I can only be grateful to the Society for American Archaeology (SAA), the professional association for the archaeology of the Americas, for devoting no less than 27 pages of the November issue of its journal, The SAA Archaeological Record, to an attack on my 2019 book, America Before: The Key to Earth’s Lost Civilization.

More than an attack, the issue self-admittedly sets out to inoculate students, journalists and members of the general public from contamination by my arguments – tantamount to thought-crimes – that civilization may be much older and much more mysterious than we have been taught.

SAA Archaeological Record November 2019

For a writer such as myself, with a controversial, non-mainstream view of the past, to face pushback on this scale is a sure sign that the archaeological establishment feels the ground moving under its feet. Indeed, Christopher Rodning, the Editor of The SAA Archaeological Record seems to confirm this when he explains his decision to focus on America Before in his November issue:

This past year has witnessed the publication of another book by Graham Hancock, the writer and former journalist whose books— 10 since 1992—have sold millions of copies. His literary record makes him one of the major writers in the genre of pseudoarchaeology. It is important for archaeologists to think carefully and critically about what Hancock and similar writers are saying, how they are saying it, and why there is widespread public interest and fascination with it.

Carl Feagans, who contributes an article to the issue, is particularly annoyed that America Before was a New York Times top ten hardcover nonfiction bestseller, describing its arguments and evidence as “farfetched” and objecting “in spite of his [Hancock’s] lack of formal training, experience, or background in either science or archaeology”, to the positive reception given to the book by readers.

At time of this writing (24 November 2019), I note in passing that a certain “cfeagans” is one of just 3 per cent of readers to have posted a hostile 2-star review of America Before on Amazon US where 79 per cent of the reviews are rated 5-star and a further 8 per cent of the reviews are rated 4-star. Nonetheless, because (at time of this writing) 319 visitors have upvoted Feagans’ hostile review as “helpful” it has from the outset been ranked by Amazon as the “top review” of America Before.

 

No doubt I am wrong to find it statistically anomalous – indeed rather structured and organized – that out of the 203 reviews of America Before on Amazon US, Feagan’s 2-star review has received more than twice as many “helpful” upvotes – 319 of them – as the 5-star review that follows it.

Another contributor to the well-organized November issue of The SAA Archaeological Record is John Hoopes, a professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Kansas. He, too, is offended by the strong readership for America Before despite the unforgivable fact that:

“it makes assertions that actively contradict and criticise professional archaeology.’

Meanwhile blogger Jason Colavito, who also contributes an article to the issue, strives mightily to accuse me of condoning white nationalist racism while being obliged to admit that:

“Hancock is careful to attribute his lost civilization to a Native American origin.”

I won’t cite the articles of every contributor to the issue and refer those who are interested to the full online edition of the journal itself, pages 8-34, available (and downloadable as a pdf) through this URL:

http://onlinedigeditions.com/publication/?i=634462#{%22issue_id%22:634462,%22page%22:0}

Before closing, however, I’m understandably very happy to quote here the useful concise summary of America Before given by anthropologist Jeb J. Card in his contribution to the issue (pp 26-30):

“Attempting to critique America Before: The Key to Earth’s Lost Civilization by Graham Hancock (2019) using the criteria of professional archaeology is doomed to failure, as his goals are outside of the materialist practice of scientific archaeology. In a nutshell, Hancock argues that an ancient civilization of the Pleistocene emerged in North America that was based not on material technology but on psychic/spiritual knowledge. It became a global sea-based society comparable with the late pre-Industrial British Empire. These Ice Age Americans (spoiler: Atlanteans) foresaw a cosmic disaster and spread memetic seeds of sacred knowledge of geometry, astronomy, and the Otherworld and how souls may navigate it around the world. After this civilization was destroyed by impact events from a comet during the Younger Dryas, these advanced people came to be remembered as magicians and gods. Seeking this knowledge today is a path to truly understanding reality and the spiritual elements denied by materialist science.”

Card’s precis of my arguments is fair, and in general I’d say that his analysis of my work and its function is much more carefully thought through than that of any of the other contributors. For them (as for Wikipedia, I might add) it seems to be enough simply to describe me as a “pseudoscientist” or a “pseudoarchaeologist” in order, without making any further effort, to damn to perdition everything I have ever written.

SAA Archaeological Record November 2019

Transcending easy insults and childish name-calling, however, Card sees a bigger picture that he believes his colleagues have missed:

For those more serious about finding ancient mystical wisdom outside of institutions of materialist science and traditional religion, Hancock is the rock star of alternative archaeology. His interviews on the highly popular podcast program The Joe Rogan Experience and various appearances on other radio and podcast shows or at conventions, as well as his many books, have made him the most respected “alternative” theorist on the past. Hancock’s explicit turn to articulating “sacred wisdom” mirrors recent developments in paranormal culture. The supernatural and magic have been reconfigured as part of a broader knowledge that includes but exceeds science (Radin 2018; Strieber and Kripal 2016). For example, Hancock (2019:476) claims that the knowledge of the lost civilization would seem like magic even today.

Hancock’s urcivilization of indigenous Atlanteans with psychic abilities and mystical knowledge that disappear into the mists of time like elves or noble savages in the face of disenchantment provides a powerful charter myth (in the sense of myth explaining the present, not in whether or not it is “true”) for anti-materialist critiques of institutions of science, and of broader society. Judging it as “wrong” due to this or that archaeological evidentiary problem is a grievous category error. Hancock is not a failed version of an archaeologist. He is a successful mythographer of a post-science age.

Once again, the URL of the November issue of The SAA Archaeological Record is as follows:

http://onlinedigeditions.com/publication/?i=634462#{%22issue_id%22:634462,%22page%22:0}

I urge you to read it and if you have read America Before you will be in a position to make up your own mind.

