The Netflix original documentary series Ancient Apocalypse has just released its second season, titled Ancient Apocalypse – The Americas. How it was Ancient Apocalypse season 1, Ancient Apocalypse – The Americas is presented by journalist Graham Hancock. Although Ancient Apocalypse The first season gained some popularity among Netflix documentaries about the paranormal, the show also received a lot of criticism. Among the questions raised regarding Ancient Apocalypse In the first season, critics expressed concerns more strongly about Hancock’s ‘pseudoarchaeological theories’, suggesting that Hancock’s claims are unfounded.
Despite the controversy, Netflix went ahead with Season 2, and the show shockingly incorporated the beloved actor and star of John Wick Keanu Reeves films in the new season too, although only minimally. As in the first season, in Ancient Apocalypse – The Americas, Hancock is arguing that there was an advanced human civilization that flourished during the Ice Age. In The AmericasHancock specifically uses the fossilized human footprints in White Sands, New Mexico, to further defend his theory.
In 2009, fossilized human footprints were discovered in White Sands, New Mexicoon the bed of a dry lake. This was an incredible discovery, as previously many scientists believed that humans were only in the region now known as North America 16,000 years ago or less. However, these footprints meant a major update to that theory, with the estimate now approaching 23,000 years ago, at least based on carbon dating done on these footprints.
It is important to note that even this estimate has become controversial. Because the carbon dating process involved seeds, which could have absorbed older carbon from water, some scientists remain skeptical about the accuracy of the dates provided. Human footprints were also found alongside footprints of what appeared to be an enormous ground sloth, which has interesting implications regarding human interactions with creatures at the time.
As mentioned, the age of the White Sands footprints was established through carbon dating. However, the prints themselves could not be carbon dated. Instead, grass seeds were found around the prints and were analyzed using radiocarbon dating.
Through this process, it was revealed that the seeds were between 21,000 and 23,000 years old. Based on this, the footprints themselves have also been estimated to be around 23,000 years old, although as mentioned, there are a number of considerations when reaching this conclusion. On the one hand, these dates represent the results of carbon dating done on the seeds, and not the footprints themselves (as this is not possible because they lack organic material).
It is quite possible that the footprints themselves are not 23 thousand years old.
The aforementioned concern regarding the ability of seeds to absorb groundwater containing older carbon also raises questions in this case. Given this, it is quite possible that the footprints themselves are not 23,000 years old and there is much debate on the subject. Still, this was a remarkable discovery that opened up a series of conversations about when humans may have first appeared in the region. If these numbers were accurate, they would represent a truly revolutionary update to this timeline.
In Ancient Apocalypse – The AmericasGraham Hancock argues that the existence of these footprints which may be 23,000 years old supports his claims about an advanced human civilization during this period. His argument seems to stem largely from the notion that much remains to be learned about humans in this era. He also believes that, based on the relatively recent discovery of these footprints, it is plausible that the timing and manner in which humans arrived in the North American region requires further examination.
Hancock also believes this 23,000 year estimate could be just the beginning. In his opinion, it’s possible that humans have been around much longer, and the White Sands footprints just kicked things off by revealing that previous perceptions about the earliest human presence in the North American region were wrong. It’s important to note that this is part of what made Hancock’s opinion so controversial.
Given the skepticism that already exists around the 23,000-year-old date for the White Sands footprints, it makes sense that many would oppose the notion that humans existed in the North American region long before that. Hancock’s position that such people were part of an advanced civilization is an even harder sell than that. Although the White Sands footprints are in fact fossilized human footprints found in North America that appear to be older than the age previously considered possible, Graham Hancock’s theories about this revelation in Ancient Apocalypse – The Americas remain controversial.