Are There Lost Alien Civilizations in Our Past?
Summary
TLDR本视频剧本探讨了地球历史上可能存在的外星文明,以及它们可能留下的痕迹。从地质时间尺度来看,人类文明仅占地球历史的极小部分。剧本分析了三种可能的文明阶段:狩猎采集者、农业社会和工业文明,以及它们可能留下的遗迹。尽管人类文明对地球产生了巨大影响,但这些影响在数百万年后可能变得难以察觉。目前,我们还没有发现任何工业外星文明的证据。剧本提醒我们,文明的延续并非必然,如果我们不小心,我们也可能永远消失。
Takeaways
- 🌌 我们通常在广阔的宇宙中寻找外星文明,但可能忽略了时间这个同样广阔的维度。
- 🕵️♂️ 科学上提出疑问,在过去数亿年间,是否有其他文明在地球上存在过。
- 🌏 地球上的生命存在了40亿年,而复杂的多细胞生物出现在大约5.4亿年前的寒武纪大爆发。
- 🔍 我们只能通过研究我们自己的文明来推测可能存在的本土外星文明。
- 🕰️ 人类文明的历史分为三个阶段:97%的时间是狩猎采集者,2.9%是农民,0.1%是工业者。
- 🏞️ 从地质时间尺度上看,即使是最坚固的事物也会失去其耐久性,最古老的地表仅180万年。
- 🔨 人类狩猎采集者文明留下的遗迹非常少,很难找到。
- 🌾 农业社会留下了更多的遗迹,因为它们使用更复杂的工具,并且需要养活大量人口。
- 🏛️ 古代的建筑或纪念碑,如金字塔,可能会存在数十万年。
- 🏭 工业文明对地球的影响比我们的祖先大得多,可能会在地质记录中留下痕迹数百万年。
- 🚫 到目前为止,我们还没有发现任何工业外星文明的证据,如奇怪的化学物质层或放射性层。
- 🌱 如果一个工业社会足够可持续,它在地质记录上的痕迹可能很小,我们可能永远无法知道它们。
- 🚨 文明的延续不是必然的,如果我们不小心,我们可能会永远消失。
Q & A
地球历史上可能存在过其他文明吗?
-根据剧本内容,地球历史上可能存在过其他文明。生命在地球上存在了40亿年,大部分时间是单细胞生物,直到大约5.4亿年前寒武纪大爆发标志着动物时代的到来。这为我们所谓的“本土外星人”提供了巨大的时间窗口。
我们如何寻找可能存在的本土外星人?
-我们可以从自身文明出发,寻找可能存在的本土外星人。例如,我们可以寻找他们留下的身体残骸、武器、工具甚至艺术作品。但是,由于生物和地质过程的影响,这些证据可能很难找到。
人类历史上有哪些阶段?
-根据剧本,人类历史上有三个阶段:狩猎采集者阶段占97%,农民阶段占2.9%,工业阶段占0.1%。
为什么我们认为地球上没有其他文明存在过?
-剧本中提到,如果在过去几百万年中存在过其他文明,我们很可能会找到他们留下的东西,例如化石或遗迹。但是,至今我们还没有发现任何证据表明存在过其他文明。
农业社会和帝国外星人会留下什么遗迹?
-农业社会和帝国外星人会留下更多可以挖掘和发现的遗迹,因为他们使用更复杂的工具,制造了更多的食物,发展了技术,如写作、导航、建筑和政府。他们的建筑或纪念碑可能仍然存在,并且可以被未来的考古学家识别。
工业文明外星人会留下什么遗迹?
-工业文明外星人可能会留下更持久的遗迹,如我们人类现在所做的那样。我们对地球的影响比我们的祖先大得多,例如,我们使用大量的人造肥料,开采金属,排放塑料到海洋,还有放射性元素和非自然元素的积累。
为什么我们还没有发现工业文明外星人的证据?
-剧本中提到,如果我们还没有发现工业文明外星人的证据,可能是因为他们没有存在过,或者他们的可持续发展方式在地质记录上留下的痕迹很小,以至于我们很难发现。
剧本中提到了哪些可能的本土外星人文明?
