Full disclosure: I'm an ex lost ancient high technology, lost ancient civilization using power tools and psychic powers believer. I was into Hancock's books and others all throughout the 90's till recently when I watched scientists against myths here on youtube who debunked the laser precision made stone vases. I then dug deeper into 'real' history and discovered this channel, stefan milo, and Dr David miano etc. All I can say is I'm glad I snapped out of the lunacy and really appreciate what real scientists and archaeologists have done over the decades to research our ancestors. I'm just really annoyed with myself for having arguments with friends and relatives over charlatans like Hancock etc.
If you want to watch some really interesting archeology that potholer mentioned, I can highly recommend Time Team. There are quite a few episodes up on youtube now.
Take note people; there's a big difference between being imaginative and ponderous in order to drive more enthusiasm for the sciences, and dismissing experts and their data while claiming you are singlehandedly solving the mysteries of the universe in order to drive up sales of your media projects.
@@adoredpariah I agree. But blaming g Graham of those is just lies. He EXPLAINS expert data and what they find. There is a very vocal core of AAC whodefend their own authority against non academics and are willing to blatantly lie to take down those oitisde academia. It's immoral and easy to debunk.
What's so absurd about this is that there clearly WAS an ancient civilization at Gunung Padang, ie. the folks built the terrasses and walls around 2500 years ago. How cool is that?! But then that's somehow not enough!
He might watch it but he won't share ut with his audience. He's afraid of alienating his core audience, young uneducated gullible Americans with little reasoning skills.
Amusingly I hadn’t even heard of this particular dipshit before. Then I discovered Miniminuteman’s channel just this week when he dropped his first video about annihilating Graham. Share and enjoy!
Better than Stefan Milo’s? He has a multi hour episode by episode critique, but also an excellent shorter overview one. Other good ones are from BBC Horizons, World of Antiquity, History with Kayleigh, and I’m waiting for one from Step Back
Most excited I've been for a potholer video in some time. So tired of friends/people I know bringing up Hancock and Randall Carlson as legitimate sources of history because they saw them talk to Joe Rogan.
@@XMysticHerox my friend eldest kid watches him all the time. Didnt get vaccination because of rogan. Not a science guy but a amature mma fighter. It's the little bits of bullshit that leads to the steaming piles. He's not dumb but hasn't got that critical ability to detect bill shit..it leaves the rest of us with an uphill battle... I've not got kids. So if they want to burn the planet with ignorance, I'll be dead and they can live next to the thunder dome:)
One of my favorite comments on videos like these are people who both seem to agree that what Hancock says is false but also still seem to think he’s correct and that videos like this are unfair. Like he could say 2+2=5 and after potholer says he’s wrong you’ll get a comment like “well sure what he said was wrong but he’s pushing the boundaries of science and questioning the establishment and you should just be okay with this because I like him”
Miniminuteman has started a series covering this stuff. I'd recommend it. He's an archaeologist as well so has good insight and a decent sense of humour
What's the purpose of an anal probe? Like what could you achieve with that that couldn't be achieved with some type of tiny pill or a DNA sample? Is it just for fun?
Hancock fan here.. you wanna know how I feel Potholer?! … Am heartbroken… am also a huge YOU fan!! So am just generally heartbroken that you decided to take aim at Hancock and make me realise I’ve been taken for a ride and spent time reading his books that would probably have been spent better reading something else!! Anyways.. I have nothing negative to say.. great video (as usual) and keep on doing your thing.. I love it and am grateful we have you in the world mate!❤
I gave the Netflix series a go few months ago, I think I managed about 40 seconds through the introduction before bailing. The immediate dissing of mainstream science was enough to convince me it was going to be total garbage. Thank you for this upload.
What aggravates me most about Hancock is people defend him by saying, "Oh, he's just asking questions and promoting an open mind for new ideas on ancient history." No he's not! He's just rehashing the same crappy ancient aliens/Atlantis nonsense that's being doing the rounds for decades. But more than that, there *are* genuine scientists and archaeologists asking challenging questions and promoting an open mind for new ideas on ancient history. You just don't hear about them because _they_ are off doing actual science and archaeology, following the evidence and putting it to peer review, and more often than not, struggling to get basic funding while Hancock is off selling books and lectures with the same Copy&Paste nonsense he printed and said before.
Interesting issue: for so many years Hancock and his ilk claimed that human history was older than archaeology thought and archaeologists were being dogmatic when they would say, “Show us the physical evidence!”. Then along comes Gobekli Tepe, far older than previously thought. What do scientists do? Do they take a dogmatic stance because they don’t want to change their theories and timelines (as Hancock would expect)? No, they adjust their theories and timelines because now there is something more than Hancock and Von Danikens fever dreams. Now there is PHYSICAL EVIDENCE. There you have a classic example of pseudoscience vs. real science.
I enjoy Graham's content, and I thought his idea of an ancient civilization seemed very likely without giving it much thought. Thanks for the reality check!
Don’t be fooled by this video’s nonsense. I believe your initial opinion is correct!! GH has a lot of sensible, well considered content. Don’t let this channel distract you from his views. Keep watching him with an OPEN mind
The idea of humans walking about during the younger dryas is common knowledge. Hancock thinks there was a globe spanning high tech space age empire from pole to pole. He's a crackpot.
Hello! I've been watching for a good long while. In my early twenties your videos helped pull me out of the conspiracy rabbit hole, gave me the tools to more critically engage with the world and set me on a better direction in my life. Thank you for your work!
You have to admire the ballsy gall of Hancock at 33:07 deriding 'orthodox' science and 'These scholars, and their many fans and chums in the quality media", when we're only watching this Netflix show because his son, Sean Hancock (Senior Manager of Unscripted Originals at Netflix) commissioned the show!
Thanks for this. I watched the entire Netflix series and felt there was something not quite right, but without the knowledge of geology and archaeology I was unable to put my finger on what was wrong. So pleased you turned your analytical eye towards this.
When I initially watched a handful of Hancock's videos on JRE his ideas were exciting and I bought into it until I saw a trailer for his documentary positing himself as a maverick in the archaeological field despite not being a scientist himself. A classic pseudoscience red flag, but I didn't know enough on the topic to confirm it. So thank you for the video I wouldn't be offended if you did another one debunking another episode from the season.
I mean to be fair History channel has been showing conspiracy documentaries about ancient aliens just to increase their viewership. Really saddens me people rather watch conspiracy theories instead of actual history and science.
The most obvious red flag of any conspiracy tbh "Don't listen to all the established history of scientists investigating this exact subject, only listen to me!"
"The persecuted visionary that fights the corrupt mainstream cabal". This has become one of the main marketing strategies for bullsh*t sellers all over the world. It would be nice to see a documentary on this phenomenon
Another youtuber name miniminuteman is a young archeologist who is doing a debunk of this whole series ep by ep. hes just put out the first video but i highly recommend for anyone who wants more of this
Isn't that a wonderful coincidence we have so many debunkers here after the show got some traction. Phew I was just about to start believing that all our scientific institutions are deeply corrupted, history books fabricated and the scientific community a bunch of gatekeepers who label alternate theories as pseudoscience.
@@TheMasaaz the guy was on joe rogan. as ridiculous as it is people still believe this stuff. its up to the grown-ups in the room to talk down these freaks before this stuff spreads and your trite quip becomes a reality. just look at what they are doing with trans people. these shit brains don't care about scientific institutions or history. best to stamp this stuff out as it pops up
Thank you very much for doing this critique. Last weekend my fishing partner was telling me about this series and I was skeptical. I offered my own criticisms of the idea but without context of what Hancock actually said I could be dismissed as “needing to hear the whole story before passing judgment.” Well, it appears that my skepticism was warranted. A lot of “what-ifs” does not equal a sound hypothesis. Thanks again for all the work you put in.
I have been an archaeologist in Canada 8 years and I have been watching potholer videos for 14 or 15 years now. I started watching them while in university. I can't thank you enough for this great video. I really hope you decide to make more videos on this terrible Netflix series. Thank you potholer.
@@Zerox_Prime Archaeologists have spent decades sort of ignoring him aside from a very tiny fraction. Ignoring the problem didnt make it go away. In fact it seems to have only grown in popularity. now that he got an entire series on Netflix I think its time to address the problems. Pseudoarchaeology is much more popular in the mainstream than actual archaeology and I believe that is because archaeologists lack a person like Carl Sagan or Neil Degrasse Tyson who can easily and interestingly bring the field to the mainstream. Charlatans like Hancock are good at that and there needs to be push back.
@@Zerox_Prime No, that's a false view of how this works. Programs like this - Ancient Aliens, Jesse Ventura - have been on the TV, for decades, long before the internet came along with any right to reply.
@@EpicurusIVXX Yes, well said. These programs have been on TV for decades: Ancient Aliens, Jesse Ventura. I'm not an archeologist, but my oldest friend is, and people are much more likely to ask him about Atlantis than his trowel.
I am an Indonesian (But I don't live in Java where Gunung Padang is located) but I can still confidently say that, if any breakthrough about anything is discovered in Indonesia, it will always and I say *Always* be a nation wide news. The fact that I found out about the supposed "Pyramid" in Indonesia from a foreign source and not from a national news outlet tells a lot about how fake this is.
@@imwelshjesusit feels a bit like they don't want to believe the people of the area built these amazing structures, because they were "too primitive" and therefore there must have been some other more advanced race of people that did it for them. And what's the bet they imagine these "advanced people" with white skin?
“Hancock’s criticisms aren't even really of archaeology per sé, so much as they are criticisms of textbooks and half-remembered pop theories of his youth. He rarely engages with anything contemporary, and rages against ideas that haven't been current for 50+ years.”
I love the subtitle "Graham Hancock travels the globe hunting for evidence". After almost 30 years and countless books, he still only "finds" mystery...
The fact that Hancock doesn’t bring one shred of evidence, and omits any real evidence there is, should be enough to make people aware he is a charlatan. I think it’s good to have Hancock fans… at least we know to stay clear from them 😊
We should all be thankful for Hancocks hard work and the Netflix series /s It gave us a 40min. of potholer video. entertaining, educational and brilliant as usual. thank you mr. hadfield.
I have a relative that has fallen for this crap. I asked outright, "What do archaeologists believe, and how do you know?" When he started to spew crap from anti-science conspiracists I asked, "How many papers on archaeology finds have you read in the past 10-20 years?" The number, was, of course, "zero." I then said, "Are you sure you actually know what's going on, or, have you been played like a cheap violin? They knew any response after that would make them look like idiots....
