#448 - Lost 6,000 Year Old 'Pyramid City' Just Found in North America | Luke Reagan
Episode of Danny Jones Podcast · November 13, 2026 · 3 h 28 min
Explorer Luke Reagan tells Danny Jones about lions in Kenya, lost American jaguars, Atlantis, archaeology's politics, and dozens of undocumented mound sites he found using lidar.
Summary
Luke Reagan, who publishes as Luke Caverns, returned to Danny Jones's podcast after about 40 days in Kenya and Egypt. He described time spent with Spanish naturalist Jorge Alesanco, whom he said is accepted by a wild lion pride near the Maasai Mara. He then turned to the wildlife of pre-colonial North America. Reagan argued that the 1701 account of English explorer John Lawson shows jaguars once lived as far north as the Carolinas. He contrasted jaguars with cougars, including the Florida panther, and recounted an eight-day unsupported expedition through New Mexico's Gila Wilderness in search of Mogollon cliff dwellings.
The conversation moved to the history and culture of archaeology: destructive early excavations, colonial extraction, the Nazi Ahnenerbe, and the European trade in ground-up mummies. Reagan argued that academics should learn from the alternative-archaeology space how to communicate. Jones said a peer-reviewed study had persuaded him that the most precise
Chapters
- 1:14
Living among lions in Kenya
Reagan describes meeting Jorge Alesanco, whom he says is accepted by a wild lion pride, and reflects on big cats in ancient cultures.
- 12:32
Nazca sailors and the lost wilds of the American East
Discussion of Nazca depictions of sea life, Spanish explorers in Florida, and the once-abundant wildlife of eastern North America.
- 21:32
Florida panthers and John Lawson's tigers
Jones describes Carlton Ward's panther photography, and Reagan argues that Lawson's 1701 'tigers' were jaguars and explains how jaguars differ from cougars.
- 34:40
Grizzly bears and the Gila Wilderness expedition
After trading bear stories, Reagan recounts his eight-day expedition up the Gila River in search of Mogollon cliff dwellings, including a wildfire scare and burned forest.
- 53:53
Flash floods and ancient flood memories
The hosts watch footage of a Nepal flash flood, and Reagan links such disasters to buried sites and to flood stories around the world.
- 1:01:36
The messy history of archaeology and the alternative space
Reagan describes destructive early excavations and the rise of alternative archaeology, and Jones explains how a study changed his view of precision Egyptian vases.
Linked moment · 1:18:52Skip to 1:18:52 using a listen link in the info box.
1:18:52Olmec jade and the meaning of perfection
Reagan shows polished Olmec jade masks and argues that ancient people made flawless objects to evoke the supernatural.
- 1:27:55
Atlantis, Akrotiri, and Plato
Reagan argues that the Atlantis myth preserves a memory of the Bronze Age Thera eruption, while both men dismiss Plato's claimed chain of transmission.
- 1:42:27
Bias, mummia, and colonial archaeology
The two discuss how future people might misread our era, the Nazi Ahnenerbe, the eating of mummies, and black-market access to sites in Egypt.
- 2:00:19
Carolina Bays, lidar discoveries, and Epstein's ranch
Reagan explains how lidar data led him to about 80 unknown sites, including Ancestral Puebloan pit houses on Jeffrey Epstein's New Mexico ranch, and the elite's interest in the ancient world is discussed.
- 2:20:05
Mound cities of Florida and Louisiana
Reagan presents lidar scans of Florida mounds and a 970-yard Archaic-period enclosure in Louisiana whose owner refused him access.
- 2:40:38
Funding, tribal control, and the Texas mummies
Reagan discusses declining archaeology funding, tribal authority over excavations, and restricted access to ancient West Texas mummies.
- 2:50:58
Missouri jaguars and a Moundville serpent intaglio
Reagan argues that jaguar gorgets and the underwater panther myth show jaguars lived in the mound-builder world, and he reveals a possible serpent intaglio near Moundville.
- 3:09:24
Career path and the Reagan family legacy
Reagan explains why he chose to focus on the Americas, his plan to use his real surname, and the legacy of ancestor John H. Reagan.
Key points
What was said, by whom, with the exact words. Timestamps jump to the moment.
