How much of human history is on the bottom of the ocean? - Peter Campbell
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0:07 - 0:08Sunken relics,
-
0:08 - 0:10ghostly shipwrecks,
-
0:10 - 0:11and lost cities.
-
0:11 - 0:15These aren't just wonders found
in fictional adventures. -
0:15 - 0:16Beneath the ocean's surface,
-
0:16 - 0:19there are ruins where people
once roamed -
0:19 - 0:23and shipwrecks loaded with artifacts
from another time. -
0:23 - 0:26This is the domain
of underwater archaeology, -
0:26 - 0:32where researchers discover and study
human artifacts that slipped into the sea. -
0:32 - 0:34They're not on a treasure hunt.
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0:34 - 0:37Underwater archaeology
reveals important information -
0:37 - 0:40about ancient climates and coastlines,
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0:40 - 0:42it tells us how humans sailed the seas,
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0:42 - 0:46and what life was like millennia ago.
-
0:46 - 0:48So what exactly can we find?
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0:48 - 0:51At shallow depths mingled in with
modern-day items, -
0:51 - 0:54we've discovered all sorts
of ancient artifacts. -
0:54 - 0:57This zone contains evidence of how
our ancestors fished, -
0:57 - 0:59how they repaired their ships,
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0:59 - 1:01disposed of their trash,
-
1:01 - 1:06and even their convicted pirates,
who were buried below the tide line. -
1:06 - 1:08And it's not just our recent history.
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1:08 - 1:15800,000-year old footprints were found
along the shore in Norfolk, Britain. -
1:15 - 1:16In these shallow depths,
-
1:16 - 1:20the remains of sunken cities also loom
up from the sea floor, -
1:20 - 1:22deposited there by earthquakes,
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1:22 - 1:23tsunamis,
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1:23 - 1:26and Earth's sinking plates.
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1:26 - 1:30Almost every sunken city can be found
at these shallow depths -
1:30 - 1:34because the sea level has changed little
in the several thousand years -
1:34 - 1:37that city-building civilizations
have existed. -
1:37 - 1:42For instance, in shallow waters off
the coast of Italy lies Baia, -
1:42 - 1:46a Roman seaside town
over 2,000 years old. -
1:46 - 1:49There, it's possible to swim among
the ruins of structures -
1:49 - 1:54built by Rome's great families,
senators, and emperors. -
1:54 - 1:56And then there are shipwrecks.
-
1:56 - 2:00As ships grow too old for use,
they're usually abandoned near shore -
2:00 - 2:05in out-of-the-way places like estuaries,
rivers, and shallow bays. -
2:05 - 2:10Archaeologists use these like a timeline
to map a harbor's peaks and declines, -
2:10 - 2:14and to get clues about the historic art
of shipbuiding. -
2:14 - 2:18At Roskilde in Denmark, for example,
five purposefully sunken vessels -
2:18 - 2:24reveal how Vikings crafted their fearsome
long ships 1,000 years ago. -
2:24 - 2:26When we descend a bit further,
-
2:26 - 2:29we reach the zone where the deepest
human structures lie, -
2:29 - 2:32like ancient harbor walls and quays.
-
2:32 - 2:37We also see more shipwrecks
sunk by storms, war, and collisions. -
2:37 - 2:40We're still excavating many
of these wrecks today, -
2:40 - 2:41like Blackbeard's ship,
-
2:41 - 2:46which is revealing secrets about life
as an 18th century pirate. -
2:46 - 2:51But past 50 feet, there are even deeper,
better preserved shipwrecks, -
2:51 - 2:53like the wreck at Antikythera,
-
2:53 - 2:56which sank during the 1st century BC.
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2:56 - 2:58When it was discovered,
it contained statues, -
2:58 - 2:59trade cargo,
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2:59 - 3:02and also the earliest known computer,
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3:02 - 3:05a mysterious device called
the Antikythera mechanism -
3:05 - 3:10that kept track of astronomical changes
and eclipses. -
3:10 - 3:12Today, it gives archaeologists vital
information -
3:12 - 3:16about the knowledge possessed
by the Ancient Greeks. -
3:16 - 3:20It is in this zone that we also begin
to find aircraft and submarines, -
3:20 - 3:23such as those from the World Wars.
-
3:23 - 3:26Plunging as deep as 200 feet,
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3:26 - 3:31we can find some of the earliest
and rarest signs of human history. -
3:31 - 3:34Prior to 5,000 years ago,
there was a lot more dry land -
3:34 - 3:39because glaciers trapped much
of the water that now forms the sea. -
3:39 - 3:42Our ancestors spread across these lands,
-
3:42 - 3:44and so on the sea floor,
we find their camps, -
3:44 - 3:46stone tools,
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3:46 - 3:48and the bones of animals they hunted.
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3:48 - 3:53These sites give us invaluable knowledge
about our ancestor's migration patterns, -
3:53 - 3:54hunting methods,
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3:54 - 3:58and technologies.
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3:58 - 4:00In the deepest zone,
no human has ever walked. -
4:00 - 4:05This area has been submerged since
well before mankind evolved. -
4:05 - 4:09The only artifacts we find are those
that have drifted down from above, -
4:09 - 4:14like NASA's Saturn V rocket engines
at 14,000 feet, -
4:14 - 4:17and the deepest shipwrecks.
-
4:17 - 4:20The ocean is like a huge
underwater museum -
4:20 - 4:24that constantly adds to our knowledge
about humanity. -
4:24 - 4:26With only a fraction of it explored,
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4:26 - 4:29discoveries are sure to continue
long into the future.
- Title:
- How much of human history is on the bottom of the ocean? - Peter Campbell
- Description:
-
View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/how-much-of-human-history-is-on-the-bottom-of-the-ocean-peter-campbell
Sunken relics, ghostly shipwrecks, and lost cities aren’t just wonders found in fictional adventures. Beneath the ocean’s surface, there are ruins where people once roamed and shipwrecks loaded with artifacts from another time. Peter Campbell takes us into the huge underwater museum that is our ocean to see what these artifacts can tell us about humanity.
Lesson by Peter Campbell, animation by Blind Pig.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TED-Ed
- Duration:
- 04:46
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Retired user
There's a mistake in the English transcript at 02:29: It should be 'quais' not 'keys'.