America's Most Impressive Ancient Ruins
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- Опубліковано 18 січ 2025
- From those many moons before America became America.
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0:45 - Chapter 1 - Chaco canyon (New Mexico)
3:35 - Chapter 2 - Cahokia mounds illinois
6:10 - Chapter 3 - Bighorn medicine wheel
8:40 - Chapter 4 - Serpent wheel
10:55 - Chapter 5 - Mesa verde cliff dwelling
Thank you!!
I'm sad he didn't mention Chaco's road system. It was insane, and not discovered until Charles Lindbergh flew over the canyon and saw them from above. Chaco really is amazing. I lived in the canyon for a year and changed my life.
There is a more recent, larger study of Serpent Mound than the one in the 90s. A study in 2011 determined that the younger dates found in the 90s were likely due to burrowing animals mixing the soil with restoration performed by the later Fort Ancient culture, who are well known to have moved into the area later and repaired/augmented many Adena/Hopewell mounds.
They found a much more undisturbed section of the mound to date to between 50 BCE and 350 BCE. Talk amongst Ohio archaeological circles seems to make 100 BCE the safest estimate
Thank you!
Pinpointing a date for the construction of Serpent Mound is a huge pain. Lepper and Romain/Hermann have been continuously arguing about it for a few years now. Romain/Hermann favors the earlier Adena-era construction while Lepper favors the later Fort Ancient-era construction. The cultural context of the Serpent Mound makes much more sense as a Fort Ancient monument than it does as an Adena monument. Serpents had minor symbolic importance in Adena artwork - gaining more prominence among the later Hopewell and really taking off with the Mississippians and their contemporaries like the Fort Ancients. Effigy mounds, while rare in Ohio, were also relatively common in the upper Mississippi at the time of the Fort Ancient culture. In Ohio, we only have two that I know of: the Serpent Mound and the "Alligator" Mound (actually represents a Water Panther - but the settlers heard "large predator in the water" and assumed alligator). The Alligator Mound has also been dated to the Fort Ancient era. Romain/Hermann don't really argue that the Alligator Mound was built earlier as well - they tend to either say that it's not really an effigy mound or point out difficulties in dating mound construction - which is kind of the whole point of the debate anyhow.
@reedstilt what are your thoughts on the "eagle" mound within the Newark Earthworks? Is it an effigy mound? Some evidence suggests a longhouse stood just behind the earthworks and the mound was used to obscure the view of the structure from people entering the vast circular mound it stands within. Just revisited the site the other week and am always blown away by its scale and age!
Thank you for this video. So many folks in the U.S. (and elsewhere) have no idea how many impressive ancient structures there are here.
I live 30 minutes north of Cahokia, Illinois. Visited the native site dozens of time, climbed Monks Mound at least a dozen times, attended various events celebrating and educating. They were fascinating people. Monks mound is a sight to behold in person and from the top.
There is something so absolutely soul warming about listening to a Brit discuss the glory that is America. Never change Whistler. Never change.
Agreed!
I especially appreciate the clear derision in your voice when referring to how the colonists treated or have portrayed us "savages." In fact if it weren't for your accent you would almost think it was a cousin speaking.
If it wasn't clear, I'm a native of Turtle Island, a Lenape.
Side note, the river you identified as the Illinois river at 3:50 is actually still theMmississippi. The Illinois river is the one a little further east. Thanks for including Cahokia! The site and the people who lived there deserve much more renown.
Signed,
A St. Louisan.
What exactly has Cahokia done to deserve more reknown? I’ve never heard of it, and I don’t remember him even mentioning it in the video tbh.
@@KelticTim as a local near the mounds, its one of those things that no one really knew about till recently. My dad used to snowboard down monks mound since no one knew what it was. The discovery of the culture changes what we perceived during ancient american culture, as well as changed what we knew about native Americans. Its kinda like finding the missing piece to a puzzle
@@sethnichols6621 what does it’s ancient history have to do with snowboarding down it? At the end of the day it’s a hill, the ppl that used it for a sacred whatever are long gone, and I seriously doubt their bones care what happens on it now.
