In this Part, our concerns will be with the ideas of "modern" writers (i.e. those mainly of the 20th century) on the origin of mankind, "homo sapiens", and its associations with god-like creatures and giant beings. It is the radical theories of these writers that will interest us most: their ideas about the existence of very early man, his physical and mental prowess. The thoughts of the authors we shall consider run counter to the "received wisdom" of conventional historians and palaeologists so that apart from the close reasoning and cogent argument of their narrative there is interesting criticism! Religion too has its viewpoint, for the most part out of sympathy with our original thinkers - so this adds another dimension to the discussion. Atheism and agnosticism are some other perspectives on the issue (of origins and cognate matters).  Foremost among the thinkers we shall consider in this chapter are Bauval, Wilson, Hancock, Freer, Temple, Brennan, Shoch - all people who have adopted a fundamentally different approach to humankind`s beginnings from that generally accepted.

EXPLANATIONS (OF ORGINS)

     Three main theories (or "explanations") are usually offered to account for the origin (or development) of  mankind, leading to "modern" man. One, perhaps the most common, is the biblical account of man`s creation whereby man (and woman) are created by an omnipotent being, God, out of earth. These first creatures are known as Adam and Eve so that their progeny are the forerunners of the entire present human race. As we know, our first progenitors lost their earthly paradise and were condemned to a future life of work and hardship, and such is our lot today. This, once universal theory, therefore depends on a belief in a divine intervention by which mankind comes into being as a result of God`s desire to create a species that would (or could) prove its worthiness for eternal life (like its creator) by leading a good life.
     A second "explanation" of  the presence on the earth of life as we see it now, is given by, pre-eminently, Charles Darwin in his 1859 ground-breaking book ORIGIN OF SPECIES. The main thesis of the book is that mankind came into being as the result of "natural selection" whereby the survival (and development) of a particular species depended on being the fittest, or strongest, or most intelligent (preferably an amalgam of the three).  According to this theory, man evolved from the most basic organism millions of years ago, ascending the scale of species domination, through ape-like beings to modern man, homo sapiens. All creatures, therefore, are in a state of evolution, even to the present day.
      The third, and by far the most revolutionary theory, is one that will dominate the pages of this chapter.  This is the belief that at some far distant age, mankind was "transformed" into intelligent humanity by a species that did not originate on this planet, earth.  Who these people were and where exactly did they come from, we do not know, but even here there are (maybe compelling) theories.  A corollary of this is the thesis put forward that a highly advanced or evolved HUMAN species passed on their knowledge to other nationalities, maybe anticipating their own destruction from some source, or even after the catastrophe that came upon them, as they dispersed throughout the globe, seeking a haven. Another related corollary, or theory, is that Man was created by a process of mutation, again by beings from a world other than earth, created for the higher species` use in various ways. From these theories,  it can readily be seen that  the ideas of visitors from outece, extraterrestial visitations, are entertained which itself has spawned a vast library of books on this subject. These theories will be examined in later chapters.

      The biblical account of Man`s orgins has lost some of its general credence in modern times, partly because of a loss of faith or belief in religious matters, amd partly because there is some contradiction in the Bible itself (Genesis) on the subject of creation.  Apart from this, it is thought that a belief in such persons as Adam and Eve as the sole progenitors of all humanity is somewhat less than credible, although evidence is produced by some writers that viewed in certain respects (as stated above for instance) the story of Adam and Eve could be historically interpreted - and understood.
      One of the main objections to Darwin`s explanation is that the "missing link", which should be there, has not been found as yet, and that there seems to be no evidence that species are in fact evolving. Should there not be an intermediate creature for example between modern man and our nearest "cousins", the apes? The gap in intelligence  alone is immense. Darwin`s thesis was accepted well-nigh universally as the only rational explanation (except in some religious eyes) but now is beginning to come under critical (and sceptical) scrutiny.
     The third "explanation" , that of transformation, or mutation or "seeding" by visitors from another planet, or even "accidental" seeding of our planet as the result of the (for instance) break up of a passing world, leading to life on this earth, is as yet in the preliminary stages of development, but as we adduce in this chapter, there are many writers/students of our subject who believe in (some form)of this explanation.  Present day investigations into how life began on earth suggest that the creation of life is no automatic or developmental matter and that many circumstances need to be "right" for life to start. In addition it seems there has to be a large slice of luck, or coincidence in its creation, so much so that many thinkers are not convinced by conventional theory.  We know for instance that it seems there is (as yet) no evidence that life exists on the other planets in our solar system, and not in others as far as we can divine at our present stage of development. The question: Are we alone? is still up for debate, despite the millions of worlds out there which MAY have some form of intelligent life on them. Of course, parts of theory three, depend for their credibility on there being civilisations thousands of years in advance of ours on  planets very, very distant from ours.