 

Meanwhile, here’s the America Before page on my website:

https://grahamhancock.com/america-before/

 

And here is a short video trailer about the book:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ad4ZRlT91h4

69 thoughts on “Response from Graham Hancock to the Society for American Archaeology”

  1. Azzah says:

    You are an important contributor to consciousness.

  2. Bobby Nowell says:

    Graham, I throughly enjoyed America Before as I’ve enjoyed all of your books since Sign and the Seal. Your research has offered an alternative explanation of the traditional history lessons filled with too many blanks and contradicts. Thank you for offering the missing information to help us learn who we really are and where we came from. Wishing you the best and hoping you will continue this work for all of us.

  3. Paul Chartraw says:

    I think Graham Hancock is a very thought- invoking writer. I may not agree with everything he writes, but I believe his thought processes are closer to the truth then the dogmatic, self serving “religious/ science” zealots. Keep fighting the good fight, Mr. Hancock.

  4. Brenda Ingram says:

    Graham
    All the negativity and apparent desperation to smear your work on the part of mainstream archaeology is a clear sign that they are running scared. Scared of the fact that people will become aware of their willingness to place wealth and their good name above the truth.
    Keep up the great work, my friend.

  5. JacobKramerfromEarth says:

    Most certainly the problem with the world is people whose minds and hearts are closed. Please continue your excellent work. Magicians of the Gods brought me to many places that highly influenced my life. Thank you.

    Beneath the silence, if you listen,
    What’s remained true since the beginning,
    Higher Truth, in plain sight it’s hidden,
    attempts to explain it became religion,
    but these attempts to explain divine,
    are only painted pictures of sunrise,
    interpretations of the human mind,
    so keep the good and leave the rest behind.

    It’s in the Bible and the Dhammapada,
    from the Upanishads to Vaclav Havel,
    Or Lao Tze in the Tao Te Ching,
    harmony with the ten thousand things.
    To do no harm, the golden way,
    whether man woman or the state,
    and in our fear to protect our love,
    be mindful of what we become.

    ay-yay-ya

    Free the truth that lives inside your soul,
    Train your mind to release control

    (be)cause there was Jesus, Moses, Buddha and in Sumer Annuaki,
    Zeus, Athena, Thoth, Ra, Shiva, Shakti
    Mohammad, Viracocha, Kuan Yin, Odin, Loki, Yahweh
    Science, Dharma, Tao, o Misterio que e tao grande

    Te Dua, Ti Amo, Obrigado Yemanja
    Danke, Hvala, Gracias Pachamamma
    Shukran, Spasiba, xie xie, Tak, Inshallah
    Whether fox or grasshopper milujeme zvířata

    Do you know the meaning of love,
    Or do you know the lie?
    Infatuation feelings are nothing but,
    selfishness in disguise.
    Ask me what I think of love,
    I’ll tell you that it’s life,
    not something you can fall into, no,
    love is something you decide.

    And in the garden of Eden, or so they say it,
    with forbidden fruit, a serpent waited,
    Eve and Adam, both blissfully naked,
    Their ignorance lifted soon after they ate it,
    and Sanskrit texts tell tales of an ancient,
    juice of Soma but how did they make it?
    The clues are there but it’s still debated,
    Why do you think that the cows are sacred?

    And the ancient Egyptian sacred Tree of Life,
    the roots of this fern species are rife,
    with a molecule that holds the keys to light,
    to illuminate darkness far beyond sight,
    From East to West the seeds of religion,
    was plants intertwined with shamanism,
    Now close your eyes for better vision,
    for these sacraments lend me your ears an listen.

    Sapito
    San Pedro
    Psilocybe
    Amanita
    Sananga
    Tobacco
    Rapé
    Santa Maria
    Chacruna
    Acacia
    Harmala and Jurema
    Yopo, Kambo, and we can’t forget our savior

    Ayahuasca
    Take a drink from the Vine of Souls
    Lead your mind to the Divine abode

    Ayahuasca

    1. Wiizzle says:

      Badass brother. Well said like poets of old. Its funny how young n sloppy “modern” archaeology is. Im really not sure why any scientist or doctor would rule out theories. Or discredit anyone who proposes them…. As they read this on a formerly science fiction piece of technology. I always admired Graham for staying true to the nature of research. Its a “what if” until its a “probably”. In truth… We can only speculate as no one alive has been there n saw it unfold…. Or was there?

  6. Alexander Ferguson says:

    Great book again Graham Hancock. Love your work.

  7. Dan Wells says:

    Graham Hancock has raised many questions in regard to the rather old theories put forward and much of what he has proposed is as reasonable and in many cases far more likely…. investigate these “claims” prove him wrong I dare you.

  8. TTaTT says:

    “it makes assertions that actively contradict and criticise professional archaeology.’.
    You can wear that as a badge of honor.

  9. Connor Helms says:

    Harsh critique is always to be expected in science, and should be welcomed. They get a little out of hand trying to dismiss all your work though; definitely nonsense. It hopefully has inspired archaeologists to start a more concerted effort on the Amazon and American earthworks and cultures, DNA analyses, comparative mythologies etc as you have done here, as that’s the only way we can move forward from here and get closer to truth.

    I think this one and Talisman are your best works to date, and Magicians too. The amount of research and vetting in those 3 alone is boggling. Would love to see you and Randall do at least one book together, even if a shorter one.

  10. Aardvaark says:

    “First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.”

    It’s just that simple.

  11. Peter Miklos says:

    Sadly, a shift in paradigm is an extremely difficult process. As you have no chance of peer review, you are metaphorically stretched and bound on rocks as raptors tear at your flesh.
    No matter though as you have made your point(s) in your works. It can never be forgotten.
    You are not alone.

  12. freddy Silva says:

    I noted that Carl Faegans also attacked my new book, as well as Andrews Collins’ and others, using the same methodology and, of course, the same low-star rating, all designed to lower interest and create doubt in these works. Academic Mafia anyone?

  13. Steven Boettcher says:

    America Before was such a delightful read. I am buying another to give it as a gift to a friend.

