EXTRACT FOR
Did Atlantis Exist
(Author Unknown)
Introduction
When most people think of history they think of high school and the old name /date /place sort of history. For the most part it was little more than political hero worship regardless as to where you live. What most don't realize is that history is dynamic. New facts, new archaeological finds, reexamination of archives and interpretation of these finds are occurring all the time changing the way we look at the past which updates the story of time.
Occasionally, instead of being welcomed and celebrated this new information is scorned and discredited because of professional snobbism or religious beliefs. This book embraces a new look at pre-history incorporating recent discoveries and interpretations concerning the world prior to 12,000 years ago.
Chapter1 examines recent discoveries of the Genus Homo from Homo Erectus to Homo Sapien Sapiens (modern humans). The chapter reviews the most successful of the Genus Homo, Homo Erectus to the period 45,000 years ago when Homo Sapien Neanderthalus, Homo Sapien Denisovan and Homo Sapien Sapiens walked the earth together.
Chapter 2 reviews the cultures of the Mesolithic and Neolithic societies after the younger dryas event approximately 12,000 years ago. Chapter 3 investigates what has become known as the younger dryas cataclysmic event and the possibilities of civilizations being extinguished.
Chapter 4 looks at Atlantis, what it would have been like and what happened to it. Intuitively, the demise of Atlantis is subjective, however, this chapter's propositions draw on recent scientific scholarship and new historical and archaeological findings. The chapter then extrapolates findings from younger Mesopotamian civilizations in conjunction with new historical and archaeological findings to give us sense of Atlantis' culture. Additionally, Chapter 4 examines the lack of evidence at the Richat Structure proposing what happened to the structures and the Atlantan's extraordinary technologies.
There are three appendices. These include the Appendix 1 containing a translation of the writings of Plato, Appendix 2 contains maps and enlarged photos used in the book, and Appendix 3 containing additional critical and useful resources.
Relevant Sources Utilized
In creating this tertiary source various resources were investigated with some contributing in a direct way through paraphrasing or quoting. Typically, these would be included in a bibliography or works cited page at the end and after endnotes.
However, many times these sources are neglected and not researched by the casual reader. Therefore, I've placed them here for those who may wish to review them before reading this book.
Appendix 3, Further Resource Material, are sources not directly used in this book but were general background information. They are important and stimulating resources that should be reviewed.
Dalley, Stephanie, Myths from Mesopotamia, (Oxford: Oxford University Press), 1989.
deMenocal, Peter B. & Jessica E. Tierney. Green Sahara: African Humid Periods Paced by Earth's Orbital Changes, (Cambridge, MA: Nature Education) https://www.nature.com/scitable/knowledge/library/green-sahara-african-humid-periods-paced-by-82884405/.
Gems, Gerald R., The Athletic Crusade: Sport and American Imperialism (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press), 2006.
Howard, Brian Clark. City-size impact crater found under Greenland Ice. National Geographic ttps://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2018/11/impact-crater-found-under-hiawatha-glacier-greenland-ice/.
Muratori, Chronicon Estense in Rerum Italicarum Scriptores, 15, III. pp. 159-164 as cited by Phillip Ziegler, The Black Death, (New York: Harper Collins) 1969.
NOAA: National Centers for Environmental Information. Perspectives Abrupt Climate Change: The Younger Dryas, Department of Commerce: US Government, https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/abrupt-climate-change/The%20Younger%20Dryas.
NS Gill, Atlantis as It Was Told in Plato's Socratic Dialogues, Thoughtco, https://www.thoughtco.com/platos-atlantis-from-the-timaeus-119667, October 5, 2018.
Old Testament (Torah) Genesis 6:9-9:17
Orkneyjar - The Heritage of the Orkney Islands, http://www.orkneyjar.com
Sharing Resources, A Community Learning Center, HawaiiHistory.org, Info Graik Inc., 2020.
Chapter 1
Genus Homo to Early Homo Sapiens
As we begin to look at pre-history it's important to get a handle on time designations that are commonly used in typical dating systems. This might seem a bit pedantic but as I tell my students it's important to have a good base of understanding to build on.