I started with Fingerprints, and others, even a bit of Icke. I went crop circling. I wanted answers. Thankfully, when the inconsistencies began to add up I decided I should check my answers against the establishment. In the end it lead me to apply to study anthropology, and I remember my lecturer saying that when there is a gap in our understanding, it will always be filled by UFO enthusiasts, conspiracy theorists and grifters. Twenty years later and Hancock is still trying it on despite all the amazing advances that have been made in our understanding. It’s a crying shame that flights of fancy are just so much easier for the masses to digest.
I think this is quite near the core of the issue, back when Hancock went to school there was a big gap in "our" understanding of the ancient world so he and others filled the role of imagining what could be in those gaps. The funny (and a bit sad) thing is how he and his peers keep referring to archaeologists as set in their ways when he himself appear completely unable to adapt and follow new discoveries and insight. At least Hancock has stopped talking about the man/alien made face on Mars, guess that is the closest he will ever come to admit mistakes were made.
@@DeOmri Within a decade we will probably have a completely verified timeline of human existence for the last ~75, 000 years, back to our first families in southern Africa, and including all of our wanderings and settlements across the entire Earth, and even folklore and mythological motifs that have been with us since the earliest days of language. Most of this evidence is only a few decades old -- when I was young, we weren't even very sure what had happened in Europe less than two millenia ago. Hancock and his ilk refer to exactly none of the latest findings or ideas. It hadn't occurred to me, but I bet you're right -- I can easily imagine Hancock as my classmate way back then, daydreaming about all the visiting aliens and ancient civilizations that could have driven trucks through the gaps in our knowledge.
You should check out David Miano's channel called World of Antiquity. He's an actual professor of ancient history I believe who also does a very good job.
Please make a few more of these, covering other episodes of Hancock's netflix series. The two you have posted are so helpful in talking to our more gullible family members!
Gosh, a hard set of fact to digest for an older fan of Mr Hancock, but true evidence is true evidence, That's it. Congratulation sir and thank you very much for your calm, sound explanations based on scientific documentations.
@@Kissafarmari What's your source for the sea level rise? And did you bother to translate that to an annual water rise? Because Hancock still called it a deluge.
I'm no archaeologist, but shouldn't we have WAY more evidence of an ancient, advanced civilization, than we have of hunter gatherers from that period, which is quite a lot?
No, tools and buildings made of steel would vanish overnight!!!!!! Only stone lasts forever! That's why these ancient people with our level of technology built stone pyramids and carved massive blocks of stone into coffins...
@@bipolarminddroppings the more exclamation points you have, the more right you are !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I had watched a few of Graham Hancoks interviews with Joe Rogan and I believe I even read on of his books. I remember feeling like there was reasonable evidence to support two comet impacts leading to an intense cooling period and another that heated things up. However, having watched your breaking apart of his arguments in this situation it's likely he took the same tactics in the previous case. I can't say i ever really believed but the arguments and evidence seemed decent. Thanks for doing our due diligence.
As a member of the Alt-Archaeo/History sub-culture club, I sure wish people like you would just shut-up and quit bursting my bubble. All joking aside, I've been watching videos like this for about a week and for the first time I'm hearing a counter argument to the alt-ideas. And I like it. I still want to believe that one day evidence will be found of 'Atlantis', but until then I'm learning with videos like this to weigh the evidence in a more balanced way. So, a big thank you, potholer54.
the alt side should just adress the criticisms honestly, not ignore it (as they have been (wrongfully) ignored, (but experts are actually busy people doing valuable work, so it's understandable that an alt theory first has to gain some popularity to be valuable enough for an experts time to adress it)) What the alt people are way better at, than the conventional people, is hyping up the subject and bringing new people to it. So actually I see value in them.
Hi Potholer, I have been binge watching your channel for the past week. I just have to say, your content is the best among RUclips. Sure, you don't have the production quality of some (lets say most) big fact-bringing channels, but goddamn you are authentic. Not to mention you obviously have decades of experience in your fields. I'm stirring up a fascination in geology I didn't even know I had. I can confidently say this has become one of my favorite channels on this website! I'm just devouring your long-form videos like they're nothing, because you manage to present your content in such an interesting way. So uh, thanks for that! Keep it up and all that.
If you like this type of history content, look for Stefan Milo, Miniminuteman, World of Antiquity, and History with Kayleigh. For geology, I like GeoGirl and Geology Hub. There's even a 1st year college geology lecture series called "Historical Geology by Dr. Christopher White" that I enjoy so much I have a playlist of it that I often start of an evening and fall asleep to! Yeah, I'm a nerd, LOL! I hope you enjoy a few of those suggestions. 👋🏼 🙂👍🏼
I'm just upset to see how many people are buying into Hancock's fantasy... The slightest bit of scrutiny tears the whole theory apart and yet it seems like the majority of people who watch his shows, podcasts, ect buy into it wholesale.
As somebody who follows Mesoamerican history and archeology,: My overall impression is that Hancock relies on the general public ignorance about Mesoamerica to present accepted info as extraordinary , and then acts as if that info totally undermines everything archaeologists say they know, when in reality it's not really a big deal. I know this video isn't about Ancient Apocalypse specifically, but to review a lot of the content in it's second episode, which focuses on Mesoamerica: For example, with Cholula, he presents the fact that the Pyramid has layers as some sort of unexpected find, the implication being that it calls into question the pyramid's age. But pyramids being built sequentially in layers like a Russian doll is VERY common in Mesoamerica:, with expansions built as new kings took power or during important cosmological milestones. And the specific layers of the Great Pyramid of Cholula is well studied in particular, due to fact that the structure wasn't destroyed by the Spanish (see below). Hancock even explicitly says he doesn't even dispute that dating (which makes this whole segment feel pointless and dishonest, since he's clearly still trying to make people skeptical). I also found his framing of it being located over water as something special and then asking "What made these people build it here?" to be sort of absurd: He answers his own question! Pools of water, mirrors, caves, etc were all tied to underworld entrances in Mesoamerican cosmology, with Pyramids at Teotihuacan or Chichen Itza's Temple of Kukulkan also being over pools/caves. He even draws attention to this, bringing up that the Giza Pyramid etc were built over water sources too, so he's siluntanously acting ignorant and trying to draw a global pattern (but doesn't establish it being a wider pattern in Egypt, SEA, etc). His "all pyramids have connections to death and rebirth" point also falls flat, as Mesoamerican pyramids were primarily temples, not tombs like in Egypt (I know Hancock disputes Egyptian pyramids were tombs, but Egypt isn't my area so I can't comment). Yes, there were occasionally buried remains and ceremonial goods in Mesoamerican pyramids, but even these were usually ritual offerings to consecrate the construction of new phases/layers of the pyramid's construction, not burials the monument itself was dedicated to. Fundamentally Meso. and Egyptian pyramids were different structures that just have a similar shape. (There's even Meso. Pyramids used as administrative buildings/residences sorta!) I also found that the show misrepresents the Cholula researcher's statements (something the researcher has claimed himself): At one point, Hancock asks "Is that enough to be confident enough about the full story", and of course he basically says "No, there's a lot of work to be done to teach us more about Mesoamerica". This is probably not the researcher saying "Everything we think we know is wrong" (which is what Hancock implies it to be) it's just saying that there's still more excavations to do that will help fill in what gaps are left, as there's always more we can learn. And when the researcher said something like "Knowing more about Cholula would let us rethink Mesoamerican as a whole": The researcher's point was likely that a better understanding of Cholula would give us a better picture of how social, political and religious trends changed in Mesoamerica over time (since Cholula existed as small village in 1000BC all the way to being a large city with 40k denizens as of Spanish contact) and since the city had widespread religious influence, that more info on Cholula would likewise yield insights into other parts of Mesoamerica. The 3d Cholula render the episode used is also pretty wrong: It just had buildings evenly spaced in a solid sheet around the Pyramid. No roads, city planning, etc: Mesoamerican cities usually had a central urban core with temples, palaces and other elite housing, civic buildings, ball courts, etc, all richly painted and decorated, organized around open plazas for communal activities and ritualistic alignment. And then around that you had suburbs of commoner housing interspersed with agricultural land, etc, with the suburbs gradually decreasing in density the further out you go (in some cases, covering hundreds of square kilometers). Both the core and in some cases the suburbs had roads, aquaducts, etc. The Pyramid in the render was also grey and mossy, in ruins. If this is meant to be at the Pyramid's apex, then it should be painted and adorned with sculptures, reliefs, etc. If it's depicting it as of Spanish contact (which is what the graphics suggest), then it would've been buried in soil: The entire reason it's intact today is the Spanish mistook it as a hill, as Cholua had abandoned it in favor of a new Great Pyramid centuries prior. The show also mislabels some Teotihuacan frescos as being from Cholula; gets some of the dating wrong; and claims the whole pyramid was straw and adobe brick when that's just the earliest layers and some of the structural fill: The exterior layers of most stages (and even the internal fill of some later layers) was stone. Moving onto Texcotzinco: Firstly, this is an INCREDIBLE site more people should know about: This was a royal estate/retreat for rulers of Texcoco, the second most powerful Aztec city. It sourced water from 5 miles of aqueducts (some elevated 150 feet off the ground) which brought the water to a series of pools and channels to control the flow rate on an adjacent hill, then across the gorge between there and Texcotzinco, where it flowed into a circuit around Texcotzinco's summit, into the site's painted shrines, pools, fountains, etc, and then formed artificial waterfalls which watered the botanical gardens at the hill's base, which had different sections to mimic different Mexican biomes. Of course it also had a palace at the top of the mountain's peak, etc. We outright have written sources discussing the site being designed in the 1460s AD by Nezahualcoyotl, Texcoco's most famous king who also designed levee and aqueduct systems at other Aztec cities. But, in the interest of intellectual honesty, those written accounts which credit Nezahualcoyotl as the site's engineeer are written by his descendant, Fernando de Alva Cortés Ixtlilxóchitl, for the specific purpose of glorifying Texcoco to the Spanish and we do know he twisted details (EX: claiming Nezahualcoyotl worshipped a monotheistic god and rejected sacrifice). There's a whole book on this, "The Allure of Nezahualcoyotl" and I know Dr. Susan Toby Evans has a lot of papers on Texcotzinco, but a lot of her faculty page's links are down: I did find one mention that the site probably had some shrines built under earlier Texcoca rulers before Nezahualcoyotl. There are also papers that do mention there being archaeological evidence for dating rather then just textual sources, but sadly no specifics are listed However, Hancock's points are still unconvincing: The guy he talks about Texcotzinco with pretty much gives zero actual scientific analysis or actual criticism of any sort of dating method, just vague commentary about weathering, so there's no real evidence to review, and isn't a specialist of the site like the Cholula guy was: this guy just runs an Atlantis blog. Hancock's other point is that there's Tlaloc iconography at the site, and uses a pre-Aztec Tlaloc sculpture from another site to imply Texcotzinco could be pre Aztec too... BUT WE ALL ALREADY KNOW TLALOC IS PRE AZTEC! The evolution of Tlaloc and other Mesoamerican rain gods from Olmec ""were jaguar" (there's some debate of what they're depicting) sculptures is VERY well documented, there's even full Digimon style charts showing the specific stages of development the iconography went through at different times in different parts of Mesoamerica! So the presence of Tlaloc iconography doesn't inherently suggest any time period, and if anything the Tlaloc depictions at the site are consistent with Aztec period examples. Even if Texcotzinco DID have Pre-Aztec construction, it would likely just mean it was from the dozens of Pre-Aztec civilizations in Mesoamerica we already know about. Again, Hancock relies on the fact that most viewers don't know much on Mesoamerica to present normal finds as unusual. Lastly (skipping Xochicalo as i'm at the char. limit) Hancock's telling of the myth with Quetzalcoatl mixes details from different accounts or just gets stuff wrong: The flood he references is from myths detailing the cyclical creation and destruction of the world (and was done by Chalchiuhtlicue, not Tlaloc), wheras Quetzalcoatl sailing on a raft of snakes comes from Aztec accounts about the 10th century Toltec lord Ce Acatl Topiltzin, who is tied to Quetzalcoatl: These are largely separate narrative eons apart. There's many versions of these, and only SOME of the latter involve the raft, and in them, he is LEAVING rather then arriving into Mesoamerica. Even these versions recorded in the early colonial period we know have catholic influences from Friars re-writing them to aid in conversion and to make their rule seem pre-ordained. Stuff like Cortes being mistaken for Quetzalcoatl (a myth invented for similar reasons) comes from these, too. Hancock's telling is, if anything, closer to even later and more nonsense versions that make Quetzalcoatl white, blond, etc. Some of the earlier ones do have him as bearded, but the Mesoamericans had facial hair! We know it was customary in Aztec society for everyone other then rulers (Moctezuma II had facial hair!) or the elderly to shave, and Topiltzin was both. Instead of listening to hancock for "stuff archaeologists don't want you to know about" people should look up the REAL civilizations most books, classes, etc ignore because Prehispanic history is underappreciated: Teotihuacan, the Moche, Zapotec, Chimu, Mixtec, Purepecha, etc!
