Faits scientifiques et percées qui étaient autrefois de simples fantasmes

Sympa

Beaucoup de choses que nous considérons comme acquises aujourd'hui étaient autrefois de simples idées folles. Par exemple, les voyages dans l'espace semblaient impossibles, mais maintenant, nous avons envoyé des personnes sur la Lune et nous planifions des voyages sur Mars ! Une autre grande percée est le smartphone—qui aurait pensé que nous porterions de petits ordinateurs dans nos poches ? Le clonage était de la pure science-fiction, pourtant les scientifiques ont cloné une brebis nommée Dolly en 1996. L'intelligence artificielle, qui semblait être un rêve futuriste, fait désormais partie de la vie quotidienne, comme les voitures autonomes. Même l'internet lui-même était autrefois un concept farfelu, et maintenant il est l'épine dorsale de la société moderne ! Animation créée par Sympa. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Musique par Epidemic Sound https://www.epidemicsound.com Pour ne rien perdre de Sympa, abonnez-vous!: https://goo.gl/6E4Xna​ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nos réseaux sociaux : Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sympasympacom/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sympa.officiel/ Stock de fichiers (photos, vidéos et autres): https://www.depositphotos.com https://www.shutterstock.com https://www.eastnews.ru ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Si tu en veux encore plus, fais un tour ici: http://sympa-sympa.com

Transcript

00:00:00A fragment of whale shell has recently been discovered in a mine in North Carolina.

00:00:04It may seem anecdotal, why a whale could not be a bottom miner, after all.

00:00:09However, this piece provides scientists with a rare opportunity to study the interactions between prehistoric sharks and whales dating from 3 to 4 million years.

00:00:19This fragment of shell has three teeth marks, revealing that this whale has been bitten by an animal with extremely powerful jaws.

00:00:27According to the spacing of the marks, which reaches nearly 6.3 cm, it is possible that it is a large-toothed shark, such as the megalodon, or another species of shark that lived at that time.

00:00:37The curvature of the shark's jaw indicates that the animal was relatively small, with an estimated size between 4 and 6 meters.

00:00:45As for the whale, it seems to have been the ancestor of a blue whale, or a bass.

00:00:49Researchers are amazed, it is rare to find traces of interaction and animal behavior so well preserved in fossil form.

00:00:57After analyzing the sample, they concluded that this shark had to leave with a consequent bite, but that the whale had survived.

00:01:05Because most of the fossil fragment was covered with metaplastic bones.

00:01:09This bone material quickly forms in response to a localized infection.

00:01:14It is not particularly robust and is subsequently remodeled by the body into a compact bone tissue, a process that takes time.

00:01:21The presence of this bone indicates that the healing was incomplete, and the whale died 2 to 6 weeks after this unfortunate encounter.

00:01:29However, it is also possible that its death is not directly related to the infection and injury.

00:01:35Only a few fossils testify to such interactions between ancient animals.

00:01:39We often find bite marks on the fossils, indicating where the animal died and where its carcass was devoured.

00:01:46But this vestige is one of the few to illustrate not only an injury inflicted by another animal, but also to demonstrate that the prey survived.

00:01:54All fossils arouse the enthusiasm of paleontologists.

00:01:57And yes, these people may have to leave their homes more often.

00:02:01But some fossils may seem terrifying to the general public.

00:02:04Take for example this image showing tentacled arms and octagonal heads.

00:02:09When it first appeared in the media, many netizens advanced that it was an ancient organism from space.

00:02:17Others estimated that the whole story was just an imposture.

00:02:20However, the image is as authentic as the fossil.

00:02:23This fossil is known as a plaque of mortality, a fossilized representation of a massive extinction event affecting one or more species.

00:02:32In reality, this fossil contains more than a dozen specimens of a type of marine organism called crinoids.

00:02:38Contrary to their appearance, crinoids were not plants but marine animals.

00:02:43This particular species lived deeply underwater, on the ocean floor.

00:02:47Crinoids were related to sea stars, urchins and zoophores.

00:02:52These creatures could anchor to the seabed thanks to rods made of flexible and porous discs, connected by soft tissues.

00:02:59These rods were hollow and sheltered the nervous system of the animal.

00:03:03Crinoids absorbed oxygen through tubular feet on thin walls.

00:03:08Generally, these animals were more than 20 cm long and had five arms decorated with structures similar to feathered tentacles.

00:03:16They fed on plankton and organic matter when drifting.

00:03:19Although these fossil discoveries are quite fascinating,

00:03:23few creatures whose fossils we have are as intriguing to scientists as the monster of Thule.

00:03:28This strange marine creature had a toothed muzzle resembling a trunk,

00:03:33and eyes spread out along a rigid stem.

00:03:36But the strangest thing is that it remains impossible to classify.

00:03:39Since the discovery of the monster in 1966,

00:03:43researchers have considered various hypotheses concerning its identity,

00:03:47such as segmented worms, swimming lemmas, or primitive creatures resembling eels.

00:03:53More recently, some have tried to link it to species of fish without jaws

00:03:58and with a structure similar to a spine.

00:04:02A team of Japanese scientists used high-resolution laser scanners

00:04:06to analyze in three dimensions the anatomy of the fossils of the monster of Thule.

00:04:10They concluded that this enigmatic fossil could ultimately be that of an invertebrate.

00:04:15However, the true identity of this creature is still undetermined.

00:04:20In the 1950s, an amateur fossil hunter named Francis Thule

00:04:25discovered the strange footprint of a torpedo-shaped organism

00:04:28with a huge caudal fin in the fossil deposits of Mason Creek, Illinois.

00:04:33Never having observed a similar creature,

00:04:36Thule brought his discovery to the Chicago Field History Museum.

00:04:40The institute's paleontologists were also disconcerted.

00:04:43Since then, scientists have still not been able to locate this creature on the phylogenetic tree.

00:04:50In 1741, explorer and captain Vitus Jonathan Bering

00:04:55led an expedition to map the Alaska coast.

00:04:58The ship he was on sank on what became the island of Bering.

00:05:03Half of the crew survived thanks to the discovery of a huge sea cow,

00:05:08or Hydrodamalis gigas.

00:05:10With the meat of these animals to give them strength,

00:05:13the sailors managed to build a small raft from debris and return home.

00:05:18During the return trip, a scientist in the crew

00:05:22devoted his time to documenting the animals and plants discovered.

00:05:25The sea cow was particularly remarkable because without it,

00:05:29the crew would not have survived.

00:05:31These animals were more than 8 meters long and weighed about 10 tons.

00:05:34All sea cows belonged to the order of the Sirenias,

00:05:38sea mammals closer to elephants than cows.

00:05:41The scientist described them as having black skin,

00:05:43a small head and ragged anterior limbs.

00:05:46These sea cows floated on the surface of the water feeding on algae.

00:05:49Once the existence of these animals was made public,

00:05:52fur trade expeditions began to exploit this very practical depot on the road.

00:05:57Sea cows, being very docile and easy to hunt,

00:06:01were exterminated barely 27 years after the scientist had spoken of them.

00:06:05However, this is not the saddest part.

00:06:08Fossil archives reveal a much darker story.

00:06:11Fossils have thus been found around the world, from Japan to Mexico.

00:06:16This indicates that these animals once prospered in the vast fields of Varek,

00:06:21which surrounded the entire northern Pacific Basin.

00:06:23The population reduced discovered by the expedition

00:06:26was probably the last remains of a much larger population and in much better health.

00:06:31It is very likely that the hunting practiced by aboriginal populations

00:06:35had already reduced the number of these animals to a level close to extinction.

00:06:39The fatal blow was carried by Western hunters.

00:06:42Today, the close relatives still alive of these ancient sea cows are rarely hunted,

00:06:47but they themselves are threatened with extinction.

00:06:50For some, this amazing fossil may seem somewhat disturbing.

00:06:54Numulites are fossil animals whose name means small piece in Latin.

00:06:59These creatures lived and prospered in a warm and shallow sea,

00:07:03which covered a part of Egypt about 40 million years ago.

00:07:08The name Numulites suggests that the largest specimens

00:07:12were particularly popular throughout history.

00:07:15And in Egyptian folklore, they are even nicknamed the angel's coin.

00:07:19These creatures have a simple and unicellular structure,

00:07:23which contrasts with their extremely complex skeletons.

00:07:26Observe this series of superimposed spirals.

00:07:29Each spiral is divided into innumerable tiny chambers,

00:07:32and the Numulites can reach up to 10 cm in diameter.

00:07:36However, they are fossils of unicellular animals related to amoebas.

00:07:41So how could they reach such a size?

00:07:44The reason could be in their symbiotic relationship with other smaller organisms.

00:07:49For modern species, these symbiotes are golden unicellular algae called diatomaceae.

00:07:55The shells of the Numulites, being relatively transparent and flat,

00:07:59offer a large surface for the light necessary for the photosynthesis of diatoms.

00:08:03For reasons still debated by scientists,

00:08:05the presence of plant symbiotes in marine animals

00:08:08favors the growth of a limestone skeleton in others.

00:08:11Thus, the colossal size of the Numulites in Egypt

00:08:14could be attributed to their close relationship with symbiotic diatoms.

00:08:19Does this seem plausible to you?

00:08:20Interestingly, the Numulite species have evolved very quickly,

00:08:24and their fossils have altered from one layer of sediment to the other.

00:08:28Thus, the limestone used for the pyramids of Giza

00:08:31is so rich in these fossils that it is designated under the name of Numulitic limestone.

00:08:36This limestone also contains two types of Numulites,

00:08:39the small lentils of slaves and the large coins of angels.

00:08:43However, these are not different species,

00:08:45but rather different stages of the life cycle of a single and same creature.

00:08:51Summers in the Middle East are so intense that they radically transform the landscape,

00:08:55bringing back forgotten ancient cities.

00:08:58In 2018, a city built by a mysterious empire along the Tigris River

00:09:03was freed from its aquatic trap.

00:09:06Archaeologists rushed to the site,

00:09:09not wanting to miss this unique opportunity to dig

00:09:11and learn more about the history of this city.

00:09:15They thought they had discovered Zakiku,

00:09:17a city of the Bronze Age,

00:09:19founded more than 3,000 years ago

00:09:21and submerged in the 1980s during the construction of the Mosul Dam.

00:09:26Once a prosperous caravan center of the Mithani kingdom,

00:09:29it had relatively abundant water,

00:09:32a rare resource in the region,

00:09:34thus guaranteeing its success.

00:09:36Knowledge of this kingdom remains limited,

00:09:39because no written chronicle has been found during the excavations.

00:09:42This is why archaeologists were delighted to discover the complete palace,

00:09:46once occupied by their rulers.

00:09:48A few years later, after a new drought in the region,

00:09:52they set up fortifications protecting the city from invaders.

00:09:56The major discovery of their expedition was a huge public warehouse

00:10:00containing goods and crops,

00:10:03piles of wheat and barley,

00:10:05as well as metals and imported wood.

00:10:07Bread was the staple food of the inhabitants,

00:10:10which also prepared large soups and vegetable stews.

00:10:14Each household raised sheep, goats, cows and pigs,

00:10:18ensuring a regular source of milk and meat for the big occasions.

00:10:21All the buildings discovered so far

00:10:24were built from raw earth bricks.

00:10:27The walls, submerged for more than 40 years,

00:10:30are remarkably well preserved,

00:10:32as if they had been swallowed the day before.

00:10:34The royal palace is distinguished by its size,

00:10:37its thicker walls,

00:10:38and its pavements also made of baked and sealed mud bricks,

00:10:41to be waterproof.

00:10:43The sovereign had to maintain good relations

00:10:46with those of the great empire,

00:10:48of which Zakikou was a tributary.

00:10:50The city's merchants collected wooden beams

00:10:52that they stored.

00:10:54These came from the forests of the mountains

00:10:56located in the north and east of Mesopotamia,

00:10:58and were chained by the tiger.

