1 00:00:04,080 --> 00:00:07,440 Speaker 1: Welcome to Aaron Manke's Cabinet of Curiosities, a production of 2 00:00:07,480 --> 00:00:14,440 Speaker 1: iHeartRadio and Grimm and Mild. Our world is full of 3 00:00:14,480 --> 00:00:18,440 Speaker 1: the unexplainable, and if history is an open book, all 4 00:00:18,480 --> 00:00:22,160 Speaker 1: of these amazing tales are right there on display, just 5 00:00:22,200 --> 00:00:28,840 Speaker 1: waiting for us to explore. Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities. 6 00:00:36,240 --> 00:00:39,479 Speaker 1: The road to the central highland plateau of Siang Kwang 7 00:00:39,560 --> 00:00:43,400 Speaker 1: in northern Laos is a rough one. It climbs and twists, 8 00:00:43,560 --> 00:00:47,479 Speaker 1: revealing to the travelers sweeping vistas at every turn, terraced 9 00:00:47,520 --> 00:00:51,760 Speaker 1: fields where cattle graze, and dramatic limestone cliffs. The road 10 00:00:51,760 --> 00:00:56,040 Speaker 1: itself is frequently broken, with deep ruts and occasional washouts, 11 00:00:56,080 --> 00:00:59,720 Speaker 1: slow traffic to a crawl. They're in the remote misty 12 00:00:59,760 --> 00:01:04,319 Speaker 1: heighth giants dominate the landscape, massive stone vessels that give 13 00:01:04,360 --> 00:01:08,760 Speaker 1: the plateau its name, the plane of jars. These vessels 14 00:01:08,840 --> 00:01:12,119 Speaker 1: are not modest, some rising up to three meters in height, 15 00:01:12,400 --> 00:01:15,520 Speaker 1: but some weighing up to thirty tons. Their shapes vary 16 00:01:15,640 --> 00:01:18,920 Speaker 1: nearly as much as their sizes. Some cylinders, some with 17 00:01:19,040 --> 00:01:23,639 Speaker 1: their large stone lids resembling mushrooms. Many are cracked and worn. 18 00:01:23,720 --> 00:01:26,720 Speaker 1: Their surfaces, ground down over time by the wind and 19 00:01:26,760 --> 00:01:30,399 Speaker 1: the weather. The jars are spread out over a massive territory. 20 00:01:30,600 --> 00:01:34,320 Speaker 1: Some stand alone as watchful sentinels, while others are densely 21 00:01:34,360 --> 00:01:38,760 Speaker 1: clustered together as strange stone forests. In the late nineteen twenties, 22 00:01:39,080 --> 00:01:43,600 Speaker 1: French geologist and archaeologist Madeline Kolani traveled to Laos to 23 00:01:43,640 --> 00:01:47,400 Speaker 1: conduct the first comprehensive study of these jars. She spent 24 00:01:47,480 --> 00:01:52,600 Speaker 1: months on sites, mapping each jar with meticulous care, sketching configurations, 25 00:01:52,640 --> 00:01:56,440 Speaker 1: and conducting excavations. She also spent time listening to the 26 00:01:56,480 --> 00:02:00,720 Speaker 1: storytelling of locals, taking into account their understanding of the place. 27 00:02:01,120 --> 00:02:04,480 Speaker 1: While earlier scholars assumed the vessels were mere storage for 28 00:02:04,680 --> 00:02:07,320 Speaker 1: grain or water, she came to believe that they held 29 00:02:07,400 --> 00:02:11,720 Speaker 1: a deeper ritual purpose. The discovery of charred human remains 30 00:02:11,760 --> 00:02:15,000 Speaker 1: in nearby caves suggested that the jars played a role 31 00:02:15,000 --> 00:02:18,560 Speaker 1: in the funerary rituals rather than the mundane storage of 32 00:02:18,600 --> 00:02:22,919 Speaker 1: these peoples. The caves, she suggested, were used to cremate bodies, 33 00:02:23,080 --> 00:02:26,160 Speaker 1: which would then be interred in the jars. She used 34 00:02:26,160 --> 00:02:29,320 Speaker 1: these discoveries to publish a two volume study of the area, 35 00:02:29,600 --> 00:02:33,680 Speaker 1: which laid the foundation for scholarship on the subject. Kolani 36 00:02:33,760 --> 00:02:36,720 Speaker 1: continued to conduct field studies of the jars until her 37 00:02:36,760 --> 00:02:39,440 Speaker 1: death in nineteen forty three, but it would be many 38 00:02:39,520 --> 00:02:43,600 Speaker 1: decades before new researchers brought modern technology to the mystery. 