-剧本中提到了几种可能的本土外星人文明,包括狩猎采集者外星人、农业和帝国外星人,以及工业文明外星人。但是,这些都是基于假设和推测,没有实际的证据支持。
为什么说我们的文明的延续不是被保证的?
-剧本中提到,如果我们不小心,我们的文明可能会消失,就像其他可能存在的文明一样。这提醒我们,文明的延续需要我们不断地努力和维护。
剧本中提到的“人类世”是什么?
-剧本中提到的“人类世”是指人类活动对地球环境产生显著影响的地质时代。在人类世,我们的活动已经改变了地球的面貌,如果我们突然消失,这些影响可能会在地质记录中留下痕迹。
为什么说我们不应该用想象来欺骗自己?
-剧本中提到,我们不应该因为我们没有证据反对某件事就假设它发生了。这是一种我们应该避免的陷阱,因为它可能导致我们对未知的事物做出错误的假设。
Outlines
🌌 时间维度中的外星文明
在思考外星文明时,我们常常将目光投向广袤的宇宙和遥远的星球,但往往忽略了时间这一维度。视频提出,在过去数亿年间,地球上可能存在过其他文明,它们可能已经灭绝,而它们的遗迹可能就埋藏在我们的脚下。科学对此有何说法?地球生命存在了40亿年,直到约5.4亿年前的寒武纪大爆发才迎来了动物时代,为我们提供了一个巨大的时间窗口来寻找这些“本土外星人”。然而,我们只能以人类文明作为参考。解剖学上的现代人类大约在30万年前出现,最初以小规模的狩猎采集者群体形式存在,直到大约1万年前农业革命彻底改变了我们的生活方式,带来了人口的大幅增长和技术进步。人类历史的300,000年可以分为三个阶段:97%的时间作为狩猎采集者,2.9%作为农民,0.1%作为工业者。尽管如此,从地质时间尺度来看,即使是最坚固的事物也会失去其耐久性。如果存在过其他经历了这三个阶段的外星文明,它们会留下什么痕迹?通过观察我们自己,我们能从这些“本土外星人”身上学到什么?
🏺 农业与帝国外星人的遗迹
视频接着讨论了农业社会留下的遗迹,因为它们使用了更复杂的工具,需要养活数百万人口,因此留下了更多的文物。农业使得人类能够专业化,发展了从写作到导航、建筑和政府等技术。几千年来,城邦变成了王国和帝国,有些存在了数千年后才衰落。许多建筑或纪念碑至今仍然存在,未来数千年它们的痕迹仍将存在。例如,金字塔是由如此巨大的石灰石构成,可能还会存在数十万年。由于我们农业和帝国时期的人类数量更多,我们可以预期会有更多的化石和文物可以被探测到,可能在它们消失前的几百万年内。因此,我们可以有信心地说,在最近几百万年内没有存在过这样的本土外星文明,否则我们会发现他们留下的东西。尽管如此,从复杂生命出现的数百万年时间窗口仍然存在,我们可能无法分辨。如果存在过前工业社会的外星帝国,它们的工具,甚至是先进的金属,都会腐烂。如果它们挖掘运河、清理森林、建造城市,它们的痕迹将很难与自然区分开来。也许曾经有一个头足类动物的帝国,占据了沼泽和湖泊中令人印象深刻的城市,由木头和石头建造。它们的工程师淹没土地建造湿地城市,它们的诗人用色彩的语言吟诵诗歌。也许它们从未工业化——也许它们的社会太稳定或不够创新,或者它们从未有机会。像小行星、流行病或冰河时代这样的单一事件可能会抹去它们的文明,将他们的寺庙碾碎,它们的软体腐烂。遗憾的是,我们没有关于任何此类文明的微小证据。几百万年后,它们的成就将化为乌有。
