Ed Barnhart: Maya, Aztec, Inca, and Lost Civilizations of South America | Lex Fridman Podcast

Introduction (0s)

• Humans lived nomadically for the vast majority of their existence, moving in wider or tighter circles depending on the geographic region. (3s)
• The ability for humans to stay in one place was the initial trigger to what would become civilization. (14s)
• The Aztecs were comfortable with human sacrifice, but also loved flower gardens, poetry, music, and dance. (24s)

Lost civilizations (1m39s)

• Civilizations, like those found at Gobekli Tepe and in the Amazon, have been discovered within recent history, suggesting the possibility of finding more unknown civilizations. (1m50s)
• The Amazon rainforest likely conceals evidence of past civilizations, but the use of perishable materials and the destructive power of nature make discovery challenging. (2m27s)
• Akrotiri, an ancient Minoan city destroyed by a volcanic eruption, provides a potential real-world model for Plato's Atlantis, highlighting the possibility of other lost civilizations existing. (5m17s)

Hunter-gatherers (8m43s)

• Humans were initially hunter-gatherers and remained nomadic for the majority of human history. (10m32s)
• Around 12,000 years ago, the last ice age ended, leading to significant environmental changes, including the extinction of large mammals like mammoths and bison in the Americas. (9m17s)
• This forced humans to rely more on gathering, which eventually led to the development of agriculture and the ability to settle in one place year-round, forming the first permanent communities. (10m18s)

First humans in the Americas (12m16s)

• The traditional theory that humans migrated to the Americas by following game across the Bering Land Bridge is still considered plausible. (13m10s)
• DNA evidence suggests that the first migration to the Americas may have occurred as early as 60,000 years ago, with a more certain date being 30,000 years ago. (14m11s)
• The oldest human populations in the Americas are believed to be in South America, suggesting an early migration along the coast, potentially driven by a cultural engine of exploration. (17m27s)

South America (22m7s)

• South America has ancient civilizations that predate those of Egypt and Mesopotamia, particularly along the Peruvian coast. (22m38s)
• The Caral civilization, located north of Lima, Peru, is one example, with large stone pyramids and temples dating back to 3200 BCE. (23m17s)
• While Egypt has around 140 pyramids, Peru has thousands, though many are made from adobe bricks and have weathered significantly. (24m4s)
• The Caral civilization, lasting until around 1800 BCE, constructed earthquake-resistant buildings using a method of "net baskets" of rocks. (25m44s)
• Infant burials found within Caral structures, often interpreted as sacrifices, may reflect the high infant mortality rates of the time and a cultural practice of honoring these deaths. (26m57s)

Pyramids (27m36s)

• The Caral civilization in Peru, which relied on fishing and trade, emerged around the same time as the Aspero civilization, which relied on farming, demonstrating that agriculture was not the sole driver of early civilizations. (33m27s)
• The earliest pottery in the Americas, dating back to a very early period, has been found in the middle of the Amazon, suggesting the possibility that civilization and religion in South America originated in the Amazon. (34m28s)
• The motivation for building pyramids might stem from the human desire to create enduring structures that provide a sense of purpose and leave a lasting legacy, driven by a fear of death and being forgotten. (29m16s)

Religion (34m40s)

Shamanism (47m44s)

• Ancient Moche shamanism involved practices like the use of sex and headhunting. (47m59s)
• Music, particularly flutes and singing, plays a crucial role in Amazonian shamanic rituals, intended to summon spirits. (48m50s)
• Shamans in the Amazon use San Pedro cactus juice, a hallucinogen, to perceive spirits and diagnose illnesses. (49m20s)

Ayahuasca (49m41s)

• Ayahuasca, a hallucinogenic plant, has a long history of use, potentially dating back thousands of years. (50m0s)
• There is evidence suggesting the use of Ayahuasca in ancient South American cultures, with depictions of people experiencing its effects found in temples dating back 3,000 years. (51m9s)
• While hallucinogens are not universally present in ancient traditions worldwide, they are more prevalent in the Americas, particularly South America. (51m50s)

Lost City of Z (55m54s)

• The Amazon rainforest is vast, and evidence of civilizations can be challenging to find due to the lowland environment and frequent flooding. (56m35s)
• The construction of a highway through the Amazon, while controversial, has led to the discovery of more geometric earthworks and evidence of past civilizations. (57m36s)
• The presence of Terra Preta, or black earth, in the Amazon suggests large-scale farming and human activity in the past, indicating the existence of potential lost civilizations. (59m29s)

Graham Hancock (1h0m48s)

• Graham Hancock believes a single, advanced civilization, now lost, seeded all other civilizations. (1h1m20s)
• Hancock believes this civilization was destroyed by a cataclysmic event, possibly the Younger Dryas impact hypothesis. (1h3m45s)
• The speaker disagrees with Hancock's theory, believing instead that civilizations developed independently. (1h4m19s)

Uncontacted tribes (1h7m51s)

• There are a number of uncontacted tribes in the Amazon rainforest, and while their exact locations are often known, countries like Ecuador have policies in place to prevent contact. (1h7m51s)
• Many of these uncontacted tribes are very aggressive towards outsiders and even other tribes, often engaging in violence and stealing women from other communities. (1h9m26s)
• This violence is often rooted in spiritual beliefs, with illness being seen as a curse brought on by someone from another village, leading to cycles of revenge and feuds. (1h10m45s)

Maya civilization (1h13m51s)

