Graham Hancock, a seasoned journalist and author, dives into the mesmerizing concept of a lost Ice Age civilization. He discusses the significant archaeological site of Göbekli Tepe and its implications for our understanding of ancient societies. Hancock also links global myths to catastrophic events like the Younger Dryas, suggesting advanced navigation techniques of ancient peoples. His insights challenge mainstream archaeology, urging open-mindedness towards our complex human past, while reflecting on how celestial knowledge influenced ancient cultures.
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insights INSIGHT
Puzzlement with Human History
Human history might not show straightforward progress, puzzling Graham Hancock.
He questions the long hunter-gatherer phase preceding civilization.
insights INSIGHT
Gobekli Tepe's Significance
Gobekli Tepe's advanced construction challenges the conventional timeline of civilization.
It suggests a more complex pre-agricultural society existed.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Discovery of Gobekli Tepe
Gobekli Tepe was initially mistaken for Byzantine ruins by American archaeologists in the 1960s.
Klaus Schmidt's excavation revealed its true age and significance.
Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode
In 'Food of the Gods,' Terence McKenna delves into the ancient relationship between humans and psychoactive substances. The book explores how these substances have influenced human history, from prehistoric partnership societies to modern dominator cultures. McKenna discusses the roles of various substances such as spices, spirits, tobacco, tea, coffee, opium, and alcohol, and proposes a 'stoned ape' theory suggesting that psychedelics played a crucial role in human cognitive development. He argues for an 'archaic revival,' advocating for a return to a more shamanic understanding, community, reverence for nature, and increased self-awareness to address the problems of modern society.
Life itself
Its Origin and Nature
Francis Crick
In 'Life Itself: Its Origin and Nature,' Francis Crick delves into the fundamental question of how life originated on Earth. Crick advances the hypothesis of 'Directed Panspermia,' suggesting that life on Earth may have been deliberately seeded by an alien civilization. He argues that the uniformity of the genetic code across all living organisms on Earth is a strong indicator that life may not have emerged spontaneously. The book also touches on astrobiology, the Fermi paradox, and the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI), providing a broad and speculative view on the origins of life[1][3][5].
Supernatural: Meetings with the Ancient Teachers of Mankind
Graham Hancock
In 'Supernatural', Graham Hancock delves into the mysterious transformation in human history that occurred around 50,000 years ago, when humans suddenly developed art, religion, sophisticated symbolism, and innovative thinking. Hancock's journey takes him from the prehistoric painted caves of Europe and South Africa to the Amazon rainforest, where he investigates the influence of hallucinogens like Ayahuasca and other psychotropic substances on the evolution of the human mind. He explores the possibility that these substances may allow access to other dimensions and that the 'supernatural beings' depicted in ancient art could be real entities that have guided human development. The book also considers the idea that human evolution may be more purposeful and intelligent than the random process described by Darwin[2][4][5].
Underworld
The Mysterious Origins of Civilization
Graham Hancock
In this book, Graham Hancock embarks on a worldwide exploration to find the underwater ruins of a mythical lost civilization hidden for thousands of years beneath the world’s oceans. Guided by cutting-edge science, innovative computer-mapping techniques, and the latest archaeological scholarship, Hancock examines the mystery at the end of the last Ice Age and delivers astonishing revelations. The book includes exhilarating accounts of his dives in various parts of the world, discovering submerged kingdoms that archaeologists never thought existed, and presents a new explanation for the origins of civilization as we know it.
Hamlet's Mill
An Essay Investigating the Origins of Human Knowledge and Its Transmission Through Myth
Hertha von Dechend
Giorgio de Santillana
In 'Hamlet's Mill', de Santillana and von Dechend propose that ancient myths are not just stories but rather encode astronomical knowledge, particularly the precession of the equinoxes. They argue that these myths represent a sophisticated, preliterate astronomy that was later suppressed by the Greco-Roman worldview. The book draws on a wide range of mythological, historical, and literary sources to support their thesis that myths are ciphers for celestial activities and the transmission of complex astronomical data.
Graham Hancock a journalist and author who for over 30 years has explored the controversial possibility that there existed a lost civilization during the last Ice Age, and that it was destroyed in a global cataclysm some 12,000 years ago. He is the presenter of the Netflix documentary series “Ancient Apocalypse”, the 2nd season of which has just been released.
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OUTLINE:
(00:00) – Introduction
(09:58) – Lost Ice Age civilization
(17:03) – Göbekli Tepe
(29:07) – Early humans
(34:07) – Astronomical symbolism
(45:36) – Younger Dryas impact hypothesis
(1:03:55) – The Great Pyramid and the Sphinx of Giza
(1:24:29) – Sahara Desert and the Amazon rainforest
(1:33:49) – Response to critics
(1:57:56) – Panspermia
(2:05:22) – Shamanism
(2:29:22) – How the Great Pyramid was built
(2:36:41) – Mortality
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