- Luke Reagan
Reagan argues that John Lawson's account of a large cat makes it indisputable that jaguars lived in the Carolinas.
“I don't even know why this is disputed among wildlife biologists. Like it should be basically printed in a textbook that this is a fact”
- Luke Reagan
Reagan concludes that jaguars ranged from North Carolina to Florida.
“And so without a doubt, dude, Jaguars were all the way up in North Carolina, all the way down in Florida”
- Luke Reagan
Reagan argues that archaeology is partly an art because its first analysis of a site cannot be repeated.
“It's an art as much as it is a science because the analysis, that first analysis can only be done once, right?”
- Luke Reagan
Reagan says the growth of alternative archaeology has shown academics that they need to communicate better.
“I do think that the explosion of the alternate space has basically put up a mirror to academics and been like, you guys really have to work on your delivery”
- Danny Jones
Jones says a peer-reviewed study convinced him that the most precise Egyptian stone vases are probably modern.
“Cause that's, it's most likely that those are modern. Those precise faces are probably modern”
- Luke Reagan
Reagan argues that the Greek Atlantis story preserves a memory of the Bronze Age eruption that destroyed Akrotiri.
“I think it's incredibly obvious that when the Greeks are later on talking about Atlantis, they're remembering the cataclysmic eruption of the island of Akrotiri”
- Luke Reagan
Reagan rejects the idea that a detailed Atlantis story could have survived from 9,000 BC.
“I don't just don't think that there's any way that if if Atlantis was destroyed in 9,000 BC, that there's any way anybody would have preserved such a specific kind of story”
- Luke Reagan
Reagan claims that in Egypt, unlike in the United States or Mexico, enough money can buy access to almost any site.
“I don't think there's anything that's sacred in Egypt. Like you could, if I had enough money, I could get access to whatever I wanted”
- Luke Reagan
Reagan says he has used a proprietary lidar dataset over three and a half years to find about 80 unrecorded sites.
“I've spent the last three and a half years and I've just I have found um, about 80 sites that are not labeled”
- Luke Reagan
Reagan says lidar showed an ancient archaeological site of Ancestral Puebloan pit houses on Jeffrey Epstein's New Mexico ranch.
“Yeah, so he had an archeological site on his ranch. That's crazy. Who knows if he knew about it or anything or ever”
- Danny Jones
Jones says he has heard from experts that Ghislaine Maxwell had a submarine named the Atlantis.
“I don't know if she owned it or Jeffrey Epstein owned it, but she'd have a submarine called the Atlantis”
- Luke Reagan
Reagan argues that wealth and leisure harm Americans' mental health compared with poorer people abroad.
“that's why those people that live in slums in Egypt are happier and have less mental illness than people in the United States do”
- Luke Reagan
Reagan says the evidence shows Archaic North Americans built large settlements before farming because wildlife was so abundant.
“is that people were living in massive cities even when they were just foraging and hunting”
- Luke Reagan
Reagan speculates that Louisiana, rather than the Olmec heartland, could be where North American civilization began.
“So like Louisiana could be the Fertile Crescent of North America, right? It could be where civilization was born”
- Luke Reagan
Reagan says archaeology funding is drying up under the current administration and that very few archaeologists study the Mogollon region.
“There are only three active archaeologists that study that cultural region, just three”
- Luke Reagan
Reagan complains that the wishes of modern tribal descendants prevent him from studying 6,000-year-old West Texas mummies.
“I cannot study ancient mummification in West Texas because it is forbidden by the modern descendants of the natives of West Texas”
- Luke Reagan
Reagan rejects the conventional reading of jaguar gorgets found in Missouri and says jaguars lived there around 250 BC.
“There were fucking jaguars in Missouri in 250 BC, absolutely for sure”
- Luke Reagan
Reagan argues that the mound builders' underwater panther myth depicts a jaguar, not an eastern cougar.
“which is this panther that would go and be under the water and then come up and be on the upper world, that's not a cougar”
- Luke Reagan
Reagan believes a serpent-shaped depression he found near Moundville will prove to be a new category of eastern North American site.
“my hunch is that that is going to be an entirely new category of ancient sites that nobody else has ever identified before”
- Luke ReaganPrediction · due May 2027
Reagan says his team's lidar work at Moundville will take place within the next six months.
