00:00The spiritual power of this place is an energy that we get thousands of years of
00:05ancestors being right here in this place. Welcome to WatchMojo and today
00:10we're counting down our picks for the top Native American oral stories once
00:14thought to be unverified but were later linked to real historical biological or
00:19geological phenomenon. So we don't know why why did this species stay this size
00:25and why did this species get so big. Number 8. Pacific Northwest Megathrust Earthquakes
00:41Long before geologists ever discovered the 1700 Cascadia earthquake,
00:46indigenous people along the Pacific Northwest already knew it happened. Their oral traditions
00:52described the land shaking like a living being, villages being swallowed, and a catastrophic
00:57battle between powerful forces. In some stories it's told as a clash between the whale and the
01:02thunderbird, causing the ocean itself to rise. While these stories give no exact date, they state that
01:08the earthquake was massive and devastating. Japanese records support this claim with a description of
01:14an orphan wave that struck in the 1700s. Nine hours after the earthquake struck the coast,
01:19the waves of the tsunami started to reach Japan. That's where more of the detailed reports were
01:25first discovered. Written accounts from Japan, that's how we know the day, January 26th. Centuries
01:31later, geological evidence such as sunken forests, coastal drops, and ocean sand eventually confirmed
01:37this event. This goes to show that not all myths are entirely fabricated. The soil, the trees,
01:44trees, and the written stories across 5,000 miles and 300 years all pointed at the same theory. That a
01:52catastrophic quake was possible in the Pacific Northwest. Number seven, the waning of the sun myth.
01:59We sit inside as Navajos and reflect on ourselves. We don't eat, we don't drink, we don't laugh. That's what
02:08we do as Navajo is we stay inside, we reflect, we persevere.
02:12What we now understand as solar eclipse was interpreted differently by many native peoples. Some believed
02:19it marked the meeting of the moon and the sun. For others, it was a time of transformation or a
02:24symbol
02:24of rebirth and renewal, often accompanied by silence or reflection. The sun is called the great, one of the
02:31great warriors, the uncle, and to cover it up is sort of implying that there is a need to set
02:38aside war.
02:40In other traditions, it was said a giant frog was attempting to swallow the sun, leading to rituals
02:46meant to save it. So long before Western astronomy explained solar eclipses, indigenous nations were
02:52already observing and recording them. Rock art and winter counts appear to document eclipse events.
02:59Notably, eclipses influenced Haudenosaunee Confederacy history and helped to strengthen the authority of
03:05Tenskwatawa, the Shawnee prophet. And so an eclipse occurred in their territory and that was a convincing
03:14sign to them that the message that was brought to them by the peacemaker had truth and power.
03:19Number six, Cahokia's advanced civilization. For hundreds of years, generations carried baskets of dirt
03:27from huge borrow pits to make this mound. The work began before the Vikings discovered the new world
03:34and was finished just after the second crusades. The city of Cahokia, an advanced civilization,
03:41was once thought a legend. But this lost city of North America was real. At one point, it thrived as
03:47the
03:47largest city of the region, with tens of thousands of residents living in well-planned neighborhoods.
03:52Hunters, traders, farmers, and even astronomers thrived in this highly organized civilization.
03:59Monumental mounds such as the massive Monk's Mound served as ceremonial and political centers,
04:05showing the city's complex and impressive engineering. Each mound follows along the exact
04:10same alignment to form a city grid. The grid is centered along a feature rediscovered only today,
04:20a roadway. Yet by the mid-1300s, the city's population declined, leading many to believe it vanished.
04:27However, recent studies suggest that Cahokia remained habitable even after the 1400s. While its demise
04:34remains a mystery, archaeological findings confirm its former greatness.
04:39Up on top of the mountain, you can feel the spirits of all the people who were there before.
04:43You can almost hear the hustle and bustle of people in the village below.
04:49Number 5. The Great Flood
04:51Among the Clollam people of Washington's Olympic Peninsula, there's a powerful story about the
04:56Great Flood. Elders tell of coastal waters turning salty, a warning sign that something was wrong.
05:02A wise man urged people to flee, and those who listened gathered food and fresh water before
05:08escaping to the highest mountains nearby. For centuries, outsiders dismissed these stories as myths.
