It’s easy to dismiss claims of sophisticated ancient civilizations as wacky. But as Gaia.com’s Regina Meredith says, “It’s not about right or wrong, but honoring each other’s perceptions.” In Meredith’s Secrets of Lost Civilizations interview with researcher Michael Tellinger, Tellinger shares his possible proof that we’ve only scratched the surface on our study of civilizations of yore. For example, what if ancient civilizations were so advanced they were able to clone a species to help mine gold? What if the Sumerians’ constellation of ruins in Africa were energetic devices potentially used for teleportation?

When you enter Tellinger’s world, leave the snark at the door. You’ll be shown a place of portals and stargates, where rocks make music and calendars last over 75,000 years. Tellinger skillfully describes some of the most interesting technologies that these vanished civilizations of southern Africa pioneered:

A vast network of hubs

There are around 10 million ancient stone circles in South Africa, all connected by stone channels, which historians originally thought were designed for cattle. Tellinger suggests these structures were used for gold mining instigated by the Annunaki (a group of Sumerian gods), who created a slave race by genetically tinkering with indigenous proto-humans.

Singing stones

The extremely hard hornfels stone, which Tellinger believes was brought to the area for the express purpose of creating the monuments, has rich tonal qualities and vibrant musicality. In the show, Tellinger demonstrates various examples of these incredible acoustic stones.

Adam’s calendar

This monolithic stone calendar marks time out by the day – and should be on everyone’s bucket list of places to see. Tellinger believes that it’s the oldest manmade structure on earth, dating back at least 75,000 years. The calendar, he says, is still accurate today.

What happens in the circle, stays in the circle

Ground-penetrating radar and other tests of the ruins have revealed numerous anomalies, Tellinger reports, such as electromagnetic waves inside the circles and intense heat signatures.

The scope of Tellinger’s physical evidence for these lost civilizations is impressive, and deserves our attention. In these stones, he uncovers poetry—the stories of a people able to heighten their senses and expand their consciousness.

Squash the impulse to scoff—it just makes us more rigid and intransigent in our thinking. Instead, tune into Meredith’s deft interview with Tellinger, as she diplomatically navigates her way into controversial territory, all the while encouraging us to open our minds to the possibilities. Be willing to suspend disbelief—and expand your own.