"The public really doesn't listen when they're being told straightforward facts. They would rather accept what some charismatic character tells them, than really think about what the truth might be." -James Randi
Its probably not too hard to debunk but since he has a giant platform spreading BS: would you mind addressing Jordan Petersons claims on climate change?
You can find those underwater pillars on any tropical coral reef. When the tide is low you can usually find them with your outboard pretty quick if you're not careful.
I don't know if you might have listened to his last interview on Joe Rogan but I remember never having listened to this guy before and he comes on spending a bit of time audibly irritated by experts bashing him. I guess they had the right.
"I've spent decades searching for proof of this lost civilization." And that right there is the main problem with Hancock. Rather than letting the evidence lead him to a conclusion supported by the evidence (the way good archeologists do) he's instead actively looking for evidence that he can represent as supporting his preferred conclusion.
Yeah, that's part of what makes it pseudoscience. Science involves falsification, whereas pseudoscience is focused on verification of conclusions that have already been made.
I was tipped off about the theories of ancient civilisations by someone who reads a great deal into the work of Graham Hancock, and I approached this body of work with an open mind. After thoroughly viewing potholer54 critique of the methods used to artificially create theories about building constructions of ancient civilisations I can see that Graham Hancock should be widely avoided as a guide to Ancient Civilisations. And when I get access to more money I will definitely reconsider funding the charities that are mentioned in your video. Thanks for a well researched video that convincingly debunks a so called journalist and his money grabbing insights.
I found Hancock from Rogan. I fell hook, line, etc. but, it got me interested in a new topic and found you and other actual scientists. Now I feel stupid for believing him but at least it sparked my new hobby of studying history
I'd almost forgotten about Hancock, where did Netflix drag him up from? And yes he is still trying to insinuate his beliefs into reality despite the ongoing lack of evidence.
As a geologist myself I really loved this take-down- patiently peeling away the story-telling and explaining the real geologic and archeological evidence- I wonder if Netflix ever used a fact-checker…
@@chuckleezodiac24 Alex jones said all Hollywood celebrities are pedophiles on a secret island in 2011, he’s crazy but you can’t deny he predicted Epstein
@@Philotheist777 it doesn't take a genius or prophet to know that Hollywood is full of perverts. rich freaks have always had their "private clubs." Jeffrey was initially charged in 2006 and wrist-slapped in 2008. not sure when AJ started talking about Pedo Island. but i'll give AJ credit for busting into Bohemian Grove in 2000. Nixon said in 1971 that it was the "most faggy goddamned thing you could ever imagine." lol.
Potholer's normal speech is at the level of a well written journal. His recall of information is amazing. as well as his eloquent manner of delivery, without hesitation or filler words. Truly a brilliant man. (34:23)
@@stargazer5784 Based on US General Social Survey data (from the early-to-mid 2010s, IIRC) Noah Carl found that Republicans had slightly higher IQs (on average) than Democrats. However, since many Democrats come from poor backgrounds and thus experience poor childhood nutrition (a key predictor of IQ) while other Democrats come from well-off backgrounds and have average or even very high IQs, I think a good overall judgement is that there just isn't one party for the stupids and one for the non-stupids. Social liberalism does correlate with IQ and education, but that doesn't translate straightforwardly into "left wing" and "right wing", which are crude labels anyway. Republicans include (especially back in the McCain/Romney years) "classical liberals" who are economically right-wing and socially left-wing; Democrats include people with socially conservative views but who vote Democrat because they think the Democrats have better economic and public service policies/attitudes/competence. The classical liberals push up the Republican average IQ and the socially conservatives push down the Democrat IQ. It's another example of how averages can be misleading when dealing with extremely hetereogenous groups, like millions of people. But that's not the sort of sensationalism that either side wants to believe. Similarly, your use of the equals sign is obviously misleading: there are well-educated right wing people and poorly educated left-wing people. Politics is extremely complex and at least partly subjective, which is why smart and well-meaning people can disagree about it.
I was a Graham Hancock fan, he's very persuasive. But after watching these debunk videos it's pretty clear how bullshit his claims are. He benefits from his claims being more exciting "I WANT TO BELIEVE" but after you look at what's really going on, it's quite clear he has to bend the truth and lie by omission to even BARELY support his claims.
Years ago, Potholer saved me from the Suspicious Observers cult, through videos such as this one. He's a true hero, everyone on the verge of letting go of the "mystery" baits, be proud of your own thinking ability, and relieved that the world has far more competent and honest people than what you were lead to assume.
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Yep. Hancock makes Erich von Däniken look like a rational man.
Your continued optimism that the comment section will contain well reasoned responses to the points raised in your videos is truly uplifting, thank you. Is Graham Hancock the archaeologists' version of Tony Heller?
Time team really showed that real archeology can attract a large audience and be really interesting. There's no need to make up stuff or make the stories and mysteries more interesting. The questions archeology throws up are already very captivating. So Hancock and people like him could absolutely make an honest, realistic and interesting programm about archeology, if they tried. I don't quite understand why they need to make stuff up.
@@Doutsoldome Probably money. They stick to the old formula that made a lot of money. What i don't quite get is if they could make just as much money by covering real archeology and just don't realise it. Or if they are actually right and this made up stuff actually attracts more viewers and therefore money. Not sure...
Wow, what a gem on youtube! thank you for your work! I love to take hot/cold showers and this was the perfect follow-up to the netflix documentary! I can't watch easily watch debunkers who get more worked up on the subject than hancock himself. Nearly no information at all, mostly just worked up people. Your content is all information and no fluff, this is so valuable keep up the great work! cheers!
The central conceit in so many "lost civilisation" ideas of course remains the foundational question of colonisers seeing stuff in the lands they arrive in and asking "Where are the people who built these now?", completely ignoring the obvious answer that they're *still here* because for whatever practical reasons they stopped building those things at some point and just carried on with a lifestyle that was more convenient to their circumstances, because history is not a fixed, straight line of progression through a set course of developments. Our architecture, our social structures, they adapt to the needs of the time.
For some people, the kind of people who are motivated by generating wealth by resource exploitation for example, that idea is *terrifying*. The notion that great civilisations of builders, craftsmen, farmers, and a sophisticated polity can just disappear when circumstances no longer support them. Yet this is what has happened to almost every single one of them, that we know of. It's not like in the Civilization games, where one is founded and thrives for an unbroken line of millenniums, only disappearing if conquered or absorbed into another(usually interpreted as superior). They can go away all by themselves.
I don't comment on RUclips very much, but I wanted to say that this is a very well presented video and the work you put into it is appreciated! While I'm not a professional academic, I am an archaeologist by training, and it's very disheartening to see how quickly people swallow up stories from Hancock and the like, especially when the are real answers to their questions. I imagine things like this are so popular because it's exciting to imagine a world that has these great wonderful mysteries and lost civilisations (and lets be fair, a lot of the real answers aren't terribly exciting!). I'd love a world where professional academic archaeologists and geologists had the time to sit down and debate people like this, but so many of them are so overworked and underpaid that it can't really be worth their time, especially when they can't match the production value of Netflix and like. Anyway, well done, loved the video, and I definitely respect how reasonable you're being in the comments, even when some of Hancock's defenders are being pretty vile.
Damn I was so stupid. Seriously I have to admit I had good gulp of the Handcock Coolaid and should have maintained my original skepticism of him. Thanks for doing this video I feel like I'm back on the right path again. Really fell for Hancock's crap. Never again. Keep making great videos Potholer.
Hey, don't beat yourself up over it. There's nothing wrong about getting caught up in something fascinating that is presented in a way that makes it seem possible. What matters is that you were able to reevaluate it logically.
This stuff honestly interests me so much! Something about the possibility of lost civilizations is so intriguing. I haven't watched this yet but I'm bummed that I'm about to find out this probably isn't true if Potholer is debunking it. Glad you're back though man, your videos are great!
