Ancient Apocalypse
Promotional poster
Presented byGraham Hancock
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes8 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producerBruce Kennedy
ProducersClementine Mortelman, Joshua Gray, Rebecca Joy, Marc Tiley
Running time29-34 minutes
Production companyITN Productions
Original release
NetworkNetflix
Release10 November 2022 (2022-11-10)

Ancient Apocalypse is a 2022 Netflix series, where the British writer Graham Hancock presents his pseudoarchaeological theories about the alleged existence of an advanced civilization active during the last ice age.[1][2][3]

Synopsis

In the series, Hancock argues that an advanced ice age civilization was destroyed in a cataclysm, but that its survivors introduced agriculture, monumental architecture and astronomy to hunter-gatherers around the world.[4] He attempts to show how several ancient monuments are evidence of this, and claims that archaeologists are ignoring or covering up this alleged evidence.[1][5] It incorporates ideas from the Comet Research Group, including the controversial Younger Dryas impact hypothesis, which has been comprehensively refuted,[6] and which attributes climate change at the end of the Pleistocene to a massive meteor bombardment.[7]

Production and release

The series was produced by ITN Productions and released by Netflix on 10 November 2022.[8][9] Hancock's son Sean Hancock is "senior manager of unscripted originals" at Netflix.[8]

It was the second most-watched series on Netflix in its week of release.[10]

Episodes

Episodes
Episode number Title Subjects
1 Once There Was a Flood Gunung Padang, Sundaland, Nan Madol
2 Survivor in a Time of Chaos Cholula (Mesoamerican site), Great Pyramid of Cholula, Texcotzingo, Xochicalco
3 Sirius Rising Megalithic Temples of Malta, Malta Cart Ruts, Għar Dalam, Sirius
4 Ghosts of a Drowned World Bimini Road, Piri Reis map of 1513, Shark Island (Bimini)
5 Legacy of the Sages Göbekli Tepe, Karahan Tepe
6 America's Lost Civilization Poverty Point, Serpent Mound, Mound Builders, Clovis culture
7 Fatal Winter Derinkuyu, Kaymakli Underground City, Nevşehir
8 Cataclysm and Rebirth Channeled Scablands, Missoula Floods, Murray Springs Clovis Site, Younger Dryas, Younger Dryas impact hypothesis

Reception

Archaeologists and other experts have described the theories presented in the series as lacking in evidence and easily disproven. The Society for American Archaeology objected to the classification of the series as a documentary and requested that Netflix reclassify it as science fiction,[9][11][12] stating that it:

"repeatedly and vigorously dismisses archaeologists and the practice of archaeology with aggressive rhetoric, willfully seeking to cause harm to our membership and our profession in the public eye; ... the theory it presents has a long-standing association with racist, white supremacist ideologies; does injustice to Indigenous peoples; and emboldens extremists."[9][11]

Andreas Grünschloß describes Hancock as misinterpreting sources to support his own ideas, for example repeating a post-conquest fiction of Quetzalcoatl as a “white” and “bearded” cultural hero (not supported by any pre-Hispanic sources); Hancock is a fiction writer who presents his fiction as a ‘science-like’ publication.[13]

Archaeologist Flint Dibble said the show is "lacking in evidence to support Hancock's theory", while there is "a plethora of evidence" which contradicts the dates Hancock gives.[4] John Hoopes, an archaeologist who has written about pseudoarcheology, said the series fails to present alternative interpretations or evidence contradicting Hancock.[1] In the same vein, archaeologist Julien Riel-Salvatore argues that it is rather simple, from a scientific point of view, to demonstrate that the main theses of Ancient Apocalypse are false. He also believes that the series impairs the ability to discern the true from the biased, the credible from the false.[2] David Connolly, an archaeologist and founder of the website British Archaeological Jobs & Resources, said that Hancock's work relied on cherry-picked evidence for his claims, noting, "So what he'll do is take a piece of real research [by others], insert a piece of 'why not?' and then finish it off with a bit of real research [by others]".[12]

Answering Hancock's claims of a coverup, an article in Slate noted that archaeologists would be thrilled to uncover an ice age civilization, if the evidence really existed.[1] Courrier international calls it dubious that Hancock's assertions are never questioned on screen: in Ancient Apocalypse, he calls the archaeologists "pseudo-experts" and repeats that they treat him patronizingly, but he never quotes their names nor their arguments.[14] Writing in the Guardian, Stuart Heritage suggested that Netflix had "gone out of its way to court the conspiracy theorists" with the series, speculating that Hancock's son's role as head of unscripted originals at the company may explain why it was commissioned.[3]

In one episode, Hancock says the Megalithic Temples of Malta, built in 3600–2500 BC, were actually built during the last ice age. Maltese archaeologists dismissed these claims.[15] Experts in Pacific geography and archaeology have characterised Hancock's claims about Nan Madol as "incredibly insulting to the ancestors of the Pohnpeian [islanders] that did create these structures", linking them to 19th century "racist" and "white supremacist" ideologies.[16] Two archaeologists who were featured in the series, Katya Stroud, a senior curator at Heritage Malta, and Necmi Karul, the director of excavations at Göbekli Tepe, said that their interviews were manipulated and presented out of context.[15][17]

