Ancient Civilisations keep getting older

And perhaps strangest of all, scattered around the globe are cultures that, long before telescopes, knew details of the heavens. Like the Dogon people of Mali, who talk about a star they shouldn’t have even been able to see. Their stories describe Sirius B, a faint companion star next to the brightest one in the night sky - a star only visible through a telescope. So how did they know?

Other Theories of Cyclical Catastrophe

Chan Thomas's cyclical destruction theory isn’t alone in asserting the possibility of past advanced civilizations. The work of Graham Hancock, for example, explores similar themes in books like Fingerprints of the Gods, where he argues that sophisticated cultures may have predated our known historical civilizations. Hancock points to shared ancient knowledge across separate, distant cultures - such as precise astronomical alignments and advanced architectural techniques - as evidence that forgotten societies may have had advanced scientific understanding.

Are We Next? The Fragile Fate of Civilizations

In an age of dazzling technological advancement, it's easy to assume we’ve outgrown the vulnerabilities of the past. Yet even today, entire regions are brought to their knees by floods, hurricanes, wildfires, and earthquake - modern echoes of ancient "acts of God." Despite our mastery over machines and data, we remain deeply at the mercy of nature, and increasingly, of ourselves.

As warnings from climate scientists, environmentalists, and futurists grow louder, a haunting question emerges: could our own civilization be nearing a collapse—one triggered not by myth, but by measurable, escalating threats? From climate change and ecosystem degradation to economic instability, nuclear proliferation, and runaway AI, many fear we are barreling toward a reset of our own making. And if it comes, will we be remembered—or forgotten—like those who came before us?

Why Do Civilizations Collapse?

History is full of once-great civilizations that crumbled - often not from a single blow, but from a cascade of internal decline and external shocks. Environmental collapse is a recurring theme: the Mayans, for example, suffered devastating droughts that led to famine and mass unrest. Societies that overexploited their resources or failed to adapt to environmental change often sealed their own fates.

Economic instability can be just as ruinous. The Roman Empire’s downfall was hastened by inflation, overreliance on slave labor, and an overstretched military budget. Add to that political corruption, loss of institutional trust, and growing inequality—a formula that feels eerily familiar today. War and invasion have historically accelerated collapse too. The Mongol conquests of the 13th century obliterated entire empires, rewriting the map of Eurasia in their wake.

Even the skies have played a role. Ancient peoples feared celestial omens—solar flares, eclipses, comets, or alignments—as harbingers of doom. While these events may not directly cause collapse, they often punctuate times of upheaval, reinforcing the idea that no society, no matter how powerful, is immune to disruption.

What Can We Learn from the Past?

Perhaps the most sobering lesson is this: civilizations don’t always die in fire and blood. Sometimes, they simply fade - through complacency, overconfidence, or the slow erosion of what once held them together.

Now, standing at the edge of our own uncertain future, we face many of the same warning signs: environmental decline, rising inequality, fractured leadership, and mounting global tension. Could we, too, become a forgotten civilization, with only fragments of our story left for future archaeologists to wonder over?

Or will this be the moment we break the cycle? That answer may be closer than we think.