“I am a journalist, and the subject that I’m investigating is human prehistory,” Graham Hancock confidently asserts over stunning footage of ancient archaeological sites and a booming soundtrack. In “Ancient Apocalypse,” Hancock tells an alternative story of the dawn of human civilization. He claims that an advanced ice-age civilization existed, and after a flood of apocalyptic proportions wiped out most of humanity, survivors helped less-advanced cultures develop.
It’s a story that brings out a sense of childlike wonder, especially when Hancock mentions how this civilization could have inspired the Atlantis story. The production value of the eight-episode Netflix series is fantastic: drone footage of UNESCO World Heritage sites, animated retellings of ancient myths, and incredibly tight editing.
At the same time, I couldn’t help but wonder how someone like Hancock was able to secure a Netflix series. Hancock admits he is on the fringes of intellectual society: The first episode opens with footage of him being called a “pseudo-archaeologist,” “dismissed by academics,” and a “pyramidiot.” The series also cuts to clips of Hancock speaking with podcaster Joe Rogan, who has come under heavy fire before for pushing conspiracy theories.
While Hancock claims that this advanced ice-age civilization helped all of humanity develop, he only investigates structures made by non-white people. He doesn’t specifically say the advanced civilization was white, yet his choice still reads as an insult to the capabilities of Indigenous people.
Kenny Fountain, an English professor at UVA who specializes in conspiracy theories, notes that there is an explicit connection between pseudo-archeology and white supremacy. Hancock’s work, Fountain explains, is influenced by Erich Von Daniken’s book The Chariot of the Gods, which claims the Egyptian pyramids, among other historical structures, were actually made by aliens. “The white supremacist sort of undercurrent, sometimes overcurrent, is that idea that these backward people couldn’t make this thing without help,” Fountain says.
The appeal of conspiracy theories like “Ancient Apocalypse” is that they offer “a counter-narrative against the elites,” says Fountain, “and we all think of ourselves as fighting against the man.”
“It’s very seductive to think I’m going to be in [on] something that others don’t know about.”
Science journalist and nonfiction author Jackson Landers finds truth to be more appealing than fiction. “There are lots of coastal cities that as the sea levels have risen, have been sunken. It’s so pointless to try to make things about Atlantis when the real thing is so cool.”
Landers also argues that “Ancient Apocalypse” takes advantage of the lack of education people have about ancient history. “The range of what was going on in the ancient world is a lot bigger than the white-centric story of the Greeks and the Romans,” Landers says, before delving into the history of the Americas specifically.
“People should read books like 1491, which gives you the history of the incredible situations that existed in the Americas before Columbus showed up. And that they had these amazing cities, they had economics, they had domesticated animals, they had all kinds of crops.”
If one of your family members brings up this conspiracy—or another one—over the holidays, Fountain advises that you don’t directly try to debunk them. “I think it’s important to find other ways to connect with them. So if you can find a common interest, talk about those things. I think it’s okay to say to someone, a loved one, a friend, ‘We are not going to agree with this. I don’t think we should talk about this anymore.’”