What if Humans Are NOT Earth's First Civilization? | Silurian Hypothesis

[VIDEO] This youtube video addresses the situation pretty well - I found it very interesting the talk about the earths crust basically recycling.

There was a study funded by NASA on the topic which made the rounds back in the day. Here is the Scientific American take: [1], here is PBS Space Time YouTube: [2] The topic pops up now and again, most recently called the The Silurian Hypothesis. There are many articles in respectable sources on the subject, it goes beyond science fiction into literal science. For example, you might wonder how long it would take for some large portion of the surface of the earth to subduct. I believe the answer to that question is in the paper discussed in that article. 1. [LINK] 2. [VIDEO]

Relevant PBS Space time video. [VIDEO] Apparently most of the tell tale signs of an industrial civilization would be very subtle and ambiguous (they could have other natural explanations) even if said civilization was only a few million years before ours.