@@KelticTim i was just using it as an example as to how recent we discovered the true purpose for all the mounds. If you care about ancient history and native American culture. And really just history in general its a big deal
@@sethnichols6621 I don’t disagree at all that it’s a big deal, but I think that using it for recreation is totally fine. I wouldn’t be for leveling it and sticking houses on it, but leaving it as is for current and future generations to enjoy, sounds good to me. I am a tad biased on the subject. My family had a multigenerational farm that was taken from us by eminent domain and turned into a bike path for rich yuppies from the city as part of a state park, all because the minutemen walked across it, and Paul Revere was captured for the second time like 50yds from our property line. I’m sorry but the minutemen walked all over the damn state, and yuppies can go ride their bikes in traffic for all of me. Some parts of history are worth preserving, others not so much. That’s just a hill that stopped being used for its original purpose a very long time ago. Let’s not go overboard with what it means now. It’s a hill.
Native ohioan here: the mouth of the serpent mound corresponds with the rising sun of the summer solstice and the curves are believed to correspond with the lunar cycles with the apex of the curves being full or new moons
Live in Madeira, about 40 minutes away. First time I was at Ft Ancient I was 8 or 9. Serpent Mound looked like a grassy hill and I thought what's the big deal? THEN my parents told me how old it was.
"Native Ohioan"
(Don't ask if they know Knowledgehub, don't ask if they know Knowledgehub) 😁
@@jim874 this reminds me of my experience at Castle Island in Boston. "Buncha stone walls, whoopie" "war was fought here" "awesome" lmao. Kids are weird. Glad I never grew up 😂
@@dudepool7530 unfortunately KnowledgeHub and AlternateH istory Hub live pretty far from the mounds (200+ miles) haha. Those two live up in like the Northwest corner of the state and most of the earthworks are in the southern part of state, near like Chillicothe and Hillsboro, down to the Ohio River and Kentucky
Something interesting I heard about the serpent mounds was that records indicate that when the native americans got that far east, the mounds were already there and had no idea who built them
I’m from Ohio and my dad & I took a 2 week trip driving around the state when I was a kid. I thought it was stupid. I’m from Ohio , there is nothing here. Well when I saw the serpent mound my outlook on my state changed. What a great road trip.
Mesa Verde is a beautiful place to visit.
It really is amazing. A number of fires have unfortunately gone through the area over the past few decades, but the area is still gorgeous, and the complexes are fascinating to tour.
@@dlarsh I went December 2019. I was still shock to see how much was still burnt on the mesa. With fresh snow on the ground it was both a beautiful and harrowing sight to see. I’ll have to go back in the spring to explore the areas closed off in the winter
I went probably 20 years ago, and those cliffs make the buildings look small from a distance but they are really BIG.
Yeah, just be aware that it's at like, 6000 ft, so if you live near sea-level, humping down to the ruins and back up can be pretty taxing. Take a lot of water...
@@bike-cave-man2527 Construction started in the 1190s, not the 190s, so a little bit off with the Romans... It was actually the age of castles and grand cathedrals in Europe during the time, for example “Durham Cathedral” in Northern England was complete 60 years before anything had even started at Mesa Verde (built between 1093-1133 - although a few gothic additions were added, such as a rose window, in the 1200s and the central tower had to be replaced during the late 1300s), it also sits right next to a castle and bridge of the same age - all listed together as a UNESCO world heritage site. Of course this does not take away from Mesa Verde in any way, just puts it in perspective.
I'd love to see a sister video of this for ancient ruins in Mexico like Chichén Itzá, the Great Pyramid of Cholula, Teotihuacan, and Tulum.
Most of those could be mega projects!
He’s done videos for just about all of those on his diff channels.
@@xyzpdq1122 those videos mostly exist
They're finding ruins in the Amazon as well
I too would like to see a video of the Great Jug of Khalua.....
It's cool seeing my home state represented in one of these videos of Illinois. I got to walk those very steps and lived getting to hear about the ancient inhabitants when I was young.
I visited Mesa Verde on a road trip from Denver, Colorado to San Diego, California when I was about twelve years old.
A while back I did suggest Mesa Verde. Thank you Simon.
Suggestion: The steel mills of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. I was born there, and both my grandfathers worked in the mills during the 1930's, 1940's and 1950's.
