Introduction
When most people think of history they think of high
school and the old name /date /place sort of history. For the most part it was
little more than political hero worship regardless as to where you live. What
most don't realize is that history is dynamic. New facts, new archaeological finds,
reexamination of archives and interpretation of these finds are occurring all
the time changing the way we look at the past which updates the story of time.
Occasionally, instead of being welcomed and celebrated
this new information is scorned and discredited because of professional
snobbism or religious beliefs. This book embraces a new look at pre-history
incorporating recent discoveries and interpretations concerning the world prior
to 12,000 years ago.
Chapter1 examines recent discoveries of the Genus Homo
from Homo Erectus to Homo Sapien Sapiens (modern humans). The chapter reviews
the most successful of the Genus Homo, Homo Erectus to the period 45,000 years
ago when Homo Sapien Neanderthalus, Homo Sapien Denisovan and Homo Sapien
Sapiens walked the earth together.
Chapter 2 reviews the cultures of the Mesolithic and
Neolithic societies after the younger dryas event approximately 12,000 years
ago. Chapter 3 investigates what has become known as the younger dryas cataclysmic
event and the possibilities of civilizations being extinguished.
Chapter 4 looks at Atlantis, what it would have been
like and what happened to it. Intuitively, the demise of Atlantis is
subjective, however, this chapter's propositions draw on recent scientific
scholarship and new historical and archaeological findings. The chapter then extrapolates
findings from younger Mesopotamian civilizations in conjunction with new
historical and archaeological findings to give us sense of Atlantis' culture. Additionally,
Chapter 4 examines the lack of evidence at the Richat Structure proposing what
happened to the structures and the Atlantan's extraordinary technologies.
There are three appendices. These include the Appendix
1 containing a translation of the writings of Plato, Appendix 2 contains maps
and enlarged photos used in the book, and Appendix 3 containing additional critical
and useful resources.
Relevant Sources Utilized
In
creating this tertiary source various resources were investigated with some
contributing in a direct way through paraphrasing or quoting. Typically, these
would be included in a bibliography or works cited page at the end and after
endnotes.
However,
many times these sources are neglected and not researched by the casual reader.
Therefore, I've placed them here for those who may wish to review them before
reading this book.
Appendix
3, Further Resource Material, are sources not directly used in this book
but were general background information. They are important and stimulating resources
that should be reviewed.
Dalley, Stephanie, Myths from Mesopotamia, (Oxford:
Oxford University Press), 1989.
deMenocal, Peter B.
& Jessica E. Tierney. Green Sahara: African Humid Periods Paced by
Earth's Orbital Changes, (Cambridge, MA: Nature Education)
https://www.nature.com/scitable/knowledge/library/green-sahara-african-humid-periods-paced-by-82884405/.
Gems, Gerald R., The Athletic Crusade: Sport and American
Imperialism (Lincoln: University of
Nebraska Press), 2006.
Howard,
Brian Clark. City-size impact crater found under Greenland Ice. National
Geographic
ttps://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2018/11/impact-crater-found-under-hiawatha-glacier-greenland-ice/.
Muratori,
Chronicon Estense in Rerum Italicarum Scriptores, 15, III. pp. 159-164
as cited by Phillip Ziegler, The Black Death, (New York: Harper Collins)
1969.
NOAA:
National Centers for Environmental Information. Perspectives Abrupt Climate
Change: The Younger Dryas, Department of Commerce: US Government, https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/abrupt-climate-change/The%20Younger%20Dryas.
NS
Gill, Atlantis as It Was Told in Plato's Socratic Dialogues, Thoughtco,
https://www.thoughtco.com/platos-atlantis-from-the-timaeus-119667, October 5,
2018.
Old
Testament (Torah) Genesis 6:9-9:17
Orkneyjar - The Heritage of the
Orkney Islands, http://www.orkneyjar.com
Sharing
Resources, A Community Learning Center, HawaiiHistory.org, Info Graik Inc., 2020.
Chapter 1
Genus Homo to Early
Homo Sapiens
As we begin to look at pre-history it's important to
get a handle on time designations that are commonly used in typical dating
systems. This might seem a bit pedantic but as I tell my students it's
important to have a good base of understanding to build on.