39 00:02:44,000 --> 00:02:48,200 Speaker 1: In nineteen ninety four, for example, researchers used modern GPS 40 00:02:48,320 --> 00:02:52,440 Speaker 1: enabled mapping of site I, documenting the exact location of 41 00:02:52,480 --> 00:02:56,440 Speaker 1: each jar and the surrounding burial pits. This helped establish 42 00:02:56,480 --> 00:03:01,320 Speaker 1: a more clear relationship between the two since advances, including 43 00:03:01,320 --> 00:03:06,080 Speaker 1: the technique called optically stimulated luminescence or OSL, have further 44 00:03:06,200 --> 00:03:09,240 Speaker 1: clarified the chronology of the vessels, showing them to be 45 00:03:09,320 --> 00:03:11,640 Speaker 1: relics of the Iron Age, with some of the jars 46 00:03:11,720 --> 00:03:16,080 Speaker 1: dating back three thousand years. Carbon dating of the remains, however, 47 00:03:16,320 --> 00:03:19,120 Speaker 1: have shown that their period of usage extended to around 48 00:03:19,160 --> 00:03:23,040 Speaker 1: seven hundred years ago, suggesting and enduring ritual significance to 49 00:03:23,080 --> 00:03:26,480 Speaker 1: the sites leading well into the medieval era. All put together, 50 00:03:26,560 --> 00:03:30,280 Speaker 1: it seems that while scholars may disagree on the finer details, 51 00:03:30,520 --> 00:03:34,800 Speaker 1: the modern consensus now is that Kolani was correct. Now, 52 00:03:34,840 --> 00:03:38,320 Speaker 1: the extensive travel required to witness the plane of jars 53 00:03:38,440 --> 00:03:41,680 Speaker 1: makes it an unlikely tourist destination. But there's another reason 54 00:03:41,680 --> 00:03:44,800 Speaker 1: that the sites are sparsely visited. A single wrong step 55 00:03:44,840 --> 00:03:47,880 Speaker 1: could be fatal. You see, when northern Laos was heavily 56 00:03:47,920 --> 00:03:51,440 Speaker 1: bombed during the Vietnam War, tens of millions of unexploded 57 00:03:51,480 --> 00:03:55,320 Speaker 1: cluster munitions were left hidden in the soil. It's estimated 58 00:03:55,440 --> 00:03:57,840 Speaker 1: that it will take nearly a century to remove all 59 00:03:57,840 --> 00:04:01,240 Speaker 1: the unexploded bombs. Today, hey, the Jara Plains is a 60 00:04:01,360 --> 00:04:06,560 Speaker 1: UNESCO World Heritage Site recognized for its archaeological and cultural significance. 61 00:04:06,920 --> 00:04:11,440 Speaker 1: Local authorities have created walking paths, signage, and small visitor 62 00:04:11,480 --> 00:04:15,600 Speaker 1: centers to educate travelers while also protecting the ancient stones. 63 00:04:16,200 --> 00:04:19,280 Speaker 1: Guided tours, as you'd imagine, are very limited, but a 64 00:04:19,320 --> 00:04:22,960 Speaker 1: slow stream of international travelers do make their journey each year, 65 00:04:23,360 --> 00:04:27,400 Speaker 1: drawn by both the mystery and the majesty of the landscape. 