Another suggestion: The migration of African Americans from the South to the more industrialized North. That's how my grandpas ended up as steel workers, seeking a better life and to raise families.
Thank you again Simon!
I've been to both Chaco and Mesa Verde. I also visited Moundville in Alabama. I love those abandoned and rather mysterious ruins in the U.S. Honestly, I love ruins and if I were younger and healthier, I'd visit more.
Being a native of southern Indiana, I am aware of "lesser" serpent mounds as well... There was one near Holton Indiana (since destroyed by an archeology dig) and another near Cincinnati (now a rock quarry lies in its place). It is unfortunate to see any site erased in such a way, but even worse when we have yet to understand their meaning and purpose.
At least Angel Mounds in Newburgh was protected.
Dude I'm so happy to see Cahokia here! I live a few minutes away and I've been there many many times. The on-site museum is great too!
Anasazi is Navajo in origin, and means “ancient enemy.”
I was going to say that ! 😜😆😂
the navajo and other tribes all have stories of people before them, and waring with them. They were colonizers like the rest of the world. not meaning that in the judge-mental way it is used now days.
@Iconoclast the Navajo are part of the Athapaskan people who migrated across the Bering land bridge. The Anasazi were part of the Pueblo people. When the Navajos arrived in the southwest the Pueblo people had already begun abandoning their settlements
@@tannerbenally489 actually there’s evidence that Navajos arrived when the Anasazi were still in the area. They were actually second class and actually traded with them.
I'd love to see a video, probably on Geographics to be fair, on the Amazon rainforest being a man-made archaeological artifact. It sounds wacky, but archaeologists have found a lot of evidence to back this theory up and it is truly fascinating.
Thanks. Having grown up in the South West US, I know of some of these, but not all.
I lived in new mexico when I was a kid. I remember going to chaco canyon on a school trip. Also ghost ranch. Damn
I love the way you pronounce Saskatchewan, Simon. Much more pleasing to the ear than how we Canadians say it.
Thank you for another stellar video!
Love this channel together with the Megaproject channel.
Would you consider to do a piece on the Tempels in Abu Simpel or the rather the moving of them in the 1960ies.
Just watched a doc about Chaco Canyon. Seems like a very good case for widespread cannibalism at the site.
Human bones had been smashed down to a size that fit in stewpots, nothing was wasted.
Loved this!
A video on Kirkbride insane asylums would be neat. They're huge and architecturally unique. Probably not a mega project, but they might qualify here. 🙂
History Channel: "We don't know who built this structures, so it must have been ancient aliens."
The Grand Canyon is also man made! 👍👍👍🇨🇦🇺🇸🇨🇦🇺🇸
@@rustyass9736 Maybe. But New York was made by aliens!
But then who built the aliens?
We are the aliens
A pool of blood spreads into the room from the gap at the bottom of a door and Giorgio Tsoukolos grows from it at an impossible speed. "Yes, my child, it can be no other way"
After binging way too much Business Blaze, I’ll never be able to look at your other channels in the same light.
Allegedly... :P
One can never have too much Blaze! LOL I get it tho
It's okay. It seems to be slipping into the others a little here, and there.
Serpent Mound is a well recognized site around the world. Ohio has other sites that need more recognition, such as sites included in the potential Unesco Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks. In particular, Octagon Mound in Newark Ohio, which tracks the 18.6 year lunar cycle, and is in a battle for eminent domain between the property owner (Ohio History Connection) and the 100 year lease holder Moundbuilders Country Club. While the mound is "preserved" it is preserved as part of a golf course and limited public access is holding up the UNESCO designation for the other sites included in the Hopewell Ceremonial Complex that are spread across Ohio.
My favorite is Aztec National Ruins with the only restored Kiva. Situated between Chaco and Mesa Verde.
Some things I didn't know about here. Thank you! 👍🏻
Actually, the snow _never_ melts in Wyoming (6:23), It just blows around until it wears out.
I heard the wind stopped blowing in Wyoming once. Everyone fell down…
Star gazing in Chaco Canyon is absolutely amazing!!!!
Would love to hear more of these
I've been to Chaco Canyon. It is pretty cool.