  14. Jim McStay says:

    Mr. Dawkins refuses to look through the lens which promises actual sight. These NON-pseudos are invested in career, and like Big Pharma shareholders, cannot afford to question any foundations, or cure any cancers when daily treatments (and endless searching) provide endless profits.

    Reminds me: One passes a man on his knees searching through grass in front of his house. One inquires and is told: “I lost the key to my house”. One helps the poor fellow. After searching some minutes, one inquires further: “Where did you lose your key?” The reply: “Inside the house.” Puzzled, one asks: “Then why are we searching for it outside?” The reply: “Because there is more light outside.”

    Thank you, Graham, for actually going where they keys have always been. Human folk been plotting and mirroring the placements and movement of starbodies since way long before–and for deeply enduring stretches of time–the concern for one’s own personal self-preservation muddied up our shared intelligence, and brought all this intellectual darkness. Your work will stand as long as the megaliths have, and for the same reasons.

  15. Rocky says:

    Excellent reply. They did an excellent promotion and lift their own knowledge.

  16. Richard Simpson says:

    Serious and honest critical thinking is sadly lacking amongst “professionally trained” archeologists. I’ll take the word of the investigative journalist, the geologists, the engineers, the astronomers and first hand accounts from the ancient people over a group of closed minded fools who sling shit upon the passionate people with actual boots on the ground. Graham, you have helped to crack open more minds than these people I’ve never heard of before. Please keep up the extremely good work.

  17. Margot Schönberger says:

    Excellente riposte ! les chiens aboient , la caravane passe ! J’attend avec la plus grande impatience, la version francaise pour l’europe que je compte bien partager !

  18. Margot Schönberger says:

    mon poste a ete changer ! non j’attend la version francophone pour l(Europe !

  19. Des says:

    Each and every year more and more students are raising your ideas and questioning the orthodoxy inconsistencies of the standard narrative. They publish in little read publications, you go on the widely watched Rogan podcast.
    Has anyone changed you to another debate on Rogans show?

  20. robert adams says:

    The holy tenets of mainstream archaeology are slowly being washed away i.e. out of Africa, Clovis man in America first, the extinction of the mega-fauna by Clovis, the myth of the Flood, no organized society in the hunter/gatherer phase of human development, no evidence for symbols of worldwide cultural diffusion etc. Keep up the good fight Graham.

  21. L. Allen Brantley says:

    “When you seek a new path to truth, you must expect to find it blocked by expert opinion.” — Albert Guérard

  22. SarahPetersen says:

    I have read close to 4 of your books so far. I must say, your Ability as a wordsmith to capture the scene as you travel though an African war-torn country is impressive.

    Because of your books I am now working on a structural theory that will offer a loose paradigm within which researchers into places scientists do not look can compare notes without dissing each other, as we see here, “pseudo.” Indeed, the theoretical framework for professional geologists is so narrow and rigidly controlled that “lay” geologists answer legitimate questions instead. It will be like an academic reformation.

    But this is also happening in Bible fields, where “lay” ministry is more dynamic than Bible school graduates.

    Keep up the great work.

  23. A. L. Putt, M.A. says:

    Archaeology is all about status quo, tenure, grantsmanship and fitting into the establishment. Anything you do has to be approved by those above and has no validity on its own. Independent thought is severely frowned upon. This is not true science. In reading your other books, particularly “Underworld”, I saw that your discoveries of ruins underwater off India, Egypt, and Japan were followed much later by them being “officially “ discovered by the archaeologists and formal papers written. So much for them giving credit where it was due. Similar were the caves and tunnels under the Great Pyramid by Andrew Collins, and the Indonesian Pyramid discovered by the Geologist who the archaeologists had banned from the site. This truly reveals the sad state of research currently in control of small minds. While the validity of the conclusions of your research remain open to speculation, the actual discoveries exist for interpretation and the credit for this is rightfully yours.

  24. Dilan Gunawardana says:

    Dear Graham, I recently finished the audiobook version of America Before, and, like all your writings, I found it well-researched, measured, and utterly fascinating. The fact that SAA devoted 27 pages to publishing an attack on it, and that Carl Feagans felt the need to write a close-minded Amazon review of the book, demonstrates just how uncomfortable they are with the crumbling state of their orthodoxy. I can understand their fear of their research being discredited, but their approach reminds me of something you stated in the book along the lines of “if you go to a place not wanting to find evidence of a lost civilisation, then chances are you won’t find any”. I feel as though this is how Feagan and his ilk read your books: with blinkers on and a fixed scowl on their faces. Thank you for another wonderful, thought-provoking book, Graham. I wish you all the best and look forward to the next one. – Dilan Gunawardana, writer/editor

  25. mcurb says:

    You have the establishment scientists defending not only their dogma and the politics that underpins it, but their reputations and livelihoods. Graham has his pursuit of the truth. Who is better equipped to deal with the shock of the new?

  26. Graham Snell says:

    I can understand why modern scholars dismiss Grham’s works; they poke a sharp stick into their long-held certainties and they find it unsettling. However, it is not enough to dismiss Graham as a pseudo-archaeologist etc; I want to hear why his ideas are incorrect. In fact, having read America before, I want to know why the critics are at odds with the scientists quoted in the book that go a long way to validate Graham’s central point. Evidence that the history of our species is much, much older than we thought is coming to light at sites all over the world and, it sems to me, only the blinkered would refuse to acknowledge that.

  27. Andrew F Lewis says:

    As soon as I read that bullshit on Amazon I immediately went there and upvoted all the 5-stars and reported that Feagans fellow.

  28. Esther Stafford says:

    For me the most fascinating aspect of Graham’s work is his Spiritual Quest. He is a “Hero with a Thousand Faces”, venturing into uncharted territory to bring back new knowledge and understanding that challenges old stereotypes. He takes readers with him on this journey, and each of them makes discoveries of their own that transform their lives. This transformation is so much more relevant and important to us than any archaeological theories. Thank you, Graham, for keeping our sense of Wonder alive.

