Graham Hancock

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Graham Hancock

Graham Hancock (born August 2, 1950 in Edinburgh , Scotland ) is a British writer and journalist .

Hancock's main areas of interest are historical mysteries, stone monuments, megalithic cultures , historical mythology, and astronomical and astrological signs from the past. One of the dominant themes in several of his books is the global connection he suspects of all historical cultures with a submerged high culture which, due to a kind of collective amnesia , is no longer mentioned in historical tradition.

His previous books have been sold over five million times worldwide and have been translated into 27 languages. However, his unconventional methods and the conclusions he draws are not endorsed in the scientific discussion, and he has often been criticized as a pseudo- archaeologist . Hancock, who himself admits that he has no archaeological training, sees his work as a counterbalance to the “unquestioned” acceptance and support of conventional views of the educational system, the media and society in general.

Hancock's publications reflect the ideas of diffusionism , according to which the development of human history takes place through the cultural dissemination of inventions and discoveries. This is in contrast to the majority in archeology, according to which cultural advances can be explained by evolution , memetics and contact innovation .

Life

Graham Hancock was born to Donald and Muriel Hancock. He spent his childhood in India, where his father worked as a surgeon. He later attended school in Durham in northern England and began studying sociology at the University of Durham , which he graduated in 1973.

He then began a career as a journalist, writing for several major British newspapers including The Times , The Sunday Times , The Independent and The Guardian . He also served from 1976 to 1979 co-editor of the New Internationalist magazine and 1981-1983 East Africa - correspondent for the British weekly The Economist . He began writing books in the 1980s. His first book was Reise durch Pakistan (original title Journey through Pakistan ).

He is married to the photographer Santha Faiia, with whom he published the book Spiegel des Himmels (original title Heaven's mirror ).

Hancock works, among others, with the engineer Robert Bauval , with whom he has published three books. Other authors are Peter H. Marshall , Javier Sierra , Joseph Schor and Joseph Jahoda. These sparked a great deal of controversy in 1996 when, under the guise of a license to conduct an ordinary survey of Giza to find and mend flaws and crevices, they extended their permit and examined the ground under the Sphinx . They claimed to have found a large, man-made cave under the front paws, exactly in the spot indicated by the medium Edgar Cayce .

Views and hypotheses

Interpretation of the Piri Reis map

For Graham Hancock, in his own words, his real interest in the prehistory of mankind begins with reading Maps of The Ancient Seakings by Charles Hapgood . Inspired by the work of Charles Hapgood, Graham Hancock assumes that Admiral Piri Reis's 1513 map , which is ascribed to the Turkish admiral and privateer from Constantinople of the same name , is said to show the coastlines of Antarctica in an ice-free state. According to Charles Hapgood, this dates to a possible period from 13,000 to 4,000 BC. One reason for this is a shift in the earth's crust or pole, described by Charles Hapgood, which was responsible for the sudden end of the last ice age and the associated global flooding and sudden changes in sea level from 12,000 BC. Was responsible. (Compare also theories about the localization of Atlantis in Antarctica ). Hancock as well as Hapgood see in the postulated depiction of an ice-free Antarctic continent on non-modern maps and in particular the depiction of ice-free Antarctic coastlines of Queen Maud Land, the actual position of which was only determined in a Norwegian-Swedish-British seismological expedition in 1949, as evidence that the Piri Reis map was based on much older and more precise maps of a lost high culture. Hancock goes on to state that a precise determination of longitudes was not yet possible at the time the map was created, which is correct. Hancock writes:

"The Piri Reis Map of 1513, for example, places South America and Africa in the correct relative longitudes, theoretically an impossible feat for the science of the time. But Piri Reis was candid in admitting that his map was based on far earlier sources. Could it have been from one of these sources that he derived his accurate longitudes? "

“The map of Piri Reis from 1513 shows, for example, South America and Africa with correct relative longitudes, which is a theoretical impossibility for the science of the time. But Piri Reis openly admitted to having used older sources. Could it be that he obtained his exact length information from one of these older sources? "

Hapgood writes in a very similar way. However, the coastlines of well-known bodies of water, such as the Mediterranean, were largely correctly reproduced as early as the 16th century, even without precise length determination. So also the coastlines of West Africa and Spain on the Piri Reis map. The coastlines of America, on the other hand, are severely distorted or simply incorrectly displayed. In this respect, there can be no question of an exact representation going beyond the possibilities of the time. More detailed interpretations based on the information available at the time of creation take into account the possible political motivations, the then common misidentification of America's east coast with Asia and the Greek-mystically motivated assumption of a Terra Australis Ingocnita about the "balance of the earth" in view of the earth masses in the northern hemisphere ad -hoc to ensure.

