How Native Americans Read the Stars (And Built a Civilization) | Full Episode | Native America
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About this episode
Watch more with PBS Passport: https://to.pbs.org/2DdzTCv Trace ancient knowledge and cutting-edge science to answer a 15,000 year old-question: who were America’s First People? The answer hides in Amazonian cave paintings, Mexican burial chambers, and on the waves off California’s coast. [Originally aired in 2018]
Modern scholarship and ancient oral tradition work side-by-side to discover a shared native science and spirituality, maintained across thousands of miles, that creates the foundation for some of our planet’s greatest wonders. These stories point to the genesis of a vast social and cultural network that connects people across two continents – one that began earlier than ever imagined. Recent discoveries are driving archaeologists and indigenous leaders to a bold new perspective: that all Native Americans are part of a unique interconnected world.
New evidence hints that the First Americans spent millennia developing their distinctive culture and beliefs as a single community in what is now Alaska, before spreading rapidly across North and South America. Together, they set Native America in motion, continents apart and untouched by influence from Europe, Asia and Africa. The result was incredible cities, sophisticated cultures, and unique ways of life that continue to reverberate in native beliefs and ways of life to this day.
From Caves to Cosmos | Native America
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Educators! Extend the learning from this video with this free PBS LearningMedia collection. Students will reach back 15,000 years to explore ancient city planning, Indigenous science and spirituality, early systems of government, and present-day efforts to preserve Native languages and knowledge. A powerful fit for U.S. history, social studies, and civics units. (Grades: 6-12) Explore now: https://bit.ly/nativeamericacollection
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- PBS Documentaries, the YouTube channel of PBS Digital Studios, on 2026-04-03
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