I stumbled across this show by accident and have now binge-watched all of them up to date.
Overall; fascinating things and excellently discussed, but.. there is always a but.
There is a tendency to dismiss things without really exploring all the obvious avenues.
Example; Tecaxic-Calixtlahuaca head. The suggestion that the head was possibly Omlec or from some other South American civilization is ridiculous. That is in no way a South American indigenous face or art style. It is an alien object, I don't mean 'Aliens,' but utterly alien to its context.
Faced with that fact they glossed over it and found themselves following the old maxim; "It it doesn't fit in with the accepted theories, it can't be, so it must be a hoax." Which is lazy academia.
Here is why; There is a much simpler and more realistic explanation, for it and lots of other 'alien' artifacts found across the world. From the Tecaxic-Calixtlahuaca head to the Tabacco in Ramses the Great. And, before I explore it, I'd like you to pick up your mobile phone or other devices near you and look at where it was made - if indeed you can find out by looking at it. Mine is made by a Chinese firm in Shenzhen, Guangdong province. I have never been to Shenzhen, Guangdong province, let alone China, I didn't buy it from a Chinese gentleman who traveled here to sell it to me. In fact until a few moments ago I had no idea where it was actually made. I bet you, looking at your item, have no idea either. This is called Down the Line trade. It does not involve lost Roman galleons or unknown heroic adventures and explores crossing vast unknown continents. All it involves is trade.
And not even regular trade that might suggest established trade routes, but occasional or incidental trade. I shall call this Peripheral Trade. This Peripheral Trade may have occurred in untold situations and tradeable and valuable items and useful commodities thus may have traveled further than anyone ever could imagine. Passed from hand to hand, traded a hundred times, over years and years for non-perishable goods, loved, treasured. The further they traveled from their source probably the more mystical their origins became.
And so they become high-status goods, valued for their unknown qualities, and so they end up in graves or other important places.
No aliens, no lost Roman gallons, not even 'established' trade routes (which I believe were far more complex than anyone in academia currently accepts) but simple Down the Line Perphiral Trade. Nothing more.
Overall; fascinating things and excellently discussed, but.. there is always a but.
There is a tendency to dismiss things without really exploring all the obvious avenues.
Example; Tecaxic-Calixtlahuaca head. The suggestion that the head was possibly Omlec or from some other South American civilization is ridiculous. That is in no way a South American indigenous face or art style. It is an alien object, I don't mean 'Aliens,' but utterly alien to its context.
Faced with that fact they glossed over it and found themselves following the old maxim; "It it doesn't fit in with the accepted theories, it can't be, so it must be a hoax." Which is lazy academia.
Here is why; There is a much simpler and more realistic explanation, for it and lots of other 'alien' artifacts found across the world. From the Tecaxic-Calixtlahuaca head to the Tabacco in Ramses the Great. And, before I explore it, I'd like you to pick up your mobile phone or other devices near you and look at where it was made - if indeed you can find out by looking at it. Mine is made by a Chinese firm in Shenzhen, Guangdong province. I have never been to Shenzhen, Guangdong province, let alone China, I didn't buy it from a Chinese gentleman who traveled here to sell it to me. In fact until a few moments ago I had no idea where it was actually made. I bet you, looking at your item, have no idea either. This is called Down the Line trade. It does not involve lost Roman galleons or unknown heroic adventures and explores crossing vast unknown continents. All it involves is trade.
And not even regular trade that might suggest established trade routes, but occasional or incidental trade. I shall call this Peripheral Trade. This Peripheral Trade may have occurred in untold situations and tradeable and valuable items and useful commodities thus may have traveled further than anyone ever could imagine. Passed from hand to hand, traded a hundred times, over years and years for non-perishable goods, loved, treasured. The further they traveled from their source probably the more mystical their origins became.
And so they become high-status goods, valued for their unknown qualities, and so they end up in graves or other important places.
No aliens, no lost Roman gallons, not even 'established' trade routes (which I believe were far more complex than anyone in academia currently accepts) but simple Down the Line Perphiral Trade. Nothing more.