00:11:00Merchants came and poured their goods there

00:11:03before crossing the river to the frontal regions.

00:11:06Zakikou was a prosperous trade center

00:11:09for about six centuries,

00:11:11until a devastating earthquake struck it in 1350.

00:11:15Archaeologists found five ceramic vases

00:11:18containing more than 100 clay tablets,

00:11:20made shortly after the earthquake.

00:11:22It is almost miraculous that these small clay tablets

00:11:25did not cook and survived under water for decades.

00:11:28The creators of these tablets engraved notes

00:11:30on the clay that was still wet,

00:11:32dealing with subjects such as the inventory of new crops,

00:11:35or testifying to their correspondence with other kingdoms.

00:11:38Once the notes were engraved, they were left to dry in the sun.

00:11:41The scribes also had to learn new languages

00:11:44so that the messages could be understood

00:11:46by foreigners in the city.

00:11:48Researchers believe that the discovered tablets

00:11:50were part of a private archive.

00:11:52They hope to be able to decipher these texts

00:11:54in order to deepen their knowledge

00:11:56of the history of Zakikou and its kingdom

00:11:58after this devastating earthquake.

00:12:00The damage inflicted on the building was such

00:12:02that it was impossible to restore

00:12:04its past splendor to Zakikou.

00:12:06The possible survivors were forced to leave the city.

00:12:09Decades later, the Assyrians,

00:12:11also from Mesopotamia,

00:12:13settled on these ruins.

00:12:15They built their own homes

00:12:17using pre-existing structures

00:12:19such as outside enclosures.

00:12:21However, their presence will only last 50 years

00:12:24before they decide to build

00:12:26a new capital on more fertile lands,

00:12:28hoping to thrive

00:12:30thanks to agriculture.

00:12:32The archaeologists who worked in Zakikou

00:12:34had to stop their search

00:12:36when the water level rose,

00:12:38submerging the city again.

00:12:40They protected the ruins

00:12:42by covering them with waterproof plastic sheets,

00:12:44then stones and gravel,

00:12:46hoping to preserve them from aquatic erosion

00:12:49and avoid their total disappearance.

00:12:51Aware of the crucial importance

00:12:53of the water of the dam for the region,

00:12:55they plan to resume the search

00:12:57as soon as the water is removed again.

00:13:01About 1,600 years ago,

00:13:03a flourishing community lived

00:13:05along the Niya River,

00:13:07at the heart of what is now the Taklamakan Desert

00:13:09in the People's Republic of China.

00:13:11This river, fed by the melting snow

00:13:13of the mountains,

00:13:15ran through the desert for miles.

00:13:17After three years of hard work,

00:13:19the archaeologists managed to exhume

00:13:21eight tombs,

00:13:23where the desert heat had perfectly preserved

00:13:25the clothes and objects they contained.

00:13:27The drowned people

00:13:29had to belong to the former city of Niya,

00:13:31a prosperous center of the kingdom,

00:13:33located on the Silk Road,

00:13:35and which housed more than 3,000 souls

00:13:37before being engulfed by the sand of the desert.

00:13:39The ruins of Niya were only discovered

00:13:41in 1901.

00:13:43Since then, scientists from all over the world

00:13:45have tried to uncover the secrets of this city.

00:13:47The tombs discovered

00:13:49at the end of the 20th century

00:13:51seem to have belonged to members of the elite,

00:13:53as evidenced by the luxurious objects found.

00:13:55A carcass and an arc,

00:13:57metal arrowheads,

00:13:59gold earrings,

00:14:01a necklace of glass beads,

00:14:03a lacquered box containing a comb,

00:14:05make-up and a sewing accessory.

00:14:07High-quality silk

00:14:09was also found,

00:14:11with brilliant colors

00:14:13such as green and yellow,

00:14:15which remained surprisingly intact.

00:14:17The fabric also had Chinese characteristics,

00:14:19citing historical works,

00:14:21which allowed scientists to date its manufacture.

00:14:23Later,

00:14:25archaeologists discovered

00:14:27a vast habitat

00:14:29and excavated three buildings in ruins.

00:14:31It will probably take many more years

00:14:33to understand why the city perished

00:14:35and what happened to its inhabitants.

00:14:39Saudi and French archaeologists

00:14:41have united their efforts

00:14:43near Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia,

00:14:45and have discovered

00:14:47an ancient colony dating back 8,000 years.

00:14:49They used cutting-edge technologies

00:14:51such as laser digitization,

00:14:53drones

00:14:55and aerial photography

00:14:57to reveal this neolithic treasure.

00:14:59In this important archaeological site,

00:15:01they have excavated

00:15:03a stone temple,

00:15:05the remains of a hotel

00:15:07and more than 2,000 graves,

00:15:09offering a valuable insight

00:15:11into ancient rituals.

00:15:13The team has also discovered

00:15:15the foundations of four imposing buildings,

00:15:17corner towers and courtyards,

00:15:19all equipped with underground reservoirs

00:15:21to store water for agriculture.

00:15:23An ingenious irrigation system

00:15:25including canals and cisterns

00:15:27allowed the city to thrive

00:15:29in one of the most arid deserts in the world.

00:15:31Rough drawings,

00:15:33even engraved on the nearby mountain,

00:15:35illustrate the daily life of the inhabitants.

00:15:37Excavations, which have been going on for more than 40 years,

00:15:39continue to reveal new artifacts,

00:15:41offering more and more answers

00:15:43to the questions of researchers.

00:15:45Fishermen have discovered bones,

00:15:47tools and artifacts

00:15:49dating back 9,000 years

00:15:51to the Northern Hemisphere.

00:15:53British archaeologists and paleontologists

00:15:55and Dutchmen rushed

00:15:57to examine these discoveries,

00:15:59hoping to discover traces

00:16:01of the submerged Doggerland.

00:16:03They were not disappointed

00:16:05and even discovered perfect footprints

00:16:07left by the men of the Mesolithic.

00:16:0912,000 years ago,

00:16:11during the last great glacial period,

00:16:13the British Islands were not islands at all.

00:16:15They were part of a vast land

00:16:17made up of hills, swamps

00:16:19that linked them to the European continent.

00:16:21This land,

00:16:23called Doggerland,

00:16:25housed a prehistoric hunter-gatherer society.

00:16:27However,

00:16:29with the melting of the glaciers,

00:16:31the sea level began to rise

00:16:33at a speed of 1 to 2 meters per century,

00:16:35forcing the inhabitants to migrate

00:16:37to the regions that correspond

00:16:39today to England and the Netherlands.

00:16:41The experts then decided to explore

00:16:43the history of Doggerland

00:16:45by exploiting the data provided

00:16:47by the North Sea.

00:16:49Until now, they have created digital models

00:16:51representing the 47,000 square kilometers

00:16:53that Doggerland covered before its submersion.

00:16:55They still have to analyze

00:16:57samples of ancient insects

00:16:59and prehistoric plants,

00:17:01as well as the DNA of the animals found

00:17:03to obtain a complete image

00:17:05of this disappeared region.

00:17:07In the mountains of Mexico,

00:17:09there is an ancient variety of corn,

00:17:11twice as large as the average pea,

00:17:13and which has amazing aerial roots.

00:17:15These roots produce a mucus

00:17:17that could revolutionize agriculture

00:17:19and finally make obsolete

00:17:21all its chemical products.

00:17:23The inhabitants have been growing

00:17:25this mysterious corn for more than 2,000 years

00:17:27and have passed on this tradition

00:17:29from generation to generation.

00:17:33A scientist in Oaxaca

00:17:35heard about this gigantic cereal

00:17:37and decided to examine it more closely.

00:17:39When he finally saw it,

00:17:41he could not believe his eyes.

00:17:43It came out of a myth

00:17:45reaching 4 to 5 meters in height

00:17:47with curious outgrowths

00:17:49sprouting from its stems.

00:17:51And, hold on tight,

00:17:53it was dripping

00:17:55from a thick viscous substance

00:17:57acting like a self-fertilizer.

00:17:59No need to add artificial fertilizers.

00:18:03This is of paramount importance

00:18:05because most cereals

00:18:07cannot regulate their own nitrogen levels,

00:18:09which forces farmers

00:18:11to use fertilizers rich in this element.

00:18:13Not only does this harm the environment,

00:18:15but it is also costly.

00:18:17But with this new corn mucus,

00:18:19we could solve a systemic problem

00:18:21of our food supply.

00:18:23It's like a biological pass-through

00:18:25that could revolutionize

00:18:27agriculture as we know it.

00:18:31This super plant is called

00:18:33the fall corn.

00:18:35It was a well-kept secret

00:18:37for the rest of Mexico until the 1980s

00:18:39when it took another 30 years

00:18:41for a team of researchers

00:18:43to take a serious look

00:18:45at this exceptional corn.

00:18:47They knew they would need

00:18:49local communities' help

00:18:51and set up a laboratory on site.

00:18:53This corn secretes a mucus

00:18:55containing bacteria

00:18:57capable of converting

00:18:59atmospheric nitrogen

00:19:01into a plant-like form.

00:19:03This means it can extract

00:19:0580% of its nitrogen from the air

00:19:07But of course,

00:19:09some people had to spoil the fun

00:19:11by disputing the rights of this prodigious corn.

00:19:13This is called biopiracy

00:19:15and it is completely unacceptable.

00:19:17Indigenous peoples

00:19:19who have been perpetuating this form of agriculture

00:19:21for centuries,

00:19:23claim that it is not just a simple plant,

00:19:25but a part of their culture and heritage.

00:19:27Alas, fall corn

00:19:29is not yet widely exploited

00:19:31because it does not meet

00:19:33modern industrial standards.

00:19:35However, scientists

00:19:37are trying to cross-reference it

00:19:39with other varieties to combine its qualities.

00:19:41They have already reduced

00:19:43its growth time by half

00:19:45and increased nitrogen absorption by 40%.

00:19:47But they estimate that it will still

00:19:49take a few more generations

00:19:51to obtain a more or less stable hybrid corn.

00:19:55Imagine if we could use

00:19:57atmospheric nitrogen for other cereals

00:19:59like rice or wheat.

00:20:01This would significantly reduce

00:20:03the amount of harmful

00:20:05chemical and artificial pollutants

00:20:07in our environment.

00:20:09It is incredible to think

00:20:11that a little-known corn

00:20:13from the foggy mountains of Mexico

00:20:15could help fight hunger in the world.

00:20:17This demonstrates the crucial importance

00:20:19of diversity for our survival.

00:20:21Speaking of plants

00:20:23that could help us survive in the future,

00:20:25did you know that Mars could be ideal

00:20:27for the culture of green leaf vegetables?

00:20:29The soil there is rich in iron,

00:20:31so our favorite greens could thrive there.

00:20:33And with a future on Earth

00:20:35that seems increasingly uncertain,

00:20:37it is not so easy to start

00:20:39considering other planets where we could live.

00:20:41But, unfortunately, most of the planets

00:20:43are too hot to allow life.

00:20:45Seriously, Venus can reach

00:20:47up to 480°C.

00:20:49It is more than enough to melt lead.

00:20:51But Mars is different.

00:20:53Although it is a cold desert today,

00:20:55billions of years ago,

00:20:57it was covered with water and maybe even with life.

00:20:59Scientists are already studying

00:21:01which plants could grow on Martian soil.

00:21:03And it turns out that lettuce,

00:21:05onions, chaff,

00:21:07peas, garlic,

00:21:09and even chives, yes,

00:21:11these bad herbs of your garden

00:21:13could all potentially survive there.

00:21:15Spinach is another option,

00:21:17thanks to all this iron present in the soil.

00:21:19Who knows,

00:21:21maybe one day we will all

00:21:23nibble on Martian micro-thumbs

00:21:25if the holotone corn cannot cover

00:21:27all our needs.

00:21:31Another great vegetable

00:21:33that could help us in the future is bamboo.