     Looking at many of the ancient monuments/buildings round the world the first thing that one marvels at is their sheer SIZE and precision, especially of the individual stone  blocks fitted so perfectly despite their huge weight. In the case of monuments like Stonehenge where dovetailing of stones is not part of the construction, the mystery actually deepens, the atmosphere is more  overwhelming often, as the great monoliths point skywards, as if demanding answers of us. We have some, but they might be wrong. In view of this, it is not surprising that a giant race, a species of superhuman, physically as well as mentally, is often held to be accountable for the building of these impressive structures. It may be that the human species WAS bigger in ancient times and /or that humanity was created larger - see the fourth paragraph above. There certainly was a time when living things were much bigger, as witness the dinosaur age.

FORGOTTEN KNOWLEDGE?

      It maybe as some writers suppose, that Man had then a knowledge that we do not possess now; some abilities that mankind has  forgotten.  Some of these suppositions may strike the rational mind as far-fetched, absurd even, but we are looking at things from our modern perspective which may in fact be defective. A few decades ago some of the advances, say in medicine, flying. technology generally. etc., would have been regarded as impossible, pie in the sky.  Who can with certainty say that anything is not possible - the whole history of human development is testimony that indeed  ANTHING may be possible in the future.
      It is natural that gazing on, for instance, the last remaining ancient wonder of the world, the Pyramids, that the mystery of how an ancient people could raise immense stone blocks hundreds of feet into the air, should give rise to theories about long-forgotten abilities. If a giant race - with immense strength - is not given credence, the mysterious power of raising stones can be entertained. Indeed, some ancient sources state that such a power accounts for the awesome construction. Some modern theorists concur that a power akin to levitation does exist -a phenomenon not unknown in cases of possession where the rite of exorcism is administered.  Of course, levitation of a kind is achieved by means of electromagnetic suspension, i.e. at its simplest, by the use of magnets. It is possible to levitate superconductors and other diamagnetic materials; water and small animals have been levitated in magnetics laboratories. Here is not the place to go into the subject of electromagnetism - a huge topic in itself - but it is an interesting concept and maybe germane to our present thread.
      What we are touching on is ,it must be admitted, the subject of anti-gravity. Some scientists have claimed to generate  anti-gravity by means of a spinning gyroscope, which involves a small but distinct loss of weight. Although small, the loss is very significant, since reducing the force of gravity would give everyone exceptional strength, thus allowing lifting tasks previously considered impossible. It would also facilitate such as the transportation of huge weights, and help to eliminate friction caused by weight. By overcoming gravity, everything from power generation to transport could be transformed. NASA itself is taking the claims seriously and is funding research into how this anti-gravity "breakthrough" could enable vast space flight. Space travel could be revolutionised, for example. Even people could make themselves weightless - and constructing tall and massive buildings out of huge blocks would be possible. There would be no limits on building height or mass. Cities could be islands in the sky!  As with the laser, new inventions are unpredictable with regard to future uses.
      Observation of UFOs by some scholarly witnesses, indicates that space vehicles (if such they be) have circular pods on their undersides which (may) contain anti-gravity flywheel devices which are able to combat the gravitational pull of the earth and the flywheel`s magnetic bearings levitate the weightless wheel/s. Electricity generated by any means including solar panels can spin flywheels.
     Indeed the force of anti-gravity it is now believed, is responsible for the repelling, rather than the attraction of objects at great distances. This leads to the conclusion that the universe is not slowing down but is in fact accelerating and may indeed expand for ever  until billions of years ahead when the stars run out of fuel.
     It is possible that races or species in the remote past possessed knowledge akin to that we have been talking about in the preceding paragraphs. Did they have the "secret" of levitation and/or of anti-matter,now  long lost? Nothing can be proved - or disproved; we can only speculate as convincing evidence one way or the other is missing. But the point is: it is worthwhile to speculate! Theories about gigantic strength and stature are involved; coming back to our earlier topic of pyramid construction, we now know that  it is not only the sheer size of these monuments we  stand in awe of, but also of the complex and intricate geometry and mathematics seemingly built into them. We cannot go into detail about them here, but it does seem the mensuration and the calculation was so exact that their presence can be no accident. Many scholars believe that the brilliant designers of the pyramids built them (as well) as a sign to future generations, to tell us something fundamental and important, and to surprise us (and generations to come) with their esoteric and deep knowledge.  (More on this later.)