66 00:04:27,600 --> 00:04:30,560 Speaker 1: Visiting the Plane of Jars is indeed a journey through 67 00:04:30,600 --> 00:04:34,440 Speaker 1: time where the ancient rituals of past civilizations is on 68 00:04:34,600 --> 00:04:38,359 Speaker 1: full display. These stone vessels stand as silent witnesses to 69 00:04:38,480 --> 00:04:42,520 Speaker 1: centuries of life, death and resilience, a reminder that history 70 00:04:42,880 --> 00:05:00,440 Speaker 1: can be both unusual and very curious. Doug was worried, 71 00:05:00,600 --> 00:05:03,480 Speaker 1: worried about something most of us probably would never even 72 00:05:03,520 --> 00:05:07,280 Speaker 1: think about. He was worried about elk, more specifically, too 73 00:05:07,360 --> 00:05:11,000 Speaker 1: many elk, because Yellowstone National Park, home to nearly four 74 00:05:11,080 --> 00:05:15,080 Speaker 1: hundred species of animals and spanning three mountain states, was 75 00:05:15,160 --> 00:05:19,160 Speaker 1: in danger of ecological collapse. You see, Yellowstone was missing 76 00:05:19,200 --> 00:05:22,960 Speaker 1: one very important creature that brought balance to the whole ecosystem, 77 00:05:23,120 --> 00:05:26,400 Speaker 1: what is often called a keystone species, the North American 78 00:05:26,480 --> 00:05:29,520 Speaker 1: gray wolf, which had been completely absent from the park 79 00:05:29,760 --> 00:05:34,400 Speaker 1: for fifty years. But why. The story begins all the 80 00:05:34,440 --> 00:05:38,120 Speaker 1: way back in eighteen seventy four, when President Ulyssess Grant 81 00:05:38,160 --> 00:05:41,320 Speaker 1: designated Yellowstone as protected land and made it the very 82 00:05:41,360 --> 00:05:45,599 Speaker 1: first national park. Grant was moved after seeing photographs taken 83 00:05:45,600 --> 00:05:49,680 Speaker 1: by Ferdinand Hayden. One look at the roaming bison, swimming bears, 84 00:05:49,800 --> 00:05:54,280 Speaker 1: wide canyons, alpine rivers, and enormous blue sky was enough 85 00:05:54,279 --> 00:05:57,919 Speaker 1: to convince him this place was special. But just because 86 00:05:57,960 --> 00:06:01,440 Speaker 1: the land was protected didn't mean the wildlife were. In fact, 87 00:06:01,480 --> 00:06:03,719 Speaker 1: many visitors came to the park for the purpose of 88 00:06:03,839 --> 00:06:08,400 Speaker 1: hunting bison, antelope, and even predator species. Gray Wolves were 89 00:06:08,520 --> 00:06:11,760 Speaker 1: especially sought after for their pelts and because they frightened 90 00:06:11,760 --> 00:06:15,359 Speaker 1: the tourists, occasionally the wolves even attacked local cattle herds 91 00:06:15,400 --> 00:06:19,159 Speaker 1: on nearby farms. All this meant that by nineteen twenty six, 92 00:06:19,560 --> 00:06:23,279 Speaker 1: there were no wolves left in Yellowstone, and this was 93 00:06:23,320 --> 00:06:26,320 Speaker 1: the problem that had Doug Smith so worried to fully 94 00:06:26,400 --> 00:06:28,479 Speaker 1: understand it, though, you have to think about this as 95 00:06:28,520 --> 00:06:31,640 Speaker 1: dominoes all lined up in a neat row ready to fall, 96 00:06:31,760 --> 00:06:34,000 Speaker 1: with the first hitting the second, and the third and 97 00:06:34,080 --> 00:06:36,960 Speaker 1: so on. The absence of wolves in the park was 98 00:06:37,080 --> 00:06:40,800 Speaker 1: a problem because without wolves, the elk population had grown 99 00:06:40,880 --> 00:06:44,600 Speaker 1: out of control. The plants that they ate, especially aspen 100 00:06:44,680 --> 00:06:48,240 Speaker 1: and cottonwood trees, were now in danger of being overgrazed. 