Pretty? How about extraordinaryly amazing!
Here's a suggestion for a side projects video: I think your viewers would enjoy knowing a bit more about Simon Whistler. Things like where you're from, where you attended school, how you got this gig, and so on.
I love how every one correcting Simons pronunciation has a different pronunciation..
It’s dumb people wanting to pretend to be smart. Even if it’s just for one moment
Oh I was really hoping you were going to cover the America's Stonehenge in New Hampshire. Still, great work, thank you!
Walnut Canyon, 8+/- miles east of Flagstaff, Arizona, is AWESOME! You should do a video on that & " Two Guns"!! NEVER CHANGE!!
5:35 and yes. He was an attorney at law
That is how I will pronounce Saskatchewan from this day forward.
Same. We live in Ontario, but have family out west, so I will try to work it into conversation as often as possible. 🇨🇦😂
Such remarkable architectural antiquities please make more films about this hemisphere
Excellent video. Thanks. Since you often appreciate when people help your pronunciations along, so I hoped I could help with "Saskatchewan.' As someone born here, as were my parents as well (etc.), we don't really say the vowels (Ssktchwn). Hope that helps. 😁
I’ve been at ruins all over the southwest. The sun angels were considered by the anasazi during winter the sun shines on the ruins almost all day. The summer is shaded. The rock used in the ruins is volcanic ash. The ash was a few thousand degrees and hundreds of feet thick. Pumice and other volcanic rocks covered the ash flow while still hot. The ash welded to form a soft rock the natives carved into the rock and built stone front rooms. Zero of the living arias faces more than a few degrees off of south. I have visited over two hundred sights. Zero is located in north shade. The places are warm in winter. Only a tiny fire was needed to be cozy. I’ve slept in one. Just like home. I never zipped up my sleeping bag. It was January first.
I live right next to the cahokia mounds and it's amazing how many people dont know about its history
There was a Mounds site near Evansville, IN. Went there several times during school for trips.
I’ve been wavering from being a legend... I confess, I’ve been watching other channels. But I always come back to you.
That Saskatchewan pronunciation! :) @6:45
It’s pronounced “Ka-hoe-kia” there is no long “a”. The coolest thing for me when I went there was climbing up the highest pyramid and seeing the “wood hinge”. At Chaco Canyon I found seeing hand prints in the mud bricks fascinating. Climbing up to see the petro glyphs fun and getting over to see the glyphs pretty scary as they are high up on the wall of the canyon. Both are worth trip to go see them.
I got to look at broken ancient pottery. It was so amazing to see the potters finger prints from so long ago.
The birdman stone looks like Birdperson from Rick and Morty.
Phoenixperson: Chief PP
Chaco redefines the notion of “Pueblo”. The impression of disaster is inescapable.
You should do a side projects on the Harland and Wolff cranes (Samson and Goliath) in Belfast
Please cover Dunbar Cave State Park. Dunbar Cave is amazing!! And people can take tours!
Here in Illinois there are remains of an old Native American built stone wall that is estimated to be around 1,500 years old. It is a few feet high and is basically just a long pile if rocks now lol. It is way in the southern tip of the state in the Shawnee National Forest, it’s pretty cool.
Its in giant city correct?
Occam's razor suggests that the Great Serpent Mount was a mini golf course
Mesa Verde is in southwest Colorado.
Couple corrections. Mesa Verde is in South west Colorado. Also the cliff dwellings were shaded in the heat of summer (sun high in the sky) and the sun lower in the winter allowed the sun in to help heat them in the colder weather.
Mississippian mounds can be found in Wisconsin, at Aztalan State Park, about mid way between Milwaukee and Madison. There is a large mound there that looks similar to Monks Mound in, Cahokia, Illinois, as well as other smaller mounds covering around 120 acres.
There is also effigy mounds throughout wi like the ones by the horicon marsh and some over by westbend
New Mexico, Texas, Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, Florida, And Calorado have some of the nicest left overs
And most train wreck people 😂😂😂
fyi I subscribed some time ago and today noticed I wasn't. So did it again. Do one about the "Minorcans" of St. Augustine and New Smyrna, Florida. Thanx.
video suggestions! Levee system fore the Mississippi River. Or even just New Orleans. I remember the 17th street flood. Remember pumping stations not being able to keep up with the rain. And even saw a car accidently drive into a canal because of flooding.
