced civilization before conventional history, long before the time of the Ice Age.
Much skepticism has greeted this kind of scientific exploration as opposed to the traditionalists, with others questioning the accuracy of the carbon dating because the carbon can be contaminated with older carbon found in water. Hancock still believes this discovery is the first crack in the doors to rewriting human history.
Ancient Apocalypse Season 2: How old are the White Sands footprints really?
The age of the White Sands footprints is still a matter of controversy. Grass seeds surrounding the footprints were dated using radiocarbon by the scientists telling them that the seeds were about 21,000 to 23,000 years old. According to the belief, it could very well be the time when the footprints were made.
However, as pointed out by Jason Colavito, this method of radiocarbon dating does pose some problems since it becomes possible that seeds may have absorbed older carbon from the groundwater altering the view of the findings.
He uses this ambiguity to strengthen his argument that human beings may have been present in the Americas much earlier than previously thought.
He claims that the contestation over who is right on the age of the footprints resonates to show the weakness of current archaeological methods that mainstream historians do not want to entertain other timelines.
"We've only scratched the surface," Hancock claims.
He is giving hints that future discoveries may push the date of human arrival even further back. For all the skepticism about the figure for 23,000 years, footprints challenge Clovis-first theory, that is, the idea that humans did not arrive in North America until around 13,000 years ago.
That humans could have existed hundreds of thousands, even millions, of years before then leaves open the larger implications of Hancock's theory from Ancient Apocalypse: the existence of a lost Ice Age civilization.
Graham Hancock’s theory of an advanced Ice Age civilization in Ancient Apocalypse Season 2
One of the most contentious elements of Ancient Apocalypse is Hancock's theory that an advanced civilization existed during the Ice Age much earlier than most historians believe. In season 2, Hancock states that the White Sands footprints are a key component of the evidence he uses in support of his theory.
Screen Rant states Hancock hypothesizes that the impression here suggests a society advanced enough to sustain construction and possibly even astronomical competencies as well. Although fascinating in concept, this theory has been attacked by mainstream archaeologists.
Detractors of Hancock's theories state that his conclusions often have a dearth of good evidence and are based upon guesswork.
For instance, as Jason Colavito points out, Hancock frequently confuses the idea of human migration into the Americas with his broader narrative of a world-spanning civilization capable of building megalithic structures and mapping the stars.
While many archaeologists believe that footprints at White Sands represent an important discovery, they can't be said to necessarily point toward an advanced civilization.
Nevertheless, Hancock's theories are still popular; they question the conventional narratives and provoke the audience to consider a chapter that was lost in human history.
For Hancock on the Ancient Apocalypse, it's no longer merely about solving some puzzles or mysteries created from the past but also questioning the foundations in which one understands or studies history.
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Ancient Apocalypse: The Americas is now streaming on Netflix.
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