101 00:06:48,560 --> 00:06:50,840 Speaker 1: And since the elk had no predators to fear, they 102 00:06:50,880 --> 00:06:53,520 Speaker 1: also spent longer and longer way out in the open 103 00:06:53,880 --> 00:06:56,599 Speaker 1: grazing beside the river bank. And because there were too 104 00:06:56,640 --> 00:06:59,760 Speaker 1: many elk, the plants along the river that cleaned the 105 00:06:59,839 --> 00:07:03,400 Speaker 1: river died off and the river became cloudy. And because 106 00:07:03,440 --> 00:07:06,760 Speaker 1: the river was cloudy, many fish didn't survive well in 107 00:07:06,800 --> 00:07:10,080 Speaker 1: that cloudy water, which meant fewer food for bears, otters, 108 00:07:10,080 --> 00:07:12,960 Speaker 1: and birds of prey, And with a vegetation gone from 109 00:07:12,960 --> 00:07:16,520 Speaker 1: the riverbank beavers also had nothing to build their dams with, 110 00:07:16,640 --> 00:07:19,680 Speaker 1: and the creatures dependent on a wetland environment that was 111 00:07:19,760 --> 00:07:23,000 Speaker 1: created by those dams had nowhere to go. You can 112 00:07:23,040 --> 00:07:27,040 Speaker 1: see how one problem trickled down to all the other systems. 113 00:07:27,400 --> 00:07:30,680 Speaker 1: The solution here might seem obvious. It certainly did to 114 00:07:30,760 --> 00:07:33,600 Speaker 1: Doug Smith and the conservationists who were working with him. 115 00:07:34,000 --> 00:07:37,200 Speaker 1: If wolves were reintroduced into the park, this time with 116 00:07:37,360 --> 00:07:40,360 Speaker 1: protections in place to keep them from being hunted, the 117 00:07:40,440 --> 00:07:43,800 Speaker 1: rest might fall into place. As it turns out, that 118 00:07:43,960 --> 00:07:47,360 Speaker 1: was easier said than done. One big issue, well, that 119 00:07:47,400 --> 00:07:52,360 Speaker 1: would be the nearby ranchers. Yellowstone is situated between three states, Idaho, Wyoming, 120 00:07:52,440 --> 00:07:55,400 Speaker 1: and Montana, and in all three states there were farmers 121 00:07:55,400 --> 00:07:58,800 Speaker 1: and ranchers who felt worried about the plan to reintroduce 122 00:07:58,840 --> 00:08:01,560 Speaker 1: the wolves. Make sure the wolves would be in the 123 00:08:01,640 --> 00:08:04,320 Speaker 1: park and not on the ranchers land, But what was 124 00:08:04,360 --> 00:08:07,800 Speaker 1: to stop them from hunting down helpless livestock on nearby farms. 125 00:08:08,040 --> 00:08:10,560 Speaker 1: It wasn't as if the wolves could read or understand 126 00:08:10,600 --> 00:08:14,480 Speaker 1: a you are leaving Yellowstone sign. Then even fences weren't 127 00:08:14,600 --> 00:08:17,040 Speaker 1: enough to deter them. And this wasn't the first time 128 00:08:17,120 --> 00:08:20,600 Speaker 1: that the park's conservation efforts had actually impacted these farmers' 129 00:08:20,600 --> 00:08:23,160 Speaker 1: ways of life. Bison ate up all the grass that 130 00:08:23,200 --> 00:08:26,000 Speaker 1: the farmers wanted to graze their own cowson, and then 131 00:08:26,040 --> 00:08:29,000 Speaker 1: as more and more visitors came to Yellowstone, the National 132 00:08:29,040 --> 00:08:32,400 Speaker 1: Park Service needed to expand They paid the farmers well 133 00:08:32,440 --> 00:08:36,440 Speaker 1: for their land, but many were sorry to leave their homes. Eventually, 134 00:08:36,480 --> 00:08:40,400 Speaker 1: the conservationists and the ranchers settled on a compromise. Wolves 135 00:08:40,400 --> 00:08:42,680 Speaker 1: that wandered out of the park and onto private land 136 00:08:42,920 --> 00:08:45,880 Speaker 1: were fair game for farmers and ranchers to kill. As 137 00:08:45,920 --> 00:08:48,720 Speaker 1: long as wolves stayed in the park, however, they would 138 00:08:48,760 --> 00:08:52,000 Speaker 1: be safe and protected by the law. In January of 139 00:08:52,080 --> 00:08:56,200 Speaker 