  29. Peter Spellman says:

    Since careers have been built on the consensus view of history, it will take a generational shift before archeologists allow themselves to entertain Hancock’s alternative view. But discoveries are now being made (via sonic and light technologies, among others) that will force a re-write of history. “All truth passes through three stages: First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident.” –Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860). Play on, Graham.

  30. Stuart says:

    And for all the congratulatory exultation Graham gets from his readerd,every time I hear his name, I can’t help thinking that he and I have the exact same level of education, and yet I know for a fact that I would no more express confidance in a subject I have no training in and no knowledge about. Yet somehow, that doesn’t stop Graham.

    1. Andrew F Lewis says:

      Same level of education? You can’t even proofread your own comment. Education has never equated to intelligence. Only the overeducated believe such daft thinking. Graham does not require your concept of intellectual superiority through education because he IS intellectually superior. Go somewhere else with your ridiculously crude comments.

    2. Wiizzle says:

      Ah Stuart…. These men of paper thrones mimic the cloth ones of the old Church and its bishoprics. It seems they are beginning to resemble each other in popularity as well. All that education provides in the information age is a dogma to defend. If Graham were some mythologist or novelist than published deflations of his ideas wouldn’t be our subject matter here. Dogma would be.

  31. Huey Carroll says:

    Excellent retort Sir, Hancock.

    I will keep sharing my research in hopes you examine my Analysis of NASA Comet ShoemakerLevy09s Plasma Coma Shell computer simulation.

    Planetary Impact Surface ReModeling –
    JISC Evidence

    * a transverse sonic Jet Injection into a Supersonic turbulent Cross-flow (JISC Structure)

    If F=ma
    then Comet impacts create tectonic plates.

    Caribbean Plate is ancient comet impact crater.

    The Plasma Coma Shell acts as secondary impact force.

    Plasma Coma temp exceeds MeltPt & vaporization point of granite.

    JISC structure = Comet Plasma Coma Vortex Engine

    & Geomorphology of Caribbean Plate.

    All coastlines & sea floor formations can be identified within the NASA physics based comet simulation.

    Thank you for your SpaceTime.

    Huey

  32. Miniiwanigoshii Benashii says:

    As a Native American (Anishiinabe) and traditional knowledge keeper within my community, it is clear to me that ‘Professional Archaeology’ is indeed threatened by any asserted theories that ascribe a ‘wider technical knowledge’ or ‘continental trade economies’ or ‘complex social structures’ to indigenous cultures on the Turtles Back. Most especially those which speak to a truth that differs from their colonial biases about North America, in general.

    Recently, a white professional archaeologist working on our Traditional Territory on the north west shore of Lake Superior spoke to people about how ‘the artifacts found here were all imported from other tribes from the south and that the indians here, did not create ‘trade items'”. His ‘theory’, paying no never mind to ‘the canoe’ or ‘snow shoe’ or even dream catchers and completely disregarding new finds from the southern states which show amethyst, copper and silver as being sourced from this place here.

    In any case, this ‘professional archaeologist’ was promptly escorted out of our community because consensus was that he was more of a ‘professional propagandist’ than a professional archaeologist. He had no baseline data even, to back up his ‘theory’, just words he created out of thin air and outdated ideas and ideals.

    This is not an isolated incident and our history here has been diminished by the likes of ‘the Smithsonian’ with regard to the age of burial mounds, found here. J Harlen Brentz (geology) faced the same issues we and this man Hancock face today, when he tried to change ‘perception and truth’ in regards to the how the ‘scab lands’ were created.

    It is now time for a new modality in thinking, with regard to these ancient truths, as we them.

    And so, with regard to the younger dryas time frame (9-11K) we have “a creation story” about “five animals and their journey to ‘tear a whole in the sky so the heat and light would return to the land'”. Because we count our generations differently than ‘white professional archaeologist’, these stories are discounted completely; obviously other ‘professional biases’ contribute to the prevention of the sharing of these ancient stories.

    It is now more commonly accepted that all myth, were born from events that truthfully occurred in history.

    My point being – ‘Professional Archaeology’ has created the bigoted bed it lays in, and they are responsible for the propagation of half truths and lies which suit their modern day racial biases and ignorance. This especially true when it comes to native American societal structures, prior to ‘discovering’ north america by europeans.

    How can we as a community overcome these ignorance’s and racial biases? We are now training our young people (GenZ) to become professional archaeologists; you would not be in error to consider them a “‘disruptive technology'” who will build new bridges to a very old truth. These truths were hidden away, when white men came here to destroy our history; much like the ‘Ojibway Ponies’ were hidden deep in “the Lake of the Woods”. And so, we will be revealing more and more in the coming years.

    These younger ones, they will bring a different truth to the ‘younger white brother’ who call themselves ‘professional archaeologists’, whether they want to hear it, or not. We see from here that ‘professional archaeology’ attack this man, his book and his ‘new theory’, only because it threatens their status quo. We are truly grateful that a younger white brother has stood up to challenge his kin. Miigetch.

    “The days of Talking and Praying are done – all that remains is Action, and in these days, all lies come to the surface quickly now…give my people the truth and justice they deserve, or they will come into your houses and take it back from you” – Grand Portage Ojibway Elder 2012

    Thank you, Miigwetch
    Happy Bird

    1. Matthew Gilliam says:

      As a human being to another: my soul is sorrowful for the pain and devastating anguish the conquering faction of this country has imparted to the forebears of this land. It’s still prevalent in the attitudes of so many who call themselves experts. My hope and prayer is that compassion and common sense will replace attitudes of indifference. There will always be hate but indifference allows the prevailing paralyzing stigma to remain. With all the talk now about progress, who mentions the Native American? It’s my hope that you are given a voice and that ears that have been deafened for half a millennia will finally take head. I do love this country but I feel it’s time to realize it was built upon the blood of those we professed were our friends.