Oh I miss New Orleans. The place I lived for so many years in my youth.
Simon the sun drops closer to the southern horizon in winter, putting direct sunlight into the entire structure of the Mesa Verde cliff dwellings, plus the fact that they are kinda under the freeze line, it's just hard to drive to them in winter lol
I remember when i went to Mesa verde as this was before the area started to become unstable that most areas you could no longer visit unless on a tour. went to all of the places there very cool my suggestion is try to make it out there as quick as you can when most of the places are open for tours because it is very neat as this place will soon need a lot of up keep to stay standing and they might just block most of it off
I can't believe that learning about these sites and cultures isn't made a standard US school system curriculum... It should be at least part of the national identity, as much as ancient Rome is part of Italy's, or the Edo period for Japan
Almost everything I learned about America man History in Elementary School from 1840-1890 is a complete bullshit lie. Lol
But that would be like teaching real American history, and as we all know it's written by the victors, hence leaving out the mass theft of land, manipulative treaties giving natives smaller and more desolate patches of barren land while taking the fertile farmland, large-scale, practically endless warfare pushing them further and further out of their ancestral territories, and the rapid rampage of the diseases brought over to which they had no immunity driving their populations to near extinction. In short, acknowledging the truth of what settlers did to Native Americans - steal their lands, and commit genocide on their people. And then, viewing the consequences for themselves: going on a field trip to a reservation today and teaching the kids about how high crime rates are, particularly alcoholism, rape, domestic violence, homicide, and missing people. Funny how that's not generally taught to school children yet every kid everywhere knows all about, say, WW2. The double standard is shockingly palpable.
ya lets teach kids about all the 562 tribes that existed in america. makes total sense. who cares about the world shaping cultures. you want to learn specialized things, thats what college is for or videos like these
Thier cultures we’re world shaping you racist @@TheHikeChoseMe
I love super close to Chaco Canyon! It’s so amazing!
I worked at Chaco and Aztec Ruins NPS...It was pretty awesome
A modern project is near the Columbia River on I70 across the river from Vantage WA. Grandfather Cuts Loose the Ponies is an amazing artwork. I'm certain sure if there are archaeologists a 1000 years from now, they will discuss the possible meaning of the display.
It's about a 2 hour drive southwest to go to Chaco and about a 2 hour drive north to Mesa Verde from where I live. There are many smaller ruins between them that are very well preserved like Aztec Ruins or Salmon Ruins ten minutes away from me.
I've been to all of these sites . I've spent the night in or near each of these places. You can feel something moving near you. And at night you can hear voices in your ears!
I went to cohokia mounds twice, once on a field trip and another time on my own. Pretty interesting place, and a definite stop if you have the misfortune of being in the ST. Louis area.
I live in STL and Cahokia is amazing to visit! :]
That accent can make even Saskatchewan sound fancy.
just to norms
lol can only pronounce it right if you live there
I’ve been to most of these! It’s so cool!!!!!
Suggestion attempt #15 : The Rideau canal in Ottawa, Canada please. 👍
I always appreciate the way he gives he distinction "discovered *by non-natives*"
There are dozens in the four corners area worthy of mentioning such as Walnut Creek in Arizona and the Taos Pueblo, Poverty Point in Louisiana is a 3400 year old World Heritage Site. You have barely scratched the surface of our impressive ruins
Chaco is an awesome place to check out
Love the cadence on Saskatchewan.
Funny thing about serpent mound. Compasses don't work near the eye or egg. We just spend round and round. Been there several times
Suggestion: The South African nuclear weapons program. They’re the only nation so far to develop nuclear weapons, and then give them all up.
Vela incident - Joint SA/Israel nuke test over Antarctic Ocean
Wait seriously??? That I wanna know
@@spritemon98 short story. apartheid government made nukes and when apartheid was nearing its end, they decided they didnt want black people to have nukes.
@@kmakumane258 a wise decision
@@TS-jm7jm not really, mostly just racist.