• The Maya civilization emerged around 1,800 CE in the Soconusco region, where Guatemala and Mexico meet. (1h14m53s)
• The Maya civilization interacted with other cultures in Mesoamerica, including the Olmec, Zapotec, and the predecessors of the Aztecs. (1h16m43s)
• The Maya civilization developed a sophisticated understanding of astronomy, evidenced by their ability to track celestial bodies and calculate astronomical cycles, including the precession of the equinoxes. (1h27m21s)

Mayan calendar (1h29m40s)

• The 260-day calendar, called the tzolkin, is the oldest Mayan calendar and is still used by millions of Maya people today. It is based on the human gestation period and is used to determine personality traits, suitable jobs, and auspicious days. (1h30m36s)
• The haab is the Mayan solar calendar, consisting of 365 days with no leap year. It is used for agricultural purposes but its lack of a leap year has caused discrepancies in the agricultural cycle over time. (1h34m10s)
• The Long Count is a linear calendar that counts days in a base-20 system. It has a 360-day year and is used to track long periods, with cycles such as the katun (20 years) and the baktun (400 years). The Long Count's 13-baktun cycle, which began in 3114 BC, ended in 2012, leading to popular beliefs about the end of the world. (1h35m46s)

Flood myths (1h44m57s)

• The end of the Ice Age, marked by rising sea levels, likely inspired flood myths across various societies. (1h45m16s)
• While acknowledging a personal interest in astrology, the speaker expresses skepticism about its scientific validity, finding no biological or scientific basis for the influence of birth month on personality or destiny. (1h46m53s)
• The Maya civilization saw a shift from a hierarchical system with kings to a more democratic structure, exemplified by the League of Mayapan, which eventually collapsed due to internal conflict and possibly external pressures. (2h2m45s)

Aztecs (2h13m25s)

• The Aztecs arrived in the Valley of Mexico in the 1300s and initially worked as mercenaries for other communities. (2h15m4s)
• The Aztecs were a militaristic society that worshipped a war god and had a powerful army that allowed them to quickly expand their empire. (2h19m2s)
• The Aztecs practiced human sacrifice, believing it appeased their gods and ensured rain, and they also engaged in cannibalism, consuming the flesh of sacrificial victims. (2h24m42s)

Inca Empire (2h30m52s)

• The Inca Empire was community-oriented, ensuring that no one starved. The empire was built on a system of shared work, a vast road system, and agricultural terraces. (2h31m21s)
• The Inca Empire's expansion involved absorbing neighboring communities. They would offer communities the choice to join the empire or be escorted out, often arriving with a large army to demonstrate their power. (2h32m13s)
• The Inca Empire had a sophisticated record-keeping system using knotted cords called khipu. These cords recorded census data, labor obligations, and other information, and were managed by trained individuals called khipu kamayuq. (2h34m26s)

Early humans in North America (2h48m52s)

• The earliest significant communities in North America were the mound builders in the Mississippi region and a separate group in the American Southwest. (2h49m28s)
• The oldest mound builder site is Poverty Point in Louisiana, which features a large pyramid dating back 35,100 years, making it as old as the pyramids in Egypt. (2h50m14s)
• The mound builders, despite constructing their pyramids from earth, created sophisticated structures with clay caps, terraces, and complexes of buildings, indicating a complex society with kings and a hierarchical structure. (2h51m16s)

Columbus (2h54m50s)

• The Columbian Exchange refers to the trade of goods, animals, and diseases between the Old World (Europe) and the New World (Americas) after 1492. (2h55m4s)
• The introduction of European diseases, such as smallpox, measles, and influenza, to the Americas had a devastating impact on the indigenous populations, who lacked immunity. (2h55m29s)
• The death of approximately 90% of the indigenous population in the Americas within the first 50 years of European contact led to a significant loss of knowledge and cultural practices. (2h56m35s)

Vikings (2h59m26s)

• Leif Erikson and his father, Eric the Red, traveled from Greenland to Canada and established a colony at L'Anse aux Meadows in Nova Scotia. (2h59m54s)
• The Vikings were repeatedly attacked by the indigenous Dorset people, who prevented the colony's expansion and ultimately drove the Vikings out. (3h0m29s)
• The speaker believes that the decimation of the indigenous population in South America was a tragedy caused by diseases spread by European explorers, rather than a deliberate act of genocide. (3h1m51s)

Aliens (3h3m35s)

• There is no archaeological proof of aliens visiting Earth. (3h4m13s)
• James Watson, the co-discoverer of DNA, believed that DNA on Earth was too complex to have developed in the time it had and speculated that it may have been seeded from outside of our planet. (3h4m36s)
• Evidence of alien technology would need to be something that appeared suddenly and caused significant changes, such as a mechanical device or a substance not found on Earth. (3h7m3s)

Earth in 10,000 years (3h8m2s)

• Humans may destroy themselves or create technology that makes the world better. (3h8m18s)
• Humans are most innovative when under pressure. (3h10m42s)
• Archaeologists in the future may incorrectly believe that Washington D.C. was built by a combination of Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans based on the architecture. (3h14m21s)

Hope for the future (3h24m12s)

• Humanity will continue to rise to challenges and adapt to overcome them. (3h24m47s)
• Ancient American civilizations should be recognized as part of American history. (3h27m1s)
• A project called "Before the Americas" aims to introduce pre-European contact history into the K through 12 curriculum. (3h27m20s)