Archaeological analysis has helped us perceive the sophisticated story of our species’ previous, from the earliest hominins to the daybreak of civilisation and past. However some individuals are satisfied that it has missed an essential chapter. They imagine there was a complicated international civilisation some 20,000 years in the past over the past glacial most, also known as the ice age – however that it was mysteriously destroyed, with its spectacular settlements and monuments drowned by rising seas.
Flint Dibble, an archaeologist at Cardiff College within the UK, is doing all he can to make it clear that such concepts aren’t supported by the proof. Earlier this 12 months, he appeared on The Joe Rogan Expertise podcast to participate in a high-profile debate with Graham Hancock, a author who has spent years arguing for the existence of this forgotten society and who discusses the thought in his Netflix present, Historical Apocalypse.
Dibble spoke to New Scientist concerning the causes for the enduring attraction of legendary misplaced civilisations, why perception in them may be so dangerous, and the right way to persuade folks to reject the concepts promoted by Hancock and others by way of the usage of “fact sandwiches”.
Colin Barras: Why do you assume the parable of a complicated misplaced civilisation generates a lot curiosity?
Flint Dibble: That’s a tricky one. It’s important to recognize that Graham Hancock’s concept isn’t new: it stems instantly out of …