05:15That changed when an archaeological excavation at the ancient village site of Tzitwitzen
05:20revealed it was all true. According to findings, this wasn't a one-time disaster. The land was struck by
05:27tsunami-driven floods multiple times, and each time, survivors managed to return and rebuild homes and
05:34communities. This was dated around 2700 years ago, yet Clollam stories preserved these memories.
05:42Number 4. Giant Ground Sloths
05:44It is difficult to be sure about the etymology of the name Mapinguari, but the main assumption is that
05:52it comes from the Tupi-Guarani indigenous language. In stories told across parts of South America,
05:59a giant grotesque creature called the Mapinguari was said to leave destruction in its wake.
06:05Even the bravest of hunters feared it, describing enormous footprints, trees torn apart,
06:11and thunderous footsteps as it moved through the forest. While its true nature remains unclear,
06:17some researchers have noted similarities between these descriptions and giant ground sloths.
06:22They believe quite piously that if you see the animal, you will die. They're terrified.
06:29What did I do to have the devil himself appear before me in the forest?
06:36These massive creatures once lived alongside early humans in the Americas before going extinct 10,000
06:43years ago. The Mapinguari tales may be legend, but fossil discoveries continue to keep the possibility
06:49alive for enthusiasts. Megatherium reminds me of an old man in carpet slippers. The feet are rather
06:56distorted. They're turned over on their side like a man with arthritis. Number 3. Mammoth and Mastodon
07:03encounters. Mammoths once roamed the open landscape of ancient Britain. These extinct cousins of
07:11elephants had huge curving tusks and thrived during the Ice Age. They may be long gone now, but once,
07:19these Ice Age creatures co-existed with humans. With their exceptional tusks, thick furs, and towering
07:25frames they were impossible to ignore. While mammoths were taller and looked more like modern elephants,
07:31mastodons were stockier. Indigenous stories have described them as aggressive beasts that inspired
07:37fear. The only problem is, these accounts don't name mammoths and mastodons outright, but archaeological
07:52findings fill the gap, confirming early humans shared land with them. Who knows, they may just be the same
07:59giant creatures native people believed to have encountered.
08:16Number 2. Giant beaver stories. This is called Castoroides. This skull is about the same size as a lion's skull.
08:25If you look at this skull, here's a lion compared to a giant beaver.
08:31If you're conversant with native oral traditions, then you've likely heard stories of the giant beaver.
08:36Among indigenous communities like Ojibwe, Cree, and other First Nations, these creatures are described as
08:42enormous, almost supernatural beings, sometimes as big as bears. Not only that, they're capable of reshaping
08:49rivers and landscapes with their powerful dams. They walked upright, and were even as tall as humans.
08:56Interestingly, these stories aren't just mere fantasies. Fossil evidence confirms giant beavers
09:02were once found in North America. Larger than modern beavers, they were up to 7.2 feet long,
09:08and are thought likely to have coexisted with early humans. This may have inspired some of the legends
09:13passed down through generations. Now, it's time to get back to work. And do what beavers do best.
09:21Build a dam.
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09:42We had everything. There's no word to describe what our land was like. It was such a wonderful
09:48place that anyone that ever lived there will never forget it. This is an eerie example of oral history
09:55matching geological findings almost perfectly. For over 7,000 years, the Klamath people told an
10:02unusual tale of two powerful beings shaping the land. Lao, ruler of the below world, and Skel,
10:09chief of the above world, hurled rocks and flames at each other. Some said the disaster was punishment
10:14for bad human behavior. Crater Lake, quote, came from a battle between spirits, and when people saw
10:20what happened there, they had to run into the water to keep from being burned up, a Klamath elder has
10:26recounted. Their battle ended when Lao was sent back to the underworld. Rain filled the crater left
10:32behind, forming a lake in place of the mountain. Remarkably, scientists later confirmed that Mount
10:38Mazama collapsed around 7,700 years ago, which led to the formation of the crater lake. With such a
10:45powerful story, it's easy to understand why the Klamath people hold the lake sacred.
10:52multiple vents encircling the mountain so that ash and pumice were not just coming out of the summit,
10:59it was coming around from around the base of the mountain. What other native tales have some truth
11:04to them? Let us know in the comments section.
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