00:21:35While countries like China,

00:21:37Japan, the Philippines,

00:21:39Thailand and Indonesia

00:21:41are crazy about these delicious bamboo shoots,

00:21:43they are also very appreciated

00:21:45in the islands.

00:21:47In Bangladesh, we even find a traditional bamboo-based dish.

00:21:51No wonder it is nicknamed

00:21:53the king of vegetables.

00:21:55Bamboo is rich in vitamins

00:21:57and has many health benefits.

00:21:59In addition, a half cup

00:22:01would contain up to 11%

00:22:03of your daily potassium needs.

00:22:05If you have the chance

00:22:07to come across fresh bamboo shoots,

00:22:09look for those that are firm

00:22:11and heavy with a wide base.

00:22:13And do not let them turn green.

00:22:15This means that they have been exposed

00:22:17to the sun for too long

00:22:19and will have a bitter taste.

00:22:21If you feel adventurous,

00:22:23bamboo is not limited to food.

00:22:25It offers many other advantages.

00:22:27It is the plant that grows

00:22:29the fastest on earth.

00:22:31Some types of bamboo

00:22:33can grow one meter in one day,

00:22:35or more than 2 cm per hour on average.

00:22:39Bamboo is also durable

00:22:41and renewable because it spreads very quickly.

00:22:43A bamboo forest grows

00:22:45much faster than an ordinary tree forest,

00:22:47which makes it

00:22:49the prodigy of the plant kingdom.

00:22:51Some studies also indicate

00:22:53that bamboo can produce

00:22:55up to 35% more oxygen

00:22:57than a coniferous forest.

00:22:59And guess what?

00:23:01It can replace wood in almost all uses.

00:23:03There are thousands of bamboo products

00:23:05that are just as efficient

00:23:07as their tree counterparts.

00:23:09We are talking about paper,

00:23:11soil coating, musical instruments,

00:23:13furniture, building materials.

00:23:15Whatever you can imagine,

00:23:17in short, bamboo can take care of it.

00:23:21Let's move on to a serious subject.

00:23:23According to British researchers,

00:23:25we only exploit a small part

00:23:27of the potential of plants.

00:23:29Let's talk about super plants first.

00:23:31Did you know that the vegetables

00:23:33in your plate were once ordinary plants?

00:23:35However, in nature,

00:23:37there are particularly robust plants

00:23:39that have developed a resistance

00:23:41to all kinds of parasites and diseases.

00:23:43Selection workers work

00:23:45to cross these wild specimens

00:23:47with our domestic cultures,

00:23:49but not without preserving

00:23:51all the advantages we appreciate.

00:23:53It is a global effort,

00:23:55with countries like Brazil,

00:23:57China and India at the forefront.

00:23:59And with a global population

00:24:01supposed to exceed 9 billion,

00:24:03these super plants could

00:24:05truly save lives.

00:24:09Then come the medicinal plants.

00:24:11We have known for centuries

00:24:13that plants can heal us,

00:24:15but are we really the best part?

00:24:17For the most part,

00:24:19there are more than 2,800 species

00:24:21of medicinal plants,

00:24:23but less than 16% of them

00:24:25are actually used in medicine.

00:24:27It's crazy, this industry

00:24:29weighs several billion,

00:24:31and countries like Germany

00:24:33are already plebisciting

00:24:35plant-based remedies.

00:24:37But we have to be careful.

00:24:39There are many dubious products

00:24:41that could do more harm than good.

00:24:43Now let's talk about

00:24:45how to make bananas

00:24:47bigger and tastier.

00:24:49By altering their genes,

00:24:51which doesn't seem to be a problem

00:24:53for our neighbors across the Atlantic,

00:24:55scientists can create

00:24:57resistant bananas to diseases

00:24:59and parasites,

00:25:01capable of growing

00:25:03in rougher climates.

00:25:05This means better yields.

00:25:07Finally, plant fuel

00:25:09is crucial to prevent

00:25:11forest fires and all

00:25:13natural processes in some ecosystems.

00:25:15Scientists are working

00:25:17to identify plant families

00:25:19capable of resisting fires

00:25:21in order to create more resistant forests.

00:25:23These plants could

00:25:25even serve as natural fire cutters,

00:25:27thus saving precious resources.

00:25:31Do you know quincuna?

00:25:33It's not a food plant like the others,

00:25:35and it has remarkable properties.

00:25:37The bark of this tree

00:25:39is a key ingredient

00:25:41for making quinine,

00:25:43which is used to treat malaria.

00:25:45And did you know that

00:25:47the Quechua tribes of Peru

00:25:49taught the colonists how to use it?

00:25:51There are also incredible stories

00:25:53about quincuna.

00:25:55For example, have you ever heard

00:25:57about these sick lions

00:25:59that eat the bark?

00:26:01Or about this ferocious lion

00:26:03that drank from a pond

00:26:05where quincuna bark was soaked

00:26:07and was instantly cured?

00:26:09In any case,

00:26:11quincuna is a true hero,

00:26:13and not all heroes

00:26:15necessarily wear a cape.

00:26:17In November 1922,

00:26:19a boy walking

00:26:21in the desert mountains of Egypt

00:26:23discovered ancient steps

00:26:25carved in the rock.

00:26:27Subsequently, this discovery

00:26:29became one of the largest

00:26:31and most important archaeological discoveries

00:26:33in the world.

00:26:35This step was part

00:26:37of an intact tomb of Tutankhamun.

00:26:39Archaeologists have found

00:26:41about 5,000 ancient objects,

00:26:43including jewels, fabrics,

00:26:45painted vases and funerary masks.

00:26:47You have probably seen one of them.

00:26:49It has become one of the most

00:26:51recognizable attributes of ancient Egypt.

00:26:53More than 100 years have passed since.

00:26:55Today,

00:26:57humanity has finally come close

00:26:59to another large-scale discovery,

00:27:01Cleopatra's tomb.

00:27:03This queen was the last active

00:27:05queen of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt,

00:27:07who sat on the throne

00:27:09from 51 to 30 BC.

00:27:11There are many ancient documents

00:27:13about Cleopatra, her reign

00:27:15and her extraordinary personality.

00:27:17But until now,

00:27:19no one had discovered

00:27:21the secrets of her death

00:27:23and her burial site.

00:27:25Kathleen Martinez, archaeologist,

00:27:27has been studying ancient documents

00:27:29and temples around Alexandria for decades

00:27:31and concluded that the queen's tomb

00:27:33was Tapusiris Magna,

00:27:35founded in 280 BC.

00:27:37It was a large city

00:27:39located on the northern coast of Egypt,

00:27:41where tens of thousands of people

00:27:43worked in commerce and industry.

00:27:45And it seems that Dr. Martinez's assumptions

00:27:47have come true.

00:27:49With a group of archaeologists,

00:27:51she discovered a secret underground tunnel

00:27:53near Alexandria,

00:27:55about 1,300 meters long.

00:27:57It was dug into the rock

00:27:59under the Temple of Tapusiris Magna.

00:28:01They found many elements

00:28:03that indicate that Cleopatra's tomb

00:28:05is in the depths of the tunnel.

00:28:07It is also possible that she was

00:28:09buried there with the Roman commander

00:28:11Mark Antoine.

00:28:13According to ancient documents,

00:28:15Cleopatra and Mark Antoine loved each other

00:28:17and opposed the Roman Senate,

00:28:19which declared Antoine a traitor.

00:28:21The fact that natural disasters

00:28:23occurred on the territory of Tapusiris Magna

00:28:25for thousands of years

00:28:27can complicate the excavations.

00:28:29Earthquakes and floods destroyed the city

00:28:31and perhaps flooded

00:28:33these underground tunnels.

00:28:35But archaeologists hope

00:28:37that the old tomb has remained intact

00:28:39and that it hides many treasures

00:28:41and documents on the royal life of ancient Egypt

00:28:43under the reign of the last dynasty.

00:28:45It is possible that the excavations

00:28:47take place underwater and in the mud.

00:28:49It will take a lot of time

00:28:51and financial resources,

00:28:53but archaeologists are sure

00:28:55that it is worth it.

00:28:57It is too early to say

00:28:59that Cleopatra is really buried

00:29:01in this place,

00:29:03but scientists have found

00:29:05many objects in the tunnel

00:29:07that confirm it,

00:29:09including clay pots,

00:29:11dozens of coins

00:29:13in the effigy of Cleopatra

00:29:15and Alexander the Great,

00:29:17as well as a bust

00:29:19in the effigy of the Egyptian queen.

00:29:21Cleopatra remains

00:29:23one of the most popular personalities

00:29:25in Egypt.

00:29:27But what made her so popular?

00:29:29She became famous

00:29:31for her inconstancy.

00:29:33It was a beautiful and intelligent queen

00:29:35who took Egypt out of the crisis

00:29:37and made it a prosperous power.

00:29:39Medieval Arabic texts

00:29:41indicate that she knew chemistry,

00:29:43mathematics and philosophy

00:29:45and that she may have written

00:29:47several scientific books.

00:29:49She knew several languages

00:29:51and had excellent diplomatic skills.

00:29:53Many legends claim

00:29:55that she was a fatal woman

00:29:57who made many men go crazy.

00:29:59However, nothing proves

00:30:01that her beauty was incomparable.

00:30:03Hollywood created the image

00:30:05of a dazzling model

00:30:07by shooting several films

00:30:09in which famous actresses

00:30:11played the role of Cleopatra.

00:30:13Emperor Octavian,

00:30:15son of Julius Caesar,

00:30:17created the image

00:30:19of an insidious seductress

00:30:21who was not Egyptian.

00:30:23Her ancestors were Greeks,

00:30:25including one of Alexander the Great's generals.

00:30:27However, the Egyptian people

00:30:29loved her.

00:30:31She learned the language

00:30:33and was very sensitive

00:30:35to the traditions of this country.

00:30:37She knew the history,

00:30:39the mentality and the customs

00:30:41of ancient Egypt.

00:30:43She raised the level

00:30:45of the Egyptian economy

00:30:47and strengthened the status

00:30:49of the country.

00:30:51She loved theatrical performances

00:30:53and sumptuous feasts.

00:30:55She knew how to surprise people

00:30:57and put on a show.

00:30:59But behind the exterior image

00:31:01of a luxury lover

00:31:03was a smart and calculating

00:31:05sovereign.

00:31:07Ancient Egypt was a rich

00:31:09and luxurious country

00:31:11and Cleopatra did everything

00:31:13to increase her wealth

00:31:15and strengthen her position

00:31:17in the country.

00:31:19Cleopatra did not resist

00:31:21and the queen decided

00:31:23to bring Julius Caesar

00:31:25to her side.

00:31:27The Roman emperor

00:31:29arrived in Alexandria

00:31:31where Cleopatra wanted

00:31:33to meet him.

00:31:35But Ptolemy wanted

00:31:37to prevent her from

00:31:39going to Caesar.

00:31:41Instead of a rich and noisy

00:31:43arrival, Cleopatra decided

00:31:45to impress another Roman

00:31:47by her beauty and determination.

00:31:49They fell in love

00:31:51and became close allies.

00:31:53Some time later,

00:31:55she impressed another Roman

00:31:57with diplomatic purposes.

00:31:59She went to meet

00:32:01Mark Antoine

00:32:03on a golden boat

00:32:05with a purple sail

00:32:07and a silver frame.

00:32:09Cleopatra was dressed

00:32:11like Aphrodite

00:32:13but Cleopatra created

00:32:15such a spectacle for a precise reason.

00:32:17She knew that Antoine

00:32:19worshipped Greek mythology

00:32:21and considered himself

00:32:23the incarnation of Dionysus.

00:32:25This woman impressed him

00:32:27so much that he ended up

00:32:29marrying her.

00:32:31Cleopatra defended her crown,

00:32:33strengthened her alliance

00:32:35with Rome and gave

00:32:37three children to Antoine.

00:32:39In Egypt, they organized

00:32:41a scandal in Rome.

