Did ancient China and other Old World civilizations reach America before Columbus? Pioneering archaeologist and anthropologist Alice Beck Kehoe, Ph.D., examines the controversial evidence for pre-Columbian culture contact, trans-Pacific voyages, and connections between the ancient Old World and New World.Kehoe reflects on her boundary-breaking career, including decades of work with Indigenous communities and her role as an early voice in Feminist Archaeology. She explains how academic gatekeeping and archaeology’s “fortress mentality” can determine which theories are seriously investigated—and why researchers who challenge accepted history often face professional resistance.The conversation explores ancient seafaring, possible contact between Asia and Mesoamerica, and theories involving the Olmec and Maya. Kehoe also considers the Newport Tower, Kensington Runestone, wheeled toys found in Mesoamerica, Old World animal imagery, and other archaeological mysteries that have fueled debate over who may have reached America before Columbus.The episode also examines Viking and Norse exploration, ancient China, cultural diffusion, and whether ideas and technologies could have traveled across the oceans in both directions. Rather than relying on one artifact as definitive proof, Kehoe argues that archaeology should remain open to cumulative evidence and the possibility of a more interconnected ancient world.Alice Beck Kehoe is the author of Traveling Prehistoric Seas: Critical Thinking on Ancient Transoceanic Voyages.Subscribe to UnderGround for more evidence-based archaeology and ancient mysteries that challenge conventional narratives!#Archaeology #BeforeColumbus #PreColumbian #AncientChina #Mesoamerica #AncientHistory

Explorer, filmmaker, and adventurer Steve Elkins joins UnderGround to tell the extraordinary story behind the discovery of the legendary Lost City of the Monkey God deep within the remote jungles of Honduras.In this episode, Elkins discusses the legend of the White City (AKA, the Lost City of the Monkey God), the pioneering use of LiDAR technology to reveal hidden archaeological sites beneath dense rainforest canopy, the dangers of exploring the Mosquito Coast, encounters with deadly diseases and wildlife, and the archaeological discoveries that transformed our understanding of ancient civilizations in Central America.The conversation explores lost cities, jungle exploration, ancient Honduras, the Lost City of the Monkey God, LiDAR archaeology, unexplored ruins, the Explorers Club, prehistoric migrations, bone tools, trans-Pacific contact theories, scientific discovery, and the enduring human quest to uncover forgotten worlds.#lostcity #monkeygod #honduras #archaeology #exploration #lidar #whitecity #ancientcivilizations #discovery

Archaeologist Todd Surovell, Ph.D., has dropped a bomb on the American archaeological establishment, arguing that Monte Verde in Chile may not be pre-Clovis after all and that the long-debated Clovis First model deserves a fresh look.

Why do fully developed cultures appear so early in South America? Did the first Americans arrive earlier than Clovis or have archaeologists misinterpreted some of the most influential evidence ever discovered?

In this episode of UnderGround, Dr. Surovell joins Michael Arbuthnot to discuss the peopling of the Americas, Clovis culture, Monte Verde, Paleoindian archaeology, archaeological gatekeeping, and the evidence behind one of archaeology's most contentious debates. Dr. Surovell explains why he has revisited Monte Verde, examines the challenges of dating ancient sites, and explores competing models for the colonization of the New World, paradigm shifts in science, and the future of Paleoamerican research.

#archaeology #podcast #history #historydocumentary #historypodcast #iceage