5:23 Epic fail, thats woodhenge in Wiltshire, England, spitting distance from stonehenge lol.
Some nice Information. One comment. The general sense of the organized prehistory of North America that the viewer might take away is that it is recent, within the last 1000-2000 years old. Yet there is a mound building city at Poverty Point, La that dates to around 1000BC and some medicine wheels about as old (medicine wheels are difficult to date as you point out without much organic remains and with use over long periods).
Please see the Meadowcroft Rock Shelter near Washington Pa, Very likely the oldest site in north america, Pre dates the clovis site by a lot
Anasazi is actually a misnomer. The Navajo who occupy the areas surrounding Chaco and Mesa Verde call them “nihínazázi” (roughly translating to ‘our ancestors’).
Richard Wetherill was the person excavating Chaco and coined the term Anasazi, but what he was hearing was the Navajo name given to him, “anasání” (roughly translating to ‘old bastard’) since Wetherill was essentially a grave robber.
dam say "Saskatchewan" again pls. lol that was just so great, i laughed so hard i shot milk out of my nose !
He cant pronounce place names from anywhere in the world correctly.
@@jsnsk101 well to be fair , not really wrong .....just really really funny
Yeah, sounds so much different than "WhendowegettoAlberta".
He likes to have fun with pronunciation of all kinds of places. By coincidence, he pronounced it in proper French and what would sound like really old-timey Nehiyiwewin.
@@katherinegilks3880 France or Qc french? Qc french say it just like the rest of us ,with the Qc accent , Regional Cree, I don't really know. But day to day regional english, yeah nobody here pronounces the world like that. For what locals I've shown this was really amusing
Do the Oroville dam history and failure
You should look into The American Stonehenge.
I live a couple hours from Chaco and Mesa Verde. Before my health went to shit, we would go hike Chaco on thanksgiving and christmas. Good memories.
Do a video over lesser known pyramids around the world including the one in indonesia
Dear Mr. Whistler: FIRST: The world looks better today as President J. B. Biden Rules/Reigns this American Empire! SECOND: As a Jew, I am nominating you and that PHANTASTIC crew you have for Sainthood because of this PHANTASTIC SideProject on the First Peoples of Here. I lived in New Mexico for about 17 years and my goodness what a show!
THIRD: All appropriate love and Highest of honor and respect for this wonderful program.
Warmly, Yada, Yada, Yada, And your sponsors are in good hands! and, PPS, I will check out your podshow, once I figure out how.
Sad to see Poverty Point didn't make the list. While there's some evidence Cohokia was originally occupied around the same times period, it's firmly established the earthworks and mounds at Poverty Point were constructed over 3000 years ago.
What sets it apart is that it was built by primarily hunter/gatherers, manually constructed using hand-woven baskets to transport soil & rocks to craft each of the elevated ridges & depressions.
It's also a UNESCO World Heritage Site & located close to the Mississippi River.
Lol, yeah the Spring Thaw does come late in Wyoming 😸
It be cold in Wyoming.
Remembers visiting family there: No duh.
At least you have something to look at. In Minnesota, it's even colder, and much less pretty.
I went to Chaco..AMAZING place.
Good work Simon. Perhaps a side project on the little known pyramids of China.
I can remember visiting the serpent mounds in Ohio when I was a kid in elementary school. Pretty cool place to see.
Check out Poverty Point in Louisiana. 3400 year old Mound and multiple unique C-shaped Ridges design. Some believe it may be North America's first known city.
i'v visited mesa verde, really cool place.
I have been to Mesa Verde when I lived nearby in Farmington, New Mexico. There are also ruins in Aztec, New Mexico I have visited as well.
Don't forget Salmon in Bloomfield. Some (Leske) believe chacoans left the canyon to build aztec
The ruins in Aztec, NM are well worth visiting. They are unusual in that they are not "cliff dwellings" but large stone structures build near the Animas River on relatively level ground, in that way somewhat similar to the constructions in Chaco Canyon. There is also a modern reconstruction of a large kiva that provides an experience of what it may have been like when in use.
You’ll have to cover the effigy mounds in Colorado
I thought I was familiar with all of these, but I had not heard of the Wyoming medicine wheel or the Serpent Mound.