“Uh, Moundville is going to be within the next six months”
- Luke Reagan
Reagan says that under current law he can legally lidar-scan a mound site with a drone even if the landowner refuses him access.
“I can go, all right, well, I'm still going to LIDAR scan it, and that's fully legal”
- Luke Reagan
Reagan says his ancestor John H. Reagan was the only Confederate cabinet member to oppose Robert E. Lee's push toward Gettysburg.
“he was the only cabinet member of the Confederacy to vote against Robert E. Lee pushing into Gettysburg because he knew that was a terrible idea”
People
In the conversation
- Danny JonesAmerican podcaster and host of the Danny Jones Podcast
- Luke ReaganExplorer and independent anthropologist known online as Luke Caverns; YouTuber and History Channel guest expert focused on the ancient Americas
Discussed
- Jorge AlesancoSpanish naturalist who has lived among wild lions in Kenya's Maasai Mara
- John LawsonEnglish explorer who documented the wildlife of the Carolinas in 1701
- Carlton Ward Jr.Photographer known for camera-trap images of the Florida panther
- Graham HancockBritish writer on alternative history and lost civilizations
- Flint DibbleArchaeologist known for debating alternative history claims
- Howard CarterBritish archaeologist who excavated Tutankhamun's tomb in 1922
- Arthur EvansBritish archaeologist who excavated and reconstructed Knossos
- PlatoAncient Greek philosopher who described orichalcum in Critias
- Jeffrey EpsteinFinancier and convicted sex offender
- Ghislaine MaxwellDaughter of Robert Maxwell and associate of Jeffrey Epstein
- Edwin BarnhartArchaeologist and Reagan's colleague at the Maya Exploration Center
- John H. ReaganConfederate Postmaster General, later U.S. congressman and senator from Texas, and Luke Reagan's ancestor
- Hernando de SotoSpanish conquistador who explored Florida and the American Southeast
- James MooneyEthnographer of the Cherokee and a distant relative of Reagan
Topics
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From the publisher
Watch every episode ad-free & uncensored on Patreon: https://patreon.com/dannyjones Luke “Caverns” Reagan is an explorer with a degree in Anthropology, & History Channel guest expert. Luke is dedicated to uncovering the lost worlds of North & South America: from ancient times, to the American frontier & period of exploration. SPONSORS https://kalshi.com/r/dannyjones - Download the Kalshi app and use code DANNYJONES to get $25 when you trade $25. Underdog: Download Underdog today & get in on the action. New users can score $50 in bonus entries when you play $10. https://quo.com/danny - Try QUO for free PLUS get 20% off your first 6 months. https://stio.com/danny - Use this link for 20% off your order. https://whiterabbitenergy.com/?ref=DJP - Use code DJP for 20% off. EPISODE LINKS @lukecaverns https://www.instagram.com/lukecaverns *NEW* DJP MERCH https://dannyjonespodcast.com Get paid to make clips from the show: https://discord.com/invite/dannyjones FOLLOW DANNY JONES https://www.instagram.com/dannyjones https://twitter.com/jonesdanny OUTLINE 00:00 - Jorge Alesanco, the man accepted by a pride of lions 11:27 - Sharks, the Nazca people & Lost Wilds of the American East 18:29 - Florida's history & jaguars, panthers and tigers 32:19 - Origin of panthers & encountering grizzly bears 37:57 - Gila Wilderness & cliff dwelling 45:39 - Risk of forest fires in the Gila Wilderness 52:54 - Flash floods & other natural disasters 58:21 - Why there are so many biblical flood stories 01:01:32 - The dark history of archaeology 01:11:17 - The rise of alternative archaeology 01:17:52 - Olmec's jade death masks 01:26:03 - Ancient stone softening 01:29:17 - Akrotiri, Greece & the story of Atlantis 01:38:48 - The problem with Plato 01:41:20 - How people in the future will piece together our past 01:46:35 - Ahnenerbe's hunt for ancient Aryan race & colonial archaeology 01:56:29 - What is still being hidden in Egypt 01:59:41 - The Carolina Bays 02:04:11 - How Luke discovered 80 unknown ar…
Summary, chapters and key points were generated from the episode transcript on November 14, 2026. Quotes are checked word for word against the transcript.