⚙️ 工业外星人的地质印记
视频最后探讨了工业文明,如今天的人类,如果突然灭绝,会留下什么。我们对地球的影响比我们的祖先大得多。化石记录将显示野生动物的大灭绝和与人类相关的动物,如老鼠、牛、猪和鸡的化石激增。像我们祖先的结构一样,摩天大楼和街道以及硬盘基本上会在几千年内崩溃成虚无。但由于到处都是如此多的人类,在我们的突然结束之后的几百万年内,将有我们存在的明确迹象。我们工业生活方式的副产品可能会在数亿年内真正暴露我们。我们大量使用人工肥料,这改变了地球氮的流动,正在土壤中沉积。开采金属和稀土元素留下了长期疤痕,并耗尽了自然资源。我们用塑料饱和了我们的海洋,这些塑料最终会到达海底,并可能持续数亿年。还有放射性元素及其衰变,不存在于实验室或武器之外的元素的不自然积累。当然,在我们短暂的工业历史中,我们通过燃烧大量化石燃料,改变了空气中二氧化碳的比例,增加了海洋的酸度等。我们可能已经在地质记录中留下了痕迹。到目前为止,我们还没有发现任何工业外星文明的痕迹。没有奇怪的化学物质层或元素位移。没有放射性层表明曾经有伟大的国家发动了核战争。我们看到大规模灭绝和化石记录的大规模变化,但没有证据表明它们不是自然发生的。而讽刺的是,我们在这里遇到了一个有趣的问题:如果工业社会对生态系统的压力足以导致它们自己的灭绝,它们就不会存在那么长时间。但如果它们变得可持续,它们在地质记录上的痕迹可能是微小的。如果过去的工业文明在灭亡之前是可持续的,我们可能几乎没有机会了解它们。无论如何,数亿年后,这些迹象可能会变得非常微妙,并被忽视或被解释为自然现象。即使200万年前存在一个工业化的外星社会,持续了100,000年,比工业人类长300倍,它在地质记录中仍然可能很容易被忽略。无论如何,所有这些都是推测。最后,我们不应该用我们的想象力欺骗自己,认为我们对我们的盲点了解任何东西。仅仅因为缺乏反对它的证据就假设某件事发生了,这是一个我们应该避免的陷阱。所以,目前,如果我们看看时间的广阔,它似乎和空间的广阔一样没有外星人。也许我们在这个宇宙中一直是孤独的。也许我们最终会找到其他人的痕迹,我们不知道。但有一个重要的收获:
🌱 文明的持续并非必然
文明的延续并不是保证的,如果我们不小心,我们可能会永远消失。希望在几百万年后,不会有另一个文明在化石记录中研究我们的层。
Mindmap
Keywords
💡外星文明
💡时间维度
💡寒武纪大爆发
💡人类文明
💡农业革命
💡工业文明
💡地质时代
💡化石记录
💡人类影响
💡自我反思
Highlights
我们通常在广阔的太空中寻找外星文明,但可能忽略了时间这个维度。
地球上可能存在过数百万年的土著技术文明,它们的存在和遗迹可能被埋藏在我们脚下。
地球上的生命存在了40亿年,直到5.4亿年前寒武纪大爆发,动物时代来临。
我们只有人类这一个文明可以参考,人类文明的历史可以划分为三个阶段:狩猎采集者、农民和工业者。
在地质时间尺度上,即使是最坚固的事物也会失去耐久性,最古老的地表只有180万年历史。
如果存在过其他经历了这三个阶段的外星文明,它们留下的遗迹会是什么?