  33. David P Zimmerman says:

    My personal take on our current materialistic society is it is an attempt to develop physical tools to thwart another impact disaster. While mysticism may appeal and the argument is sometimes given that man went too far in greed, self service, and arrogance, the truth appears to be that the mystics were unable to prevent the impact disaster with their spiritual tools. Thus we are developing physical tools to remove or steer away dangerous space objects. If the goal of mysticism is to provide an opportunity for souls to experience life on Earth then avoiding or preventing known impact disasters is a vital need. Once the infrastructure is in place to prevent impact disasters I predict a return to mysticism as the physical sciences are relegated to maintenance of existing infrastructure.
    We are the source and the receiver, and any separation that currently exists is due to perversion in the people farming techniques used to organize humanity. We need organization, but old memes are untenable now we have populated the globe so heavily. Destruction is not the goal, rather gentle guidance and loving inspiration, so atrocities once deemed necessary can be put past us.

  34. theron says:

    ohh i think that graham doesn’t expect anything less than vicious attacks on him. in my country we have a saying ‘can’t deal with the head and you deal with the butt’ meaning that when they have no counterarguments on the subjectmatter they attack the speaker and that’s where graham wins. cheers 🙂

  35. Wayne Lovett says:

    The ‘Society for American Archaeology’ by its namesake definition, has only one job.
    It is either incapable of aggregating knowledge gained through its intellectual collective, or is nothing more than a lip-service provider.
    A foreign invader has pulled the rug out from under them – and that’s just embarrassing!

  36. Michael says:

    With that many haters you know youre doing it right

  37. -B- says:

    Archeologists fear outsiders because they don’t have the knowledge of other subjects to compete. Time and time again their views of the past are simply ludicrous to anyone who builds things, makes things. Back when science fiction was often much better than it is today the writers of some future world would take a jab at archeologists. For instance the scene in Planet of the Apes when the archeologist says about a golf club. In his hands the proof of the advanced ancient human culture but he can’t understand it.

    Conventional archeology can be disproved from the material world alone. There was at least one if not numerous cultures that were technologically advanced in various ways. Technology takes different forks. Those cultures were on a different fork but what it took, even if the exact process is unknown, to make what they left behind is obvious to anyone who makes stuff today. It just didn’t come from copper chisels and banging rocks together. Sure there are probably simple techniques involved. Still a lost technology. Manufacturing is about knowledge not that anything in particular is hard once you learned. It is the learning that takes time and effort. And it’s the knowledge that disappears first.

  38. Eric Vink says:

    Dear Mr. Hancock, since l discovered you work some years ago it gave me a total different view on history!
    Forgive me my poor english.
    I am not a scientist what so ever. I am just an ordinary guy who has being interested as long as l can remember.
    Your great work showed me the unbelievable hostile attitude of “mainstream pseudo-archeology”.?
    It seems to me that they are sadly enough no real scientist. In my humble opinion a real scientist should be open minded for all kind of theories until proven otherwise! They should be ashamed of themselfs.
    Ashamed of not willing to listen or at least examine new findings and credit the right person for his/her work!
    You deserve to be treated like any other selfrespecting human being on this planet.
    And therefore l want you to know that you are widely loved by millions of equal minded people!
    So you are now a major undeniable part of history they wil never be able to erase.
    Thank you Mr. Hancock for making and waking the world to see beyond our false programmed blindness.
    Love and peace for you and your loveones!
    Hengelo, Netherlands.

  39. Richard says:

    There’re a few books missing from that stack of books on the introduction page in that link along with some explanations about why they were penned.

    In one’s humble opinion, it is a good thing that many individuals, folks with qualifying diplomas in specific areas of expertise that assemble as a larger team (the broader reaching in expertise the better), folks with physical ambition to do the digging-climbing-diving of on-the-spot investigations, (except folks simply ignoring evidence before them in plain sight missing an opportunity of a life time) and many others not mentioned from diverse walks of life, that seem ordinarily out of place, would come together every once in a while to share their experiences for the record. On the record they most certainly are.

    Complete records of the past seem to be one of the quintessential items missing from all of these discussions from all sides daring to mention anything from a singular point of view without their assumptions, presumptions, proclamations, and self-proclaimed expertise getting in the way. Consider that position of lacking complete records a no-fault claim, anyway, as the search for purpose, reason, facts, and truth remains a work in progress. Makes one wonder sometimes, “Why such passionate pursuits all round are not more numerous?”

    As for that presumptive budding academic inoculation against the presumptive fringe, the public needs to be inoculated, too, against grandstanding tenured nonsense when evidence demonstrates a necessary change in academic dogma. Better still, one would recommend NOT getting stuck in those tar-pits-of-paradigm in the first place because of what seems so easy to grab onto. They’re far worse than low hanging fruits. Publishers be warned there’s another mainstream hit agenda planned. Lookout for the algorithmic forms, too.

    Professional archæology is, indeed, “interesting and exciting” without the stodgy-desk-jockeys impeding evidence that’s inconvenient or denouncing finds in the field that were not their own through pejorative attacks to demean enthusiasm the fields of study deserve – All fields of study as a team, on a team, that is.

    Many thanks to the Society for American Archæology – Archæological record for allowing at least a half dozen folks to respond with their opinions and critiques. Freedom of expression has not yet been squelched even if questionable. They provide a few more areas that can be checked and evaluated for substantive and credible reviewing to note any scholastic manipulations for the worse. There’s a certain predisposition over the last couple of decades to account for.

    Claiming “pseudoarchæology” or “pseudoarchæologist” is beyond a reach toward ridicule as data gathering and analytical methods of discipline were exemplified on numerous occasions and indicated within the book. Something one cannot do hiding behind a desk of ridicule. There were no examples suggesting exaggeration of evidence or omissions of inconvenient evidence nor fabrication of evidence, either. If anything, there were strict accounts made about finds and, at best, astonishment about some finds. Really, . . . professional experts brandishing weasel-worded innuendo to discredit because their own arguments about similar scenarios are not up to the task. Perhaps they need to get out from behind those desks and out of those digital libraries they’ve apparently been spending too much time in and have another look when the teacher is not watching.