Writing in The Spectator, conservative commentator and climate denier James Delingpole described himself as a "huge fan of Hancock" who finds his ideas plausible, but criticised the series' production for "continually reminding [the viewer] that this is niche, crazy stuff that respectable 'experts' shun" and for portraying Hancock as "slippery and unreliable".[18] Author Jason Colavito said that the series was "not the worst show in its genre, not by a mile", and that it is "an argument against professional scholarship, specialization, and expertise—and the fear that academia is promoting the wrong kind of social change. ... It's no wonder conservatives like [Hancock]."[19]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Onion, Rebecca (18 November 2022). "The Ancient Absurdities of Ancient Apocalypse". Slate. Archived from the original on 12 October 2023. Retrieved 27 December 2023.
  2. 1 2 Riel-Salvatore, Julien (22 November 2022). "Netflix, l'archéologie et l'obscurantisme". Le Devoir (in French). Retrieved 27 December 2023.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  3. 1 2 Heritage, Stuart (23 November 2022). "Ancient Apocalypse is the most dangerous show on Netflix". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 17 December 2023. Retrieved 27 December 2023.
  4. 1 2 Dibble, Flint (18 November 2022). "With Netflix's Ancient Apocalypse, Graham Hancock has declared war on archaeologists". The Conversation. Archived from the original on 6 December 2023. Retrieved 27 December 2023.
  5. ↑ McKie, Robin (27 November 2022). "Lost city of Atlantis rises again to fuel a dangerous myth". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 3 January 2023. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
  6. ↑ Holliday, Vance T.; Daulton, Tyrone L.; Bartlein, Patrick J.; Boslough, Mark B.; Breslawski, Ryan P.; Fisher, Abigail E.; Jorgeson, Ian A.; Scott, Andrew C.; Koeberl, Christian; Marlon, Jennifer; Severinghaus, Jeffrey; Petaev, Michail I.; Claeys, Philippe (December 2023). "Comprehensive refutation of the Younger Dryas Impact Hypothesis (YDIH)". Earth-Science Reviews. Elsevier. 247: 104502. doi:10.1016/j.earscirev.2023.104502. S2CID 260218223.
  7. ↑ Ogden, Leslie Evans (April 2018). "Hot Theory About Cool Event". Natural History. Archived from the original on 8 October 2023. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  8. 1 2 Moore, Kasey (17 October 2022). "Ancient Apocalypse: Graham Hancock to Present Netflix Original Docuseries". What's on Netflix. Archived from the original on 28 November 2023. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
  9. 1 2 3 Benzine, Vittoria (2 December 2022). "Archaeologists Ask Netflix to Reclassify Graham Hancock's 'Unfounded' Netflix Docuseries 'Ancient Apocalypse' as Fiction". Artnet. Archived from the original on 4 June 2023. Retrieved 27 December 2023.
  10. ↑ Mathews, Liam; Surette, Tim; Picurro, Allison; Connolly, Kelly (15 November 2022). "Netflix Top 10 Shows and Movies: New Releases and Trending Today, November 15". TV Guide. Archived from the original on 28 November 2023. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
  11. 1 2 Sandweiss, Daniel H. (30 November 2022). "Dear Ms. Bajaria and Ms. Corp" (PDF). Society for American Archaeology. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2 December 2022. Retrieved 2 December 2022.
  12. 1 2 Doak, Sam (12 January 2023). "Double Check: Are Archaeologists Suppressing Research on a Secret Civilization?". Logically. Archived from the original on 8 October 2023. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
  13. ↑ Grünschloß, Andreas. Unmasking Hegemonial ‘Fingerprints of the Fraud’. Disinformation, Data Manipulation and Discursive Silencing of Native Perspectives in Graham Hancock’s Netflix-Series Ancient Apocalypse. Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, 2023. doi: 10.47952/gro-publ-123
  14. ↑ "Netflix. "À l'aube de notre histoire" : faut-il croire ce que raconte Graham Hancock ?". Courrier International (in French). 16 November 2022. Retrieved 20 November 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  15. 1 2 Arena, Jessica (20 November 2022). "Maltese archaeologists push back against Netflix show's temple claims". Times of Malta. Archived from the original on 7 June 2023. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
  16. ↑ Hodge, Hugo (6 December 2022). "Experts dismiss Netflix's Ancient Apocalypse as 'racist' and 'pseudoscience'". ABC News. Archived from the original on 24 December 2023. Retrieved 27 December 2023.
  17. ↑ Ebbinghaus, Uwe (20 December 2022). "Netflix-Doku über Eiszeit: Wenn Bilder lügen". Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (in German). ISSN 0174-4909. Archived from the original on 6 March 2023. Retrieved 17 January 2023.
  18. ↑ Delingpole, James (7 December 2022). "Fascinating, plausible ideas undermined by Netflix: Ancient Apocalypse reviewed". The Spectator. Archived from the original on 8 October 2023. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
  19. ↑ Colavito, Jason (5 December 2022). "The Strange and Dangerous Right-Wing Freakout Over Ancient Apocalypse". The New Republic. ISSN 0028-6583. Archived from the original on 1 October 2023. Retrieved 27 December 2023.

Further reading

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