I think we would all love to find out there was an earlier global civilisation like ours, how awesome would that be? Unfortunately, there's no good evidence in favour of it and plenty of excellent evidence against it. And personally, I go where the evidence leads.
There are LOTS of "lost" civilizations, it's just that they're not as "exciting" as people want them to be, and archaeologists are the ones finding them, not denying them.
3:22 "One of them is the Amazon. Another is the Sahara Desert, and then under the Continental Shelves." Graham, dude, the Continental Shelves aren't like shelves in a supermarket. You can't just crouch down and pull a city out from the next shelf down.
I am really glad you touched on the Younger Dryas. Graham Hancock, Randall Carlson, Martin Sweatman... None of them geologists, have spread a massive amount of misinformation about the Younger Dryas to push their book sales.
Randall Carlson is literally a Geologist. He's also very naive . Randall recently had an appearance on Joe Rogan Experience and he brought his scammer friend Malcolm Bendall and Joe recognized it was a scam and that the dude was using Randall to scam others and probably stole untold amount of money from Randall. Joe Rogan didn't want to ruin Randal's reputation and he never uploaded the episode.
@@swirvinbirds1971 Randall does know Geology though even if it's just a 2 year degree. What about Robert Schoch that runs in same alternative circles I've also heard him call himself a Geologist when he dated the Sphynx.
@@Wallyworld30 Randall doesn't know. He gets so much factually incorrect that a layman can debunk his garbage. Schoch is an actual geologist but his water erosion hypothesis has been debunked by other actual geologists.
The gullibility of Joe Rogan sort of mirrors the gullibility of lots of people watching this show, which is scary. I appreciate potholer's work, and it continues to be very necessary.
Rogan is just so open minded to any idea, I have a friend like him, they're just SO malleable. If someone is confident and generally interesting, they will believe it fully. It makes for interesting content and interviews, but a lot of time Rogan ends up giving a large platform to genuine liars.
I used to watch some of Hancock out of interest but once he started saying that the ancient ancestors used mind altering drugs to lift stones with their minds, I was out, so I never got into his“theories“ never read one of his books nor seen the Netflix series.
OMG, finally someone speaks about this crackpot. I couldn’t believe that this guy got so much attention for his BS documentary on Netflix. He has been with all these RUclips influencers and got millions of views. I mean Netflix should not have agreed to tag his movie as a documentary in the first place. He was making all these incredible claims with zero evidence. Thank you!
I just discovered another great channel (Miniminuteman) earlier this week from auto-recommendation, due to the series he’s just started dropping. Go check it out, too. More to come! 👍
Thanks so much for this: it's a huge relief to find I'm not alone, but till now I've had no proper information with which to judge these ideas for myself (be clear: I am extremely unlikely ever to actually challenge those who have been swept up by the likes of Hancock et al because a) I'm a coward and b) there's no point and it would just cause a row and leave a bitter taste in the mouth, if not worse). I was (am) a massive fan of Time Team and any reference to that team of folks gets extra points for me. Thanks again. You have a new subscriber and I shall have enormous fun going through your other videos. Very best wishes to you.
The thing I really hate about men like Graham Hancock is that they contribute to the public’s distrust of science. Pushing a narrative that scientists are either incompetent or conspiring against the masses.
The public's distrust of science is natural, it would still take place without Hancocks in the world. Many people simply need the irrational/mysterious/supernatural in their lives, it might be part of a coping mechanism, a tradition, a hobby, a social gateway, a mental condition, etc. It can't be helped.
Puerto ricans eye sterilized by america through vaccines...a vaccine produced in America once was contaminated with HIV and was sold to Poland as ok to distribute. Poland used it on their people... i wont even start with covid.... but yeah don't question science
Graham Hancock fan here. Thank you Potholer. Still going through your links to verify but I'm grateful for your legwork on this. Hancock's lack of integrity in this is concerning.
"The last thing we want to believe, it seems, is that our ancestors were smart enough to learn for themselves how to build these things." I think it's more a case of "some people don't want to believe other cultures were smart enough to build them". Some people are so ethnocentric that they can't imagine that anyone else can do something their culture can't. It's no surprise to me that many of these 'aliens did did' stories started with Europeans talking about non-European cultures. Even 'super advanced old civilisation' is still following that idea, anything to deny that the local indigenous people could be capable of doing it themselves. The stories got so popular that many people now continue them without realising what their foundations are.
@@arthurballs9632 I never claimed he was. I said "The stories got so popular that many people now continue them without realising what their foundations are." Just because the story started due to ethnocentrism it doesn't mean everyone who believes them is guilty of it. These sort of ideas aren't new. As this video shows, before Hancock there was Daniken, before that there were movies. These stories go back to the first time people saw great structures and thought "there's no way the locals built that."
@@arthurballs9632 Hancock’s lost civilisation is just a rewriting of Ignatius Donnelly’s. I don’t think it’s right to plagiarise a racist author, edit out the offensive parts, and then complain to his fans that the people saying his ideas are racist are just trying to discredit him.
Full disclosure: I'm an ex lost ancient high technology, lost ancient civilization using power tools and psychic powers believer. I was into Hancock's books and others all throughout the 90's till recently when I watched scientists against myths here on youtube who debunked the laser precision made stone vases. I then dug deeper into 'real' history and discovered this channel, stefan milo, and Dr David miano etc. All I can say is I'm glad I snapped out of the lunacy and really appreciate what real scientists and archaeologists have done over the decades to research our ancestors. I'm just really annoyed with myself for having arguments with friends and relatives over charlatans like Hancock etc.
With age comes wisdom, for some of us anyway. Good job and welcome back.
If you want to watch some really interesting archeology that potholer mentioned, I can highly recommend Time Team. There are quite a few episodes up on youtube now.
The arguments aren't the problem. It's the closed mindedness. A problem in any group seeking truth.
@@Bareego An outstanding series. I get a real charge out of Phil. I've never seen a more passionate digger.
@Bareego thanks will check out the channel 👍
Take note people; there's a big difference between being imaginative and ponderous in order to drive more enthusiasm for the sciences, and dismissing experts and their data while claiming you are singlehandedly solving the mysteries of the universe in order to drive up sales of your media projects.
@@adoredpariah I agree.
But blaming g Graham of those is just lies.
He EXPLAINS expert data and what they find.
There is a very vocal core of AAC whodefend their own authority against non academics and are willing to blatantly lie to take down those oitisde academia.
It's immoral and easy to debunk.
What's so absurd about this is that there clearly WAS an ancient civilization at Gunung Padang, ie. the folks built the terrasses and walls around 2500 years ago. How cool is that?! But then that's somehow not enough!
Exactly! That is the thrill actual archaeologists get.
That's not ancient. There were empires all around the world at that time.
@@kenupton4084 it's literally, by defintion, ancient:
en(dot)wikipedia(dot)org/wiki/Ancient_history
Yes, but it's not literally a "pyramid" so Potholer is very upset
@@pinealism what the fuck are you on about, did you actually watch the vid? Hancock's claims are complete and utterly bullshit.
Somebody force Joe Rogan to watch this please.
Or, get Potholer on JRE with Michael Shermer. I like JRE, but it gets weedy.
That cuehead isn't interested in the truth
Rogan doesn't care. He's in the business of entertainment.
He might watch it but he won't share ut with his audience. He's afraid of alienating his core audience, young uneducated gullible Americans with little reasoning skills.
Why? So you clowns can attack him with your specious accusations too? What a bunch of woke harpies!
This is the best critique of Graham Hancock on youtube. Tremendous work potholer54, keep it up mate.
Amusingly I hadn’t even heard of this particular dipshit before. Then I discovered Miniminuteman’s channel just this week when he dropped his first video about annihilating Graham.
Share and enjoy!
Better than Stefan Milo’s? He has a multi hour episode by episode critique, but also an excellent shorter overview one. Other good ones are from BBC Horizons, World of Antiquity, History with Kayleigh, and I’m waiting for one from Step Back
I recommend checking out miniminuteman who's going even more in depth than Peter.
@@SubtleSalmon Hooray, more channels being discovered!
Better than the series by miniminuteman? Idk about that. They both are tremendous
"spent decades looking for proof" of what I want to believe.
That's the heart of most conspiracies
The sunk cost fallacy
@@hooting-ton5215 I wouldn't go with sunk cost, more cherry picking and the fitting of facts.
@@marvintpandroid2213 People tend to dedicate most of their lives to Conspiracies. The "Spent decades" part was my main focus.
@@marvintpandroid2213
Fire the arrow and draw the target around where it landed.
Most excited I've been for a potholer video in some time. So tired of friends/people I know bringing up Hancock and Randall Carlson as legitimate sources of history because they saw them talk to Joe Rogan.
Arghhhhh:) so true:)
To be fair Hancocks brand of nonsense is pretty harmless compared to much of the other nonsense often peddled on JRE.
@@XMysticHerox my friend eldest kid watches him all the time. Didnt get vaccination because of rogan. Not a science guy but a amature mma fighter. It's the little bits of bullshit that leads to the steaming piles. He's not dumb but hasn't got that critical ability to detect bill shit..it leaves the rest of us with an uphill battle... I've not got kids. So if they want to burn the planet with ignorance, I'll be dead and they can live next to the thunder dome:)
Don't forget the UFO guy. Bob Lazar? May have the name wrong.
What's wrong with Carlson? Is he lying too?
One of my favorite comments on videos like these are people who both seem to agree that what Hancock says is false but also still seem to think he’s correct and that videos like this are unfair. Like he could say 2+2=5 and after potholer says he’s wrong you’ll get a comment like “well sure what he said was wrong but he’s pushing the boundaries of science and questioning the establishment and you should just be okay with this because I like him”
this is the standard logic of the internet. there needs to be a purge.
I can't tell you how much i've wanted you to tackle Graham Hancock and his claims of lost civilisations. Thanks for this
I also cover his dishonest editing techniques in my video "TV tricks of the trade."
Miniminuteman has started a series covering this stuff. I'd recommend it. He's an archaeologist as well so has good insight and a decent sense of humour
@@potholer54 I sure do respect all you do sir. You are one of the true truth tellers on earth. Cheers and never stop what you do.
@@potholer54 Oh damn, my brain always goes back to your Yonaguni Monument segment from that video when it applies. Makes sense it’s this same conman.
As an extraterrestrial, I very much appreciate these sort of videos debunking the misinformation spread about us by folks like Hancock.
👏😂
How dare you take credit for the achievements of the Lost Ancient Extraterrestrials!
