Charles Hapgood's
grand & increasing Legacy!
Dear fellow
missivers,
I do not think that the standard history of man's
beginnings, vis-a-vie the
orthodox view of early civilizations,
rings true. I further believe that as
the paradigm continues its
inevitable (though frustratingly slow) shift the
attempts to hold
onto the standard cultural evolution model, will become
even more
blatantly desperate as the patch work of Band-Aid fixes fails
to
hold. If history has shown us anything at all, it's that
science under goes
change slower than political philosophy, or
even religion.
I think that geologist Charles Hapgood
presented an amazingly strong case
for a worldwide Sea going
culture -that existed before the currently
recognized beginnings
of civilization -in his work, MAPS OF THE ANCIENT SEA
KINGS. Let
us not forget that it was Arlington Mallery who first
Discovered
the Coast of Antarctica on the Piri Re'is Map. And a
person of his
integrity and fine work is not to be tossed aside
lightly. Ditto Dr. Cyrus
Gordon, a scholar who is renowned the
world over for his work on Ugaratic,
who also presented a much
more brief case in his book, BEFORE COLUMBUS.
Richard Noone
(5/5/2000) and John White (POLE SHIFT) lent much credibility
to
Hapgood's overall efforts and greatly expanded the audience for
his
idea's. Saying such doesn't mean we have to agree with every
jot and tittle
Noone or White wrote.
I think that Graham
Hancock (FINGERPRINTS OF THE GODS, and many more) in
taking up
the torch from Hapgood, has insured the further investigation
of
such inquiry for many years to come. Because he only
references one letter
from Einstein endorsing Hapgood's efforts
and idea's, one might be tempted
to perhaps think too much is
being read into the one citation. In reality,
the
Hapgood-Einstein correspondence on the subject extended several
years
and comprises over 170 pages of extremely valuable
material! Think about
that; let that sink in. The seed idea of
crustal shift was first put forth
by James Campbell, and Einstein
's full endorsement of Hapgood's work was
totally unique:
Einstein never endorsed any other theory by anyone else
(Bradley,
GRAIL KNIGHTS OF NORTH AMERICA).
Rand and Rose Flem-ath
(who's work Hancock borrowed from with permission
before their
own publication came out) wrote , WHEN THE SKY FELL, which
is
just now out in paperback with some sterling endorsements.
They have done
good work buttressing Hapgood's seed theory and
bringing it to a more full
expression. J. Bowles, a retired
engineer/physics teacher, in the recent
release, THE GODS,
GEMINI, AND THE GREAT PYRAMID, provides much food for
thought in
a close examination and updating of Hapgood's thesis. Bowles is
a
member of an exploratory group that will soon be going to bleak
cold
places seeking physical evidence for
the
{Hapgood-Noone-West-'Flem-ath'-Hancock
theory}.
Professionals in many disciplines have recently
published or are preparing
to
publish their works which give
full credence to Hapgood's main idea's.
Mac B. Strain, a
professional civil engineer with the U.S.
Geological
Survey,
in his new book, EARTH'S SHIFTING AXIS, is
a good example in point.
In coming to Hapgood's defense and
carrying things a step further, he
fashions a
strong challenge
to the traditional concepts of thermal energies
powering
tectonic
movements and the corollary theory of
subduction.
"Most remarkably in my opinion, he challenges the
validity, and even the
advisability of elevating what he calls
"working theories" to the status of
fact before they have earned
the right -plate tectonics theory and its
corollaries...being a
single but classic example." (Noone, NEXUS Magazine)
Any
thought that Hapgood's effort is dis-proven, dead, and/or gone
is
seriously in error. Hapgood might be wrong in many or most
things; yes, he
might be (and yet more likely he's probably right
on near everything he
wrote about!); but, he hasn't been proven
wrong yet -absolutely has not.
Not by a long shot. Dr. Joseph Ray
writes, in reviewing Hapgood's book,
"His thoughts can be
rejected but not by one who respects open-minded
rigorous and
thoughtful examination of the facts
at hand. "MAPS OF THE..."
will expand the parameters of one's mind
through its scholarship,
eloquence,and rationality."
Diffusionists who have not
previously given Hapgood a full hearing need to
now, and those
that were in the past unconvinced -well, there's a lot of
new
reading to be done in order to be fair to the
subject.
I believe that the orthodox dates for the earliest
civilizations of man are
being overturned by the flood of new
evidence and rethinking of stale tired
old theories, including
the option of whether they should be discarded in
whole. IN
SEARCH OF THE CRADLE OF CIVILIZATION is a good example of
pushing
the clock back (to at least as early as 15,000 BC) and a
new fresh
perspective being competently put forth and receiving a
very broad
examination.
The now accepted 5,000 to 6, 000
BC beginnings of Stonehendge is easily at
least two to three
times as early as was generally taught in the 1950's
and
60's.
A non-prejudicial re-examination of Ancient
Egypt's own dating of it's own
pre-Pharaoh history is sorely
needed. I believe Egypt is much older than
given credit of
currently.
The now accepted idea that Malta flourished around
6,000 to 8,000 BC would
never have been entertained as recently
as twenty years ago.
I have color pictures of giant pyramids
in China that the local area peoples
in 2,000 BC regarded as then
already ancient and way before their memory of
the
past!
TV's NOVA dated the diffusionist (their label!) Red
Paint peoples on the
shores of two continents as occurring
sometime from 15,000 to 25, 000 BC.