00:32:43As Octave is Antoine's main

00:32:45opponent in the struggle for power,

00:32:47he exploited the situation

00:32:49to tarnish his rival's reputation.

00:32:51He used propaganda

00:32:53to make Cleopatra an insidious seductress

00:32:55in the eyes of the Roman citizens.

00:32:57He accused Antoine of having

00:32:59succumbed to his charms.

00:33:01The Roman Senate supported Octave

00:33:03and declared Cleopatra an enemy.

00:33:05In 33 BC, this conflict reached

00:33:07its peak when Antoine's navy

00:33:09confronted Octave's fleet.

00:33:11He defeated him and forced his

00:33:13enemy to flee to Egypt with Cleopatra.

00:33:15According to some sources,

00:33:17he took refuge with Alexander.

00:33:19Pursued by the Romans,

00:33:21he hid in one of Cleopatra's palaces

00:33:23and found death.

00:33:25Some legends say that Cleopatra

00:33:27was an expert in poison.

00:33:29She would have caused the bite

00:33:31of a venomous snake, a viper

00:33:33or an Egyptian cobra.

00:33:35According to another legend,

00:33:37Cleopatra was a poisoner.

00:33:39A theory says that Cleopatra

00:33:41always carried a poison bulb

00:33:43in her hairbrush.

00:33:45When she was stuck,

00:33:47she would suck the needle

00:33:49of this poison and bite herself.

00:33:51None of this is certain.

00:33:53Scientists are always trying

00:33:55to discover the truth.

00:33:57Maybe when they reach

00:33:59Cleopatra's tomb,

00:34:01the world will get more answers

00:34:03about its tragic fate.

00:34:05Cleopatra was the last

00:34:07sovereign of Egypt.

00:34:09After his death, Octave

00:34:11took his palaces and temples

00:34:13and returned to Rome,

00:34:15where he became the main emperor.

00:34:17He successfully ruled the country

00:34:19and widened its borders.

00:34:21His reign ended at the age of 75.

00:34:23The history of the world

00:34:25would have been different

00:34:27if Cleopatra and Mark Antoine

00:34:29had not lost this naval battle.

00:34:31By the way, did you know

00:34:33that the Egyptian queen

00:34:35built the Great Pyramid of Giza?

00:34:37Armstrong set foot

00:34:39on the Earth's satellite

00:34:41in 1969,

00:34:432038 years after Cleopatra's birth.

00:34:45The construction of the pyramid

00:34:47took place in 2560 B.C.

00:34:49Imagine the length

00:34:51of the history of ancient Egypt.

00:34:53Cleopatra is closer to us

00:34:55in time than the pyramids.

00:34:57We are in 1898

00:34:59and you participate

00:35:01in excavations in Saqqara.

00:35:03This place, not far from Cairo,

00:35:05is full of ancient tombs

00:35:07and pyramids.

00:35:09As a good adventurer,

00:35:11you hope to find

00:35:13something really cool

00:35:15and become famous.

00:35:17Gold, manuscripts,

00:35:19treasure maps,

00:35:21pharaoh mummies...

00:35:23But you find a wooden bird.

00:35:25You are very disappointed.

00:35:27It looks like a simple toy.

00:35:29In a few years,

00:35:31someone will say

00:35:33that it is an old monoplane.

00:35:37This object,

00:35:39nicknamed the bird of Saqqara,

00:35:41is made of sycamore wood.

00:35:43It is barely 18 cm wide

00:35:45and weighs about 40 grams.

00:35:47A beautiful memory

00:35:49of your trip to Egypt,

00:35:51in my opinion.

00:35:53It is over 2000 years old

00:35:55and is quite simple,

00:35:57but it has a beak

00:35:59and eyes,

00:36:01which makes it look like a falcon.

00:36:03The emblem of the god Horus.

00:36:05Its tail has something unusual.

00:36:07It is square.

00:36:09Strangely straight.

00:36:11And it looks like a missing piece

00:36:13once completed it.

00:36:17We love solving mysteries.

00:36:19So,

00:36:21several theories have been advanced

00:36:23about this bird.

00:36:25The first one is that

00:36:27it is a ceremonial object.

00:36:29The second one is that

00:36:31it is a toy of a child

00:36:33born in a wealthy family.

00:36:35It could be a kind of boomerang.

00:36:37Very popular in Ancient Egypt.

00:36:39Finally,

00:36:41according to another theory,

00:36:43the bird could have been used

00:36:45as a turtle.

00:36:47But this theory has not been retained

00:36:49because the figurine has no holes

00:36:51or markings,

00:36:53so there was no way

00:36:55to hang it.

00:36:57Almost a century after the discovery

00:36:59of the bird,

00:37:01the Egyptologist Khalil Messiah

00:37:03proposed a new theory

00:37:05according to which it could be

00:37:07a monoplane model.

00:37:09According to him,

00:37:11the bird lacked

00:37:13a horizontal wing.

00:37:15Moreover,

00:37:17its wings were placed

00:37:19at right angles,

00:37:21Dr. Messiah also

00:37:23stated that it was common

00:37:25at the time to place miniature models

00:37:27of technological inventions in graves.

00:37:29Did the ancient Egyptians

00:37:31really invent the plane

00:37:33200 BC?

00:37:35This would have

00:37:37greatly contradicted the Wright brothers,

00:37:39who were considered

00:37:41as the inventors of aviation.

00:37:43They made their first flight

00:37:45only in 1903.

00:37:47To be sure,

00:37:49we would have to test the model.

00:37:51But the Egyptian museum

00:37:53would probably not let anyone

00:37:55launch this precious

00:37:57collection piece into the air.

00:37:59This is why the designer

00:38:01of the glider,

00:38:03Martin Gregory,

00:38:05built a similar model,

00:38:07this time in balsa,

00:38:09and was able to conclude

00:38:11that even with a horizontal wing,

00:38:13this plane was not very efficient.

00:38:15And no,

00:38:17a TV channel did not find this convincing

00:38:19and therefore invited an aerodynamic expert

00:38:21to build another replica of our bird.

00:38:25He tested it in conditions

00:38:27similar to those of ancient Egypt,

00:38:29and was impressed

00:38:31by its capabilities.

00:38:33Thus,

00:38:35if the prototype of a plane was

00:38:37invented at the time of the pharaohs,

00:38:39it would be an opart,

00:38:41or incongruous manufactured object,

00:38:43in French.

00:38:45Either an anachronistic object,

00:38:47ahead of its time in terms of technology

00:38:49or history.

00:38:51And the bird of Saqqara

00:38:53is not the only example of such a thing.

00:38:55In 1901,

00:38:57a group of divers discovered

00:38:59the dentistry machine

00:39:01in an underwater wreck

00:39:03near the Greek island of the same name.

00:39:05It was nicknamed

00:39:07the first analog computer in the world.

00:39:09And we think it dates

00:39:11The bronze mechanism could indicate

00:39:13the position of the sun, the moon,

00:39:15planets and stars,

00:39:17as well as lunar phases,

00:39:19the dates of the next solar eclipses,

00:39:21and even the speed at which the moon

00:39:23moves in the sky.

00:39:25No one knows exactly who used it,

00:39:27nor how or where it was made.

00:39:29But it is obvious

00:39:31that it was extremely precise

00:39:33and far too advanced for its time.

00:39:37The first water-hunting toilets

00:39:39were discovered in the 20th century.

00:39:41And no.

00:39:43The Minoans of Crete

00:39:45and the civilization of the Indus Valley

00:39:47came up with this super invention

00:39:49about the same time,

00:39:51about 4,000 years ago.

00:39:53Their plumbing model

00:39:55was so well designed

00:39:57that it took 2,000 years

00:39:59to see something so efficient.

00:40:01An old Minoan toilet

00:40:03was discovered

00:40:05in the palace of Knossos.

00:40:07It was equipped

00:40:09with a wooden seat placed

00:40:11just above a tunnel

00:40:13that led the water from a reservoir

00:40:15to an underground sewer.

00:40:17Other toilets required

00:40:19a water supply with a tap.

00:40:21Only the rich could afford

00:40:23such a luxury.

00:40:25At the time,

00:40:27if you owned a real estate,

00:40:29the water-hunting toilets

00:40:31were the sign of your belonging

00:40:33to the highest spheres.

00:40:35This was something new in 1931.

00:40:37But the technology

00:40:39they used

00:40:41is actually much older.

00:40:43It dates from the first century

00:40:45of our era.

00:40:47The mathematician and engineer

00:40:49Héron d'Alexandrie

00:40:51imagined at that time

00:40:53a system capable of opening

00:40:55and closing doors.

00:40:57To make his invention work,

00:40:59a fire had to be lit.

00:41:01A brass pot was placed under the fire,

00:41:03half filled with water.

00:41:05The pot was then connected

00:41:07to containers used as weights.

00:41:09Thanks to the heat,

00:41:11the water moved

00:41:13in the containers

00:41:15that went down

00:41:17and pulled on the ropes.

00:41:19Nothing like a supermarket door

00:41:21that opens and closes

00:41:23thanks to electricity.

00:41:25Héron's door took hours to open

00:41:27and there was no way

00:41:29to stop the process.

00:41:31The process was carried out

00:41:33day after day

00:41:35before people entered the temples.

00:41:37This added a little mystery

00:41:39to the ceremony.

00:41:41Incredible!

00:41:43It seems that the very first battery

00:41:45was invented in Baghdad

00:41:47about 2,000 years ago.

00:41:49A German archaeologist

00:41:51discovered an oval-shaped clay jar

00:41:53in 1938.

00:41:55Scientists still don't know

00:41:57what it was for

00:41:59but it was used to galvanize objects

00:42:01with precious metals.

00:42:03When it was filled with a weak acid

00:42:05like vinegar,

00:42:07the battery produced about 1 volt.

00:42:09According to another theory,

00:42:11it was a container

00:42:13intended to receive sacred rolls.

00:42:15What would you say about contact lenses

00:42:17designed by Léonard de Vinci?

00:42:19In 1508,

00:42:21he invented a glass lens

00:42:23with a small funnel.

00:42:25All you had to do was pour water

00:42:27into the lens.

00:42:29But it wasn't very practical.

00:42:31100 years later,

00:42:33René Descartes decided to improve

00:42:35this idea.

00:42:37We say contact lenses

00:42:39because they are supposed to come

00:42:41into contact with the eyes.

00:42:43This glass tube filled with liquid

00:42:45allowed a better vision

00:42:47but it was unfortunately impossible

00:42:49to blink.

00:42:51Two and a half centuries later,

00:42:53the technology of the glass

00:42:55made contact lenses

00:42:57and even allowed their wearer

00:42:59to blink.

00:43:01A beautiful invention.

00:43:03However, these lenses were made

00:43:05of blown glass

00:43:07and the eye couldn't breathe.

00:43:09About 50 years later,

00:43:11the designers adopted plastic,

00:43:13lighter, unbreakable

00:43:15and resistant to scratches

00:43:17even if the lenses still covered

00:43:19the eye entirely.

00:43:21It was only in 1948

00:43:23that the first glasses were made

00:43:25of plastic and realized

00:43:27that they stayed in place

00:43:29even if they only covered the cornea.

00:43:31Imagine living in London

00:43:33in the 19th century

00:43:35and needing to send a message

00:43:37to New York.

00:43:39It took about ten days.

00:43:41So, when in 1858

00:43:43the delays went from a few days

00:43:45to a few hours,

00:43:47it was a real revolution.

00:43:49The first message was sent

00:43:51Alas, this invention

00:43:53only survived a few weeks

00:43:55and it took years

00:43:57to be able to use it again.

00:43:59Egyptian archaeologists

00:44:01have recently made

00:44:03an extraordinary discovery

00:44:05near Cairo.

00:44:07The oldest

00:44:09and most complete mummy

00:44:11ever discovered in the country.

00:44:13This 4,300-year-old mummy

00:44:15was found in a set of tombs

00:44:17near the pyramid

00:44:19of Jezer,

00:44:21dating from the ancient Egyptian empire.

