The growth and collapse of great human civilizations rise and fall steadily and rhythmically throughout

history, as if the earth itself is inhaling and exhaling, giving birth to empires and

extinguishing them just as quickly and effortlessly, only to pause for the briefest of moments

before starting the process anew.

And just as with breathing, there is little left behind.

Maybe if it's chilly, a small cloud of icy vapor is suspended before us, before it

is lost forever.

What has been left behind from great civilizations is like that, only a brief, fleeting snapshot

of a larger picture that gives us peaks behind the curtain of a time long past.

The Moai of Rapa Nui, the great pyramid of Egypt, Stonehenge in England, and the Colosseum

in Rome are all examples of the windows we get to look through to a bygone era.

They offer us a look back at ways of living, thinking, and believing that at the time

we're just the ways of the world.

But sometimes, the glances we are offered are not of inanimate objects, but rather of

flesh and blood.

And sometimes, those glimpses that we get are difficult to face.

Welcome to National Park After Dark.

Alright, well, Danielle has told me absolutely nothing about this episode, so I have no idea

what we're doing, which I'm proud of.

I'm proud of that accomplishment.

I usually spill as soon as I get a topic, but I held strong.

And this one's a little harder to swallow as far as the subject matter, but it's really

...