A lost ice age high culture

In his books on the prehistory and early history of mankind, Hancock takes up the ideas of Robert Bauval, Robert Schoch , John Anthony West and Charles Hapgood, who for their part take a critical look at the official archaeological and geological dating and the historiography associated with them, as well as René Adolphe Schwaller de Lubicz , who published extensive publications on the interpretation of sacred geometry , the so-called "sacred geometry" of Egyptian buildings. Since current scientific dating methods only determine actual ages for organic materials, e.g. B. enable the radiocarbon method, they cannot be used as the sole assessment criterion for an age determination of z. B. serve megalithic buildings made of stone. The philosophical work Hamlet's Mill (“The Mill of Hamlet”) by Hertha von Dechend and Giorgio de Santillana , who work out mythology as the bearer of ancient knowledge, especially astronomy, is characteristic of Hancock's interpretation of ancient myths as a reflection of astronomical observations of the sky . Hancock deliberately avoids overlaying his work with the numerous interpretations of Atlantis as the carrier of the first high culture of mankind, since in his opinion a dialogue with most scientists must meet with rejection. Hancock suspects remnants of these civilizations under water, in the coastal areas that were not yet flooded at the time of the ice age low sea level. He underwent a diving training in order to be able to examine the submarine monuments that he describes in Underworld himself and expects, in addition to the well-known places of sunken cities, for example. B. Pharos in the Mediterranean , Yonaguni in Japan or Poompuhar in India, still other sites, z. B. in the Persian Gulf .

The Egyptian monuments as a key in time

In ancient Egypt , Hancock sees a temporal key to understanding age dating. The orientation of the great Giza pyramids according to the belt stars of Orion , investigated by Robert Bauval, shows that the pyramids were built around 2500 BC. No meaningful match. However, the stars can be covered by calculating back using the precession in 10,500 BC. This age lies in the area of ​​the ice age melts of the Würm glaciation, the last epoch of major global glaciations that started around 10,000 BC. Was ended. The traces of erosion investigated by John Anthony West and Robert Schoch on the Sphinx of Giza , which can be traced back to water erosion and which do not occur on any other structure on the Giza Plateau, lead, according to Hancock's conclusion, back to the mythical time of the beginning, Zep Tepi , the so-called " first time “Egypt. Hancock does not deny that the pyramids were built in the middle of the second millennium, but considers the Sphinx and the megalithic temples surrounding it to be older because of the erosion, as the strong water erosion can only be explained during a time of heavy rainfall in the Northern Sahara, which is related to this A desert climate for several thousand years. Around 10,500 BC At the summer solstice , the Sphinx - facing directly to the east - was in opposition to the constellation of Leo and the position of the Orion stars with the pyramids and the Milky Way corresponded to the Nile and formed an exact reflection of the astronomical constellation. The sphinx as a precessional symbol for the precessional age of the lion was therefore supplemented with the pyramids of the dynastic time of Egypt in such a way that the mythological "time of the beginning" was represented architecturally.

A worldwide religion of astral deities

Hancock suspects that this first advanced civilization was a nautically and cartographically very well developed seafaring nation that left its mark all over the world. B. in the form of the Osiris or the Phoenix myth or modifications thereof have become a permanent part of many mythological traditions.

The widespread use of pyramids or other religious buildings, which have astral references in every culture and are based on the same geometric principles of alignment with astronomical constellations, which are repeatedly associated with constellations such as Orion and Dragon , the Pleiades or Sirius , or exact adjustments according to cardinal points and the constant knowledge of precession in all these cultures, prove, according to Hancock, a uniform origin. For him, there is also a connection between cultures that are not temporally contiguous and there is also a connection between the early Egyptian and Mesopotamian cultures of prehistory and the Khmer culture of Angkor , the Indian cultures of the New World or the Nordic culture, which only appeared thousands of years later but show important matches.

The geographical spread is similar to the distribution pattern of heliocentric diffusionism described by William James Perry and Grafton Elliot Smith , but for Hancock the starting point is not Egypt, but Egyptian culture is only a transit station in a much larger, temporal context.