00:44:23It was covered with golden layers.

00:44:25The team also discovered

00:44:27several other tombs,

00:44:29including one belonging

00:44:31to an Egyptian dignitary

00:44:33and another to a guardian

00:44:35of secrets who presided

00:44:37over the ceremony.

00:44:39Another interesting tomb

00:44:41was that of a scribe

00:44:43who contained the largest

00:44:45statues ever discovered

00:44:47in Egypt.

00:44:49She ruled Egypt for about 20 years,

00:44:51erected many impressive buildings

00:44:53and created new commercial routes.

00:44:55However, when archaeologist

00:44:57Howard Carter discovered

00:44:59his tomb in the Valley of Kings,

00:45:01his sarcophagus was empty.

00:45:03Carter nevertheless found

00:45:05two coffins in another tomb,

00:45:07one belonging to the nurse

00:45:09of Hatshepsut and the other

00:45:11to an unknown woman.

00:45:13In 2006, a team of specialists

00:45:15discovered a molar

00:45:17in a wooden box

00:45:19named Hatshepsut,

00:45:21and when they compared it

00:45:23to the jaw of the mummy,

00:45:25it corresponded perfectly.

00:45:27Ramses II was one of the most remarkable

00:45:29rulers, but it was his mummy,

00:45:31even more than his accomplishments,

00:45:33that finally marked history.

00:45:35Ramses is considered

00:45:37the most powerful pharaoh

00:45:39in all of Egypt,

00:45:41having reigned for no less

00:45:43than 100 years,

00:45:45which was quite remarkable

00:45:47given the time he lived in.

00:45:49Ramses II would have had

00:45:51more than 100 descendants,

00:45:53speaking of a large family.

00:45:55At his death, his body

00:45:57was initially buried

00:45:59in the Valley of Kings,

00:46:01but pillagers tried

00:46:03to rob the treasures

00:46:05of his tomb.

00:46:07His successors,

00:46:09unable to tolerate such acts,

00:46:11decided to send him to Paris

00:46:13for appropriate treatment.

00:46:15The problem was

00:46:17that he could not be

00:46:19expelled to another country.

00:46:21The only solution

00:46:23was to give Ramses II

00:46:25a passport.

00:46:27His profession was indicated

00:46:29as a king,

00:46:31and the document even contained

00:46:33his photo.

00:46:35Most mummies are not necessarily

00:46:37known for their very moist skin,

00:46:39but the one from China

00:46:41and nicknamed Lady Dai

00:46:43proves otherwise.

00:46:45No, we are not talking

00:46:47about this Lady Di,

00:46:49but about a Marquis

00:46:51dating back to the Han dynasty,

00:46:53discovered in a tomb

00:46:55richly decorated in 1971.

00:46:57Thanks to the particular conditions

00:46:59of her grave, humidity

00:47:01and lack of oxygen,

00:47:03her body was almost

00:47:05perfectly preserved.

00:47:07There are also a multitude of luxury objects

00:47:09buried with her,

00:47:11such as dishes and musical instruments.

00:47:13Archaeologists,

00:47:15examining the mummy closely,

00:47:17will discover that she died

00:47:19of a heart attack

00:47:21at the age of 50.

00:47:23Although she has left this world

00:47:25for more than 2,000 years,

00:47:27Lady Dai continues to fascinate.

00:47:29The mummy of Ötzi,

00:47:31the Ice Man,

00:47:33was discovered in the Alps in 1991.

00:47:35It turned out

00:47:37that it actually came from the age of copper.

00:47:39Thanks to the study of her mummy,

00:47:41found in a mountain pass

00:47:43more than 3,000 meters high,

00:47:45we have learned a lot about life

00:47:47in Europe during the Calcolithic period.

00:47:49For example, we know

00:47:51that he was originally from Central Europe

00:47:53and that he regularly consumed meat.

00:47:55He also suffered from arthritis,

00:47:57narrowing of the arteries

00:47:59and intestinal disorders.

00:48:01But he probably used acupuncture

00:48:03and medicinal herbs to treat his ailments.

00:48:05Apparently, he was also

00:48:07very skillful with his tools.

00:48:09He had sharpened them just a few days

00:48:11before his premature death.

00:48:13Perhaps he was anticipating trouble

00:48:15or was he simply preparing for a routine task?

00:48:17King Tutankhamun

00:48:19and his story are among the most famous

00:48:21of all the mummies in Egypt.

00:48:23This pharaoh died

00:48:25at the early age of 19,

00:48:27more than three millennia ago.

00:48:29But his mummy remains

00:48:31one of the most mysterious

00:48:33in the world.

00:48:35When his tomb was opened in 1922,

00:48:37the excitement was at its peak

00:48:39because it was still intact,

00:48:41unlike many other royal tombs.

00:48:43It contained sumptuously ornate sarcophagi,

00:48:45including a massive one in gold.

00:48:47Not only the tomb of Tutankhamun

00:48:49gave us a glimpse of the history

00:48:51of ancient Egypt,

00:48:53but his mummy also taught us a lot

00:48:55about the period in which he lived.

00:48:57The analysis of his DNA

00:48:59revealed that the pharaoh suffered

00:49:01from a rare bone disease

00:49:03that could have made him invalid.

00:49:05Ginger is probably one of the most fascinating mummies

00:49:07you will ever hear of.

00:49:09He looks like a time traveler

00:49:11from 5,000 years ago,

00:49:13still with his golden hair

00:49:15and his nails perfectly preserved.

00:49:17Ginger was discovered in Egypt

00:49:19and is considered the oldest mummified body

00:49:21ever discovered.

00:49:23Before the Egyptians mastered

00:49:25the art of mummification,

00:49:27they placed the bodies in shallow tombs

00:49:29in hot and dry sand.

00:49:31As the latter absorbed all the water,

00:49:33the bacteria could not reproduce

00:49:35and the body was thus

00:49:37naturally preserved.

00:49:39Today,

00:49:41scientists are not sure

00:49:43that the preservation of Ginger

00:49:45was intentional,

00:49:47but since his grave was made of pottery,

00:49:49it is likely that those who buried him

00:49:51knew advanced preservation techniques.

00:49:53If you want to meet Ginger

00:49:55in person,

00:49:57he is currently exhibited

00:49:59at the British Museum.

00:50:01A Dutch art collector

00:50:03acquired a Buddha statue in China

00:50:05and made a surprising discovery.

00:50:07It contained a mummy

00:50:09hidden inside.

00:50:11Alas, the body was too fragile

00:50:13to be moved,

00:50:15so it had to be left there.

00:50:17The most impressive part

00:50:19is that this mummy is over 1,000 years old

00:50:21and that it had been exhibited for 200 years

00:50:23and was buried in this statue.

00:50:25When they made the tomography,

00:50:27scientists discovered that the mummy

00:50:29was filled with pieces of paper

00:50:31covered with writing.

00:50:33Experts think he would have

00:50:35practiced self-mummification,

00:50:37a radical process involving

00:50:39a particular diet

00:50:41and a tea that makes the body

00:50:43less susceptible to bacteria.

00:50:45Only a few people could

00:50:47accomplish this ritual

00:50:49and those who succeeded

00:50:51were as intrigued by the scientists

00:50:53and historians as the sublime Nefertiti.

00:50:55If you believe her effigies,

00:50:57she was renowned for her

00:50:59elanced neck, her big eyes

00:51:01and her shining cheeks.

00:51:03Her name also translates as

00:51:05The Beauty Has Come,

00:51:07if that is not predestination.

00:51:09Although she was not a pharaoh herself,

00:51:11Nefertiti still managed

00:51:13to leave a lasting mark.

00:51:15The archives suggest that as a royal wife,

00:51:17she was extremely influential.

00:51:19Because of her power,

00:51:21she was certainly admired,

00:51:23but she had also made many enemies

00:51:25throughout her life.

00:51:27She was also linked to Tutankhamun,

00:51:29but not by blood.

00:51:31It was her mother.

00:51:33Until now, her mummy has still not been identified,

00:51:35but this could soon change.

00:51:37An Egyptologist who

00:51:39searched tombs in the Valley of Kings

00:51:41discovered two mummies

00:51:43that he thinks are Nefertiti's and his daughter's.

00:51:45According to specialists,

00:51:47we could soon get a definitive answer

00:51:49as to the identity of these two remains.

00:51:51If one of them turns out to be Nefertiti,

00:51:53we could be in the presence

00:51:55of a major discovery.

00:51:57DNA analysis and

00:51:59mummy tomography could

00:52:01offer us the most complete and precise image

00:52:03of the queen we have ever seen.

00:52:05It is incredible to think

00:52:07that we have only blurred the surface

00:52:09of what is hidden below

00:52:11modern Egypt.

00:52:13Nefertiti reigned over Egypt

00:52:15with great power and prosperity,

00:52:17but unfortunately died

00:52:19during a period of turmoil

00:52:21that led to the loss of her funerary site.

00:52:23Who can really predict

00:52:25where she is today?

00:52:2954,000 years ago,

00:52:31an interesting group of individuals

00:52:33lived in caves.

00:52:35A father, a daughter, and a few other members

00:52:37of their close family.

00:52:39The most interesting is that it is

00:52:41the first Neanderthal family

00:52:43to be discovered.

00:52:45A team of scientists studied the ancient DNA

00:52:47of their teeth and bones

00:52:49to find out more about the first human societies.

00:52:51These researches have revealed

00:52:53a surprising thing.

00:52:55They probably lived in these caves

00:52:57all together at the same time.

00:52:5911 Neanderthals lived together

00:53:01in a cave, the Chagir-Skaya cave,

00:53:03and two others in another cave

00:53:05located nearby.

00:53:07There were 13, 8 adults

00:53:09and 5 children.

00:53:11In addition to their DNA,

00:53:13scientists also found their stone tools

00:53:15and animal bones.

00:53:17Neanderthals are the ancient cousins

00:53:19of man, who are certainly

00:53:21the closest to us.

00:53:23Their skull was long and flattened,

00:53:25if we compare it to that of the Homo sapiens

00:53:27which is more spherical.

00:53:29They also had this prominent

00:53:31eyebrow ridge above the eyes.

00:53:33They are easily recognized by their faces,

00:53:35whose central part protrudes forward,

00:53:37as well as their wide nose.

00:53:39Some believe that such a nose

00:53:41was a way of adapting to life

00:53:43in cold and dry environments.

00:53:45When the inside of the nose is larger,

00:53:47it humidifies and warms

00:53:49the air we breathe better.

00:53:51Unlike us, they did not have many

00:53:53chests. In addition,

00:53:55marks found on their front teeth

00:53:57indicate that Neanderthals

00:53:59used them as a complement to their hands

00:54:01when they prepared their food

00:54:03and worked the materials

00:54:05at their disposal.

00:54:07Their body was robust and muscular,

00:54:09with broad shoulders and hips.

00:54:11Their average size was

00:54:13from 1.5 to 1.75 m,

00:54:15for a weight of 60 to 80 kg.

00:54:17Their trapezoidal shape,

00:54:19with short bones at the level of the arms

00:54:21and legs, minimized the surface

00:54:23exposed to their skin,

00:54:25which protected them better from the cold.

00:54:27Their life expectancy

00:54:29was about 30 years,

00:54:31although some of them lived longer.

00:54:33Neanderthals would have inhabited

00:54:35the regions that are today

00:54:37Europe and Asia for more than

00:54:39350,000 years.

00:54:41They disappeared about 40,000 years ago.

00:54:43It was around this time

00:54:45that traces of Homo sapiens

00:54:47were found in Europe.

00:54:51Their families were very united groups

00:54:53of 10 to 20 individuals.

00:54:55It is much less than the population

00:54:57of any human population,

00:54:59ancient or modern.

00:55:01It is rather the size of the groups

00:55:03that led to their extinction.

00:55:05These Neanderthals lived

00:55:07too much in their caves,

00:55:09within small communities,

00:55:11but they were not isolated

00:55:13from the rest of their congeners.