What's the purpose of an anal probe? Like what could you achieve with that that couldn't be achieved with some type of tiny pill or a DNA sample? Is it just for fun?
As an extraterrestrial, you really should start your own channel. I'm sure it would be very popular here on Earth.
Do you really have an extra testicle?
Hancock fan here.. you wanna know how I feel Potholer?! … Am heartbroken… am also a huge YOU fan!! So am just generally heartbroken that you decided to take aim at Hancock and make me realise I’ve been taken for a ride and spent time reading his books that would probably have been spent better reading something else!! Anyways.. I have nothing negative to say.. great video (as usual) and keep on doing your thing.. I love it and am grateful we have you in the world mate!❤
Here after seeing a link on Rebecca Watson's channel. She was absolutely right to recommend this video. Thank you both.
akways a great day when a potholer54 video pops up in my reccomended, gets coffee, sits back, relax.... ahhh
I gave the Netflix series a go few months ago, I think I managed about 40 seconds through the introduction before bailing. The immediate dissing of mainstream science was enough to convince me it was going to be total garbage.
Thank you for this upload.
What aggravates me most about Hancock is people defend him by saying, "Oh, he's just asking questions and promoting an open mind for new ideas on ancient history."
No he's not! He's just rehashing the same crappy ancient aliens/Atlantis nonsense that's being doing the rounds for decades.
But more than that, there *are* genuine scientists and archaeologists asking challenging questions and promoting an open mind for new ideas on ancient history. You just don't hear about them because _they_ are off doing actual science and archaeology, following the evidence and putting it to peer review, and more often than not, struggling to get basic funding while Hancock is off selling books and lectures with the same Copy&Paste nonsense he printed and said before.
he is clearly making a living from his followers...from rehashing Atlantis myth
Exactly. Having an open mind doesn't mean 'just believe shit someone made up'.
Aliens make it across interstellar space - and then build simple structures out of rocks - and never leave a spare transistor or wire laying around...
He's asking questions that already have answers and questions that don't make sense in light of facts.
Much of what he pushes is a rehash of Ignatius Donnelly's rehash of Atlantis myth from 140 years ago.
Interesting issue: for so many years Hancock and his ilk claimed that human history was older than archaeology thought and archaeologists were being dogmatic when they would say, “Show us the physical evidence!”. Then along comes Gobekli Tepe, far older than previously thought. What do scientists do? Do they take a dogmatic stance because they don’t want to change their theories and timelines (as Hancock would expect)? No, they adjust their theories and timelines because now there is something more than Hancock and Von Danikens fever dreams. Now there is PHYSICAL EVIDENCE. There you have a classic example of pseudoscience vs. real science.
I enjoy Graham's content, and I thought his idea of an ancient civilization seemed very likely without giving it much thought. Thanks for the reality check!
Don’t be fooled by this video’s nonsense. I believe your initial opinion is correct!! GH has a lot of sensible, well considered content. Don’t let this channel distract you from his views. Keep watching him with an OPEN mind
The idea of humans walking about during the younger dryas is common knowledge.
Hancock thinks there was a globe spanning high tech space age empire from pole to pole.
He's a crackpot.
@@Dragonsitter He tells a lot of well considered lies.
LOL. Nice sarcasm.
You got me in the first half not gonna lie.
Potholer is the equivalent of “your bands favorite band”. Always see other people refer to him because his work is so good.
Hello! I've been watching for a good long while. In my early twenties your videos helped pull me out of the conspiracy rabbit hole, gave me the tools to more critically engage with the world and set me on a better direction in my life. Thank you for your work!
Same here (creationism for me). The honesty, good faith, and hard work save lives and enlarge worlds, @potholer54. Thank you.
Look up SGD Sacred Geometry Decoded, Ancient Presence, Scientists against myths. They are great resources and do not get enough attention.
Same for me with climate change
You have to admire the ballsy gall of Hancock at 33:07 deriding 'orthodox' science and 'These scholars, and their many fans and chums in the quality media", when we're only watching this Netflix show because his son, Sean Hancock (Senior Manager of Unscripted Originals at Netflix) commissioned the show!
That's quality media!
Guess it's all nepo'd out
Thanks for this. I watched the entire Netflix series and felt there was something not quite right, but without the knowledge of geology and archaeology I was unable to put my finger on what was wrong. So pleased you turned your analytical eye towards this.
When I initially watched a handful of Hancock's videos on JRE his ideas were exciting and I bought into it until I saw a trailer for his documentary positing himself as a maverick in the archaeological field despite not being a scientist himself. A classic pseudoscience red flag, but I didn't know enough on the topic to confirm it. So thank you for the video I wouldn't be offended if you did another one debunking another episode from the season.
This is pissing me off. The fact that Netflix is okay with bankrolling this bs is just too much. I'm done with them.
I mean to be fair History channel has been showing conspiracy documentaries about ancient aliens just to increase their viewership. Really saddens me people rather watch conspiracy theories instead of actual history and science.
When someone's whole marketing gimmick is "There's a conspiracy among scientists to undermine my truth," it's an immediate no from me.
The most obvious red flag of any conspiracy tbh "Don't listen to all the established history of scientists investigating this exact subject, only listen to me!"
Same, I have this mechanism from Potholer videos.
I personally built all the pyramids.
Unrelated, a “pyramid” is any structure in the back yard of my parent’s house that people refer to as a ‘shed’.
If you built a shed in the shape of a pyramid, you might want to check the instruction leaflet again - pretty sure you missed a step somewhere.
"The persecuted visionary that fights the corrupt mainstream cabal". This has become one of the main marketing strategies for bullsh*t sellers all over the world. It would be nice to see a documentary on this phenomenon
Another youtuber name miniminuteman is a young archeologist who is doing a debunk of this whole series ep by ep. hes just put out the first video but i highly recommend for anyone who wants more of this
Isn't that a wonderful coincidence we have so many debunkers here after the show got some traction. Phew I was just about to start believing that all our scientific institutions are deeply corrupted, history books fabricated and the scientific community a bunch of gatekeepers who label alternate theories as pseudoscience.
@@TheMasaaz the guy was on joe rogan. as ridiculous as it is people still believe this stuff. its up to the grown-ups in the room to talk down these freaks before this stuff spreads and your trite quip becomes a reality. just look at what they are doing with trans people. these shit brains don't care about scientific institutions or history. best to stamp this stuff out as it pops up
Good for him.
Thank you very much for doing this critique. Last weekend my fishing partner was telling me about this series and I was skeptical. I offered my own criticisms of the idea but without context of what Hancock actually said I could be dismissed as “needing to hear the whole story before passing judgment.”
Well, it appears that my skepticism was warranted. A lot of “what-ifs” does not equal a sound hypothesis.
Thanks again for all the work you put in.
I have been an archaeologist in Canada 8 years and I have been watching potholer videos for 14 or 15 years now. I started watching them while in university. I can't thank you enough for this great video. I really hope you decide to make more videos on this terrible Netflix series. Thank you potholer.
By "debunking" Graham Hancock's Netflix Program, you begin public debate. That promotes Mr. Hancock's notions. (edit was for spelling)
@@Zerox_Prime Archaeologists have spent decades sort of ignoring him aside from a very tiny fraction. Ignoring the problem didnt make it go away. In fact it seems to have only grown in popularity. now that he got an entire series on Netflix I think its time to address the problems.
Pseudoarchaeology is much more popular in the mainstream than actual archaeology and I believe that is because archaeologists lack a person like Carl Sagan or Neil Degrasse Tyson who can easily and interestingly bring the field to the mainstream. Charlatans like Hancock are good at that and there needs to be push back.
@@Zerox_Prime No, that's a false view of how this works. Programs like this - Ancient Aliens, Jesse Ventura - have been on the TV, for decades, long before the internet came along with any right to reply.
@@EpicurusIVXX Yes, well said. These programs have been on TV for decades: Ancient Aliens, Jesse Ventura. I'm not an archeologist, but my oldest friend is, and people are much more likely to ask him about Atlantis than his trowel.
@@BuJammy So?
I am an Indonesian (But I don't live in Java where Gunung Padang is located) but I can still confidently say that, if any breakthrough about anything is discovered in Indonesia, it will always and I say *Always* be a nation wide news. The fact that I found out about the supposed "Pyramid" in Indonesia from a foreign source and not from a national news outlet tells a lot about how fake this is.
Well said, unfortunately there is an awful lot of imperialistic and archao racist thinking underlying much of this type of woo nonsense.
@@imwelshjesusit feels a bit like they don't want to believe the people of the area built these amazing structures, because they were "too primitive" and therefore there must have been some other more advanced race of people that did it for them. And what's the bet they imagine these "advanced people" with white skin?
@@orterves Exactly, that's what it's all about.
@@orterves There's a reason why there are no "ancient alien" theories that aliens built the acropolis or the Colosseum.
@@NoName-yu7gj
Or Stonehenge
“Hancock’s criticisms aren't even really of archaeology per sé, so much as they are criticisms of textbooks and half-remembered pop theories of his youth. He rarely engages with anything contemporary, and rages against ideas that haven't been current for 50+ years.”
there is a reason for that. its called avoiding evidence that would debunk him and make him lose money
@@sadev101 text books are not meant to stay current then?
Debunking these snake-oil salesmen is important. Keep it up!
Says the man sitting atop a stack of oily bottles?
How I would love to live in a world where people like potholer got Netflix series, and not people like Hancock.
A Potholer series on Climate Change would be amazing
Maybe a show about how geology changed history due to its affects on battles?
@@timwcronin Been done.
@@penguinuprighter6231 only a pilot 😉
Graham Hancock has a Netflix series.
I love the subtitle "Graham Hancock travels the globe hunting for evidence".
After almost 30 years and countless books, he still only "finds" mystery...
So, mystery no longer exists, because we have archeologists?
The fact that Hancock doesn’t bring one shred of evidence, and omits any real evidence there is, should be enough to make people aware he is a charlatan. I think it’s good to have Hancock fans… at least we know to stay clear from them 😊
We should all be thankful for Hancocks hard work and the Netflix series /s
It gave us a 40min. of potholer video.
entertaining, educational and brilliant as usual. thank you mr. hadfield.
Netflix: as committed to scientific truth as Fox is to journalistic truth.
That’s giving Netflix too much credit lol 😂
yep
You Sir, must be the best RUclipsr ever! Thanks again...
As an Alien, the most relaxing thing I can do after a long interstellar trip to Earth is to build stuff out of giant rocks.