KNOWLEDGE OF ASTRONOMY

     On the subject of esteric (and unexpected) knowledge, the strange Dogon tribe of Mali, in Africa, are oft quoted. This is because they seemingly possess knowledge about
the stars which they ought not to know. This statement demands clarification.
      It is thought that the Dogon are descendants of certain Greeks who themselves claimed descent from the Argonauts of Greek history or myth. They appear to know about the star Sirius A and its invisible companion, Sirius B, which they identify as a white dwarf star, because of its smallness, heaviness, and whiteness. According to Robert Temple, (THE SIRIUS MYSTERY) the Dogon say that their amazing astronomical knowledge was given to them by the Nommos, amphibious beings sent to earth from the Sirius star system for the benefit of mankind. They came to earth somewhere to the northeast of the Dogon`s present homeland. Continuing with Temple`s account, the Nommos were more fishlike than human who had to live in water. Apparently, they were spiritual guardians of men, but were also masters and owners, as befitted their station as powerful beings, and/or Sons of  God.  According to Dogon tradition, the leader of the Nommos divided his body among men to feed them, and to drink his blood. He was crucified and resurrected and will in the future again visit the earth.
      It is interesting to learn that the early Egyptians believed Sirius was the home of departed souls as did/do the Dogon. Sirius was of course the guardian star of Egypt, rising at the time of the onset of the Nile floods.
      Temple believes that the contacts (with Men)  be they god-like, of giant stature, fish-like, enormously advanced, far more intelligent than earthlings, whatever, were   undoubtedly physical beings,  (i.e. not spirit-like or in any way etherial) whose advent involved space travel, occurred in the area of Sumeria, about 4500 years ago. The knowledge thus gained was passed on via various societies of initiates in the Near and Middle East until about the 5th century when it seems to have petered out.