00:55:15They depended on each other

00:55:17to survive.

00:55:19They took care of their neighbors,

00:55:21especially those who could not

00:55:23get by on their own.

00:55:25Moreover, their caves were not

00:55:27as primitive as we might imagine.

00:55:29For example, there was a hole

00:55:31in the ground.

00:55:33In addition, they organized

00:55:35their space.

00:55:37They had resting areas,

00:55:39parts of the cave

00:55:41where they left their waste

00:55:43and dedicated parts

00:55:45where they made stone tools

00:55:47and prepared their food.

00:55:49They evolved in the river valleys

00:55:51to catch prey such as

00:55:53bison, bouquets, wild horses

00:55:55and other animals.

00:55:57They were skilled at planning

00:55:59their hunts

00:56:01according to the predictions

00:56:03of the movements of their prey.

00:56:05One of the biggest animals

00:56:07they tracked

00:56:09was the mammoth hyena.

00:56:11You know them,

00:56:13it's a parent of modern elephants

00:56:15covered in fur and weighing

00:56:17up to 5 tons,

00:56:19which went extinct a long time ago.

00:56:21Studies have shown that

00:56:23hyenas and Neanderthals

00:56:25shared some genetic traits.

00:56:27It's surprising when you think about it.

00:56:29The two species evolved

00:56:31from African ancestors

00:56:33before being able to adapt

00:56:35to the cold and harsh climate

00:56:37of the Eurasia during the Ice Age.

00:56:39They were therefore faced

00:56:41with similar conditions

00:56:43and went extinct at about the same time.

00:56:45Neanderthals also used

00:56:47stone to make tools

00:56:49similar to those used by

00:56:51other early humans,

00:56:53such as gratings and blades

00:56:55These tools that scientists

00:56:57found in the two caves

00:56:59they studied were created

00:57:01from the same raw materials.

00:57:03This meant that the communities

00:57:05interacted

00:57:07probably in one way or another.

00:57:09Until the 20th century,

00:57:11many thought that Neanderthals

00:57:13were very different from modern humans

00:57:15given their genetics,

00:57:17their physical appearance

00:57:19and their behavior.

00:57:21But more recent discoveries

00:57:23of this well-preserved Eurasian fossil population

00:57:25have shown that some of these members

00:57:27were similar to the people of today.

00:57:29Neanderthals lived before

00:57:31and during the last Ice Age,

00:57:33the Pleistocene,

00:57:35in some of the roughest places

00:57:37where humans have never lived.

00:57:39In addition to their tools

00:57:41and the capture of animals,

00:57:43they collected plants in the surroundings.

00:57:45They also often ate cooked vegetables.

00:57:47Their ability to survive

00:57:49for tens of thousands of years

00:57:51is a very good example

00:57:53of how humans can adapt

00:57:55to almost any situation.

00:57:57Neanderthals also produced

00:57:59the oldest rupestrial art we know.

00:58:01Researchers explored

00:58:03three Spanish caves

00:58:05where they lived

00:58:07and all showed black and red paintings

00:58:09made of nails, animals

00:58:11and geometric shapes

00:58:13as well as handprints

00:58:15made of handkerchiefs and engravings.

00:58:17These paintings were made

00:58:19more than 60,000 years ago.

00:58:21Since Homo sapiens

00:58:23arrived in Europe 20,000 years later,

00:58:25we can assume that Neanderthals

00:58:27were the only human species

00:58:29present on this continent at the time

00:58:31and that it was them

00:58:33who created this rupestrial art.

00:58:35In addition, these caves

00:58:37were 700 km away.

00:58:39So it's not as if only a few Neanderthals

00:58:41were capable of it.

00:58:43These paintings were

00:58:45obviously a long-standing tradition.

00:58:47Neanderthals were also

00:58:49great fashion amateurs.

00:58:51They made their own jewelry,

00:58:53some of which had eagle's wings.

00:58:55The oldest examples

00:58:57we have found

00:58:59date back to about 130,000 years ago.

00:59:01They also probably used pigments

00:59:03to camouflage or decorate their bodies.

00:59:05In addition,

00:59:07Homo sapiens was not the only species

00:59:09to master fire.

00:59:11Researchers examined more than 140 remains

00:59:13of fire across Europe

00:59:15and realized that Neanderthals

00:59:17had also been using fire for a long time.

00:59:19These traces included

00:59:21charcoal, calcined bones

00:59:23and heated stone objects.

00:59:25Neanderthals used fire

00:59:27for cooking their food

00:59:29and making tools.

00:59:31They glued wooden handles

00:59:33to pieces of stone with leather

00:59:35that acted like a natural glue.

00:59:37The combustion of the bark

00:59:39being the only way

00:59:41to make this sticky liquid,

00:59:43was the only way to make fire.

00:59:45Most people think that Neanderthals

00:59:47were probably grunting,

00:59:49but that is not the case.

00:59:51Their voices were not quite the same

00:59:53as ours.

00:59:55Their big breasts, their posture

00:59:57and the shape of their throats

00:59:59probably gave them a louder voice

01:00:01than that of the average man.

01:00:03They probably did not have

01:00:05a vocabulary as sophisticated as ours.

01:00:07But they could use

01:00:09a complex language

01:00:11like that of an Osseoid.

01:00:13It is this little thing

01:00:15that we have in our neck

01:00:17and that supports the basis of our language.

01:00:19It is this same thing

01:00:21that allows us to vocalize

01:00:23as we do.

01:00:25Neanderthals looked more like us

01:00:27than we thought.

01:00:29Some think that they would have

01:00:31even built ships

01:00:33to cross the Mediterranean.

01:00:35And it is not as if Neanderthals

01:00:37had lived somewhere,

01:00:39it would seem that these groups

01:00:41met about 100,000 years ago

01:00:43in the Arabian Peninsula

01:00:45or in the Middle East.

01:00:47It was at this time

01:00:49that the first groups of modern humans

01:00:51left Africa.

01:00:53Scientists analyzed the DNA

01:00:55of one of these Neanderthal women

01:00:57who lived more than 50,000 years ago.

01:00:59And they also showed genes

01:01:01of modern humans.

01:01:03Some very physical,

01:01:05like the color of the skin and hair,

01:01:07and the density of sunlight

01:01:09that we benefit from.

01:01:11Neanderthals lived in Europe

01:01:13and Asia long before the arrival

01:01:15of modern man.

01:01:17They were therefore used

01:01:19to less sunlight

01:01:21compared to those who came from Africa.

01:01:23These Neanderthals had traits

01:01:25of different characters

01:01:27due to their lower exposure

01:01:29to sunlight.

01:01:31And these traits were passed

01:01:33on to their offspring

01:01:35Modern humans present today

01:01:37are influenced by the genes

01:01:39of Neanderthals.

01:01:41For example, people who are

01:01:43nocturnal sometimes have

01:01:45some Neanderthal genes.

01:01:47And elsewhere,

01:01:49about 1% of Neanderthals

01:01:51had light skin,

01:01:53red hair,

01:01:55and maybe even red spots.

01:01:57It all happened in 1708.

01:01:59On June 8,

01:02:01the Spanish galleon San José

01:02:03entered Spain from the Caribbean.

01:02:05In total,

01:02:07there were 17 ships.

01:02:09The captain of the San José

01:02:11knew he was going to have trouble.

01:02:13Because English ships were

01:02:15rowing in the region.

01:02:17He knew he would be looking

01:02:19for the treasure loaded on the ships.

01:02:21The value of the treasure

01:02:23from the New World

01:02:25was so astronomical

01:02:27that it could upset

01:02:29the course of events in Europe.

01:02:31The Spanish galleon had to reach

01:02:33Cartagena de Indias,

01:02:35where Colombia is today.

01:02:37Unfortunately, another fate

01:02:39awaited the San José.

01:02:41The four English ships appeared.

01:02:43The galleon could not escape them.

01:02:45They had no choice

01:02:47but to turn around

01:02:49and fight.

01:02:51It was then that chaos began.

01:02:53The red flags indicating

01:02:55that the battle had begun.

01:02:57The cannons in action.

01:02:59No one knows exactly

01:03:01how it all ended.

01:03:03At nightfall,

01:03:05it was difficult to see

01:03:07clearly what was happening.

01:03:09The only thing that remained

01:03:11in history was the shipwreck

01:03:13of the admiral San José,

01:03:15then silence.

01:03:17The admiral's ship,

01:03:19the San José,

01:03:21was a very important

01:03:23strategic point of view.

01:03:25It carried an incredible amount

01:03:27of precious metals,

01:03:29such as emeralds.

01:03:31All of this remained

01:03:33at the bottom of the ocean

01:03:35for the next three centuries.

01:03:37But how did this lost treasure

01:03:39become a legend?

01:03:41First of all,

01:03:43the financial estimates

01:03:45of the treasure advanced

01:03:47by the scientists

01:03:49shocked everyone.

01:03:51The ship would have carried

01:03:53between 7 and 12 million pesos.

01:03:55With this money,

01:03:57you could afford private jets,

01:03:59a Lamborghini parking,

01:04:01and even a nice manor.

01:04:03And you would still have

01:04:05a lot of money.

01:04:07Like the pieces found

01:04:09on the Titanic,

01:04:11one might think that

01:04:13all this must have rusted.

01:04:15But when it comes to gold,

01:04:17things happen differently.

01:04:19The Titanic did not carry gold,

01:04:21or at least not much.

01:04:23But what is great about gold

01:04:25is that it never reacts with oxygen.

01:04:27This means that the real gold

01:04:29does not rust and does not tarnish.

01:04:31If your necklace is made of gold

01:04:33and becomes a little darker,

01:04:35it is a sign that it is not pure gold,

01:04:37but an alloy,

01:04:39which is also interesting

01:04:41because you can easily clean it.

01:04:43To go back to the lost treasure of San José,

01:04:45the pieces of gold that are there,

01:04:47even more than 300 years later,

01:04:49are supposed to look the same

01:04:51as the day they were struck.

01:04:53Let's go back now

01:04:55to the place where the ship

01:04:57is supposed to have sunk.

01:04:59Do you remember that I told you

01:05:01that the captain wanted to go to the shore

01:05:03where Colombia is today?

01:05:05Well, on December 4, 2015,

01:05:07the ship was indeed found

01:05:09in the waters of Colombia.

01:05:11As for many other important things

01:05:13today, the world learned

01:05:15from a tweet

01:05:17sent by the Colombian president

01:05:19Juan Manuel Santos.

01:05:21For decades,

01:05:23we have been looking for the San José

01:05:25and once it was found,

01:05:27its popularity only grew

01:05:29and the myths about it multiplied.

01:05:31One of the legends was told

01:05:33by Mr. Santos himself.

01:05:35After the discovery of the wreck,

01:05:37he gave a brief interview

01:05:39on the radio.

01:05:41The fact is that the discovery

01:05:43was rather unexpected.

01:05:45Many people have devoted a lot of time

01:05:47to the wreck and many of them

01:05:49had even given up hope

01:05:51of finding it one day.

01:05:53Juan Manuel Santos told

01:05:55how the wreck had been discovered.

01:05:57During an official event

01:05:59outside Colombia,

01:06:01he was approached by a man.

01:06:03He looked like the famous writer

01:06:05Hemingway.

01:06:07He wore a white beard

01:06:09and had white hair.

01:06:11The only thing this man wanted

01:06:13to look like Hemingway

01:06:15was to look like him.

01:06:17What happened next is incredible.

01:06:19The man took out an old map,

01:06:21more precisely a carefully framed copy,

01:06:23and told the president

01:06:25that no one else knew it.

01:06:27The man pointed to a precise place

01:06:29by declaring that it was

01:06:31the exact place where the treasure was

01:06:33and that this place did not appear

01:06:35on any other map.

01:06:37He assured that he knew

01:06:39where the treasure was.

01:06:41The story seemed crazy

01:06:44Who was this man?

