- 2 days ago
Get ready for a thought-provoking adventure that will challenge your perceptions of history and leave you awestruck.
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00:00If you ever fly over the deserts of southern Peru, you'll notice distinct white lines against the rusty red background.
00:07Look closer, and you'll see some clear shapes.
00:11Straight lines, rectangles, triangles, swirls.
00:15It seems like they're parts of huge drawings.
00:18You notice a monkey, a whale, a condor, a hummingbird, and whatnot.
00:24The lines were created more than 2,000 years ago by the people of the Nazca culture.
00:30Thanks to a dry climate and strong winds in the desert, most of the Nazca lines are visible today.
00:37To create them, the Nazca people removed the top layer of pebbles and revealed the soil beneath the ground.
00:44The color of the soil changes from reddish-brown to yellowish-gray, so the lines always look different.
00:50It looks like the creators of the lines started with small-scale models and increased the proportions to create full
00:57-scale designs.
01:00Scientists have tried to decipher the meaning of the Nazca lines ever since they were first discovered in the 1920s.
01:06But the first mention of the lines was actually much earlier, in the 16th century Chronicle of Peru, where they
01:14were described as trail markers in the desert.
01:16Since you can't really study the lines and their symbolism from the ground, the lines became world-famous only in
01:23the 1930s with the advent of commercial planes.
01:27A decade later, American professor Paul Kosak was doing his research on the lines and noticed one interesting thing.
01:35When he looked up from the line, it was pointing directly at the setting sun.
01:40It happened one day after the winter solstice, and the scientists concluded that the lines must be the largest astronomy
01:47book in the world.
01:51German scientist Maria Reische, who got the nickname the Lady of the Lines, supported the theory that the geoglyphs served
01:59as a calendar and had some sort of astronomical purposes.
02:02She dedicated 40 years of her life to studying the lines and swept them inch by inch.
02:09She also moved into a small house close to the lines to protect them from unwanted visitors.
02:15Then in the 1970s, American researchers called the astronomy-related theory into question.
02:22They noted that in a region like Nazca, one of the driest places on Earth with only around 20 minutes
02:28of rain per year,
02:29water is a real treasure, and the straight lines and trapezoids must have had something to do with it.
02:36They could be pointing at locations for rituals that the local people organized to obtain water and make crops more
02:43fertile.
02:44Spiders are thought to be a sign of rain.
02:46Hummingbirds stand for fertility.
02:48And monkeys living in the Amazon symbolize an abundance of water.
02:54In more recent years, the Nazca Lines have become the research ground for archaeologists from Yamagata University.
03:01They're using high-resolution aerial photography and drones to discover and catalog geoglyphs.
03:07The team has identified a total of 358 geoglyphs so far, and 168 out of them in 2022 alone.
03:16They found images of humans, camelids, birds, orca whales, cats, and snakes, most likely created between 100 BCE and 300
03:27CE.
03:28Some of the images are around 10 to 20 feet long, so it's no wonder no one was able to
03:33detect them before.
03:35The largest geoglyphs, by comparison, are 1,200 feet across, which is about the height of the Empire State Building.
03:43The researchers believe the Nazca Lines were used as a form of communication in the desert.
03:49The linear ones pointed the direction from valley to valley.
03:53The ones drawn on slopes seem to have been drawn along ancient pathways between settlements.
03:59The scientists now plan to find patterns in the geoglyphs depending on their distribution.
04:04They use artificial intelligence to analyze the images.
04:07The AI generates designs that are likely to be painted in the desert, and the team then checks if they're
04:14actually among the Nazca Lines.
04:18Another famous Peruvian geoglyph is a candelabra, slightly taller than the Washington Monument.
04:24You can find it on a seaside hill in the Paracas Peninsula.
04:29Researchers managed to establish the approximate age of the candelabra by analyzing the nearby artifacts.
04:35It looks like it dates back to around 200 BCE.
04:39The drawing is etched deep into the sand, and it was never meant to look like a candelabra.
04:44One theory says that the drawing was supposed to resemble the trident of an Incan deity to please it.
04:51Another popular theory is that sailors used it as a beacon for navigation.
04:58Effigy Mounds National Monument on the Mississippi River has 195 known Native American mounds.
05:05Most of them are conical in shape, and there are also several that look like birds, deer, turtles, bears, and
05:12panthers.
05:13Scientists have established that the mounds date back to around 450 BCE, and the images are somewhat younger.
05:20A study of the mounds found some copper, bone, and stone tools.
05:25The builders' descendants say that the mounds served as ceremonial sites.
05:30This story is passed down from generation to generation.
05:34Some historians believe the mounds could have been also used to mark celestial events or territories.
05:41The American Southwest and the nearby regions of Mexico have over 300 intaglios, which are giant images engraved in the
05:49ground.
05:50The most famous of them are the Blythe intaglios in California, west of the Colorado River.
05:56Blythe giants are a group of six figures, including that of a human being and an animal.
06:02Scientists believe the images are somewhere between 450 and 2,000 years old.