CIVILISATIONS: RISE AND FALL

     Civilisations come and go: for a time  there is progression, followed by regression. It does seem as if certain areas of the world in the distant past reached a high standard of expertise in  fields we are only just discovering - and then for some reason came a slump, and almost all those skills were lost. Thousands of years later when the scriptures began to be written down, we can see that guidance was given to (certain sections) of the Hebrews by what we can only call divine utterance - a  phenomenon that does not appear to be in evidence today (as far as we can tell). But what if this "divine utterance" of such great moment in the Bible was just the ancient writers way of interpreting mystifying directions "from above", i.e., from beings belonging to another world? Of course I am by no means unique in entertaining this possibility; and its adherents are growing by the day. Let me make my position clear: I do not claim that this (possibility) is so, but it IS a theory that is worthy of examination: I leave judgement to the individual.
      Thousands of years before the scriptures were written down, ancient civilsations, Sumerian, Egyptian (Atlantean?) had what to us in retrospect seems like a different way of looking at things, "a different knowledge system"  whereby the universe was viewed in a way different from that of modern man. (Colin Wilson: FROM ATLANTIS TO THE SPHINX, p.8) This diffent way of looking at things has an important implication: the pace of human evolution could be accelerated. It follows that civilisation could (IS) much, much older than conventional history would have us believe. Wilson claims in his study that the ancients understood some secret of cosmic harmony, enabling them to feel an integral part of the world instead of experiencing the alienation of modern man. We need to pass "beyond alienation " and grasp once more this ancient knowledge, long forgotten, which has been "transmitted down the ages in some symbolic form in the great religions" (p. 10)
     It is clear for instance that the builders of the pyramids  possessed technical (and scientific) expertise that we cannot emulate today.  These great monuments  came, according to accepted chronology, a mere four centuries after the "birth" of Egyptian civilisation, a concept that puzzles many people.  It is not surprising therefore that some writers  feel that there had to be a civilisation thousands of years older. The same reasoning can be applied to the civilisations of the  South American races, the Aztecs and the Incas. Their monuments suggest also that either their civilisations stretched back thousands of years or that "there once had been an unknown civilisation that has been lost to history". (Wilson, p.16) Were these people the survivors of Atlantis?
      One respected writer on ancient history, Schwaller de Lubicz, holds the view that mankind has not evolved but devolved from giants who once walked the earth ....vowed to cataclysmic annihilation...while an evolving elite gathered all of human experience...(SACRED SCIENCE). Another academic writer, George Gurdjieff, advanced the view (in 1950) that after the great pyramid age, there occurred a spiritual catalcysm that caused mankind to degenerate. Man began to believe that the material world is the only reality...which would seem to echo Schwaller`s words that mankind has degenerated from giants to a near animal state. Wilson continues with a paragraph worth quoting in our context: "Schwaller [and Lubicz] believed that ancient Egypt possessed a knowledge system ...inherited from a far older civilisation whose modes of thought were fundamentally different from those of modern man" (p 28).  In passing, we might just mention the Egyptian stone jars, with fine necks, hollowed out...how? makers of these jars must have possessed a tool unknown to modern man.
       Did they know about electricty? Did they have an advanced technology based on the frequency of sound?  In any case, the drill had to rotate at a pace which is mind boggling. Perhaps this is additional evidence that a highly sophisticated civilisation existed long before the first of the Dynasties.
      As we are aware, the Egyptians had  knowledge of the stars and their movements which is quite mystifying - impossible for an ancient people to have discovered by themselves.  The theory of a very remote in time civilisation gathers additional momentum. Recent findings such as rain scouring on the sides of the Sphinx suggest a time for its construction thousands of years before the conventional Egyptology; it may indeed have been the case that the survivors of some catastrophe  visited Egypt about mid 11th millenium BC and began to try reviving the culture they had had to leave - beginning with the Sphinx?
     More evidence for the existence of prehistoric civilisations is to be found in the puzzling ancient maps still extant. Some of these show the outlines of the Antarctic as it used to be before it was covered as it is now by ice and snow. How can a 16th century map reveal these things? After all, Antartica was not discovered until early in the 19th century. Moreover, mapmaking is no simple art; so if a coherent map is produced with writing on it and it is agreed that the invention of writing occurred about 4000 BC then the maps in question must have been made by a highly developed civilisation, maybe thousands of years earlier. In any event, the map had been drawn when Antartica was free of ice. Maybe the present Antartica is the site of the fabled Atlantis...
     Mysteries about the construction of ancient buildings and the huge blocks of stone from which they are made is not of course confined to the middle East; equally puzzling are the structures of South America where enormous blocks appear to have been transported from distant quarries, and where great stone idols had been made and elevated without the use of modern tools - but is this strictly so, in the light of what we allege? Records, generally on stone tablets, say that light-skinned, blue-eyed people had come to the Americas in remote antiquity and it is suggested that these people passed on their knowledge to the ancient ancestors of the Maya, themselves an ancient race.
      Graham Hancock (of whom we shall say more later) is one of the most respected writers on ancient archaeology, whose book, FINGERPRINTS OF THE GODS published in 1995,  became a best seller due to its bold theorising and compelling  evidence. In his journeys through South and Central America, Hancock  had confirmed a belief that he was dealing with a "civilisation that preceded the devastation [of Indian cities] some time in the 11th millenium BC,  and which was the common ancestor of dynastic Egypt, of the Olmecs, the Mayas and the Aztecs". (Wilson, p. 122, ATLANTIS TO THE SPHINX).
      In South America, for instance, there are the  remains of the city of Machu   Picchu, staggering in its proportions, built out of gigantic stones much larger than those of the pyramids, and with the same incredible precision and accuracy.  How were the stones raised? And why go to so much trouble? Then there is the mysterious ancient city of Teotihuacan whose lay-out appears to be astronomical and whose three principal monuments, the Pyramids of the Sun, of the Moon and the temple of Quetzalcoatl bear a relationship with the lay-out of the three great Egyptian pyramids. Add to all this the puzzle of the Nazca lines in Peru, and we have to conclude that something very strange has occurred in times past in South America.  It is difficult  to accept these mysteries as fitting in neatly with the conventional chronology; in fact, one can become quite sceptical. With other writers who have studied this ancient history, we may agree with Wilson, that probably these ancient peoples inherited their knowledge from an erudite   very early civilisation. "Whether these things were originally brought to earth by Nommo [whom we have mentioned] from the stars....?"  (Wilson, p. 128) [we can only speculate].
The ruins in South America seem to indicate that  civilisation  there is far older than generally accepted. As there are so many similar features between Egypt and Southern America, "it becomes increasingly difficult to avoid the conclusion that the [two] civilisations had some common origin...." (p. 133)
      The science of palaeontology in conjunction with that of archaeology has of course thrown a good deal of light on the subject of man`s origins - and his development.  Animal species have disappeared from the face of the earth we know - but how? It is coming increasingly to be accepted that the world has undergone a series of catastrophes such as floods and earthquakes  which have destroyed entire species. Nature has had , in Wilson`s words, to start all over again - and it looks as though civilisations have gone through the same process