We know as an
indisputable fact that someone mined out a half a million
plus
pounds of Michigan copper sometime between 3,000 to 8,000
BC. Diffusionism
offers the only explanation for that occurrence
and where the copper went
and why. Jim Bailey writes, "Without
reference to the transatlantic trade
in copper and alluvil tin,
one cannot begin to understand the cultures and
events of the
Fertile Crescent between 6,000 and 1,000 BC." (SAILING
TO
PARADISE: The Discovery of the Americas by 7,000
BC).
Today, Jericho is regarded as the earliest (in orthodox
circles) known large
city, circa 8,000 to 10,000 BC or maybe
older. No orthodox school taught a
date that early back in the
fifties. Which site will steal it's
current
title?
Professor Arthur Posnansky, Ph.D.,
convincingly with 55 years on site first
hand experience argues
from astronomical evidences for a date of 12,000 to
16,000 BC for
Tiahuanacu.
Of particularly epigraphic note, the local Aymara
Indians speak a language
some specialists regard as the oldest in
the world (Hancock, FINGERPRINTS,
p.91).
[Virginia
Steen-McIntyre,Ph.D. Anthropologist, may yet live to see her
work
fully vindicated in all arena's!]
To see the Ocean
pathways as barriers and restrictions -rather than view
them as
the "highways" of the Seas- is just ludicrous. The true history
of
mankind is a land and sea history; it's of diffusionism as
wide and vast as
the one world Ocean of many
branches.
Cyclone Covey, Barry Fell, Charles Hapgood, James
Whitall, Fred Rydholm,
Gunner Thompson, Salvadore Trento, Wayne
L. May, Ivan Van Sertima, Frank
Joseph, George F. Carter, Stephen
C. Jett, Patrick Huyghe, Gloria Farley,
Russell Bennett Stafford,
Kingsley S. Craig, Christine Payne-Towler, A.J.
Julius, M. L.
Foster, William R. Mcglone, Phillip M. Leonard, R.A.
Jairazbhoy,
Rex Gilroy, Margaret Carnegie, Orville L. Hope, Donald Cyr,
Thor
Heyerdahl, Robert F. Marx, and David Hatcher Childress are
just a few of the
more recent writers to explore and champion the
idea of, for example,
ancient
Egyptians sailing the world
over. (And that list is from my small amateur
library).
At
least an equal number of writers of the last 150 years could
be
assembled, many with doctorates or full professorships, to
demonstrate
consistency and the fact this is not a novel idea.
Their overall presence
in the debate lends much credibility to
the affirmative, which they
positively, by scientific evidence
put forth, rather than negatively
preemptively tossing such aside
(and I realize one could easily name ten
thousand with
credentials who practice the latter, thank you).
The
underwater sites at Yonaguni, Japan offer another case in point.
If
part of what is there is "natural" formations, no matter, as
all who have
been there agree that there were substantial human
improvements to the site.
The President of the Japan Petrograph
Society, Professor Nobuhiro Yoshida
fully believes there were
links between South America and Japan even at this
early date. He
is a credentialed professional who strongly advocates that
these
underwater sites without question evidence early high
civilization.
These improvements had to of been done earlier than
10,000 BC, (the area in
question evidences no ancient volcanic
activity) as that is when the oceans
began a relatively quick
rise of some 125 to 150 feet (current
best
estimates).
Worldwide there are over 650 known,
documented, recognized underwater
(mostly coastal, though some
large inland lakes too) city sites that
"dis-appeared" -probably
in most cases- as a result of this rising of the
oceans. Hancock
has a new book coming out on the subject very soon. And
there are
at least five other books of the last couple of years that
address
this in depth -pun intended!
David Hatcher
Childress's mail-order bookstore, Adventures Unlimited,
stocks
books by J.M. Brown, H.T. Wilkins, Katherine Routledge,
and the
controversial
James Churchward's books on Mu. Few
people know, as David informs us, that
it was John Macmillan
Brown, formerly of Glasgow and Oxford and Canterbury
University
College, who, as the sitting Chancellor of the University of
New
Zealand, in 1924 published, THE RIDDLE OF THE PACIFIC,
advocating that
there was once a continent in the Pacific that is
mostly submerged now (and
please note that this publication took
place well before Churchward's
books).
More and more we
are learning that "stone-age man" was not a cave
dwelling
ignorant brutal beast as we were all taught in grade
school, but rather had
advanced views of life, family, loyalty
and the physical sciences too,
especially astronomy and the
recording of time. Look at how accurate the
Mayan calendar was
(is?) (I know, they came a lot later; thank you). And it
seems
now that everyone (hyperbole) knew of procession.
John
Anthony West (SERPENT IN THE SKY), Graham Hancock (HEAVEN'S MIRROR)
and
Robert Bauval (THE ORION MYSTERY, THE MESSAGE OF THE SPHINX)
present good
solid arguments that the ancients knew something
special or unusual about
the approximate time reference of 10,500
BC. Something happened (probably
worldwide) around that time that
was and is remembered in many places in
differing ways. Along
these lines see THE ATLANTIC RESEARCHES, by Paul
Dunbavin; the
exciting and superbly documented WHEN THE EARTH NEARLY
DIED
(CATACLYSM, is the American title), by D.S. Allen and J.B.
Delair; and EARTH
UNDER FIRE, by Paul LaViolette, while offering
some strange idea's,
nonetheless has a lot of valuable
material.
It's a most exciting time to be a student of
alternative views of ancient
history.
And it's most
correct to be a
diffusionist!
Sincerely,
Rick
Richard Eric
Gunby
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