Publications

Books

  • with Mohamed Amin and Duncan Willetts: Journey through Pakistan. Bodley Head, London 1982, ISBN 0-370-30489-6 .
  • Ethiopia: The Challenge of Hunger. V. Gollancz, London 1985, ISBN 0-575-03680-X .
  • with Enver Carim: AIDS: The Deadly Epidemic. V. Gollancz, London 1986, ISBN 0-575-03837-3 .
  • Lords of Poverty: The Power, Prestige, and Corruption of the International Aid Business. Atlantic Monthly Press, Boston 1989, ISBN 0-87113-253-2 .
    • German edition: Merchants of poverty - where are our development billions going? Droemer Knaur, Munich 1989.
  • with Carol Beckwith and Angela Fisher: African ark. Peoples of the Horn. Collins-Harvill, London 1990, ISBN 0-00-272780-3 .
    • German edition: Unknown Africa. Peoples and cultures between highlands, desert and ocean in the Horn of Africa. DuMont, Cologne 1990, ISBN 3-7701-2582-7 .
  • The Sign and the Seal: The Quest for the Lost Ark of the Covenant. Crown, New York 1992, ISBN 0-517-57813-1 .
    • German edition: The Guardians of the Holy Seal: In Search of the Lost Ark of the Covenant. Lübbe, Bergisch Gladbach 1992, ISBN 3-7857-0646-4 .
  • The big riddles - myths and mysteries. vgs, Cologne 1994, ISBN 3-8025-1281-2 .
  • Fingerprints of the Gods: The Evidence of Earth's Lost Civilization. Crown, New York 1995, ISBN 0-517-59348-3 .
    • Extended edition with Santha Faiia and Sean Hancock: Fingerprints of the Gods: The Quest Continues. Crown, New York 2001, ISBN 0-7126-7906-5 .
    • German edition: The trace of the gods: the sensational legacy of a lost high culture. Lübbe, Bergisch Gladbach 1995, ISBN 3-7857-0813-0 .
  • with Robert Bauval: The Message of the Sphinx: A Quest for the Hidden Legacy of Mankind. Crown, New York 1996, ISBN 0-517-70503-6 . English edition as: Keeper of Genesis: A Quest for the Hidden Legacy of Mankind. Heinemann, London 1996, ISBN 0-434-00302-6 .
    • German edition: The key to the Sphinx - in search of the secret origin of civilization. List, Munich 1996. New edition: Kopp, Rottenburg 2008, ISBN 978-3-938516-63-8 .
  • The Mars Mystery: A Tale of the End of Two Worlds. Michael Joseph, London 1998, ISBN 0-7181-4314-0 .
  • with Santha Faiia: Heaven's Mirror: Quest for the Lost Civilization. Crown, New York 1998, ISBN 0-517-70811-6 .
    • German edition: Mirror of heaven - the legacy of the gods; the deciphering of the great puzzles of mankind. Lichtenberg, Munich 1998.
  • Underworld: The Mysterious Origins of Civilization. Crown, New York 2002, ISBN 1-4000-4612-2 .
  • with Robert Bauval: Talisman: Sacred Cities, Secret Faith. Element Books, Tisbury 2004, ISBN 0-00-719036-0 .
  • Supernatural: Meeting with the Ancient Teachers of Mankind. Century, London 2005, ISBN 1-84413-681-7 .
  • Entangled: The Eater of Souls. Roman, The Disinformation Company, New York 2010, ISBN 978-1-934708-56-9 .
  • War God: Nights of the Witch. Novel. Coronet, London 2013, ISBN 978-1-4447-3437-9 .
  • War God: Return of the Plumed Serpent. Novel. Coronet, London 2014, ISBN 978-1-4447-8837-2 .
  • Magicians of the Gods. The forgotten wisdom of earth's lost civilization. Coronet, London 2015, ISBN 978-1-4447-7967-7 .
  • German edition: The magicians of the gods: The forgotten wisdom of a lost earth civilization. Kopp, Rottenburg 2018, ISBN 978-3-86445-622-0 .
  • America Before: The Key to Earth's Lost Civilization. St. Martin's Press, London 2019, ISBN 978-1-250-15373-9 .