Most are familiar with the "B.C." & "A.D." designation. "B.C." stands for the English phrase "before Christ," whereas "A.D." stands for the Latin phrase: anno domini (in the year of the Lord) starting the year Jesus was "born." So, what we find is that there is no "0 BC" or "AD 0." The time designation goes from 1 BC to AD 1. The problem with these designations is that there was a great deal of assumptions made and a lack of exact data. Many Biblical scholars now agree that "Jesus" was born between 6 BC and AD 4. Therefore, a more modern designation came into effect, "BCE" (Before the Common Era) used in modern text instead of "B.C." and "CE" (Common Era) is used instead of "A.D." Again, there is no "0 BCE" or "CE 0" with the classification going from "1 BCE" to "CE 1."
There are a number of other designations that pop-up when looking at ancient history. These include: kya ??" Thousands of Years Ago, mya ??" Millions of Years Ago, and bya ??" Billions of Years Ago. Other designations encountered when viewing dates, RcyBp - Radiocarbon Years Before Present is one of these. The term "BP" (Before Present) uses the year CE 1950 as "Present" which was the year radiocarbon calibration curves were being established.
Another aspect that needs to be engaged are the relative time periods on Earth. The Flintstones cartoon series although funny and creative were not documentaries. Humans and dinosaurs never walked the earth together, not once. What we typically think of dinosaurs went extinct about 65 mya. The closest a bipedal hominid came to a living dinosaur was Australopithecus an extinct hominid that lived between 3.9 and 2.9 mya in Africa. Not a modern human (Homo sapien sapien) but a hominid. In fact, when talking about change, the earth itself had changed over the time period between dinosaurs and humans.
Even our perception of who is a human is now challenged with current scholarship. Homo sapiens came in different "flavors" such as Neanderthals, Sapiens and Denisovans all of which walked the earth together and interbred until 40 kya. In fact, we know from DNA mapping that Europeans have both Sapien and Neanderthal DNA (up to 2 %) whereas Melanesian have Sapien and Denisovans DNA (up to to 5%).
When considering pre-history, the question comes up what exactly do, we mean by history? To many scholars history is a product of written documents and/or archaeological excavations. Oral histories are usable if verified through archaeological finds or extrapolated data. Otherwise they are considered myths, fables, or folktales. The exception of course is, when taking firsthand accounts of a person's life or what they have witnessed.
As time goes on some of these so-called myths, fables, or folktales take on new meanings and openings for inquiry such as a great flood has taken on a new light. These myths, fables, or folktales become the basis of new peer-reviewed, possibly unorthodox, investigation.
Anthropologist and cultural historians remind us that the concept of writing can take a number of different forms. Writing could be knots tied on "strings" as with the Inca's quipu (knot-recording)1, to Wampum used by a number of Native American Nations to pictographs or symbols still in use world-wide. Finally, it's essential that history concerns anthropological studies otherwise of course, it would be considered natural history. Nevertheless, as we explore the concept of pre-history there is an interesting melding of human history & natural history.
Hominoids & Hominids
An aspect of pre-history needed to be grasped is the evolution of humanity. Some feel humans were created by divine aspirations, however when looking through the lens of science we find another understanding. What's wonderful about science is that in its purist form, science isn't dogmatic and can say, "with new evidence our previous conclusions were wrong."
As we move forward it is important to understand where hominoids and hominids fit into the evolution of humans. Hominoids include all the apes, gibbons, gorillas, chimps, orangutans and humans. When we look at humans' closer relatives, we find the hominids.
Hominids include all modern and extinct great apes. This means that chimps, gibbons, gorillas, orangutans, etc. aren't included. Basically, any of early human species that is more closely related to humans than chimpanzees, including modern humans themselves are under the sub-heading hominids.
Hominoids and Hominids were able to adapt the environment to themselves and from anthropological studies the two groups were able to use tools and a primitive language. Animals on the other hand had to deal with the environment as they found it.
Complex cooperative social structures are found with hominoids and hominids. Animals have complex social structures; however, they tend to be more instinctual.
1 Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Quipu." Encyclopedia Britannica, April 6, 2016. https://www.britannica.com/technology/quipu.
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