在过去的几百万年中,存在过狩猎采集者外星人,例如直立人、尼安德特人或丹尼索瓦人。
农业社会留下了更多可以挖掘和发现的东西,因为他们使用更复杂的工具,留下了更多的文物。
农业使得人类可以专业化,发展了从写作到导航、建筑和政府的技术。
许多建筑物或纪念碑至今仍然存在,未来几千年内仍将存在。
金字塔等建筑可能在未来几十万年内仍然存在。
我们有信心在过去几百万年内没有存在过本土外星文明,否则我们会发现他们留下的东西。
如果存在过前工业社会的外星帝国,他们可能已经消失得无影无踪,他们的工具和建筑痕迹很难与自然区分。
工业文明,如今天的人类,对地球的影响比我们的祖先大得多。
我们的工业生活方式的副产品可能会在数亿年内暴露我们的存在。
我们还没有发现任何工业外星文明的痕迹,例如奇怪的化学物质层或放射性层。
如果工业社会因为过度压力导致自身灭绝,它们不会存在太久。但如果它们变得可持续,它们在地质记录上的痕迹可能很小。
即使200万年前存在一个持续了10万年的工业化外星社会,它在地质记录中也可能很容易被忽视。
我们不应该用我们的想象力来欺骗自己,认为我们知道关于我们盲点的任何事情。
也许我们在这个宇宙中一直是孤独的,也许我们最终会找到其他人的痕迹,我们不知道。
但有一个重要的启示:我们文明的延续并不是保证的,如果我们不小心,我们可能会永远消失。
Transcripts
When we think about alien civilizations we tend to look into the vastness of space,
to far away planets. But there is another
incredibly vast dimension that we might be giving too little thought to: time.
Could it be that over the last hundreds of millions of years,
other civilizations existed on earth? Indigenous technological species that
rose and died out? And that they or their artifacts are buried beneath
our feet? What does science have to say about this and what are the implications for us?
Life on earth has existed for 4 billion years, mostly as single celled organisms
until some 540 million years ago the Cambrian explosion heralded the age of animals. A huge
time window for our indigenous aliens. Where would we look for them and what could we hope to find?
Sadly we have only one civilization to look at: Ourselves.
Anatomically modern humans emerged around 300,000 years ago and probably lived in small
groups of hunter gatherers, slowly spreading around the world. Progress was slow and our
lifestyle did not change much, although there may have been local bursts of complexity.
Until about 10,000 years ago, when the agricultural revolution changed
our lifestyle forever, enabling massive population growth and technological progress.
Rather than just animals with culture and tools that would have been invisible from space,
we changed the face of the planet, cleared forests and
constructed cities and temples for our gods at breathtaking speeds and scales.
Until about 300 years ago, we became an industrial species and yet again
our numbers grew exponentially as did our impact on the planet.
We could say that our 300,000 year long history has three phases:
We were hunter gatherers for 97%, farmers for 2.9% and industrialists for 0.1% of our history.
And yet we are super new on earth.
On geological timescales, even the sturdiest things lose their durability. The oldest large
scale surface is in the Negev Desert, a meager 1.8 million years old. Everything older has been
crushed to dust or turned over and it is either below the ground, or covered by ice or ocean.
Our age, the Anthropocene will be a layer only a few centimeters thick in a few million years.
If there were aliens before us and they too went through these three phases,
what would remain of them? What can we learn about indegnous aliens by looking at ourselves?
Hunter & Gatherer Aliens
We actually know that in the last few million years, there were hunter gatherers aliens.
Our ancestors like Homo Erectus and cousins like the Neanderthals or Denisovans and probably many
more that we haven’t found yet or are lost to time forever. They left fragments of their bodies,
of weapons and tools and even art. Considering how long they existed and how little remains of them,
although they lived not that far from our present it is easy to think there have been others.
Intelligent animals like us that could talk and use tools and fire, that had culture and art. For
the last two million years, most hominins lived as hunter-gatherers – so if these aliens never moved
up higher on the tech tree, hundreds of different species and cultures could have existed without
leaving any traces. Their artifacts lost to biological and then geological processes.
At worst they would leave absolutely nothing to be found after thousands of years.
But what about fossils? We talked about how unlikely the process of fossilization is in more
detail in our dinosaur video, but in a nutshell, per hundred thousand years of earth's history
we only get a handful of good fossils. So we might easily just miss fossils of such people – but even
if we had any, we would not necessarily be able to identify them as hunter gatherers.
Agricultural and Empire Aliens
Looking at humans again, agricultural societies left much more to be dug up and found,
because they used more sophisticated tools made from sturdier materials and had to feed millions,
leaving many more artifacts. Farming allowed them to specialize and develop tech
from writing to navigation, architecture and government. Over thousands of years city
states became kingdoms and empires, some existing for millennia before they fell.