1: nineteen ninety five, wildlife officials captured fourteen Canadian wolves in 140 00:08:56,280 --> 00:09:00,160 Speaker 1: northern Alberta. These wolves, while not the same species as 141 00:09:00,200 --> 00:09:03,360 Speaker 1: the original Yellowstone wolves, were similar enough that they would 142 00:09:03,400 --> 00:09:07,040 Speaker 1: take the same role in the ecosystem. The conservationists even 143 00:09:07,040 --> 00:09:09,480 Speaker 1: made sure to pull wolves from different packs so that 144 00:09:09,480 --> 00:09:12,480 Speaker 1: they'd be able to breed and continue growing the population. 145 00:09:12,920 --> 00:09:16,360 Speaker 1: Once they were inside Yellowstone, and for months, the wolves 146 00:09:16,400 --> 00:09:20,160 Speaker 1: stayed in small acclamation pens within the park to get 147 00:09:20,160 --> 00:09:23,240 Speaker 1: comfortable with their new environment. Doug Smith was among the 148 00:09:23,280 --> 00:09:26,800 Speaker 1: researchers stationed to care for and observe the wolves to 149 00:09:26,840 --> 00:09:29,680 Speaker 1: see if they be ready for release. In March of 150 00:09:29,760 --> 00:09:32,800 Speaker 1: nineteen ninety five, the gates were opened and the fourteen 151 00:09:32,800 --> 00:09:36,839 Speaker 1: Canadian wolves stepped hesitantly into the snow to investigate their 152 00:09:36,880 --> 00:09:40,400 Speaker 1: new homes. Less than a year later, seventeen more joined 153 00:09:40,480 --> 00:09:44,120 Speaker 1: Yellowstone's wolf population. As for the predictions of Doug Smith 154 00:09:44,160 --> 00:09:48,040 Speaker 1: and other conservationists, they all came true. Within months of 155 00:09:48,080 --> 00:09:51,960 Speaker 1: the wolves being reintroduced, Yellowstone went from an ecosystem teetering 156 00:09:52,000 --> 00:09:55,559 Speaker 1: on the edge of collapse to a thriving, flourishing environment, 157 00:09:55,679 --> 00:09:59,280 Speaker 1: receiving more than four million visitors every year, most of 158 00:09:59,320 --> 00:10:02,000 Speaker 1: them probably I have no idea that the lush forests, 159 00:10:02,080 --> 00:10:05,000 Speaker 1: the clean rivers, and the huge range of species that 160 00:10:05,040 --> 00:10:09,080 Speaker 1: they see are all thanks to one heroic creature, the 161 00:10:09,160 --> 00:10:16,320 Speaker 1: Big Bad Wolf. I hope you enjoyed today's guided tour 162 00:10:16,440 --> 00:10:19,880 Speaker 1: through the Cabinet of Curiosities. This show was created by 163 00:10:19,880 --> 00:10:24,080 Speaker 1: me Aaron Mankey in partnership with iHeart Podcasts, researched and 164 00:10:24,080 --> 00:10:26,679 Speaker 1: written by the Grim and Mild team, and produced by 165 00:10:26,760 --> 00:10:29,520 Speaker 1: Jesse Funk. Learn more about the show and the people 166 00:10:29,520 --> 00:10:33,640 Speaker 1: who make it over at Grimandmild dot com slash Curiosities. 167 00:10:33,880 --> 00:10:36,240 Speaker 1: You'll also find a link to the official Cabinet of 168 00:10:36,240 --> 00:10:40,400 Speaker 1: Curiosity's hardcover book, available in bookstores and online, as well 169 00:10:40,400 --> 00:10:43,160 Speaker 1: as ebook and audiobook. And if you're looking for an 170 00:10:43,160 --> 00:10:46,480 Speaker 1: ad free option, consider joining our Patreon. It's all the 171 00:10:46,480 --> 00:10:50,240 Speaker 1: same stories, but without the interruption for a small monthly fee. 172 00:10:50,400 --> 00:10:53,240 Speaker 1: Learn more and sign up over at patreon dot com, 173 00:10:53,280 --> 00:11:00,120 Speaker 1: slash Grimandmild, and until next time, stay curious, m