01:06:46He turned out to be right.

01:06:48His identity remains a mystery

01:06:50to everyone, but in one way or another,

01:06:52this man had found the funding,

01:06:54determined the area to be inspected

01:06:56and even made his way

01:06:58to the president.

01:07:00Certainly,

01:07:02the San Jose was filled with gold

01:07:04and whoever found it would be rich

01:07:06until the end of his days.

01:07:08But let's be realistic.

01:07:10No ordinary person could discover

01:07:12this treasure because it requires

01:07:14too much effort and too much money.

01:07:16That said, what about when you are

01:07:18passionate about treasure hunting

01:07:20and you are looking for a treasure chest?

01:07:22Well, I think I have a story

01:07:24to tell about ordinary people

01:07:26who look for your finesse

01:07:28even by finding a real treasure.

01:07:30Here is Forrest Fenn,

01:07:32an eccentric millionaire

01:07:34who hid a treasure of 1 to 5 million dollars.

01:07:36His exact value has not been identified.

01:07:38Mr. Fenn himself

01:07:40declared that he had never

01:07:42tried to evaluate it.

01:07:44The chest contained 265 eagles

01:07:46and double eagles in American gold,

01:07:48old coins, gold nuggets

01:07:50and much more.

01:07:52Forrest hid the chest

01:07:54in the Rocky Mountains

01:07:56and announced the treasure hunt

01:07:58in 2010.

01:08:00Let's focus a little on a map

01:08:02and see how vast the Rocky Mountains are.

01:08:04In other words,

01:08:06treasure hunters had to sweep

01:08:08the United States and Canada.

01:08:10At first,

01:08:12it was a small treasure hunt

01:08:14that only a few people were aware of.

01:08:16But some time later,

01:08:18the competition got bigger.

01:08:20Tens of thousands of people

01:08:22gathered in search of the treasure.

01:08:24Research has shown that

01:08:26over the decade,

01:08:28about 3,500 people

01:08:30tried their luck in the search

01:08:32for the mysterious chest.

01:08:34To announce the hunt,

01:08:36Mr. Fenn wrote a book

01:08:38called The Thrill of the Chase.

01:08:40This book contained clues

01:08:42that most treasure hunters

01:08:44could not decipher.

01:08:46The chest was so well hidden

01:08:48that it took 10 years to discover it.

01:08:50There was also a blog

01:08:52called Thrill of the Chase.

01:08:54And on June 6, 2020,

01:08:56Mr. Fenn finally published

01:08:58the long-awaited news.

01:09:00The treasure had been found.

01:09:02Forrest himself admitted that

01:09:04he had found the treasure.

01:09:06The poem went viral on the Internet.

01:09:08Many Internet users

01:09:10tried to decode the 9 clues

01:09:12they contained.

01:09:14Some of them even gave

01:09:16possible keys to decode the riddle.

01:09:18These speculations

01:09:20may have helped the person

01:09:22who finally found the treasure.

01:09:24At first, Forrest Fenn himself

01:09:26did not know who had deciphered

01:09:28all the codes of the poem,

01:09:30crossed the dense forest

01:09:32and kept the anonymity.

01:09:34All we knew was that it was

01:09:36a man from the east of the United States.

01:09:38The winner sent a photo

01:09:40to Forrest Fenn,

01:09:42and the treasure hunt

01:09:44was officially over.

01:09:46But some time later,

01:09:48he revealed himself.

01:09:50It was Jack Stueff,

01:09:52a former journalist

01:09:54and medical student.

01:09:56The treasure was hidden

01:09:58under a starry vault

01:10:00The vault

01:10:02has never been moved

01:10:04from where it was originally hidden.

01:10:06The exact location is still unknown,

01:10:08but we know that the treasure

01:10:10was hidden in Wyoming.

01:10:12Jack admits that all the

01:10:14treasures announced had not been

01:10:16found in the vault.

01:10:18A small golden frog on a necklace

01:10:20and a Spanish emerald ring

01:10:22were missing.

01:10:24Forrest did find the frog

01:10:26in his collection and gave it to Stueff,

01:10:28who gave him the ring.

01:10:30The treasure hunt created by Forrest Fenn

01:10:32may seem extravagant,

01:10:34but he explained why he had decided

01:10:36to launch it.

01:10:38The only thing he claimed to have in mind

01:10:40was to give people hope.

01:10:44Many myths surround

01:10:46what is undoubtedly the largest

01:10:48structure ever erected by man,

01:10:50the Great Wall of China.

01:10:52Some say it is so vast

01:10:54that it would be visible from space.

01:10:56Others claim

01:10:58that it can be seen as far as the moon.

01:11:00Other theories suggest

01:11:02that the builders of the wall

01:11:04would have stayed inside.

01:11:06Sorry to disappoint you,

01:11:08but all these amazing stories

01:11:10are nothing more than myths.

01:11:12But even if these legends

01:11:14have been denied,

01:11:16the Great Wall of China

01:11:18remains an impressive structure

01:11:20and breathtaking,

01:11:22so let us tell you its true story.

01:11:24Today, China is one of the most populated

01:11:26countries in the world,

01:11:28with 1.4 billion inhabitants.

01:11:30It is also one of the oldest

01:11:32nations in the world.

01:11:34It has 300 to 500 years of history,

01:11:36written uninterruptedly.

01:11:38But civilization existed long before that.

01:11:40According to a theory,

01:11:42while the European continent,

01:11:44for example,

01:11:46was probably colonized by humans

01:11:48from Africa,

01:11:50China would not have been populated

01:11:52Some estimate that

01:11:54Chinese civilization would have been formed

01:11:56from the local populations of the Stone Age,

01:11:58who lived on this territory

01:12:00since prehistory.

01:12:02Now let's talk about the Great Wall of China.

01:12:04It is really very large,

01:12:06even according to the current criteria,

01:12:08since it extends over more than 2,000 km.

01:12:10To better visualize this,

01:12:12it is almost five times the distance

01:12:14between New York and Los Angeles,

01:12:16or even a little more

01:12:18than the distance between

01:12:20the North Pole and the South Pole.

01:12:22Even in the modern era,

01:12:24we have never built something

01:12:26so big.

01:12:28Of course, the Great Wall of China

01:12:30did not happen in one day,

01:12:32two maybe, you can continue to count.

01:12:34In fact, the construction of the wall

01:12:36lasted centuries.

01:12:38You probably know that the old cities

01:12:40were surrounded by fences

01:12:42to protect themselves from invaders.

01:12:44And yes, the Chinese cities also had.

01:12:46It was the first Chinese emperor

01:12:48in 220 BC

01:12:50and had this brilliant idea,

01:12:52but too ambitious.

01:12:54Convert all the walls of these cities

01:12:56into a single Great Wall

01:12:58that would defend the country's border

01:13:00against attacks from the north.

01:13:02A general of confidence led the construction,

01:13:04enrolling a huge group of workers,

01:13:06soldiers, rotaries

01:13:08and condemned in all kinds.

01:13:10At the time, the wall was built

01:13:12in clay and wood.

01:13:14In some strategic places,

01:13:16the wall stood up

01:13:18to ensure maximum security.

01:13:20These walls measured on average

01:13:228 meters high.

01:13:24But the Great Wall did not yet look

01:13:26like the construction we know today.

01:13:28Each successive emperor

01:13:30resumed the project of the Great Wall,

01:13:32reinforcing it

01:13:34and extending it, repairing it,

01:13:36but also modernizing

01:13:38its construction techniques.

01:13:40Some used bricks,

01:13:42others blocks of granite and marble.

01:13:44Gate towers and platforms

01:13:46did not exist either originally.

01:13:48They were added by the Ming emperors.

01:13:50These towers allowed

01:13:52to communicate with the other sections

01:13:54of the wall by smoke messages.

01:13:56This is therefore

01:13:58quite heteroclite in terms of materials,

01:14:00but it only adds to the charm

01:14:02of the construction and shows

01:14:04the time and effort it took.

01:14:06If some parts of the wall

01:14:08have remained standing

01:14:10for centuries and are still in good condition,

01:14:12it is partly due to the sticky rice flour.

01:14:14It turns out that this mortar

01:14:16made of rice is comparable to cement.

01:14:18It is as solid as impermeable,

01:14:20sealing the bricks so tightly

01:14:22that even weeds are unable

01:14:24to grow there.

01:14:26We can also notice that some bricks

01:14:28have engraved inscriptions.

01:14:30They were left there by the workers

01:14:32who built the wall.

01:14:34These inscriptions were intended

01:14:36to guarantee the quality of the work.

01:14:38They contain information such as

01:14:40the location, the quantity

01:14:42and the name of the project managers.

01:14:44Thus, in case of defects

01:14:46related to the quality of the materials

01:14:48or the construction itself,

01:14:50we knew who was to blame.

01:14:52Recently, a group of researchers

01:14:54examined official historical documents

01:14:56of the Ming dynasty, which reigned

01:14:58over China from the 14th to the 17th centuries.

01:15:00They came across documents

01:15:02showing hidden doors in the Great Wall.

01:15:04And so they decided to find them.

01:15:06We used a flying drone

01:15:08to continuously take pictures

01:15:10of the wall with a resolution

01:15:12of the order of a centimeter.

01:15:14The researchers photographed

01:15:1690% of the wall built under the Ming dynasty

01:15:18and discovered the remains

01:15:20of more than 220 secret doors

01:15:22along the wall.

01:15:24Some of them had a specific width

01:15:26and height that allowed

01:15:28only one person to pass them.

01:15:30Others were large enough

01:15:32to allow two horses

01:15:34to pass them at the same time.

01:15:36The main objective

01:15:38of the Great Wall

01:15:40was to protect the country

01:15:42from the invader.

01:15:44The building of doors

01:15:46allowing the enemy to enter China

01:15:48would therefore question

01:15:50the reason for the wall.

01:15:52These doors were therefore

01:15:54secret passages.

01:15:56They corresponded perfectly

01:15:58to the surrounding topography

01:16:00and the exterior opening

01:16:02was camouflaged by bricks

01:16:04The wall did not only fulfill

01:16:06a defensive function

01:16:08and it was never completely closed.

01:16:10It could be opened on demand.

01:16:12This structure was also used

01:16:14for trade and commerce.

01:16:16The communication between

01:16:18the interior and the exterior

01:16:20and, of course, for protection

01:16:22and espionage.

01:16:24Some doors were used for trade

01:16:26with the border countries.

01:16:28And by smaller doors,

01:16:30a person would sneak in

01:16:32an enemy who lived on the other side.

01:16:34These secret doors were also

01:16:36useful in case of sudden attack.

01:16:38As we will remember,

01:16:40some of them were camouflaged

01:16:42by bricks outside.

01:16:44The exit was so

01:16:46indistinguishable that the enemy

01:16:48had no idea of the exact place

01:16:50where it could be.

01:16:52For Chinese soldiers,

01:16:54the entrance inside was hollow.

01:16:56They could thus cross the wall

01:16:58and break the camouflaged exit door,

01:17:00launching their surprise attack.

01:17:02Even if the main objective

01:17:04was to prevent foreigners

01:17:06from entering the empire,

01:17:08the wall was not very effective

01:17:10in this regard.

01:17:12One could always climb it

01:17:14or bypass it.

01:17:16It was therefore permanently

01:17:18monitored and the guards

01:17:20sent signals to the troops

01:17:22if they saw the enemy approaching.

01:17:24In addition, this wall gave

01:17:26more time to mobilize

01:17:28in difficult strategic positions.

01:17:30Construction stopped

01:17:32at the end of the 19th century,

01:17:34the wall having lost

01:17:36its strategic and military importance

01:17:38due to technological advances.

01:17:40Over the centuries and until today,

01:17:42only 8% of the Great Wall

01:17:44is still in good condition,

01:17:46the rest being damaged.

01:17:48In addition, about a third of the wall

01:17:50has disappeared without a trace

01:17:52due to natural erosion

01:17:54and damage caused by man.

