"Live Players" with Samo Burja and Erik Torenberg Long History: Civilization Is Older Than We Thought
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Mar 12, 2026 They argue complex societies existed long before farming and writing. Deep seafaring, island colonization, and submerged shorelines rewrite migration stories. Genomics and massacre sites reveal prehistoric population turnovers and organized violence. They warn of lost archives and a digital dark age while proposing tech-driven archaeology to recover hidden history.
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Civilization Existed Before Farming
- Civilization predates agriculture by thousands of years and included complex settlements, trade, and states long before written records.
- Samo Burja argues prehistory was likely full of villages and organized societies exemplified by sites like Göbekli Tepe dated ~11,500 years ago.
Prehistoric Seafaring Was Widespread
- Ancient humans were capable seafarers tens of thousands of years ago, enabling island colonization and long-distance movement.
- Tristan Sobh Rapp's overview notes lost coastlines and submerged sites explain sparse evidence, while finds like Flores and Crete push seafaring deep into the Pleistocene.
Bamboo Raft Proved Stone Age Voyages Possible
- The First Mariners Project recreated Stone Age sea travel with an 11.4m bamboo raft to show simple craft could cross ocean gaps.
- The project demonstrated practical feasibility for island hops like Bali to the Lesser Sundas, supporting intentional prehistoric voyages.