Archeology -- what are they really hoping to find?

[blablahblah]

I mean, surely, all of the more advanced aspects of ancient societies were biodegradable?

We tend to assume that global society is the most advanced it has ever been, but what if that's just our arrogant ego talking, based on a mirage? It should be obvious that only the most primitive metal and stone symbols (pyramids) would have the dumb longevity to survive 1000s of years. Even so, they've given us so many hints about their mathematical abilities.

What if ancient societies got so cynical about "dem young inbred next generation" that, in multiple acts of desperation, they inscribed a whole bunch of runes for us, dumbing it down of course, like a kind of mental seed bank??


Ancient satellite and Internet technology? Biodegradable.


Ancient nuclear power? Safe enough not to leave any long-term evidence on the planet. The lack of evidence for (ancient damage, isotopes scarring the environment, etc.) is not evidence of lack (Logic 101). If anything, any "first time ever" occurrences of scarring should be regarded as positive evidence that we have gone downhill.


Ancient mining and excavation of energy and minerals out of the earth? Advanced quantum teleportation, unlike the primitive metal scoops that we use today.

That is all.

[blablahblah]

If we're looking for something buried in the silt and sand, we'll only find whatever is recognisable to us. It would have to be some kind of image of what we know.

[CustomChickenDelivery]

The ancients surely would have seen natural nuclear reactions

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/ancient-nuclear-reactor/

of which there is evidence.

Whether they built out or utilized the knowledge is another matter.

They probably skipped fission and went straight to the red mercury.

[Spendulus]

....
Ancient satellite and Internet technology? Biodegradable.


Ancient nuclear power? Safe enough not to leave any long-term evidence on the planet. The lack of evidence for (ancient damage, isotopes scarring the environment, etc.) is not evidence of lack (Logic 101). If anything, any "first time ever" occurrences of scarring should be regarded as positive evidence that we have gone downhill.


Ancient mining and excavation of energy and minerals out of the earth? Advanced quantum teleportation, unlike the primitive metal scoops that we use today.

That is all.

No alien satellites around the Earth Moon system.

No evidence of anything intelligent having been on the Moon except Apollo etc, Lunakod, and now the Chinese rover.

[Candystripes]

Archeology is how they found most ancient artifacts......

[freedomno1]

If we're looking for something buried in the silt and sand, we'll only find whatever is recognisable to us. It would have to be some kind of image of what we know.

True enough, for all we know we left it on mars a long time ago
Then moved from that planet to earth etc and rebuilt the technology from there.
If there were any proof of spaceships it would likely be in the place where we have determined most ancient humanity derived from good old Africa buried deep underneath the soil.
Or deep arctic 

[BADecker]

It's fun, eeking out a living while seeking out the ancient dead.

Probably in the ancient past, the sun was much brighter and larger and hotter. Actually, science is finding that it is shrinking on a daily basis as it uses up its "fuel" and sends material out into space in all directions.

Probably in the ancient past the earth was the fourth planet in the Solar System, while Mars was the third. The size of the ancient sun made Mercury a liquid droplet, probably without any solidity at all.

The asteroid belt was created when an ancient planet-sized comet happened to come too close to Earth and Mars, destroying itself in the process of flipping the orbits of the two. This happened to keep Earth inside of a solar zone that was warm enough to support life - remember, the sun is contracting as it uses its fuel.

If you look at the current temperatures of the earth while keeping mind the political nature of Global Warming, you will see that Earth is gradually losing its heat, bit by bit, every decade. We are headed for another ice-age, within, say, approximately 50 years if not sooner. The only two things that might forestall this are: 1) the Earth is moved into a closer orbit to the sun; 2) the sun gains a new batch of material that expands its heating capabilities back to what they were more than 5,000 years ago.