A RAPID DEVELOPMENT

     Amazing as it is, the physical prowess  of early man is not his most remarkable feature of course: it is the rapid growth of his intelligence. So rapid, indeed, was it when viewed against the backdrop of millenia of mankind`s development, that it is  breathtaking. In a comparatively short time, nations demonstrated an amazing fluency in science, astronomy, mathematics....The question presents itself: why (or how) did  man begin to develop so quickly about a million or half a million years ago? Perhaps, as we have suggested, some natural catastrophe brought about a genetic mutation; perhaps as Danniken suggests we were changed by extraterrestials; perhaps Sitchin has the answer in his mutation theory...(We shall consider the views of these writers in later chapters.)
     Unfortunately, as we now realise only too well, man`s development has not by any means been linear, i.e. progressive. At some time, indeed, at some times ,man has suffered debilitating reversals, whereby he has become, in Wilson`s words, "trapped in a narrower form of consciousness". (p. 201) Put succinctly.(I hope!). at various points in history. man lost some of his physical and mental abilities.
     Perhaps though we should question whether we are right to use the word "rapid" when describing man`s development.  Looked at in context, it does seem rapid, but perhaps we have not sufficiently taken into consideration the fact that  it may be the case that there had been millenia of a type of preparation before these skills and advances made their "sudden" apearance. I am conscious of presenting readers with a choice, a dilemma maybe; it is a case of weighing up pros and cons...and coming to a personal conclusion - if at all possible.
     What we do need to realise is that the knowledge we possess today (our knowledge system) is not the same knowledge or even the way of looking at it and utilising it, that ancient had (or did). It is something we touched on earlier: it was, as Wilson puts it, "a slowly increasing sense of intuitive involvement in the universe." (p. 229) Solar knowledge, as  Wilson says, i.e. factual information is useful but is no real substitute for that intimate sense of the universe...first developed by our remote star-gazing ancestors.
      We have mentioned Schwaller and Gurdjieff who believe that modern man has degenerated from earlier levels when he was a "giant" - physically and mentally. It may be that the meaning behind this statement is encapsulated by a sentence in FROM ATLANTIS TO THE SPHINX (p. 242) : "the ancient Egyptian must have felt precisely about his relationship with the earth and with the Nile...it was not a matter of superstition but  of a deeply experienced relationship with the earth and the heavens, a relationship that could be felt as distinctly as the midday sun or a cold wind..."  It follows that indeed the ancient Egyptians  were heirs to an older civilisation. Maybe half a million years ago man rapidly became more intelligent (brain-power) precisely because he had a reason for becoming so, whose motivating force was religious and whose driving force was creative energy. As Wilson says, the real stimulus to evolution was knowledge: the realisation by man that he could solve problems by the use of his brain. And the growth of his imagination.
      Because I have found Wilson`s book so useful and so germane to the theme of this chapter, I think it fitting to end this section with a comment from him: We have been inclined, he writes, to see past civilisations as less efficient versions of ourselves..."Now it has become clear that this was a mistake. In some ways they actually knew more than we do. Compared to their rich collective awareness, modern consciousness seeems barren  and constricted. ..they knew more than we do about the hidden powers of the mind ...in some ways they were more efficient than we are".(p.280)

MYSTERIOUS BEINGS

     In his investigations into the historical significance of South America`s ancient semi-ruined cities, Graham Hancock read some of the old writings about the early history of the region. He was particularly struck by the frequent references to a mysterious figure known as Viracocha, translated as "Foam of the Sea". Whoever he was, Viracocha was a powerful being, known to the ancient tribes of Peru and Bolivia, as "the great Creator God" who among other  astounding abilities could perform miracles. Hancock reflected on the biblical passage in Genesis (with which we began this study) about giants on the earth in those days. This gave rise to the intriguing speculation: "Could the `giants` buried in the biblical sands of the Middle East be connected in some unseen way to the `giants` woven into the fabric of pre-Columbian native American legends"? (p. 58)
      This same literature indicated a great similarity in its account of the great ziggurat of Cholula with that of the biblical Tower of Babel.  It was clear that the central American and Middle Eastern (biblical) stories were closely linked. There are differences, as Hancock points out but he has a far more telling point to make: "Suppose the two versions of the legend had evolved separately for thousands of years, but prior to that both had descended from the same remotely ancient ancestor? " (p. 114)
      Chapter 24 of Hancock`s book, FINGERPRINTS OF THE GODS, begins thus: "In some of the most powerful and enduring myths that we have inherited from ancient times, our species seems to have retained a confused but resonant memory of a terrifying global catastrophe. ....why are they laden with common symbolism?   why are there no historical records? Could it be that the myths themselves are historical records...and thus passed on?"
      Earthly catastrophes can be occasioned by, among others, such as floods, earthquakes, volcanoes, even cometary activity, and of course climate change.
  It seems reasonable to suppose that in the remote past, one or other of these calamities have come upon earth. Many of the "myths" in ancient literature, indicate that after this type of devastating event, some mysterious figure (or figures) appeared to teach, maybe anew, disciplines such as science, architecture, mathematics, astronomy....With Hancock we ask the question: Who were these people who came to civilise? Were they figments of the imagination? Were they gods? Or were they men?

