The timeline of world history we were all taught in school is true, right? Not necessarily. Archaeological sites from around the world contain anachronisms, evidence that early humans may have been cleverer than we thought. No, this isn't wild-haired theories about aliens, just a lot of unanswered questions.
Göbekli Tepe, outside Sanliurfa, Turkey
Hailed as The World's First Temple and Turkish Stonehenge, Göbekli Tepe has humankind engaging in large-scale architecture and design when we were supposed to be hunting and gathering Neolithic cavepeople. Dated to 10,000 BC (12,000 years ago), the site is made up of concentric stone circles enclosing limestone t-shaped limestone pillars sporting carvings of humans and animals. But the biggest mystery is how the builders managed to move and erect these massive stones, as the largest weighs as much as a herd of elephants.
Puma Punku, Tiwanaku, Bolivia
Situated high in the Andes Mountains, Puma Punku was abandoned a long time before the Inca began to hail it as a sacred site where creator deity Viracocha created the ancestors of humankind. Myths aside, the creators of what is believed to be a temple, manipulated stone in a shockingly advanced manner. Incredibly heavy stone has been moved by unknown means throughout Puma Punku, but most extreme are the paving stones weighing up to 131 tons] used to create a terrace on the site are believed to have been quarried from a location 10 miles distant. Stones contain drill holes and are carved into sophisticated geometric shapes that seem to be from a template. Also, ground-penetrating radar revealed an underground network of residences and water conduits.
The Great Pyramid, Giza, Egypt
The grandaddy of all mysterious, ancient sites, orthodox Egyptology deems it the burial place of King Cheops, and construction to 2500 BC. And while a compelling new theory has the gigantic stone blocks moved using wet sand, there are still mysteries. From its construction to 820 AD, she sat completely sealed. But when cracked open by men working for Caliph Al-Mamoun, the coffin in the King's Chamber was empty, and not one iota of religious inscription was found in any of the rooms. Taking all three pyramids as a whole, there is even a theory that they represent Orion's Belt on Earth.
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