06:08According to the local Mojave tribe, there is an image of Mustamho, the creator of life.
06:14The animal figure shows a mountain lion, who served as his helper.
06:18The largest figure is almost as tall as the leaning tower of Pisa.
06:22The creators of the intaglios had to scrape the dark rock of the desert until the lighter soil showed up.
06:29It's nearly impossible to notice them from ground level.
06:32That's why they were only discovered in the 1930s, when a pilot flying over them accidentally looked down.
06:39The best way to see the giants is still from a helicopter.
06:44Kazakhstan can boast its own Nazca Lines, a cluster of around 260 earthworks in the north of the country.
06:51The steppe geoglyphs are a variety of geometric shapes, including squares, crosses, circles, and a three-pronged design.
07:00The creators of the images used materials such as dirt, rocks, and lumber to build them out of the ground.
07:07A local economist first spotted the geoglyphs while browsing Google Earth in 2007.
07:13Archaeologists suppose that the structures go back 8,000 years, but they still don't know who built them or why.
07:20One theory says that the lines helped track the sun's movement.
07:26NASA got interested in the discovery since the lines are much older than the ones in Peru.
07:31They took photos of the steppe geoglyphs from space, trying to solve their mystery.
07:36Another fact that makes the lines so special is how huge they are.
07:41One of the largest of them has sides as long as an aircraft carrier.
07:45The only humans who could have built them must have been the nomadic Stone Age tribes.
07:51But it's unlikely that they had such advanced tools.
07:54If they did, that would mean that archaeologists need to rethink the abilities of our long-ago ancestors.
08:00Organizing such a huge amount of people to work together on a complicated project is an amazing feat.
08:08Although the white horse on a lush green hill in Oxfordshire, England, could easily pass for modern art,
08:15it's actually one of the most ancient geoglyphs.
08:18It was created between the Bronze and Iron Ages and is the oldest chalk-cut hill figure in Britain.
08:25Whoever created it had to remove the turf to reveal the chalky white part of the soil.
08:31Scientists can only guess why this piece of art was created.
08:34It could have been a fertility symbol or a way to mark territory.
08:38Aerial images prove that the horse has changed over time because of the soil.
08:44It took several centuries to reveal a larger horse-like shape that lies under what we see now.
08:50Once upon a time, in the deep blue sea, there was a giant monster called the Kraken.
08:56People believed it lived in the waters near Norway and Greenland.
09:00The first time anyone wrote about the Kraken was a long, long time ago.
09:05It was a man named Erik Pontopoden from Denmark in a book called The Natural History of Norway.
09:12He wrote that the Kraken looked like a huge octopus or cuttlefish.
09:16And it could pull ships down to the bottom of the ocean.
09:20Later on, people started to imagine the Kraken as a giant squid.
09:25Even today, the story of the Kraken is still very popular.
09:29And it can be found in books, movies, or games.
09:33The story surrounding the Kraken might sound like nothing more than local folklore or myths.
09:38But in 2004, the first giant squid was photographed.
09:43This amazing discovery was made by a team of Japanese scientists
09:47who had been working for years to capture a live giant squid on camera.
09:53They used a baited line with a camera attached to it to lure the giant squid to the surface.
09:58They also used a special lure that mimicked the light patterns of a small creature to attract the giant squid.
10:04After several days of waiting, the team finally got lucky.
10:08The image showed the giant creature's long tentacles and large eyes,
10:13as well as its distinctive body shape.
10:15It didn't stop there, though.
10:17In 2012, another team of scientists, this time from National Geographic,
10:22filmed a live giant squid for the first time in its natural habitat.
10:27This footage gave the world a much better understanding of the giant squid and its behavior.
10:33You've surely heard about this next myth, too.
10:36It was said to be the most beautiful and wealthy city to ever exist.
10:41Its entrance was decorated with marble statues.
10:43The architecture of this city was sturdy and imposing.
10:47The depictions of Greek deities beautifully painted could be seen almost everywhere.
10:52The city has been the subject of debate for historians and fiction writers alike.
10:56We still have very little information on the location of the ancient city of Atlantis.
11:01That is, if it even existed.
11:04Since it was supposedly swallowed by the sea in its entirety,
11:07it's no wonder some curious minds linked it to other mysterious locations on Earth,
11:12even to the Bermuda Triangle.
11:15But let's not get ahead of ourselves.
11:16It's not yet confirmed that Atlantis truly existed.
11:20The idea of an island sinking into the sea due to an unknown disaster
11:24is a widespread idea in mythology and popular culture.
11:29However, it is possible that the story of Atlantis was inspired by actual events,
11:34such as the sinking of islands like Heliki.
11:38On this island, located in the Gulf of Corinth,
11:41there was a thriving ancient Greek city.
11:43It was known for its prosperity and wealth.
11:46And it was also an important spiritual headquarters for the Greeks.
11:50The city was home to a building dedicated to the immortal Poseidon.
11:54And it was believed that he protected the city himself.
11:58However, one fateful night in 373 BCE,
12:02a massive earthquake struck the region.