EGYPTIAN BELIEF

     The ancient Egyptians believed implicitly in a world, rather universe, controlled by "the gods" who were all powerful, responsible for the Nile flood pre-eminently.  The sun was the most visible of the deities while the stars themselves were a type of reincarnation of the pharoahs. They believed in a "First Time" at the beginning of creation when life was ideal. In this First Time, the gods had ruled on earth. Maybe (among many other theories) the pyramids were mainly religious monuments built (like modern cathedrals) to glorify the gods (God).  For millenia, the Egyptians had conducted their lives (according to this regimen) until the time when we are forced to realise that advances had been made in various fields.Apart from their clear mastery of building techniques, there is evidence of agricultural experimentation about the end of the last Ice Age. "The characteristics of this leap forward suggest this could only have resulted from an influx of new ideas from some as yet unidentified source." (p. 410)
      One of the main themes running through Hancock`s book is, as he says, that the human race is a species suffering from a collective amnesia. We have forgotten many of the skills we once possessed, maybe many thousands of years ago, maybe as a result of catastrophes or inevitable degeneration. Several times we have had to start again: maybe many times. We cannot be sure, but we can suspect this has happened to us.
     How for example can we interpret the knowledge of "precession" which the ancients undoubtedly had?  [Precession: (a dictionary definition): the slow but continual shifting of the equinoctial points from east to west , occasioned by the earth`s axis slowly revolving in a small circle about the pole of the ecliptic - like a top spinning] Hard to comprehend maybe; even harder to discover (in those times!) This knowledge could only have been divined by people who were advanced, technically and scientifically, probably with many years of development behind them. Thus we must conclude that the builders of the pyramids in Egypt, the astounding monuments in South and Central America,  (to name but a few) were intelligent people, advanced in scientific and technological knowledge.  As Bauval and Hancock in their book, KEEPER OF GENESIS, claim, "a scientific language of precessional time and allegorical astronomy was deliberately expressed in the principal monuments [in Egypt] and in the texts that relate  to them". (p. 270) In their concluding remarks, the authors feel that "the purpose of the ancient master builders was sublime and that they did indeed find a way to initiate those who would come after - thousands of years in the future - by making use of the universal language of the stars". (p. 272)  (Their book is essential reading for those who wish to know more about the astounding knowledge of the ancients. Equally essential for those who wish to know more about precession is the chapter in Bauval and Gilbert`s book, THE ORION MYSTERY, titled "Precession": p. 242. This latter book`s main thesis is that the Egyptian pyramids were built far, far earlier than the usual Egyptology allows and that they were much more than just burial places for the Pharaoh/s.)

EVOLUTION

    Herbie Brennan`s book MARTIAN GENESIS is an important work in our context.In it he tackles the subject of the evolution of the human race - the main concern of this chapter. One of his theses is that mankind may have evolved not on earth but on a planet in another solar system. The present race of man may have been "seeded" by remote and distant beings millions of years ago - maybe from within our own solar system - maybe from Mars when it once had life.  (Readers may recall our touching on this "seeding" thesis in the first few paragraphs.) More on this later.
     Of course, revolutionary theories about evolution abound. One of the earliest (and most original) was Erich Von Daniken who suggested that advanced intelligence is not only "out there" but has already visited Earth. Van Daniken claimed that references (wherever they were found) to god, God or the gods, referred to extraterrestial visitors and that their formidable powers were due to their infinitely advanced technology.  