Most are familiar with the "B.C." & "A.D."
designation. "B.C." stands for the English phrase "before Christ," whereas
"A.D." stands for the Latin phrase: anno domini (in the year of the
Lord) starting the year Jesus was "born."
So, what we find is that there is no "0 BC" or "AD 0." The time
designation goes from 1 BC to AD 1. The problem with these designations is that
there was a great deal of assumptions made and a lack of exact data. Many
Biblical scholars now agree that "Jesus" was born between 6 BC and AD 4.
Therefore, a more modern designation came into effect, "BCE" (Before the Common
Era) used in modern text instead of "B.C." and "CE" (Common Era) is used instead of "A.D."
Again, there is no "0 BCE" or "CE 0" with the classification going from "1 BCE"
to "CE 1."
There are a number of other designations that pop-up
when looking at ancient history. These include: kya - Thousands of Years Ago, mya
- Millions of Years Ago, and bya - Billions of Years Ago. Other designations
encountered when viewing dates, RcyBp - Radiocarbon Years Before Present is
one of these. The term "BP" (Before Present) uses the year CE 1950 as
"Present" which was the year radiocarbon calibration curves were
being established.
Another aspect that needs to be engaged are the relative
time periods on Earth. The Flintstones cartoon series although funny and
creative were not documentaries. Humans and dinosaurs never walked the earth
together, not once. What we typically think of dinosaurs went extinct about 65
mya. The closest a bipedal hominid came to a living dinosaur was Australopithecus
an extinct hominid that lived between 3.9 and 2.9 mya in Africa. Not a modern human
(Homo sapien sapien) but a hominid. In fact, when talking about change, the
earth itself had changed over the time period between dinosaurs and humans.
Even our perception of who is a human is now
challenged with current scholarship. Homo sapiens came in different "flavors"
such as Neanderthals, Sapiens and Denisovans all of which walked the earth
together and interbred until 40 kya. In fact, we know from DNA mapping that Europeans
have both Sapien and Neanderthal DNA (up to 2 %) whereas Melanesian have Sapien
and Denisovans DNA (up to to 5%).
When considering pre-history, the question comes up
what exactly do, we mean by history? To many scholars history is a product of
written documents and/or archaeological excavations. Oral histories are usable
if verified through archaeological finds or extrapolated data. Otherwise they
are considered myths, fables, or folktales. The exception of course is, when taking
firsthand accounts of a person's life or what they have witnessed.
As time goes on some of these so-called myths, fables,
or folktales take on new meanings and openings for inquiry such as a great
flood has taken on a new light. These myths, fables, or folktales become the
basis of new peer-reviewed, possibly unorthodox, investigation.
Anthropologist and cultural historians remind us that
the concept of writing can take a number of different forms. Writing could be
knots tied on "strings" as with the Inca's quipu (knot-recording)[1],
to Wampum used by a number of Native American Nations to pictographs or symbols
still in use world-wide. Finally, it's essential that history concerns
anthropological studies otherwise of course, it would be considered natural
history. Nevertheless, as we explore the concept of pre-history there is an
interesting melding of human history & natural history.
Hominoids & Hominids
An aspect of pre-history needed to be grasped is the
evolution of humanity. Some feel humans were created by divine aspirations,
however when looking through the lens of science we find another
understanding. What's wonderful about
science is that in its purist form, science isn't dogmatic and can say, "with
new evidence our previous conclusions were wrong."
As we move forward it is important to understand where
hominoids and hominids fit into the evolution of humans. Hominoids include
all the apes, gibbons, gorillas, chimps, orangutans and humans. When we look at
humans' closer relatives, we find the hominids.
Hominids include all modern and extinct great apes. This
means that chimps, gibbons, gorillas, orangutans, etc. aren't included. Basically, any of early human species that is
more closely related to humans than chimpanzees, including modern humans
themselves are under the sub-heading hominids.
Hominoids and Hominids were able to adapt the
environment to themselves and from anthropological studies the two groups were able
to use tools and a primitive language. Animals on the other hand had to deal
with the environment as they found it.
Complex cooperative social structures are found with
hominoids and hominids. Animals have complex social structures; however, they
tend to be more instinctual.