    Thanks Graham, for another thought-provoking book even if it seems incomplete. One must remember to account for the others that supplement your latest. Exploration is NOT yet finished on this planet.

  40. Willard Snow says:

    Your making an impact!

  41. Harry James says:

    I for one owe my life to Graham and his work. I was going down a very destructive path of misusing drugs in an attempt to euthanise myself and cause pain to everyone around me. However upon finding out about Graham’s existence and his work I found my life making a beeline in the opposite direction. The mystery and wonder he provokes when it comes to this planet we call home gave me something to live for. I began studying this topic with a massive intensity and then found myself veering off to the stars. I’m now in the process of beginning to study astrophysics at a university level with an end goal to unite spirituality with science and raise awareness of the dangers of asteroidal impacts, because they will occur again. Anyway I digress. Even if Graham’s work turns out to be false (which to be perfectly honest I cannot see how that can be) it wouldnt matter. To me the most important aspect of his work is opening minds to the possibility that this world, and this universe is steeped in wonder and brilliance beyond the imagination and to even just contemplate what might’ve been is a magical thing in itself. So to you Graham Hancock,I say bless you, and thankyou. You are a global treasure. Also PLEEEEEASE do a documentary with Randall Carlson. It would be truly amazing.

  42. Gabriel says:

    Don’t let this get to you. You do amazing work. One day all of humanity will be thankful for the work you did and monuments will be erected in your honor.

  43. Hans Joenje says:

    Dear Graham,
    As a scientist in a somewhat related field (Human Genetics) I found America Before quite fascinating indeed. The only thing that keeps me wondering is that you apparently infer from the discovery of megalithic building proficiency all over the world that there must have been a common civilization from which all the others have emerged. What about the possibility of “converging evolution”, i.e. the parallel emergence of grossly similar capabilities occurring independently all over the globe?

  44. Iain Greig says:

    As a geologist I find your arguments compelling. When archeology calls your academic credentials into question their argument promptly loses credibility. Research is based upon fieldwork and literature research,synthesizing data and reaching conclusions, not how many letters are after your name. To draw disparate themes from archeology and geology together to make a composite requires a rare ability.
    Keep publishing!

  45. Daniel mead says:

    My life just simply has never been tge same since magicians ! Graham just continues to blow my mind and open up a whole new field of thinking . I look at ancient and modern history, the present and the furure through completely different eyes indeed . Through eyes of mystery and wonder . Thankyou graham i will always be greatful for this

  46. Jeff Bishop says:

    I became aware of Graham’s work about 3 years ago and
    have been mesmerized by his web site and of course his more recent works. Graham’s work is profound and enlightening. It makes one think and reacess.
    While the main premise of Magicians is no doubt incredibly compelling and interesting, I so appreciate
    Graham’s comments regarding our species, our society
    and our interrelatedness as Homo Sapiens.

    Certainly the Comet Impact theories of the Yonger Dryas
    are increasingly valadited by scientific research.

    I loved the section regarding the Amazon, the peopling of it and the undisputed genetic evidence that the early inhabitants were not Clovis / arrived via the Bearing Sea land bridge. Excellent perspective especially when compared with Mann’s 1491 – 1493.

    Could go on forever but perhaps it is enough to merely say “Thank you Graham” for expanding my knowledge and encouraging myself and others to expand our outlook on the incredible story of Human dissemination and culture.

  47. Luke says:

    They sound pretty jealous with you writing a book that’s interesting and you being outside the established “circle”. We support you man and believe me, good things are coming. The truth is bigger than any tiny human’s insignificant preconceptions. ; ) keep it coming!!

  48. John Bastien says:

    I love it when Graham rocks their world with facts and they have brain explosions. As I and many others say follow the evidence. Much in archaeology especially that involving the stone age is based on supposition, inference, and educated guesses. This allows dogmas to become and almost religious belief. Gobekli Tepe Blew a hole in the wall of this house of cards.

  49. Pluto from KY says:

    As a reader I was also frustrated by the rouge Amazon reviewer “cfeagans” and his unusually high amount of upvotes. So, I did some digging. It turns out the guy is very opinianted. I don’t think he has any bad intent, but he is misleading people by claiming to be a “professional archeologist” (states he is as an archeological technician for the Forest Service in my state; also states he holds a Master’s degree). I have hiked and explored many parts of this beautiful state and have seen native artifacts firsthand–to think that “cfeagans” is (as he claims on his website) leading excavations at these sites gives me chills. There must be some standard of objectivity that a “professional archeologist” should try to meet. I plan on contacting our region’s Forest Service office with my complaint.

  50. Jeff Carter says:

    Christopher Rodring is editor of the
    [email protected]

    To the Editor:

    My, my, my. Graham Hancock has certainly gotten your panties in a wad, hasn’t he? I can just imagine all of you gathering in high dudgeon planning this issue’s thematic hit piece on Graham’s latest book. Mr. Hoopes seems especially offended because, “It makes assertions that actively contradict and criticize professional archaeology.” Oh, the horror! The unmitigated gall of Hancock to suggest such a thing!

    Mr. Hoopes then goes on to misrepresent Hancock to such an extent that it is hard not to draw the conclusion that he is deliberately lying. Specifically, Hoopes asserts that “This civilization, Hancock argues, had the additional benefit of psychic abilities, including telepathy, telekinesis (for moving megaliths), remote viewing, and magical healing powers.” Utter bullshit. Show me the reference.