Documentaries

  • Technologies of the Gods: The Case For Pre-Historic High Technology. 65 minutes, 1998.
  • Monuments to Life. With Graham Hancock and Robert Bauval. 180 minutes, 2005.
  • 10,500 BC BC. The fall of the first high culture. Three-part documentary, German version, 156 minutes, 2006.
    • Part 1: Mirror of Heaven.
    • Part 2: Forgotten Knowledge.
    • Part 3: Early Navigators.
  • Atlantis: Secret Star-Mappers of A Lost World. 50 minutes, Global Science Productions, 2007.
  • 2012: Science Or Superstition. 78 minutes, 2008.

literature

  • DJ Drewry (Ed.): Antarctica: Glaciological and Geophysical Folio. Scott Polar Research Institute, Cambridge 1983, sheets 3 and 6.
  • Gregory C. McIntosh, Norman JW Thrower: The Piri Reis Map of 1513. University of Georgia Press, 2000, ISBN 0-8203-2157-5 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Fingerprint of the Gods. Cape. 24 ff.
  2. ↑ grahamhancock.com ( Memento from March 16, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
  3. ↑ grahamhancock.com
  4. ^ Charles H. Hapgood: Maps of the Ancient Sea Kings: Evidence of Advanced Civilization in the Ice Age. Adventures Unlimited Press, Kempton, Illinois 1997, ISBN 0-932813-42-9 , p. 235
  5. ^ Graham Hancock: Fingerprints of the Gods. Three Rivers Press, New York 1996, ISBN 0-517-88729-0 , p. 14 f.
  6. ^ Graham Hancock: Fingerprint of the Gods. 2nd edition, chap. 1, p. 10 ff.
  7. ^ Graham Hancock: Fingerprint of the Gods. 2nd edition, chap. 2, pp. 14-22.
  8. ^ K. Schubert (1948): The Norwegian-British-Swedish expedition to Antarctica 1949-52. In: Polarforschung , 18, 1/2, pp. 35–36.
  9. ^ Graham Hancock: Fingerprints of the Gods. Three Rivers Press, New York 1996, ISBN 0-517-88729-0 , p. 38.
  10. ^ Charles H. Hapgood: Maps of the Ancient Sea Kings: Evidence of Advanced Civilization in the Ice Age. Adventures Unlimited Press, Kempton, Illinois 1997, ISBN 0-932813-42-9 , pp. 1, 41.
  11. ↑ The Piri Reis Map. Archived from the original on March 31, 2017 ; accessed on March 29, 2017 .
  12. ^ I misteri della mappa di Piri Reis - 1. Accessed March 29, 2017 .
  13. ^ Robert Bauval: The Orion Mystery (with Adrian Gilbert) Crown Publishing Group, August 22, 1995
  14. ^ Robert Schoch: Die Weltreisen der Pyramidbauer (OT Journey of the Pyramid Builders ) two thousand and one, Frankfurt am Main 2002
  15. ↑ John Anthony West: The Serpent in the Firmament. (OT The serpent in the sky. ) Zweiausendeins Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 2000
  16. ^ René Adolphe Schwaller de Lubicz: The Temple In Man: The Secrets of Ancient Egypt. (Brookline: Autumn Press, 1977)
  17. ^ Fingerprint of the Gods. Appendix II What is Radiocarbon Dating
  18. ↑ Hertha von Dechend, Giorgio de Santillana: Hamlet's Mill. An Essay Investigating the Origins of Human Knowledge And Its Transmission Through Myth. Godine, 1977
  19. ↑ Underworld - The Flooded Kingdoms of the Ice Ag , chap. 1 ff.
  20. ↑ Underworld - The Flooded Kingdoms of the Ice Age , chap. 2
  21. ^ Robert Bauval: The Orion Mystery (with Adrian Gilbert) Crown Publishing Group, August 22, 1995
  22. ↑ John Anthony West: The Serpent in the Firmament. (OT The serpent in the sky. ) Zweiausendeins Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 2000
  23. ↑ Robert Schoch: Die Weltreisen der Pyramidbauer (OT Journey of the Pyramid Builders. ) Zweiausendeins, Frankfurt am Main 2002
  24. ^ Graham Hancock: Fingerprint of the Gods. Cape. 43 f.
  25. ^ Fingerprint of the Gods. P. 454 ff.
  26. ^ Fingerprint of the Gods. Cape. 41
  27. ^ Fingerprint of the Gods. P. 181 ff.
  28. ^ Fingerprint of the Gods. Cape. 3
  29. ^ Fingerprint of the Gods. Cape. 3
personal data
SURNAME Hancock, Graham
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British journalist and author
DATE OF BIRTH 2nd August 1950
PLACE OF BIRTH Edinburgh , Scotland