Brennan does not claim this, but believes there is evidence of what he calls intelligent engineering. For him, Mars remains the most likely source of present intelligent (human) life. In his chapter entitled "In the Myths of Time" Brennan makes reference to the giants mentioned over and over again, not only in the Bible but in world wide legend. "An ancient European tradition holds that giants were never a race apart. All people had once been taller and stronger but had degenerated after a Golden Age. Any evolution of Martian `humanity` took place on a planet that has 38 per cent the gravitational pull of Earth. This would lead to giantism." (p. 42) Later in the book, Brennan explores the strange references in ancient literature to what seems to be flying. Sanscrit sources for example indicate this (as well as biblical sources such as the Book of Ezekiel). The conclusion is that there can be no room for doubt: either the ancients knew how to fly or that they were witnesses to flying machines of some sort. There were aircraft in those days.  A staggering thought - but there are compelling reasons for so believing.
      Tales of god-like visitors to Earth in ancient times abound. Rock paintings of "visitors" look like astronauts in space suits. To ancient peoples, the people who "came down to Earth" were gods, mainly because they were so powerful.  They may  have been people who came from a planet orbiting a distant star. (Daniken`s suggestion) These people must have been at least humanoid to interbreed. But as Brennan says, the odds against a similar race evolving on another planet are astronomical. His conclusions is that one either has to abandon "the idea of human visitors from beyond the earth, [or] to investigate the possibility that terrestial humanity itself might have been   the result of seeding" (p. 205)
      Further confirmation about the unreliabilty of "accepted" scientific explanation of the origins of man is to be found in Michael Baigent`s book ANCIENT RACES, published in 1998. Like other writers before him, Baigent questions the Darwinian theory of evolution, adducing there is a lack of "proof". He also feels that some civilisations appeared "overnight", achieving standards of remarkable levels, without the centuries of preparation needed to reach them - a conclusion already seen  in some of the writers considered above. The book illuminates the very early history of man, which seems to suggest a knowledge of sophisticated technology - well before conventional history would have us believe. In his Introduction, Baigent sets out his stall, the burden of his book: "The unfortunate truth is that history is rather like statistics: anything can be proved, any fraudulent story of the past can be maintained so long as all unwelcome data is excluded...and reputations maintained ...in the face of steadily accumulating contrary evidence".
     Early in his book, Baignent (like many others) calls into question the "othodoxy" of the Darwinian theory of evolution.  Simply, he does not believe it - or at least adduces there is no convincing evidence for belief.  "In the end", he says, "Darwin`s theory of evolution is a myth: like all myths it seeks to satisfy the need for understanding the origin of humanity. To that extent it may work, but that does not prove it is true." (p. 39)
     Of course no-one claims it is any easy matter to establish the evolution of man (linear or not); scientists assume from bone fragments that man has developed over about the last 4 million years. This assumption has become the norm.  The earliest remains we have are those of "Lucy" found in Ethiopia in 1974, believed to be some 4 million years old.  However it seems likely that humans had already evolved at the time "Lucy" lived, perhaps millions of years before. Indeed we are in danger of ignoring the evidence for the remote ancestry of man faced with bone remains in ancient rock strata, tools (and weapons) therein, jewelley and the incidence of cave drawings. And there is evidence of seafaring activities thousands of years BC - before what is thought to be the dawn of the first civilisations.
     We have mentioned the mystery of the age of many of Egypt`s monuments; the possible "education" of existing races by an erudite ancient people; the strange enigmas presented by stone constructions all over the world - and it is sensible to wonder.  Can all these marvellous erections have happened "overnight"? It does not seem likely.
     ".The greatest mystery of life ....lies in the experience of death....a mystery which no amount of fossils, relics or ancient texts can ever truly explain. Any explanation depends upon a perspective which lies far beyond the limitations of time and space. Here....science is inadequate; to survive it will have to change"  (Baignent: ANCIENT TRACES, p. 244)
 
