But the question that still needs answering is how these marks appear all over the earth. Did separate cultures independently hit on the idea or was there far more communication than science is prepared to admit?
One thing that intrigues me is that here in Upper Michigan, we have ancient copper mines by the thousands. We have no clue who was mining the copper or what they did with it. Approximately 1.5 billion pounds of copper was mined but where did it all go? The only answer is that it was sold or bartered off--but to whom? Some archaeologists insist that Lake Superior copper is found throughout South America, Europe and the Middle East.
The bizarre thing is, though, that whoever was mining left nothing behind of any note that allows us to identify who they were. There are no living quarters, no rock drawings or petroglyphs, no burial mounds or tombs. No pottery or implements other than the tools they mined with--mauls--and a few arrowheads made from the copper they mined.
Even stranger, whatever happened to them. They laid down their mauls and walked off the face of the earth one day. We're even sure when this happened except it was well over 10 centuries before the common era and maybe over 50 centuries. There are no bones, no skulls, no bits of clothing--nothing. Where did they come from, where did they go and where did they do and what did they do with all that copper?
Michigan once had a tremendous number of Indian mounds. In fact, the road my office is located on is called Mound Road which is named for the mounds that were once clumped around its length. Archaeologists are certain that the mound-builders, whoever they were, were not the copper miners. And make no mistake, these mounds are themselves very mysterious.