Many of the buildings or monuments they constructed are still around
and traces of them will exist for a few thousand more years. Some only as outlines in the ground,
but still recognizable to future archaeologists. The pyramids are piles of limestone so massive
that they will probably be around for hundreds of thousands of years. And because of the
greater numbers of humans that lived during our farm and empire period, we can expect way more
fossils and artifacts to be detectable, maybe for a few million years before they vanish.
So we can say with confidence that no such indigenous alien civilization existed in the
last few million years because otherwise we would have found something that they left.
This still leaves a window of hundreds of millions of years, back to the emergence of complex life,
where we would not be able to tell. If there were alien pre industrial societies and empires on the
level of the ancient Romans or Chinese, they would have likely disappeared without a trace. Their
tools, even advanced metals, would have rotted away. If they dug up canals, cleared forests and
built cities, their traces would be very hard to distinguish from nature. Maybe there once was an
empire of cephalopods occupying impressive cities in swamps and lakes, made from wood and stone.
Their engineers flooding land to build wet cities, their poets reciting poems in a language of
colors. Maybe they never industrialized – maybe their society was too stable or not inventive
enough or they never got a chance. A single event like an asteroid, an epidemic or an ice age
could just have deleted their civilization, ground up their temples as their soft bodies
rotted away. Sadly we don’t have the tiniest amount of evidence for any such civilization.
After a few million years at best, their achievements would have dissolved into nothing.
Industrial Indigenous Aliens
What about industrial civilizations, like humanity today? Imagine humans
died out suddenly, through a pandemic or cosmic rays or something like that. What would remain?
Our impact on the planet is orders of magnitude greater than that of our ancestors.
The fossil record will show a great extinction of wildlife
and an explosion of fossils from human associated animals, like rats, cows, pigs and chickens.
Like the structures of our ancestors, skyscrapers and streets and harddrives will basically crumble
into nothingness in a few millennia. But because there were so many humans everywhere,
for a few million years after our sudden end, there would be clear hints of our existence.
The byproducts of our industrial lifestyle might
actually give us away for some hundreds of millions of years .
We use massive amounts of artificial fertilizer which redirects earth’s flow of nitrogen that
is being deposited in the soil. Mining metals and rare Earth elements leaves long term scars
and depletes natural resources. We saturate our oceans with plastics that find their way
to the ocean floor and may persist for hundreds of millions of years.
There are radioactive elements and their decay, unnatural accumulations of elements that do not
exist outside labs or weapons. And of course, in our short industrial history we have changed the
proportion of CO2 in the air by burning massive amounts of fossil fuels, increasing the acidity
of the oceans and so on. We may already have left a mark in the geological record.
So far we have found no traces of an industrial alien civilization.
No layers of weird chemicals or displaced elements. No radioactive layer to indicate
that once great nations waged nuclear war. We do see mass extinctions and
massive shifts in the fossil records but no evidence that they did not occur naturally.
And ironically we’ve hit upon an interesting problem here: If industrial societies stress the
ecosystem enough to cause their own extinction, they won’t be around that long. But if they become
sustainable their imprint on the geological record may be tiny. If past industrial civilizations were
sustainable before they died out, we may have little to no chance of ever knowing about them.
In any case, over hundreds of millions of years these signatures may become
very subtle and get overlooked or interpreted as natural. Even if an industrialized alien society
existed 200 million years ago and lasted for 100,000 years, 300 times longer than
industrial humanity, it still might be easy to miss it in the geological record.
In any case, all of this is speculation. In the end we should not use our imagination to
trick ourselves into thinking we know anything about our blind spots. Just assuming a thing
happened because we don’t have evidence against it is a trap we should avoid.
So for now, if we look at the vastness of time it seems as
devoid of aliens as the vastness of space. Maybe we are alone in this universe and always were.
Maybe we’ll find traces of others eventually, we don’t know. But there is one important takeaway:
The continuation of our civilization is not guaranteed and if we are not careful,
we may disappear forever. Let’s hope that in a few million years,
there won't be another civilization studying our layer in the fossil record.
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