12:05The ground shook violently,
12:07and the city was swallowed up by the sea in a matter of minutes.
12:10The residents of Heliki, unable to escape the disaster,
12:14all disappeared under the waves.
12:16The sinking of Heliki was a great tragedy for the ancient Greeks,
12:20and it was seen as a punishment from the higher spirits.
12:23Many believed that the city's prosperity and pride had angered them,
12:27and they had punished the city by destroying it.
12:30The city remained underwater for centuries,
12:32and it was not until the 20th century
12:34that it was rediscovered by modern archaeologists.
12:37Today, the most part of the city is still underwater.
12:41While we're on the subject of Greek myths,
12:44we have to talk about the famous city of Troy.
12:47This was a legendary city in ancient Greece.
12:50Scientists believed for years
12:51that it had been made up by writers and philosophers.
12:54According to an ancient Greek legend,
12:57the city was founded by the Trojan prince Paris,
12:59who stole Helen, the wife of King Menelaus of Sparta,
13:03and brought her back to Troy.
13:05Troy, this event sparked a huge conflict
13:08between the Greeks and the Trojans
13:10that lasted for 10 years.
13:13One of the most famous stories from the Trojan conflict
13:16is the tale of the Trojan horse,
13:17a large wooden horse that the Greeks built
13:19and left outside the city gates as a gift to the Trojans.
13:23The Trojans, believing the horse to be a symbol of peace,
13:26brought it into the city.
13:27But inside the horse, there were Greek fighters
13:30who, once inside the city,
13:32opened the gates and let the rest of the Greeks in.
13:35The Trojans had no escape this time,
13:37and they were ultimately defeated.
13:39The city was rediscovered in the 19th century
13:42in modern-day Turkey.
13:43It's located near the Scamander River.
13:46Today, this region is an archaeological site
13:49and draws a lot of tourists each year.
13:52The following myth is indeed sad,
13:55but it might have some truth to it too.
13:57It is said that years ago,
13:59the Solomon Islands in the Pacific Ocean,
14:01there lived a man that was deeply in love with his wife.
14:04The woman, however, decided to leave him for another man
14:07and moved to the nearby island of Teonamanu.
14:11Heartbroken and filled with rage,
14:13the man sought out a curse to take his revenge.
14:15He set out on a journey in a canoe,
14:18determined to bring destruction to the island
14:20where his wife had fled.
14:23Upon arriving at Teonamanu,
14:25the man planted two taro plants,
14:27one he kept for himself.
14:29According to the instructions,
14:31once his own plant began to sprout,
14:33disaster was supposed to strike the island.
14:35And it did.
14:36The man watched from a mountaintop
14:39as a series of waves smashed into the island,
14:42causing it to sink beneath the waves.
14:44Teonamanu was a real place,
14:46but it's not entirely clear when it disappeared.
14:49It is said that waves alone
14:51could not have washed away this small
14:53but tall volcanic island.
14:55But an undersea earthquake
14:57could have probably done it.
14:58The island was balanced on the edge
15:00of an unstable underwater slope.
15:03The most reasonable explanation
15:04is that a huge earthquake shook the region,
15:07which made the weak foundation collapse
15:09and caused the island to sink beneath the waves.
15:12This island-sized landslide
15:14would have pushed a lot of water out of the way,
15:17which would have created
15:18a series of massive mega tsunamis.
15:21So, although those vengeful waves
15:23could have occurred,
15:24they were most likely the result of another event.
15:27And that sad man with his curse fulfilled
15:29returned to the Solomon Islands
15:31with his heart still heavy
15:33after the loss of his wife.
15:35We won't leave the ocean waves just yet,
15:38but we're heading over to Hawaii.
15:40A legend has it that once upon a time,
15:42there was a Hawaiian higher spirit named Pele.
15:45She was the protector of volcanic fire
15:48and was said to have arrived at the islands
15:50to flee from her older sister.
15:52To conceal herself,
15:54Pele hid in various hideaways
15:55on each of the islands
15:57until she finally concealed herself
15:59in a pit at Kilauea.
16:01This is why, according to the legend,
16:04Kilauea is known as
16:06Hawaii's active volcanic center today.
16:08The story may be visually stunning,
16:10but in reality,
16:12volcanism is caused by the superheated mantle
16:14that triggers a lot of melting
16:16beneath the surface of our planet.
16:18People also say that Pele's tears and hair
16:21can be found scattered around the volcano.
16:24However, reality has more to do with physics
16:26than with folklore.
16:28When lava cools rapidly,
16:30particularly when it gets quenched in water
16:32or a small amount of it flies through the air,
16:34it turns into volcanic glass.
16:37When it stretches and cools down,
16:39it can sometimes form tear-shaped droplets,
16:42or it can get stretched so thin
16:44that it begins to look like strands of hair.
16:47We know today that Hawaii is a volcanic region
16:50known for its fire mountains,
16:52with huge streams of lava
16:53shooting up from active vents.
16:55It's no wonder it became an ideal origin place
16:58for the story of two sisters
17:00and their sibling rivalry.
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