National Geographic: Mysteries Underground Page #3

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and I have been the first,

the very first person

to ever go down a drop...

if we can't really tell

if the rope reaches the bottom,

the person who goes down first

wears their climbing gear, too,

so that you can put your climbing gear

on the rope and come up.

Also, we put a knot at the bottom

of that rope

so we can't rappel off the end of it,

which has happened to people.

I like the deep pits,

because when they're deep,

you get to go fast more.

That's why I like the deep pits,

because the short ones

you don't get to go fast very long.

The first time I did it in a pit,

it was only a 90-foot pit

and I didn't get scared.

I don't get scared very easily.

I like going fast.

When I go down fast,

the floor is real tiny and then

it starts getting bigger and bigger,

and I like to watch that.

An unfettered commitment

to their sport

compels cavers to seek new thrills

in undiscovered places.

For some, the quest

for adventure knows no boundary.

The Austrian Alps.

A fifth of the world's deepest caves

are located here, high in the mountains

These ice caves are 5,000 feet

above sea level.

They are natural deep freezes

where ice remains, even in hot summers

Here, geological time is condensed.

We can witness the growth

of ice formations

in short periods of months or years,

which in their stone counterparts

would take centuries.

From year to year these caves

are never the same.

As they thaw and freeze again,

the fantastic ice formations

are ever changing.

Few places on earth are more beautiful

or more treacherous,

with perhaps one exception.

Some cavers have merged their love of

the unknown with a passion for diving,

venturing into a bizarre world

underground and under water.

Originally formed above sea level,

these caves became submerged

about 10,000 years ago

as the last Ice Age retreated.

They are now 70 feet

beneath the surface.

Underwater caves are deathtraps

for the inexperienced.

But, from time to time,

tempting fate can have

astounding rewards.

In 1990, when exploring

a submerged tunnel off

the Mediterranean coast of France,

a professional diver surfaced

in a hidden chamber.

He found a treasure chest of art,

perhaps 18,000 years old.

Paintings and engravings depict

animals that roamed southern Europe

before the last great ice sheets melted

Some experts question the authenticity

of the art,

but close examination is impossible.

Cosquer Cave is a place

of haunting mystery.

To protect it, the cave is now sealed

by order of the French government.

In time a new entrance may be built

and the truth known.

An expanse of sinkholes and

depressions pockmark

south central Kentucky

where, beneath the surface,

the limestone is riddled with caves.

They are everywhere,

an integral part of the landscape.

This is Floyd Collins country,

and the contest to attract

the tourist dollar still rages on.

The star attraction is Mammoth

the world's longest cave.

A national park since 1941,

the cave now draws more

than half a million visitors a year.

Back in the 1800s

tour guides here were

often black slaves.

One of them, Stephen Bishop,

became perhaps the greatest caver

of them all.

On his own,

with little more than a lamp,

a rope, and a sketchbook,

Bishop explores the depths

of Mammoth Cave.

He creates a surprisingly accurate map

of this complex underground maze.

Deep in the cave

Bishop is confronted by a gaping void

that came to be known

as Bottomless Pit.

Beyond, Bishop explores regions

that had never been visited in his time

But in these remote reaches

he hinds evidence

that someone has preceded him.

Some archeologists believe

that Stephen Bishop

may have also encountered one

of Mammoth's most compelling mysteries

Trapped under a boulder

are the ancient remains

of a human being.

Not for another century would

the mummified body be rediscovered

and then as the technology

became available,

removed from beneath

the six-ton boulder.

A sensation in its time,

the mysterious body would be

on public display for years

and given the name Lost John.

Two to three thousand years ago

this man was digging around

the base of a heavy rock

when it dislodged and crushed him.

What was he doing here?

How did he get here?

No one believed that ancient humans

could have ventured this far

into the forbidding depths

of Mammoth Cave.

Today, new evidence helps

to answer these questions.

Archeologist Ken Tankersley

has spent years

investigating the traces

of ancient humans in Mammoth.

Armed with cane reeds collected

near the park,

Tankersley simulates

the methods prehistoric

explorers would have used here.

We have long known that human beings

lived near the entrance of caves.

But Lost John suggested

that prehistoric people

had gone far into Mammoth

perhaps two day's travel.

Was this possible?

At first Tankersley himself had doubts

I'm always amazed when I think about

what it takes for us to go into a cave.

We wear a hard hat;

we wear out caving lamp,

whether it's electric or carbide;

and we carry two sources

of back-up light.

We wear enough clothing

to ward off hypothermia.

These people wore virtually nothing

loin cloths at best.

Probably most frequently,

based on what we've seen in the cave

in terms of human remains,

these people were naked,

carrying nothing but cane reed torches

The reed torches were the only light

source available to ancient humans.

They produce surprisingly

efficient illumination

and conjure ghosts

from the heavy shadows.

Their daring was incredible.

For humans, light is life in a cave.

But these explorers traveled

up to 12 miles

with nothing but reed torches between

them and a horrible fate.

Their pathway can be followed even now

A trail of burned torch fragments

leads Tankersley and his companions

to a cavity in the rock face.

Digging marks and a crude implement

are evidence of some kind

of activity here.

That's magnificent.

Notice the cut edge.

A primitive tool,

one of dozens found deep in the cave.

What was it used for?

Another clue:

a rich seam of selenite crystal

courses through the rock face nearby.

These findings prove that

prehistoric people were engaged

in widespread mining of crystals

throughout the cave.

The scale of the operation

was staggering.

Tons of material were removed.

The mining continued without

interruption for over a thousand years

The ancient miners took selenite

and other minerals from the cave.

But what they were used

for remains a mystery

as medicines, or ornaments,

or for use in rituals?

Perhaps all three.

Just as mysteriously,

around the time of the birth of Christ

the mining suddenly ceased.

As yet no one knows why.

All that remains is abundant evidence

that they once were here,

driven by needs and desires

we may never understand.

To our right, down below,

is the famous Bottomless Pit.

For many, many years lights were not

sufficient to reach the bottom.

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