Ed Barnhart: Maya, Aztec, Inca, and Lost Civilizations of South America | Lex Fridman Podcast #446

Ed Barnhart is an archaeologist and explorer specializing in ancient civilizations of the Americas. He is the Director of the Maya Exploration Center, host of the ArchaeoEd Podcast, and lecturer on the ancient history of North, Central, and South America. Ed is in part known for his groundbreaking work on ancient astronomy, mathematics, and calendar systems.
See below for timestamps, transcript, and to give feedback, submit questions, contact Lex, etc.

*Transcript:*

*CONTACT LEX:*

*EPISODE LINKS:*

*SPONSORS:*
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*OUTLINE:*
0:00 - Introduction
1:39 - Lost civilizations
8:43 - Hunter-gatherers
12:16 - First humans in the Americas
22:07 - South America
27:36 - Pyramids
34:40 - Religion
47:44 - Shamanism
49:41 - Ayahuasca
55:54 - Lost City of Z
1:00:48 - Graham Hancock
1:07:51 - Uncontacted tribes
1:13:51 - Maya civilization
1:29:40 - Mayan calendar
1:44:57 - Flood myths
2:13:25 - Aztecs
2:30:52 - Inca Empire
2:48:52 - Early humans in North America
2:54:50 - Columbus
2:59:26 - Vikings
3:03:35 - Aliens
3:08:02 - Earth in 10,000 years
3:24:12 - Hope for the future

*PODCAST LINKS:*

*SOCIAL LINKS:*

[lexfridman]

See below for timestamps, transcript, and to give feedback, submit questions, contact Lex, etc.
0:00 - Introduction
1:39 - Lost civilizations
8:43 - Hunter-gatherers
12:16 - First humans in the Americas
22:07 - South America
27:36 - Pyramids
34:40 - Religion
47:44 - Shamanism
49:41 - Ayahuasca
55:54 - Lost City of Z
1:00:48 - Graham Hancock
1:07:51 - Uncontacted tribes
1:13:51 - Maya civilization
1:29:40 - Mayan calendar
1:44:57 - Flood myths
2:13:25 - Aztecs
2:30:52 - Inca Empire
2:48:52 - Early humans in North America
2:54:50 - Columbus
2:59:26 - Vikings
3:03:35 - Aliens
3:08:02 - Earth in 10, 000 years
3:24:12 - Hope for the future

*Transcript:*

*CONTACT LEX:*

*EPISODE LINKS:*

*SPONSORS:*
To support this podcast, check out our sponsors & get discounts:
*MasterClass:* Online classes from world-class experts.
*Shopify:* Sell stuff online.
*NetSuite:* Business management software.
*AG1:* All-in-one daily nutrition drinks.
*Notion:* Note-taking and team collaboration.

[archaeoedpodcast]

Hey Lex, thank you for having me on! I hope everyone enjoyed learning more about the Ancient Americas! 🌎

If anyone has a burning question: please, leave it below! 👇

[anshdeshwal]

lex please keep doing these history podcasts

[miamithijs]

Love all the historians you are having on the podcast!!!!

[ejethrogaede]

Kudos on a great conversation, Lex. As a retired anthropologist and educator, I am hopeful that your audience absorbs the huge knowledge drop that Ed shares so eloquently. Thank You!

[ManuSeyfzadeh]

There are two comments by Barnhart that stand out for me among many others, he also put well: That archaeology is supposed to attempt to disprove theories instead of proving them and that one should keep an open mind to ideas outside the majority think bubble...I am paraphrasing. I was relieved to finally hear an archaeologist say these words. You've got my respect, Ed.

[nap]

I like how lex is adding visuals to the podcast I wish many other podcasts did this

[lukecaverns]

Dr. Barnhart is one of my closest friends & I’m blessed to have him as a mentor. Such a brilliant & humble guy. 🕵🏻‍♂️

[diskhover]

School teaches me that history is boring and you teach me to love it. Thank you so much Lex / Ed for teaching us. It’s truly a privilege to listen to experts share their knowledge about different periods and places in our history. This is enough of a spark for me to take an exciting journey I never thought possible. Thank you for all you do.

[rebeccacolclough]

I think lex is being strategic in his use of historians in the current tumultuous landscape of politics and society as a whole. There are deeper lessons to be had in these conversations! Love u lex 🫶🏼

[marshallmiller]

This is one of my favorite shows and guests from Lex. He has a wonderful way of having deep but light conversations. The whole family enjoys listening to Lex.

[nikkileep]

Amazing Lex!!! Very excited about this episode. You should try and have someone on to talk about Ancient China

[jaycee]

This has been one of my favourite episodes, just because of how so damn nice Ed is and how excited he is about what he researches. I also noted the brief discussion of Hancock. No personal attacks, just a disagreement in the conclusions. I wish more people in the archaeology field were like this guy and were receptive to maybe simplistic or uninformed questions or notions about his research. Even when Lex was asking similar questions over and over again, he just kept being nice and enthusiastic about the discussion. It never felt like he was lecturing, it felt like asking your favourite teacher about niche topics. I've never had too much interest or knowledge about this topic but even after half an hour in I started taking notes so I could research this stuff later. Really awesome episode.

[ylnux]

Amazing podcast, as a Mexican I enjoy when some one Explain really well the ancient American Civilizations that lived here in the same Territory that I call home.

[AlabamaAerialPhenomena]

Lex’s reaction when Ed is describing Aztec sacrifices is perfect 😂

[lendonpartain]

dude i love him so much. no ego, no frill, just amazement wonderment, and knowledge. My type of existence i wish to meet people in.

[BobsYerUncle_GT]

This guy sounds very reasonable and would have been a FAR better choice than Flint Dibble to have that discussion with Hancock on JRE. I'd like to hear this guy speak his thoughts on a lot more of what Graham says

[HistoryofWesternCivilisation]

Going hard on the history lately Lex! Great content!

[MommaARA]

I wish I had these podcasts as a teenager. This would have moved me into Archaeology

[WizCudder]

This guy and the Roman Empire expert were 10/10 guests. Thank you Lex!