     A consideration of Neil Freer`s book, published in 1993, fittingly, I trust, will end this chapter on radical theory regarding human evolution, and will foreshadow some of the views of the writers we shall be considering later. But first, I feel I must give his Dedication - which sets out his particular scene.
      "To the Human Race, genetically created, deprived of immortality, now realizing our beginnings and glory, emerging from our planetary adolescence. To the Nephilim our creators, half-parents and sometimes cruel masters, perhaps curious watchers of our progress. May we both evolve and transcend."

EXAMINING ANCIENT HISTORY

      The book is BREAKING THE GODSPELL, sub-titled "The Politics of our Evolution"  with an Introduction by Zecharia Sitchin whose own work we shall consider in detail in later chapters. Both are radical thinkers about the development and origin of homo sapiens.  We may agree with Freer that the accpted ancient history of man is contradictory in many respects and does not explain satisfactorily who we are and what we were - and our purpose in being here and now. Much of religious teaching tends to obfuscate rather than to illumine these questions. "If `gods` were not so related to the  Judeo-Christian `God` and the concept of worship was still understood in its original meaning of `work for` things might have been easier..." [to fathom].(p. 6}  The puzzle of human existence: one of the things we are considering - and the burden of Freer`s book.
      But first we must acept his premises (if we are to follow his thread) that the various accounts in the Old Testament though  condensed versions of even more ancient stories are, as the author claims, true and accurate in their most minute detail whose evidence supports the fact that the "god" or "gods" of the Old Testament (and the New) were not some transcendent infinite Beings "but an advanced race of humanoids, the Nephilim mentioned in Genesis who  created man ....for their own practical purposes" (p. 7) Consequently if we follow this line of thought, we become "unshackled" by the inhibiting concept of a "jealous"  and often tyrannical God, which makes us free to seek to understand "the ultimate nature of the universe". The book takes the fact (Freer`s wording) that humanity was created by an advanced race, the Nephilim, mentioned in Genesis, as  verified.
      There is an ever growing body of writers who believe vigorously that much of present day interpretations of ancient history, archaeology and palaeontology is simply wrong - and deviations from what is "accepted" invite sceptism, if not ridicule.Western culture (and belief) as Freer points out, is rooted in Judeo-Christian tradition  - which can now be seen in a totally different light. Indeed It may be said that the advent of Christianity brought about a change in the way we viewed ancient annals. For centuries history began, as Freer says, when the Bible began and it therefore followed that anything that was pre-historical (pre-biblical) was very suspect.  Interpretations of history were always seen in the light of "revealed truth" i.e. that given in the Bible - until the scientific study of geology came along. Before this, the Bible was taken as an accurate recording of history.  The Churches were slow to react. The Catholic Church was perhaps in the van of acceptance (of the new discoveries). It was always assumed (till recently) that man evolved through countless millenia from primitive hominid to homo sapiens in an unbroken line.
      Remote (in time) writings all speak of a time when beings who were plainly humanoid, were in communication with men and women. Can it all be dismissed as myth when other things happening about the same time are accepted?  To me, it does not sound rational (to dismiss). Over thirty years ago Daniken advanced the radical idea that man had probably been visited by extraterrestials, a theme that was elaborated on by the writings of Sitchin.  Their contention was/is that mankind received the benefit of the wisdom of these highly advanced beings: gave them a shot in the arm, so to speak - in more ways than one. We shall leave these very important thinkers to later chapters.
      The essence of the contention of the writers we mention is that homo sapiens was civilized ab initio by this illustrious race, the Nephilim, which totally alters the conventional outlook on the development  of man. The argument is that the Nephilim were indeed the "gods" referred to so frequently in ancient writings, including the (not so old in comparison) biblical stories. According to Sitchin, the Nephilim will return when the orbit of their planet brings them closer to earth.
      Freer asks a fundamental question: why is there "a startling universality of recurrent themes running through the traditions of all cultures" and why is there so much myth and legend associated with them?  His answer is that it is due to the commonality of human nature. He goes on to make the point that scribe historians are accepted as sources when they speak of men, but dismissed when they speak of "gods". Our instinct (conditioned) is to call any mention of "gods" as myth.  King lists are accepted - but a list of gods? Another pertinent question:  why should there be this "huge tradition of flesh and blood larger than human type people with advanced technical devices in our planetary history?" (p. 42)
      It is indisputable that all major cultures spoke and wrote of the deeds of a type of superior being who once lived upon the earth as the most significant of all their memories. Can we continue to ignore this evidence illustrative of a seminal change in man`s situation?  If we accept the above theses we are indeed all part Nephilim. They (the theses) cannot be proved; but neither can they be disproved. The evidence and the reasoning is given Recognition of the true nature of our origins "gives us a perspective" on our past history whereby we are able to reevaluate our customs, institutions, and so on, and to arrive at a "principle of unification for the entire planet". (p. 44).

Summing up

     It would be fitting I believe to conclude this chapter with a look back to where we began it; that is to say, at the various conjectures about the origin of man.  We have mentioned that there are three main ones; these are reiterated now under the Freer headings (in his chapter 4) because they are apt and intelligible. Some opinions are in the nature of "Transmission Theories"; namely, that certain suitable compounds that would engender life on earth tend to be disseminated throughout the universe; these were the "seeds" of life in any sustainable environment - such as on planet earth. Others (opinions) support the idea of "Specific Creation" whereby man in remote times was "mutated" by an advanced species existing elsewhere in the universe by a process of transmission at a distance. Or this advanced species could have actually visited the earth and interbred. Or  (the biblical story), man was created by an all-powerful, cosmic being, i.e. God. The third opinion comes under the heading of "Emergence Theory" which holds that development came through indigenous evolution from inorganic sources once conditions on earth were right.  Related to this is the concept that development happened through simple chemical chance.

     This chapter has been concerned in the main with theories of the origin and development of mankind that are different from those normally or conventionally encountered. In the course of this survey, we may have concluded that mankind seems in some ways to have degenerated over the millenia - or at least that his "progress" has by no means been uninterrupted! It seems man was once physically and technically better; he seems to have suffered a loss of knowledge, or expertise.We considered the fact that no civilisation lasts for ever; that races or nations reach a summit (for their time) of prowess in various spheres and begin a process of decline, either by the nature of things or by catastrophe. We alluded to what many thinkers believe is a comparatively rapid acquisition of advanced skills (in building, in astronomy, in mathematics, for example) which gives us pause.  At this juncture we glanced at the phenomenon of anti-gravity and research into it.  One of the most enduring features of ancient writings concerns the abiding reference to a mysterious, supreme, powerful figure that came to man for it seems the purpose of educating (or re-educating) him (man). Conventional versions of history were examined; and largely thought erroneous. Are we a species genetically created - by the Nephilim, or some similar advanced beings - for purposes of their own. We have presented some of the evidence.

      In the next chapter (14) we shall consider the writings and theories of such as Norvill, Collins and Cayce in the light of evidence presented about primal races, remote civilisations, giant beings. It will come as no surprise that many of these views are greeted with some hostility, lack of credence shall we say, by organised religion.  

© A.B. Finlay Ph.D