How much of the ancient world is still waiting to be found?
Graham Hancock points to newly recognized cities in the Amazon, Jimmy Corsetti and Dan Richards stress how little of Göbekli Tepe has been dug, and Cassie Coppersmith describes what LiDAR revealed under Cambodia's jungle. Whatever one makes of their wider theories, they agree that the record is far from complete, which is a reason for humility about any firm timeline.
What do the four researchers agree on? Show answer
That most of the ancient world has not been examined. They disagree about what remains to be found.
What happened when a drone with LiDAR flew over untouched Amazon forest? Show answer
It found several large earthworks under the canopy within a matter of hours.
Why could later Spaniards not find the Amazon cities an earlier expedition reported? Show answer
Disease had killed the people who maintained them, and the jungle covered the cities within a century.
Which three regions does Graham Hancock say are barely searched? Show answer
The Amazon, the Sahara, and the continental shelves that were dry coastline during the Ice Age.
How does Hancock answer the god-of-the-gaps charge? Show answer
He says these are special gaps: the places Ice Age people would most likely have lived are the least examined.
How much of Göbekli Tepe has been excavated? Show answer
About 5 percent, with 72 of roughly 200 pillars unearthed.
Why is leaving a site mostly unexcavated normal? Show answer
Excavation destroys evidence, so archaeologists leave most of a site for future methods.
What did the 2012 LiDAR survey of Cambodia show? Show answer
Mound fields, huge reservoirs and an entire city on a plateau that had been hidden under the jungle.
What dating problem does Cassie Coppersmith raise? Show answer
Many sites are dated from royal inscriptions and later repairs, not from the original construction.
Where does Dan Richards part from the others? Show answer
He does not accept ancient high technology. He thinks lost skills explain ancient feats better than lost machines.
What cheap test does Jimmy Corsetti propose for the pyramid's void? Show answer
Drilling a small hole and inserting a camera, which could answer the question quickly.
What does an unsearched region prove? Show answer
Nothing yet. It is a place where something could be found, not a finding.