    Carl Feagans inadvertently expressed the real issue when he laments that Graham writes best-selling book criticizing orthodox archaeology, “All this in spite of his lack of formal training, experience, or background in either science or archaeology.” How dare Hancock! Feagans goes on to lament Graham’s saying “sniping, quibbling, misrepresentation, straw-man arguments, and vituperative ad hominem attacks leveled against anyone suggesting deep antiquity for First Americans – is perfectly normal among archaeologists. And he implies throughout that an orthodox mantra is being maintained.”

    Well yes.

    Is Mr. Feagans unaware of the Clovis First debacle. If so, he can research Jacques Cinq-Mars and the Bluefish Caves.” The Clovis Firsters engaged in a bitter debate, “one of the most acrimonious—and unfruitful—in all of science,” noted the journal Nature. Tom Dillehay, principal investigator at Monte Verde, said the resulting scientific atmosphere was “clearly toxic and clearly impeded science.” These same Clovis Firsters later attacked Dillehay after he published dates about Monte Verde. Of course, Mr. Dillehay and Jacques Cinq-Mars were absolutely correct.

    Feagans goes on to quote Hancock out of context when he says that, “According to Hancock, this lost civilization created monumental architecture by transcending leverage and mechanical advantage and by learning to manipulate matter and energy by deploying powers of consciousness we have not yet begun to tap.” Graham is quite explicit that is just speculation of an idea that he is offering without any proof or support of evidence but merely for consideration.

    Jason Colavito contributes little beyond an attempt to smear Hancock with a “white nationalist” label in a guilt by association scenario whereby he drags up several nationalist from the 1800s and somehow tries to make Hancock responsible for their writings although he is forced to admit, begrudgingly, that Hancock is careful to attribute his lost civilization to a native American origin. Maybe Mr. Colavito’s contribution would carry more sting if it was more relevant to anything that Graham Hancock had said.

    Jeb Card expresses some shock that Hancock’s lost civilization, rooted in mythology and explaining everything via ancient text directly challenges uniformitarianism and materialist sciences like archaeology. Well, hooray for Graham Hancock! Uniformitarianism is a crock! It is absurd on the face of it denying any type of catastrophic event has ever taken place. Why did the dinosaurs go extinct?

    Finally, David Anderson offers possibly the understatement of the century in discussing the controversy over the Gobekli Tepe site. Anderson writes that, “Some older theoretical models in archeology held that such a site would not have been built by hunter-gathers.” Indeed. Why, it seems like only yesterday that virtually everyone in orthodox archeology was proclaiming exactly that, doesn’t it? I can remember when it was the underpinning tenant of archaeology that hunter-gatherers were not capable of building such a site. Now, according to Anderson, that was just some older theoretical models.

    The editor, Christopher Rodring, says that what frustrates him the most are claims that archaeologists are not imaginative, not willing to challenge received wisdom and not willing to consider alternative viewpoints. Frankly that seems to be a stupid reason to turn the November issue of The SAA Archaeological Record into a hit piece on Graham Hancock’s books but I guess it is Editors privilege. I have followed Hancock’s work for about 20 years and I find his theory that a comet strike contributed to the Younger Dryas event and also contributed to the extinction of megafauna and the demise of the Clovis culture to be eminently reasonable and, well supported by facts written in peer reviewed literature. The evidence of nano diamonds, impact glass, iridium and platinum dispersion and other impact indicators in the black mat layer seems overwhelming to me. I have watched for two decades while the archaeologists have denied and obfuscated and bitterly opposed this idea. Yet, the evidence keeps piling up so that at this point that I am content to let the paradigm shift coming in archaeology play itself out and watch uniformitarianism be relegated to the trash heap of history, probably replaced by a much more plausible punctuated equilibrium theory.

    And if the Hiawatha crater turns out to be about 11,600 years old, Graham gets another book out of it for sure.

    Jeff Carter

  51. Nathan Penney says:

    F**k’em. The evidence that has come out since fingerprints supporting your work speaks for itself. Love you, Graham, you are a huge inspiration to me and to countless others. Thank you, I hope to see you back in the UK soon

  52. Kaya Akkaya says:

    Dear Graham,

    Thank you for shedding light onto the path of truth for us young people. Three things can not be long hidden; the sun, the moon and the truth. Your efforts are greatly appreciated and will aid in paving the way for the great return for mankind.

    I hope you hold another event in North America soon. Greetings from Vancouver!

    Kaya

  53. Memphis H says:

    Non-the-less and irrespective of what main-stream archeology says at any given time, stuff just keeps on getting older…
    I have a huge amount of time for Mr Hancock in regards to his theories, and stances on a number of issues. Cheers for the books Graham!

  54. Matthew Gilliam says:

    I will be graduating this summer with a mechanical engineering degree and as a result I’m well versed in the scientific method and it’s applications. I found the material interesting in the way it was presented, which I found to be based on graphs and figures presented in a clear and concise format. I live in Missouri and have a mound less than a mile from my house and after reading the book I am fascinated about it’s geographical location with respect to the rising sun and the fact that there is a large hill overlooking the mound and separated by a long valley . There is also a creek which connects from the Missouri River to the Mississippi right beside it. I imagine it was a sacred place for millennia and now just a forgotten and fenced in part of a football field. I can imagine the ancient people lighting fires on the mound and travelling up the hill as a ritual celebrating the ascension of the soul and looking down on the distant fires. If archaeologists can’t imagine then they really can’t be scientists. The goal of science is to generate new ideas and it should be a safe place to express new ways of thinking. No one should be discouraged from challenging the status quo. The best ideas have come from the union of intuition and logic.

  55. Pete Baxter says:

    Every week there are new discoveries that support your theories, Mr. Hancock. You have been a huge influence on me on a personal level and I really do not understand why people who disagree with your in-depth, robust, well researched theories simply turn on you personally… or maybe I do. It is because for all their training, they have forgotten that science is about asking questions. One day you will be widely hailed as a visionary. I believe this. I hope this happens in your lifetime! Stay healthy, and thank you so much for you work and for sharing it with us.