01:17:56One can therefore say

01:17:58that it is no longer just a pretty vestige.

01:18:00As we will remember,

01:18:02the first parts of the wall

01:18:04were built in stone and wood.

01:18:06These are not the most durable materials

01:18:08at the scale of several millennia.

01:18:10In addition, modern destructive

01:18:12agricultural methods have transformed

01:18:14vast areas into deserts

01:18:16and contributed to their erosion.

01:18:18In addition, many bricks

01:18:20were removed from the wall

01:18:22in the last century to be used

01:18:24for farms and houses.

01:18:26Today, the wall is still

01:18:28deconstructed stone by stone,

01:18:30but this time by tourists.

01:18:32Many of them

01:18:34take one as a souvenir.

01:18:36This makes a lot of stones,

01:18:38knowing that more than 10 million

01:18:40tourists visit the Great Wall every year.

01:18:42Since 1987,

01:18:44the wall has been registered

01:18:46as a UNESCO World Heritage Site,

01:18:48which underlines its exceptional

01:18:50importance for humanity.

01:18:52The Great Wall is one of the 56 Chinese sites

01:18:54registered as a World Heritage Site,

01:18:56which places it in the second place

01:18:58of the countries whose sites are protected

01:19:00by UNESCO.

01:19:02Who is the first, you ask?

01:19:04The first place, with 58 sites

01:19:06registered as a World Heritage Site,

01:19:08comes back to Italy.

01:19:10And did you know that the wall is not

01:19:12just a famous tourist attraction,

01:19:14but also the site of the Great Wall Marathon?

01:19:16This marathon, created in 1999,

01:19:18is one of the most difficult in the world.

01:19:20Did you guess?

01:19:22Participants run along the wall,

01:19:24including on all its steps.

01:19:26There are three distances,

01:19:28so that participants can run

01:19:30a full 42-kilometer marathon,

01:19:32a 21-kilometer semi-marathon

01:19:34or a simple 8-kilometer footing.

01:19:38Do you remember 2011?

01:19:40Well, open your ears wide.

01:19:42A diver is about to dive

01:19:44deeply into the waters of the Musi River,

01:19:46located in the heart of the Indonesian island.

01:19:48He is one of the many lucky

01:19:50to have found incredible artifacts

01:19:52at the bottom of this one.

01:19:54Divers and fishermen are slowly discovering

01:19:56a Sumatra civilization that has disappeared

01:19:58for a long time.

01:20:00Known as the Shining City,

01:20:02Sriwijaya State City

01:20:04was probably the closest

01:20:06to a real El Dorado to ever exist.

01:20:08However, it disappeared

01:20:10at the end of the 13th century.

01:20:12And until recently,

01:20:14researchers did not even know

01:20:16what Sriwijaya was.

01:20:18Imagine a civilization built on a river,

01:20:20a real aquatic world,

01:20:22according to archaeologists

01:20:24who studied Sriwijaya.

01:20:26Houses, markets and places of worship

01:20:28were erected on piles of wood

01:20:30above the water level.

01:20:32Its inhabitants moved,

01:20:34like modern Venetians,

01:20:36in simple boats.

01:20:38Sriwijaya was known as a prosperous

01:20:40and respected maritime empire.

01:20:42It existed from the 7th to the 11th century.

01:20:44Every person traveling from east to west

01:20:46had to pass through the city.

01:20:48Its sovereigns were advised

01:20:50and managed to take control

01:20:52of the Malacca district,

01:20:54thus allowing the city

01:20:56to gain total control

01:20:58of the region's commercial routes.

01:21:00The least we can say

01:21:02is that its name had something honorable.

01:21:04Sriwijaya translates from Sanskrit

01:21:06as

01:21:08brilliant victory or simply glorious.

01:21:10The city was an important

01:21:12commercial hub of the time.

01:21:14It was strategically located

01:21:16on the most influential

01:21:18commercial routes in the ancient world,

01:21:20which means that its inhabitants

01:21:22became extremely rich.

01:21:24The most prosperous ancient societies

01:21:26were used to openly display

01:21:28their gold and wealth.

01:21:30They often used these precious metals

01:21:32as offerings to their divinities.

01:21:34Or they used them

01:21:36to create great statues

01:21:38and to make them

01:21:40the appearance of their kings and queens

01:21:42as well as the decorations of their palaces.

01:21:44Sriwijaya did not escape the rule.

01:21:46Indonesian divers

01:21:48who explored half of the Musi river

01:21:50near the city of Palembang

01:21:52found some traces of it.

01:21:54Until now, they have discovered

01:21:56a large Buddha statue,

01:21:58jewels embedded in precious stones,

01:22:00temple bells, mirrors,

01:22:02golden crutches,

01:22:04and many other objects.

01:22:06No official archaeological excavation

01:22:08has been carried out in the region.

01:22:10These artefacts are therefore

01:22:12the first elements of Sriwijaya's empire

01:22:14never found again.

01:22:16Sean Kingsley,

01:22:18a British marine archaeologist

01:22:20who reported his discoveries,

01:22:22does not hide his surprise.

01:22:24For a long time, people have speculated

01:22:26about the true wealth of Sriwijaya.

01:22:28And it seems that the rumors

01:22:30have been confirmed.

01:22:32We start from scratch, he says.

01:22:34We do not know what clothes

01:22:36they used to feed themselves.

01:22:38Even if this discovery

01:22:40aroused a certain enthusiasm

01:22:42in the scientific community,

01:22:44there is a twist to this medal.

01:22:46Divers and fishermen

01:22:48sell the artefacts recovered

01:22:50on the international market of antiquities

01:22:52even before archaeologists

01:22:54were able to examine them.

01:22:56Researchers could try

01:22:58to acquire some articles,

01:23:00but they are sold for millions of dollars

01:23:02all over the world.

01:23:04The legend of Eldorado of the Orient

01:23:06comes from the stories of merchants.

01:23:08These descriptions relate that Sriwijaya

01:23:10was a kingdom of snakes,

01:23:12men-eaters and multilingual parrots.

01:23:14This is not trivial.

01:23:16Some say that these active volcanoes

01:23:18gave the city an unreal and disturbing

01:23:20appearance.

01:23:22And all these stories emphasize

01:23:24the amount of gold it stored.

01:23:26Travel stories were a common way

01:23:28to describe cities in ancient times.

01:23:30In case you did not know,

01:23:32Eldorado began at the beginning.

01:23:34While European explorers

01:23:36began their excavations

01:23:38of the South American lands

01:23:40in the 16th century,

01:23:42an Amazonian civilization

01:23:44had become accustomed

01:23:46to painting its chiefs

01:23:48with the offerings of the gods.

01:23:50The legend of Eldorado

01:23:52began to spread rapidly

01:23:54throughout Europe.

01:23:56It turned out that this was

01:23:58only the ceremonial practice

01:24:00of an unlimited source of gold.

01:24:02No one knows what caused

01:24:04the decline of the Sriwijaya empire.

01:24:06Some say that these active volcanoes

01:24:08could have swallowed it.

01:24:10Or maybe that the wooden houses

01:24:12built above the river

01:24:14ended up sinking.

01:24:16Maybe that if divers continue

01:24:18to recover lost objects

01:24:20at the bottom of the water,

01:24:22archaeologists will be able

01:24:24to determine what really happened

01:24:26to the city.

01:24:28Ancient cities have disappeared

01:24:30without a trace,

01:24:32as happened with the Mayan civilization,

01:24:34for example.

01:24:36The Mayans managed to build

01:24:38one of the largest empires

01:24:40in pre-Columbian America.

01:24:42It was thought to house

01:24:44more than two million people

01:24:46and prospered for more than six centuries.

01:24:48Its sudden disappearance

01:24:50is something that intrigues

01:24:52archaeologists and scientists.

01:24:54The Mayans began to settle

01:24:56from the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico

01:24:58to Guatemala,

01:25:00including Belize.

01:25:02It is thought that they built

01:25:04about 40 cities at the height

01:25:06of their empire.

01:25:08They also developed a complex

01:25:10hieroglyphic system,

01:25:12which has been studied

01:25:14since its discovery

01:25:16by modern scientists.

01:25:18The Mayans were fervent engineers,

01:25:20astronomers and farmers.

01:25:22It was a post-nomadic people

01:25:24who cultivated corn and other types of vegetables.

01:25:26Archaeologists still learn a lot

01:25:28about the Mayan civilization

01:25:30by inspecting its ruins.

01:25:32The city of Chichen Itza,

01:25:34located in the Yucatan Peninsula,

01:25:36is one of the most important Mayan sites

01:25:38discovered to date.

01:25:40The site has a total of 26 ruins

01:25:42and houses a world-famous pyramid

01:25:44known as El Castillo.

01:25:46It consists of a series of square terraces

01:25:48with stairs on each

01:25:50of the four sides of the temple.

01:25:52The pyramid was built in homage

01:25:54to the serpent-feathered god.

01:25:56The Mayans were so prodigious

01:25:58in architecture

01:26:00that they managed to build

01:26:02a pyramid that projected

01:26:04a particular shadow.

01:26:06More precisely,

01:26:08at the end of the afternoon

01:26:10during the equinoxes of

01:26:12Printemps and Dautomne,

01:26:14the pyramid projected

01:26:16the shadow of a triangular

01:26:18that created the Yucatan serpent.

01:26:20La Vila Estelmente Incroyable

01:26:22has been considered

01:26:24one of the seven wonders

01:26:26of the New World since 2007.

01:26:28The Mayan civilization has prospered

01:26:30for more than six centuries

01:26:32thanks to a system of managed

01:26:34and solid astronomical knowledge.

01:26:36The Mayans were able

01:26:38to predict the eclipses

01:26:40with precision and,

01:26:42with the only means of their

01:26:44rudimentary technology,

01:26:46could even locate Venus and Mars.

01:26:48It took them much longer

01:26:50to prosper than they actually did.

01:26:52This is why the fall of the Mayans

01:26:54intrigues modern scientists so much.

01:26:56No one has been able

01:26:58to fully understand

01:27:00what led to their decline,

01:27:02at least until a recent discovery.

01:27:04A study carried out by NASA

01:27:06claims to be able to explain

01:27:08what could have happened.

01:27:10Archaeologists have discovered

01:27:12a sample of pollen trapped

01:27:14for more than 1,200 years

01:27:16that dates back to the previous era

01:27:18for the collapse of this civilization.

01:27:20The analysis has revealed

01:27:22something completely new about the Mayans.

01:27:24Instead of the hypotheses that

01:27:26suspected that the Mayans

01:27:28had disappeared due to a terrible epidemic

01:27:30or a prolonged conflict in the region,

01:27:32this could be due to deforestation.

01:27:34It is possible that to build

01:27:36their entire kingdom

01:27:38they had to cut down a lot of trees.

01:27:40Without trees,

01:27:42their soil could have eroded

01:27:44and their fertile soil

01:27:46could have slowly but surely become sterile.

01:27:48According to NASA researchers,

01:27:50temperatures in the region

01:27:52could have increased by about 6 degrees.

01:27:54And from that moment on,

01:27:56the soil would have become even drier

01:27:58and the crops would have become

01:28:00more difficult to maintain.

01:28:02Basically, NASA says that the Mayans

01:28:04have become unable to do the only thing

01:28:06that made them prosper,

01:28:08namely agriculture.

01:28:10And their kingdom began to decline.

01:28:12And this theory has been challenged

01:28:14by another discovery.

01:28:16Archaeologists have found skeletons

01:28:18dating from the time of their former kingdoms.

01:28:20These presented obvious signs

01:28:22of malnutrition.

01:28:24This theory could really bring

01:28:26a new light on the history of the Mayans.

01:28:28It could explain what led

01:28:30to the fall of such a powerful civilization.

01:28:32What do you think?

01:28:34What theory seems true?

01:28:36Have we really managed to discover

01:28:38the reason for the fall of the Mayan civilization?

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