Well it is where the word "rocket" comes from, they could only build with rocks/stone.
@@kelduck8851 Exactly.
Exactly, to us is just like building a sand castle on a relaxing trip to the beach.
Personally, I think you should keep your kids under control! Do you have any idea of the millennia it's going to take us to clear this up?
@@annalieff-saxby568 You should see what they did to our rental spaceship; and I foolishly _declined_ the supplemental damage insurance.
I have a relative that has fallen for this crap. I asked outright, "What do archaeologists believe, and how do you know?" When he started to spew crap from anti-science conspiracists I asked, "How many papers on archaeology finds have you read in the past 10-20 years?" The number, was, of course, "zero." I then said, "Are you sure you actually know what's going on, or, have you been played like a cheap violin? They knew any response after that would make them look like idiots....
_"What do archaeologists believe, and how do you know?"_ Pretty smart opening question. And your follow up was great also.
I started with Fingerprints, and others, even a bit of Icke. I went crop circling. I wanted answers. Thankfully, when the inconsistencies began to add up I decided I should check my answers against the establishment. In the end it lead me to apply to study anthropology, and I remember my lecturer saying that when there is a gap in our understanding, it will always be filled by UFO enthusiasts, conspiracy theorists and grifters. Twenty years later and Hancock is still trying it on despite all the amazing advances that have been made in our understanding. It’s a crying shame that flights of fancy are just so much easier for the masses to digest.
I think this is quite near the core of the issue, back when Hancock went to school there was a big gap in "our" understanding of the ancient world so he and others filled the role of imagining what could be in those gaps. The funny (and a bit sad) thing is how he and his peers keep referring to archaeologists as set in their ways when he himself appear completely unable to adapt and follow new discoveries and insight. At least Hancock has stopped talking about the man/alien made face on Mars, guess that is the closest he will ever come to admit mistakes were made.
@@DeOmri Within a decade we will probably have a completely verified timeline of human existence for the last ~75, 000 years, back to our first families in southern Africa, and including all of our wanderings and settlements across the entire Earth, and even folklore and mythological motifs that have been with us since the earliest days of language. Most of this evidence is only a few decades old -- when I was young, we weren't even very sure what had happened in Europe less than two millenia ago. Hancock and his ilk refer to exactly none of the latest findings or ideas. It hadn't occurred to me, but I bet you're right -- I can easily imagine Hancock as my classmate way back then, daydreaming about all the visiting aliens and ancient civilizations that could have driven trucks through the gaps in our knowledge.
Best rebuttal of Hancock I have seen yet. Beautifully presented.
You should check out David Miano's channel called World of Antiquity. He's an actual professor of ancient history I believe who also does a very good job.
Please make a few more of these, covering other episodes of Hancock's netflix series. The two you have posted are so helpful in talking to our more gullible family members!
This really should be enough for even the lightest of thinker to understand why Hancock should never be listened to.
My day is instantly brighter every time potholer uploads a new video
Gosh, a hard set of fact to digest for an older fan of Mr Hancock, but true evidence is true evidence, That's it. Congratulation sir and thank you very much for your calm, sound explanations based on scientific documentations.
The sea level riced 120m. He says 70m. And this is not the only thing, he is wrong about.
@@Kissafarmari What's your source for the sea level rise? And did you bother to translate that to an annual water rise? Because Hancock still called it a deluge.
I'm no archaeologist, but shouldn't we have WAY more evidence of an ancient, advanced civilization, than we have of hunter gatherers from that period, which is quite a lot?
No, tools and buildings made of steel would vanish overnight!!!!!! Only stone lasts forever! That's why these ancient people with our level of technology built stone pyramids and carved massive blocks of stone into coffins...
@@bipolarminddroppings the more exclamation points you have, the more right you are
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
@@gingerpickett6958 I KNOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AND BLOCK CAPITALS MAKE YOU EVEN MORE RIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
As a biologist, I'm offended by the phrase "boring, old pillar coral"! Coral (and their mutualistic symbiosis) are badass! 😅
@@AwesomeWrench not familiar. Thanks for the recommendation, I'll look it up!
I had watched a few of Graham Hancoks interviews with Joe Rogan and I believe I even read on of his books. I remember feeling like there was reasonable evidence to support two comet impacts leading to an intense cooling period and another that heated things up. However, having watched your breaking apart of his arguments in this situation it's likely he took the same tactics in the previous case. I can't say i ever really believed but the arguments and evidence seemed decent. Thanks for doing our due diligence.
As a member of the Alt-Archaeo/History sub-culture club, I sure wish people like you would just shut-up and quit bursting my bubble.
All joking aside, I've been watching videos like this for about a week and for the first time I'm hearing a counter argument to the alt-ideas. And I like it. I still want to believe that one day evidence will be found of 'Atlantis', but until then I'm learning with videos like this to weigh the evidence in a more balanced way.
So, a big thank you, potholer54.
the alt side should just adress the criticisms honestly, not ignore it (as they have been (wrongfully) ignored, (but experts are actually busy people doing valuable work, so it's understandable that an alt theory first has to gain some popularity to be valuable enough for an experts time to adress it)) What the alt people are way better at, than the conventional people, is hyping up the subject and bringing new people to it. So actually I see value in them.
I appreciate you, Paul.
0:38 “please miror this video because it could very soon get blocked”
Got your back dude.
Hi Potholer, I have been binge watching your channel for the past week. I just have to say, your content is the best among RUclips. Sure, you don't have the production quality of some (lets say most) big fact-bringing channels, but goddamn you are authentic. Not to mention you obviously have decades of experience in your fields. I'm stirring up a fascination in geology I didn't even know I had. I can confidently say this has become one of my favorite channels on this website! I'm just devouring your long-form videos like they're nothing, because you manage to present your content in such an interesting way.
So uh, thanks for that! Keep it up and all that.
If you like this type of history content, look for Stefan Milo, Miniminuteman, World of Antiquity, and History with Kayleigh. For geology, I like GeoGirl and Geology Hub. There's even a 1st year college geology lecture series called
"Historical Geology by Dr. Christopher White" that I enjoy so much I have a playlist of it that I often start of an evening and fall asleep to! Yeah, I'm a nerd, LOL!
I hope you enjoy a few of those suggestions. 👋🏼 🙂👍🏼
If Netflix wants to give someone a series, they could do worse than give one to Potholer.
I vote for a 50 episode show called the Golden Crocoduck Awards.
I'm just upset to see how many people are buying into Hancock's fantasy...
The slightest bit of scrutiny tears the whole theory apart and yet it seems like the majority of people who watch his shows, podcasts, ect buy into it wholesale.
As somebody who follows Mesoamerican history and archeology,: My overall impression is that Hancock relies on the general public ignorance about Mesoamerica to present accepted info as extraordinary , and then acts as if that info totally undermines everything archaeologists say they know, when in reality it's not really a big deal. I know this video isn't about Ancient Apocalypse specifically, but to review a lot of the content in it's second episode, which focuses on Mesoamerica: For example, with Cholula, he presents the fact that the Pyramid has layers as some sort of unexpected find, the implication being that it calls into question the pyramid's age. But pyramids being built sequentially in layers like a Russian doll is VERY common in Mesoamerica:, with expansions built as new kings took power or during important cosmological milestones.
And the specific layers of the Great Pyramid of Cholula is well studied in particular, due to fact that the structure wasn't destroyed by the Spanish (see below). Hancock even explicitly says he doesn't even dispute that dating (which makes this whole segment feel pointless and dishonest, since he's clearly still trying to make people skeptical). I also found his framing of it being located over water as something special and then asking "What made these people build it here?" to be sort of absurd: He answers his own question! Pools of water, mirrors, caves, etc were all tied to underworld entrances in Mesoamerican cosmology, with Pyramids at Teotihuacan or Chichen Itza's Temple of Kukulkan also being over pools/caves. He even draws attention to this, bringing up that the Giza Pyramid etc were built over water sources too, so he's siluntanously acting ignorant and trying to draw a global pattern (but doesn't establish it being a wider pattern in Egypt, SEA, etc). His "all pyramids have connections to death and rebirth" point also falls flat, as Mesoamerican pyramids were primarily temples, not tombs like in Egypt (I know Hancock disputes Egyptian pyramids were tombs, but Egypt isn't my area so I can't comment). Yes, there were occasionally buried remains and ceremonial goods in Mesoamerican pyramids, but even these were usually ritual offerings to consecrate the construction of new phases/layers of the pyramid's construction, not burials the monument itself was dedicated to. Fundamentally Meso. and Egyptian pyramids were different structures that just have a similar shape. (There's even Meso. Pyramids used as administrative buildings/residences sorta!)
I also found that the show misrepresents the Cholula researcher's statements (something the researcher has claimed himself): At one point, Hancock asks "Is that enough to be confident enough about the full story", and of course he basically says "No, there's a lot of work to be done to teach us more about Mesoamerica". This is probably not the researcher saying "Everything we think we know is wrong" (which is what Hancock implies it to be) it's just saying that there's still more excavations to do that will help fill in what gaps are left, as there's always more we can learn. And when the researcher said something like "Knowing more about Cholula would let us rethink Mesoamerican as a whole": The researcher's point was likely that a better understanding of Cholula would give us a better picture of how social, political and religious trends changed in Mesoamerica over time (since Cholula existed as small village in 1000BC all the way to being a large city with 40k denizens as of Spanish contact) and since the city had widespread religious influence, that more info on Cholula would likewise yield insights into other parts of Mesoamerica.
The 3d Cholula render the episode used is also pretty wrong: It just had buildings evenly spaced in a solid sheet around the Pyramid. No roads, city planning, etc: Mesoamerican cities usually had a central urban core with temples, palaces and other elite housing, civic buildings, ball courts, etc, all richly painted and decorated, organized around open plazas for communal activities and ritualistic alignment. And then around that you had suburbs of commoner housing interspersed with agricultural land, etc, with the suburbs gradually decreasing in density the further out you go (in some cases, covering hundreds of square kilometers). Both the core and in some cases the suburbs had roads, aquaducts, etc. The Pyramid in the render was also grey and mossy, in ruins. If this is meant to be at the Pyramid's apex, then it should be painted and adorned with sculptures, reliefs, etc. If it's depicting it as of Spanish contact (which is what the graphics suggest), then it would've been buried in soil: The entire reason it's intact today is the Spanish mistook it as a hill, as Cholua had abandoned it in favor of a new Great Pyramid centuries prior. The show also mislabels some Teotihuacan frescos as being from Cholula; gets some of the dating wrong; and claims the whole pyramid was straw and adobe brick when that's just the earliest layers and some of the structural fill: The exterior layers of most stages (and even the internal fill of some later layers) was stone.