  56. J.M. Harrison says:

    WHERE HAVE WE heard the “no, No, NO!” of the “professional” naysayers before? Ah! In Egypt… Until Gobekli Tepe emerged and suddenly the suggestions of Hancock, et al., began to directly challenge the Egyptologists again… Where else, hmmm? Oh yes! In the Pacific NW as the ‘established’ geologists still clung to their (forced) revision of the Missoula Flood were forced to retreat as Hancock, Carlson and scores of scientists rewrote the Younger Dryas period and the overwhelming evidence of a giant impact… But before then it was Hancock bringing largely IGNORED findings of Native Americans having been in the Americas 13, 14, 15, 20 thousand years! Far FAR earlier than the ‘professional’ anthropologists. Having spent a great deal of time in “Indian Country” I’ve had the pleasure of the same anthropologists be exposed to the REAL world that our Indian brothers and sisters work in which utterly confounds these ‘scientists’ – SOME, so terrified at what they witnessed – with others – that they literally fled home without a word!

    Does this mean that Hancock and company are without error? Of course not! I tell my college students to EXAMINE ALL MATTERS… But don’t simply accept as the end all be all of what you find in your too-damn-expensive ‘authoritative’ text books!

    J Harrison
    Pacific Northwest

  57. John Slattery says:

    Keep exploring the boundaries Mr Hancock. Your courage and commitment to the truth of who we are and where we come from is a fading trait amongst humanity.

  58. Marc Barham says:

    I have not yet read ‘America Before’ but will most definitely be purchasing a copy to read over Xmas. I have watched the Joe Rogan interviews and they have been absolutely mind-blowing. I began reading Graham in the 90’s so was very aware of his ideas and passion with regards to questioning the mainstream narrative on the timeline of human development through monumental architecture. His new theory regarding a cataclysmic impact event and a contiguous ‘Great Flood’ was still met with derision even in 2017 when the evidence was clearly mounting that this is exactly what had taken place. The comments in the Joe Rogan interview by Mark Defant a Geology Prof, about Grahams theory, were a disgrace and the personal venom shown was very disturbing. I have always thought scientists were open minded and liked to be exposed to new ideas but Defant was a mind that was dogmatic and closed. These experts seemed very threatened. And of course they are because Graham Hancock’s own research and evaluation of the latest evidence is considerable and as far as I am concerned was as close as you can get without witnessing the event to prove that our Earth was hit by fragments of the Taureid meteor stream causing a huge flood reaching all parts of the globe. Hancock bases all his suppositions upon existing scientific evidence and new evidence that is coming to light every year. So to try and smear the man as pseudoscienific is just a desperate attempt by the frightened gatekeepers to hold onto their rapidly dwindling power base in archaeology. But these gatekeepers are actually the enemies of both good archaeology and scientific truth. This whole ongoing 20 year debate/trial reminds me of the Catholic Church and the Roman Inquisition in 1615 in their desperate attempts to silence scientific truth when Galileo was put on trial. It is obvious to me who is right. It is Graham Hancock.

  59. Greg Cushing says:

    Mr Hancock – you must be doing something right because everything you have said makes sense #.

  60. Sakib says:

    I wish I could give you a hug!

  61. John says:

    Who controls the past, controls the future.

    Archeology became a field of ‘sience’ about 300 years ago. The very same 300 years during which humanity has invented and created wonders unseen, as you all know.

    On the other hand, everything homo sapiens is supposed to have done from our genetic bottle-neck after the alleged Toba incident (if it wasn’t another sun sneeze) approx. 75k years ago to the end of the last ice age 12k years ago, is, what classic archeology is selling? Furs and stones, some cave paintings? LOL!

    Just because we lacked the ability (or did not see the need in the beginning) to keep records, doesn’t mean we wouldn’t know everything about the meadow we have been lolling around on for 63k years? From animals to plants and mushrooms, from materials to currents and winds, from seasons to signs on the firmament?

    Bottom line: If this archeology, and its strange opposition to a different interpretation of an actually unknown past, is a result of 300 years of ‘enlightment’, we should most probably start sending our secondborn sons to the next monastery, like they did in the dark ages…

  62. Michaël van Groeningen says:

    I do not worrie about the ideas of the mainstream archeologists, because time will overrule them.
    The ideas of Graham Hancock, true or not, not only give us information, they also attribute to the free thinking of mankind.
    What I am worried about is: who is taking over when he is to old to develop his awesom ideas and wright them down for us, in his amazing books?

  63. DC Robinson says:

    It’s a case of the “professionals” trying to kill the messenger of news they don’t want to hear.
    But the rubber bullets are bouncing off Graham and “returning to the senders!”
    Stand firm, Mr. Hancock.

  64. Rod Davis says:

    These supposed men of science, that are so dogmatic in their vitriol laced critiques of your work clearly have no sense of history. How many people down through the ages have time and again been forced through the gauntlet of ridicule by closed minded sycophants…Time will eventually show your hypothesis to be much closer to the truth of history than the typical government funded propaganda being pushed by this Cabal

  65. Jclarke says:

    It saddens me that modern science exposes its hypocrisy and laziness through the straw man attacks on Graham’s more esoteric ideas, while ignoring the absolutely powerful and logical arguments, backed by multi-disciplinary data, in which Graham points out the basis for a progenitor civilization.

    Archeology, in the main, is a dying science. The populace is waking up to the lazy and politically-minded buffoons who espouse to be “scientists”, all the while sitting in Ivory towers and refusing to mingle with the plebeian explorers. Explorers who are asking the questions that MATTER.

    While I dont know that Graham is 100% correct about the spiritual nature of the progenitor civilization, I am quite certain he makes an extraordinarily compelling argument FOR that civilization. An argument which is not only intriguing, but FAR more logical than “one day we were collecting hides and berries and the next day we decided to stack 300 ton, refined stones on one another.”

    Good on you Graham. You have terrified them, and that sir is how Science advances.

Comments are closed.