My colleague
Robert Schoch's previous book VOICES OF THE ROCKS was a state-of-the-art
statement on 'catastrophe theory', the idea that in the not so distant
past (ca. 12000 BC) the earth was rocked by a tremendous catastrophe
(possibly a strike by an asteroid, bolide or comet) that almost instantly
annihilated a large proportion of the larger land mammals then roaming
the globe -- mammoths, woolly rhinoceroses, saber-toothed tigers and
many others. The extinction of those mammals is of course a matter of
record as are the accompanying radical and permanent climatic changes;
the North American ice sheet melted, temperate Siberia became tundra,
sea levels rose over three hundred feet. There is no argument about
the event itself. The bolide/asteroid/ comet theory is, in scientific
circles, controversial to a certain extent, but generally 'respectable'.
That is to say, there is no doubt whatever that something disastrous
happened; there is debate over the exact nature of its cause. The real
controversy swirls about the state of human civilization at that time
and prior to it. The accepted academic view is that mankind was in a
state of global hunter-gatherer development. I.e., no civilization to
speak of in our currently held definition of that word.
As readers
of these Eg-updates will know, we believe that our geological work on
the weathering to the Sphinx of Giza effectively obliges a radical revision
of that view. And the most recent developments in archeo-astronomy (the
astronomy of ancient times) provides mounting complementary evidence
from another hard-nosed scientific discipline. We feel that there is
fundamental factual basis to the innumerable myths and legends around
the world that hearken back to a 'Golden Age', a long period or periods
of highly sophisticated civilization and a Deluge or other catastrophe
that put an end to this advanced culture or cultures. VOICES OF THE
ROCKS explores that possibility.
Schoch's
new book VOYAGES OF THE PYRAMID BUILDERS: The True Origins of the
Pyramids from Lost Egypt to Ancient America is the logical sequel
to VOICES OF THE ROCKS. It is a state of the art statement on Diffusionist
Theory -- the idea that the remarkable similarities between the customs,
architectural, artistic and manual techniques, legends and beliefs of
cultures all over the world (which seem to have had no connection with
each other past or present) stem from 'Diffusion' from an earlier and
very ancient central or possibly global 'master culture'. The prevailing
view in archeology and in all other disciplines devoted to the past
is, at the moment, resolutely anti-Diffusionist; that is to say, that
these myriad similarities are largely coincidental and correspond to
a kind of innate (but quite undemonstrable) evolutionary stage attained
by humanity at large. In simple terms: for no particular reason, certainly
no practical reason, cultures around the globe with no connection or
communication with each other suddenly decided to throw vast amounts
of energy into the construction of massive pyramids and pyramid-shaped
(anyway, conical) earth mounds. Schoch thinks otherwise (and so, of
course, do I) and in his typical thorough, methodical but quite readable
fashion (aided and abetted by science writer and poet Robert Aquinas
McNally) he presents his case.
Schoch
focuses mainly on the pyramid shape and structure -- hardly an architectural
form or practice that one would logically associate with cultures just
emerging from putative primitivism. He traces and describes the variants
of the pyramid wherever it is found -- which is just about everywhere:
Mesoamerica of course, but also China, Japan, the United States, England
and elsewhere. In the process he argues that in the most ancient times
we can really document, the shipbuilding techniques and navigational
skills were already in place for societies around the globe to communicate
with each other ... in short, there is no commanding reason, actually
no reason at all to dismiss the Diffusionist view and countless reasons
to do away with anti-Diffusionism. Like the redating of the Sphinx,
this is no mere academic quibble. Upon the outcome hangs the entire
picture of the development of humanity prior to recorded history and
the level of knowledge available to it.
Topics
covered include:
*The significance
of the striking similarities between pyramid cultures in Africa, Asia,
and the Americas, despite the long distances of land and sea between
*The rituals,
beliefs, and stories that underlie the pyramids
*How ancient
peoples emigrated from the Old World into the New World
*How pyramid
builders entered the New World from the west and influenced the rising
civilizations of Central and South America
*How the
pyramid builders sailed
*A theory
that ancient peoples may have migrated across vast distances in response
to catastrophic encounters with comets
*The possible
existence of a lost pyramid-building civilization in the period before
3,500 BC, the generally accepted date for humankind's earliest taste
of civilization
*What it
means to know that the high civilizations of our planet may have been
interconnected for much longer than we imagined.
"Voyages
of the Pyramid Builders" also includes a special appendix, "Redating
the Great Sphinx of Giza," in which Schoch provides his most recent
and persuasive evidence that the Sphinx is much older than we think
As everyone
on this list knows, Schoch is a friend and colleague. You would not
expect me to write a nasty review for him, but you might legitimately
question my objectivity -- though in fact we continue to disagree on
many issues big and small within the agreed-upon 'Lost Civilization'
hypothesis. So I'm pleased to be able to include a few excerpts from
notices in The Kirkus Review and Publisher's Weekly (both are trade
magazines which print pre-publication reviews that serve as guidelines
for booksellers. They use them to determine which titles and how many
copies to order for their shops). While reviewers for both publications
are not hard core skeptics at the Skeptical Inquirer level, they are
generally a pretty hard-headed lot and look askance at what they consider
overly New-Agey or wildly speculative material. So, a favorable write-up
of a book that is undeniably highly controversial by accepted academic
standards (actually, just about anything that does not rigorously toe
the party line is viewed as 'controversial' by academia) amounts to
a testament to solid methodology
'His case
for the existence of prehistoric cultured societies with both the inclination
and capability to spread their influence and hallmarks around the globe,
including the Americas, is carefully crafted. Artifacts like Roman masons'
marks found on Mesoamerican stonework, cultural "coincidences"
(e.g., both the Aztecs and ancient Chinese looked at the moon and saw
a rabbit, not a man's face), and even Old World plants and animals (mummified
dogs in Peru resembling those of Egypt) have all been scientifically
shown to predate the "first contact" voyages of Columbus.
The presentation of this material is as entertaining as science-writing
gets, and Schoch doesn't shrink from debunking spurious "facts,"
whether they support his case or not. As for ocean barriers, the 20th-century
rafting and reed-boat adventures of, respectively, Kon-Tiki and Ra speak
for themselves, he says. His theory that huge astronomical disasters
like comets or meteor strikes provided the incentive for ancient mass
migrations comes, however, as an extended anticlimax. Gee-whiz industriously
wrapped in solid science.'
Kirkus Reviews (from Barnes & Noble)
________________________________________
'Using
geological, linguistic and geographical evidence, he contends that a
protocivilization of pyramid-building peoples was driven out of its
homeland... Schoch hypothesizes that the pyramids were built to reach
into the skies and to penetrate the mystery of the heavens, source of
catastrophe. Schoch also asserts that the pyramids point to unity and
symbolize the deep concerns shared by all humans. Schoch builds his
engrossing case on geological details of the pyramid sites he has examined
around the world.... As controversial as this book is bound to be, Schoch's
evocation of the pyramids forcefully reminds us of their enduring power
as monuments to the spirit of human creativity. '
Publishers Weekly (from Amazon).
J.A.W. Credentials
©2002 - 2016 John Anthony West