Moving onto Texcotzinco: Firstly, this is an INCREDIBLE site more people should know about: This was a royal estate/retreat for rulers of Texcoco, the second most powerful Aztec city. It sourced water from 5 miles of aqueducts (some elevated 150 feet off the ground) which brought the water to a series of pools and channels to control the flow rate on an adjacent hill, then across the gorge between there and Texcotzinco, where it flowed into a circuit around Texcotzinco's summit, into the site's painted shrines, pools, fountains, etc, and then formed artificial waterfalls which watered the botanical gardens at the hill's base, which had different sections to mimic different Mexican biomes. Of course it also had a palace at the top of the mountain's peak, etc. We outright have written sources discussing the site being designed in the 1460s AD by Nezahualcoyotl, Texcoco's most famous king who also designed levee and aqueduct systems at other Aztec cities.
But, in the interest of intellectual honesty, those written accounts which credit Nezahualcoyotl as the site's engineeer are written by his descendant, Fernando de Alva Cortés Ixtlilxóchitl, for the specific purpose of glorifying Texcoco to the Spanish and we do know he twisted details (EX: claiming Nezahualcoyotl worshipped a monotheistic god and rejected sacrifice). There's a whole book on this, "The Allure of Nezahualcoyotl" and I know Dr. Susan Toby Evans has a lot of papers on Texcotzinco, but a lot of her faculty page's links are down: I did find one mention that the site probably had some shrines built under earlier Texcoca rulers before Nezahualcoyotl. There are also papers that do mention there being archaeological evidence for dating rather then just textual sources, but sadly no specifics are listed
However, Hancock's points are still unconvincing: The guy he talks about Texcotzinco with pretty much gives zero actual scientific analysis or actual criticism of any sort of dating method, just vague commentary about weathering, so there's no real evidence to review, and isn't a specialist of the site like the Cholula guy was: this guy just runs an Atlantis blog. Hancock's other point is that there's Tlaloc iconography at the site, and uses a pre-Aztec Tlaloc sculpture from another site to imply Texcotzinco could be pre Aztec too... BUT WE ALL ALREADY KNOW TLALOC IS PRE AZTEC! The evolution of Tlaloc and other Mesoamerican rain gods from Olmec ""were jaguar" (there's some debate of what they're depicting) sculptures is VERY well documented, there's even full Digimon style charts showing the specific stages of development the iconography went through at different times in different parts of Mesoamerica! So the presence of Tlaloc iconography doesn't inherently suggest any time period, and if anything the Tlaloc depictions at the site are consistent with Aztec period examples. Even if Texcotzinco DID have Pre-Aztec construction, it would likely just mean it was from the dozens of Pre-Aztec civilizations in Mesoamerica we already know about. Again, Hancock relies on the fact that most viewers don't know much on Mesoamerica to present normal finds as unusual.
Lastly (skipping Xochicalo as i'm at the char. limit) Hancock's telling of the myth with Quetzalcoatl mixes details from different accounts or just gets stuff wrong: The flood he references is from myths detailing the cyclical creation and destruction of the world (and was done by Chalchiuhtlicue, not Tlaloc), wheras Quetzalcoatl sailing on a raft of snakes comes from Aztec accounts about the 10th century Toltec lord Ce Acatl Topiltzin, who is tied to Quetzalcoatl: These are largely separate narrative eons apart. There's many versions of these, and only SOME of the latter involve the raft, and in them, he is LEAVING rather then arriving into Mesoamerica. Even these versions recorded in the early colonial period we know have catholic influences from Friars re-writing them to aid in conversion and to make their rule seem pre-ordained. Stuff like Cortes being mistaken for Quetzalcoatl (a myth invented for similar reasons) comes from these, too. Hancock's telling is, if anything, closer to even later and more nonsense versions that make Quetzalcoatl white, blond, etc. Some of the earlier ones do have him as bearded, but the Mesoamericans had facial hair! We know it was customary in Aztec society for everyone other then rulers (Moctezuma II had facial hair!) or the elderly to shave, and Topiltzin was both.
Instead of listening to hancock for "stuff archaeologists don't want you to know about" people should look up the REAL civilizations most books, classes, etc ignore because Prehispanic history is underappreciated: Teotihuacan, the Moche, Zapotec, Chimu, Mixtec, Purepecha, etc!
"The public really doesn't listen when they're being told straightforward facts. They would rather accept what some charismatic character tells them, than really think about what the truth might be." -James Randi
Obviously politicians and the media don't do this, or at least politicians and the media from your aisle don't do it.
Graham Hancock does not pretend he has THE truth. He suggests ideas for consideration. Rhose who write history pretend it to be inarguable.
Its probably not too hard to debunk but since he has a giant platform spreading BS: would you mind addressing Jordan Petersons claims on climate change?
Yes please
I third the motion! 👋🏼
I fourth, fifth, and sixth it because I count like Hancock.
Yes, JP has strayed significantly from his expertise.
He lost me with his pro Putin bullshit
You can find those underwater pillars on any tropical coral reef. When the tide is low you can usually find them with your outboard pretty quick if you're not careful.
Just letting you know, I had a good laugh at this (as someone who's found a bit of stuff just under the surface of the water with a propeller)
This is why I will be eternally subscribed to Potholer. Great work as per usual.
I don't know if you might have listened to his last interview on Joe Rogan but I remember never having listened to this guy before and he comes on spending a bit of time audibly irritated by experts bashing him. I guess they had the right.
"I've spent decades searching for proof of this lost civilization."
And that right there is the main problem with Hancock.
Rather than letting the evidence lead him to a conclusion supported by the evidence (the way good archeologists do) he's instead actively looking for evidence that he can represent as supporting his preferred conclusion.
Yeah, that's part of what makes it pseudoscience. Science involves falsification, whereas pseudoscience is focused on verification of conclusions that have already been made.
I was tipped off about the theories of ancient civilisations by someone who reads a great deal into the work of Graham Hancock, and I approached this body of work with an open mind. After thoroughly viewing potholer54 critique of the methods used to artificially create theories about building constructions of ancient civilisations I can see that Graham Hancock should be widely avoided as a guide to Ancient Civilisations. And when I get access to more money I will definitely reconsider funding the charities that are mentioned in your video. Thanks for a well researched video that convincingly debunks a so called journalist and his money grabbing insights.
I found Hancock from Rogan. I fell hook, line, etc. but, it got me interested in a new topic and found you and other actual scientists. Now I feel stupid for believing him but at least it sparked my new hobby of studying history
I'd almost forgotten about Hancock, where did Netflix drag him up from? And yes he is still trying to insinuate his beliefs into reality despite the ongoing lack of evidence.
I believe his son in law is a Netflix executive? Or something along those lines, close family relation with a someone high in netflix..
As a geologist myself I really loved this take-down- patiently peeling away the story-telling and explaining the real geologic and archeological evidence- I wonder if Netflix ever used a fact-checker…
probably not because facts sell views less than mysteries and fantasy
Graham Hancock is the Marjorie Taylor Green of historians.
😂 that is a $20 analogy right there. Fantastic!
and the Alex Jones of Archaeology.
@@chuckleezodiac24 Alex jones said all Hollywood celebrities are pedophiles on a secret island in 2011, he’s crazy but you can’t deny he predicted Epstein
@@Philotheist777 it doesn't take a genius or prophet to know that Hollywood is full of perverts. rich freaks have always had their "private clubs." Jeffrey was initially charged in 2006 and wrist-slapped in 2008. not sure when AJ started talking about Pedo Island.
but i'll give AJ credit for busting into Bohemian Grove in 2000. Nixon said in 1971 that it was the "most faggy goddamned thing you could ever imagine." lol.
And you are?
Potholer's normal speech is at the level of a well written journal.
His recall of information is amazing.
as well as his eloquent manner of delivery, without hesitation or filler
words. Truly a brilliant man.
(34:23)
😂
It's just a monotonous drone of leftist waffle.
@@waynegoldpig2220 Left wing = educated. Right wing = stupid. A verifiable educational statistic. Look it up yourself, if you can.
@@waynegoldpig2220 As I recall, he identified as a conservative in a video.
@@stargazer5784 Based on US General Social Survey data (from the early-to-mid 2010s, IIRC) Noah Carl found that Republicans had slightly higher IQs (on average) than Democrats. However, since many Democrats come from poor backgrounds and thus experience poor childhood nutrition (a key predictor of IQ) while other Democrats come from well-off backgrounds and have average or even very high IQs, I think a good overall judgement is that there just isn't one party for the stupids and one for the non-stupids.
Social liberalism does correlate with IQ and education, but that doesn't translate straightforwardly into "left wing" and "right wing", which are crude labels anyway. Republicans include (especially back in the McCain/Romney years) "classical liberals" who are economically right-wing and socially left-wing; Democrats include people with socially conservative views but who vote Democrat because they think the Democrats have better economic and public service policies/attitudes/competence. The classical liberals push up the Republican average IQ and the socially conservatives push down the Democrat IQ. It's another example of how averages can be misleading when dealing with extremely hetereogenous groups, like millions of people.
But that's not the sort of sensationalism that either side wants to believe. Similarly, your use of the equals sign is obviously misleading: there are well-educated right wing people and poorly educated left-wing people. Politics is extremely complex and at least partly subjective, which is why smart and well-meaning people can disagree about it.
"If we define it as a structure that rises in a series of terraces to a summit"
I rush in holding a wedding cake, "Behold, a Pyramid!"
How'd they even build it?!?!
@@512metro We couldn’t even do that with modern tech.
@@512metro
Watch before you comment.
@@LesterBrunt
Maybe not because these atr are natural ly made stones from the volcanic hill they sit on.
@@surfk9836 Do what now? I'm supposed to watch Phos run in with his wedding cake pyramid?
Amazing video, your deconstruction of his ideas and rhetoric was flawless. We need more content like this on youtube.
I was a Graham Hancock fan, he's very persuasive. But after watching these debunk videos it's pretty clear how bullshit his claims are. He benefits from his claims being more exciting "I WANT TO BELIEVE" but after you look at what's really going on, it's quite clear he has to bend the truth and lie by omission to even BARELY support his claims.
Someone get potholer a Netflix debunking show
I doubt he has a son whose an executive at Netflix like Hancock's.
Potholer54’s videos are first rate, and deserve millions of views.
