A gamer buddy really liked the Distant Origin scenario (Star Trek Voyager episode). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distant_Origin TLDR: Ancient non-human civilization, prior inhabitant of earth, now long gone.
"Where's the hot spots?"
"Um, what?"
"Any industrial, technical civilization would leave their mark somehow thru their waste and pollution. Even if they left millions of years ago and their cities were built on subduction zones, we'd still detect their nuclear waste dumps."
Long pause.
"Well, ya."
Comparatively, I can kind of imagine groups of humans getting wiped out without a trace. The Sea Peoples didn't leave much behind. It's an accident we know about those lost cities on the steppes, which were completely lost to history. There's 100s (1000s?) of habitats buried under the desert, waiting to be explored. Etc.
But not being anything close to an archeologist: Hancock's notions are a bit far fetched, circumstantial. Like he's fooling himself into seeing stuff that's not there. Like seeing animals in the clouds, faces in pictures of martian soil, illuminating patterns in numbers.
"Where's the hot spots?"
"Um, what?"
"Any industrial, technical civilization would leave their mark somehow thru their waste and pollution. Even if they left millions of years ago and their cities were built on subduction zones, we'd still detect their nuclear waste dumps."
Long pause.
"Well, ya."
Comparatively, I can kind of imagine groups of humans getting wiped out without a trace. The Sea Peoples didn't leave much behind. It's an accident we know about those lost cities on the steppes, which were completely lost to history. There's 100s (1000s?) of habitats buried under the desert, waiting to be explored. Etc.
But not being anything close to an archeologist: Hancock's notions are a bit far fetched, circumstantial. Like he's fooling himself into seeing stuff that's not there. Like seeing animals in the clouds, faces in pictures of martian soil, illuminating patterns in numbers.