Years ago, Potholer saved me from the Suspicious Observers cult, through videos such as this one. He's a true hero, everyone on the verge of letting go of the "mystery" baits, be proud of your own thinking ability, and relieved that the world has far more competent and honest people than what you were lead to assume.
Yep. Hancock makes Erich von Däniken look like a rational man.
Your continued optimism that the comment section will contain well reasoned responses to the points raised in your videos is truly uplifting, thank you. Is Graham Hancock the archaeologists' version of Tony Heller?
*Any large mound in the forest*
Hancock: I can make an ancient lost civilization pyramid out of you.
Time team really showed that real archeology can attract a large audience and be really interesting. There's no need to make up stuff or make the stories and mysteries more interesting. The questions archeology throws up are already very captivating.
So Hancock and people like him could absolutely make an honest, realistic and interesting programm about archeology, if they tried. I don't quite understand why they need to make stuff up.
Yeah, I agree. But it's not really that hard to understand their motivation, is it?
@@Doutsoldome
Probably money. They stick to the old formula that made a lot of money.
What i don't quite get is if they could make just as much money by covering real archeology and just don't realise it. Or if they are actually right and this made up stuff actually attracts more viewers and therefore money. Not sure...
Thank goodness you’re back! This subject has Ben bugging me badly and I’ve been hoping you’d tackle it. Thanks for an amazing channel👌
Archaeologists can't explain how Atlantis sank in the Atlantic and re-surfaced in Indonesia. #submarinesofthegods
Wow, what a gem on youtube! thank you for your work! I love to take hot/cold showers and this was the perfect follow-up to the netflix documentary! I can't watch easily watch debunkers who get more worked up on the subject than hancock himself. Nearly no information at all, mostly just worked up people.
Your content is all information and no fluff, this is so valuable
keep up the great work!
cheers!
The central conceit in so many "lost civilisation" ideas of course remains the foundational question of colonisers seeing stuff in the lands they arrive in and asking "Where are the people who built these now?", completely ignoring the obvious answer that they're *still here* because for whatever practical reasons they stopped building those things at some point and just carried on with a lifestyle that was more convenient to their circumstances, because history is not a fixed, straight line of progression through a set course of developments. Our architecture, our social structures, they adapt to the needs of the time.
For some people, the kind of people who are motivated by generating wealth by resource exploitation for example, that idea is *terrifying*. The notion that great civilisations of builders, craftsmen, farmers, and a sophisticated polity can just disappear when circumstances no longer support them. Yet this is what has happened to almost every single one of them, that we know of. It's not like in the Civilization games, where one is founded and thrives for an unbroken line of millenniums, only disappearing if conquered or absorbed into another(usually interpreted as superior). They can go away all by themselves.
I don't comment on RUclips very much, but I wanted to say that this is a very well presented video and the work you put into it is appreciated! While I'm not a professional academic, I am an archaeologist by training, and it's very disheartening to see how quickly people swallow up stories from Hancock and the like, especially when the are real answers to their questions. I imagine things like this are so popular because it's exciting to imagine a world that has these great wonderful mysteries and lost civilisations (and lets be fair, a lot of the real answers aren't terribly exciting!).
I'd love a world where professional academic archaeologists and geologists had the time to sit down and debate people like this, but so many of them are so overworked and underpaid that it can't really be worth their time, especially when they can't match the production value of Netflix and like.
Anyway, well done, loved the video, and I definitely respect how reasonable you're being in the comments, even when some of Hancock's defenders are being pretty vile.
Real answers aren't terribly exciting?
Damn I was so stupid. Seriously I have to admit I had good gulp of the Handcock Coolaid and should have maintained my original skepticism of him. Thanks for doing this video I feel like I'm back on the right path again. Really fell for Hancock's crap. Never again.
Keep making great videos Potholer.
Hey, don't beat yourself up over it. There's nothing wrong about getting caught up in something fascinating that is presented in a way that makes it seem possible. What matters is that you were able to reevaluate it logically.
Hancock didn't make a series about an ancient civilization, he made a series about himself and how people were being mean to him.
😄😄😄😆
Ouch....
Exactly.
I'm still trying to understand how the ultimate technology of aliens is stacking really big rocks.
Love this video, thanks for taking the time to show this for what it is. How can Netflix even air this with no due diligence. Sad times.
This stuff honestly interests me so much! Something about the possibility of lost civilizations is so intriguing. I haven't watched this yet but I'm bummed that I'm about to find out this probably isn't true if Potholer is debunking it. Glad you're back though man, your videos are great!
I think we would all love to find out there was an earlier global civilisation like ours, how awesome would that be?
Unfortunately, there's no good evidence in favour of it and plenty of excellent evidence against it. And personally, I go where the evidence leads.
There are LOTS of "lost" civilizations, it's just that they're not as "exciting" as people want them to be, and archaeologists are the ones finding them, not denying them.
3:22 "One of them is the Amazon. Another is the Sahara Desert, and then under the Continental Shelves."
Graham, dude, the Continental Shelves aren't like shelves in a supermarket. You can't just crouch down and pull a city out from the next shelf down.
He seems to think that people have not made lengthy and strenuous efforts to explore and map the Amazon and Sahara.
I am really glad you touched on the Younger Dryas. Graham Hancock, Randall Carlson, Martin Sweatman... None of them geologists, have spread a massive amount of misinformation about the Younger Dryas to push their book sales.
Randall Carlson is literally a Geologist. He's also very naive . Randall recently had an appearance on Joe Rogan Experience and he brought his scammer friend Malcolm Bendall and Joe recognized it was a scam and that the dude was using Randall to scam others and probably stole untold amount of money from Randall. Joe Rogan didn't want to ruin Randal's reputation and he never uploaded the episode.
@@Wallyworld30 No he is not. He is an Architect with a 2 year Geology degree. He has never been a Geologist nor been employed as a Geologist.
@@swirvinbirds1971 Randall does know Geology though even if it's just a 2 year degree. What about Robert Schoch that runs in same alternative circles I've also heard him call himself a Geologist when he dated the Sphynx.
@@Wallyworld30 Randall doesn't know. He gets so much factually incorrect that a layman can debunk his garbage.
Schoch is an actual geologist but his water erosion hypothesis has been debunked by other actual geologists.
The gullibility of Joe Rogan sort of mirrors the gullibility of lots of people watching this show, which is scary. I appreciate potholer's work, and it continues to be very necessary.
Rogan is just so open minded to any idea, I have a friend like him, they're just SO malleable. If someone is confident and generally interesting, they will believe it fully. It makes for interesting content and interviews, but a lot of time Rogan ends up giving a large platform to genuine liars.
I used to watch some of Hancock out of interest but once he started saying that the ancient ancestors used mind altering drugs to lift stones with their minds, I was out, so I never got into his“theories“ never read one of his books nor seen the Netflix series.
We support you. Thank you for your work.
OMG, finally someone speaks about this crackpot. I couldn’t believe that this guy got so much attention for his BS documentary on Netflix. He has been with all these RUclips influencers and got millions of views. I mean Netflix should not have agreed to tag his movie as a documentary in the first place. He was making all these incredible claims with zero evidence.
Thank you!
I just discovered another great channel (Miniminuteman) earlier this week from auto-recommendation, due to the series he’s just started dropping. Go check it out, too. More to come! 👍
I've read that his son is a higher up at Netflix, which would explain how this abomination came into existence.
Thanks so much for this: it's a huge relief to find I'm not alone, but till now I've had no proper information with which to judge these ideas for myself (be clear: I am extremely unlikely ever to actually challenge those who have been swept up by the likes of Hancock et al because a) I'm a coward and b) there's no point and it would just cause a row and leave a bitter taste in the mouth, if not worse). I was (am) a massive fan of Time Team and any reference to that team of folks gets extra points for me. Thanks again. You have a new subscriber and I shall have enormous fun going through your other videos. Very best wishes to you.
The thing I really hate about men like Graham Hancock is that they contribute to the public’s distrust of science. Pushing a narrative that scientists are either incompetent or conspiring against the masses.
The public's distrust of science is natural, it would still take place without Hancocks in the world.
Many people simply need the irrational/mysterious/supernatural in their lives, it might be part of a coping mechanism, a tradition, a hobby, a social gateway, a mental condition, etc.
It can't be helped.
Puerto ricans eye sterilized by america through vaccines...a vaccine produced in America once was contaminated with HIV and was sold to Poland as ok to distribute. Poland used it on their people... i wont even start with covid.... but yeah don't question science
A new Potholer video is a fantastic way to start the weekend 🤘
Far too many people are dependent on the skepticism skills of a MMA commentator.
And he has for years been regularly telling people that he is "a dummy" and that people should not just take his opinion on things.
Peter, I've been watching your videos for over a decade and greatly appreciate your approach. Cheers.
S-Tier RUclips channel.
If I was a Netflix executive, you’d have an ongoing debunking and educational series.
Graham Hancock's son works for Netflix!
@@pcmason That may partly explain the lot of pseufoscientific shows.
Graham Hancock fan here. Thank you Potholer. Still going through your links to verify but I'm grateful for your legwork on this. Hancock's lack of integrity in this is concerning.
@@Manbearpig4456 Did you read his references? I feel sorry for you.
"The last thing we want to believe, it seems, is that our ancestors were smart enough to learn for themselves how to build these things."
I think it's more a case of "some people don't want to believe other cultures were smart enough to build them".
Some people are so ethnocentric that they can't imagine that anyone else can do something their culture can't. It's no surprise to me that many of these 'aliens did did' stories started with Europeans talking about non-European cultures. Even 'super advanced old civilisation' is still following that idea, anything to deny that the local indigenous people could be capable of doing it themselves.
The stories got so popular that many people now continue them without realising what their foundations are.
Being ethnocentric isn't one of Hancock's flaws
@@arthurballs9632 I never claimed he was.
I said "The stories got so popular that many people now continue them without realising what their foundations are."
Just because the story started due to ethnocentrism it doesn't mean everyone who believes them is guilty of it.
These sort of ideas aren't new. As this video shows, before Hancock there was Daniken, before that there were movies. These stories go back to the first time people saw great structures and thought "there's no way the locals built that."
@@arthurballs9632
Hancock’s lost civilisation is just a rewriting of Ignatius Donnelly’s. I don’t think it’s right to plagiarise a racist author, edit out the offensive parts, and then complain to his fans that the people saying his ideas are racist are just trying to discredit him.
Ah, a Potholer video! One of the true pleasures of opening my RUclips in the morning.