A few years back the book 1421 created a bit of a controversy in that it suggested the Chinese had discovered North America before Columbus. While people were arguing over the book’s details, others asked a simple question. Is it so hard to believe that an advanced empire with established seafaring skills couldn’t end up in the Americas? Many came out and supported the theory with their own evidences. It was almost like a taboo subject that scholars secretly pondered until 1421 changed things. Still, most don’t think it’s a slam-dunk case for Chinese visitors. Is it simply the resistance to new ideas? Or is the evidence not strong enough? In either case, another fascinating book on the subject is The Island of Seven Cities. It puts forth the case for a Chinese settlement in Canada. Perhaps there was.
Mysteries
Lost in the Jungle
British explorer Percy Fawcett was one of the last of the era that inspired Hollywood’s swashbucklers like Indiana Jones. Fawcett also became one of the 20th Century’s most famous disappearances when he vanished into the Amazon jungle in 1925. He was searching for a lost city he named “City of Z.” Perhaps the fabled El Dorado, a lost Inca stronghold or an outpost of Atlantis refugees. He seemed to think he knew where it was. Eighty-five years later, the details of his demise are still unclear. The book The Lost City of Z has brought back this forgotten explorer back to life for modern readers. Exploration Fawcett is a reprint of Fawcett’s own journals from his adventures in South America up until his final trek. These are fascinating windows into the lost era of explorations and the wild and dangerous southern continent of those days.
Lost Civilizations Under Persian Gulf
In the news are discoveries of civilizations that lived in areas now flooded by the Persian Gulf. This interesting for a number of reasons. One, finds in this region continue to show people were sophisticated early on. People didn’t start out dumb or animal-like. Two, past discoveries of settlements and dead rivers under the Persian Gulf have given rise to the possible location of the Garden of Eden. Others have seen the flooding of the Gulf as the source of the Noah and other flood accounts. But the flooding of the Gulf doesn’t seem catastrophic enough to be the source of those writings. We will take a look at a later date at some of those and draw out the history. For now consider that there were many millienia of history before scrolls, books and other records. We have only scratched the surface.
Atlantis Lost
For centuries people have debated the existence of Atlantis mainly due to some writings of Plato. He wrote that his information came from other sources and that the lost island was destroyed outside of the Pillars of Hercules ages past. Most have written this off as a fable, perhaps inspired by the many disasters that befell ancient cities. Others have turned Atlantis studies into a career, often conjuring up many a bizarre and unproven theories. The subject has been so colored by the new-agish-lost-mother-civilization crowd that it is a difficult subject to study without drawing too many strange looks. Even some of the better theorists insist that Atlantis was a super advanced culture that seeded the world either before its destruction or as its people sought refuge. Similarities in ancient cultures around the world are said to be the product of Atlantean travelers. The easier answer would be that ancient peoples got around a little better than we give them credit for. And where is the evidence for lost technologies that match or exceed our own?
There are whole millennias of prehistory lost to us. No documents, only hints in legend and myth. There are mysterious remains and misunderstood sites. So it’s not that there aren’t mysteries to be solved. Atlantis may have more basis in fact than we know. Perhaps we will never know, but examining antiquity is difficult enough without allowing so many bizarre claims going unanswered. It’s true we can be blinded by accepted paradigms, but can we get some more scholarly research into prehistory? If you delve into this subject, be prepared for anything and good luck.
Mystery at Lovelock
In 1911, two workmen digging bat guano in a cave near Lovelock, Nevada ended up making an incredible find. They began uncovering hundreds of artifacts. Eventually thousands of artifacts and dozens of bodies were found. Many of the bodies were mummified, very tall and had red hair.
These remains affirmed local Indian legends about red-haired giants. Lovelock Cave was once near Lake Lahontan, one of many lakes that existed in now dry Nevada. It’s hard enough for us to imagine this desert state teaming with life and people. Giant red-haired residents decidedly doesn’t fit with what we know about native history. The site was largely ignored because it didn’t agree with the reigning theories and many of the original finds were lost. However, these weren’t the only giants found in the region.
So the question is, who were they and where did they come from?
Shroud of Turin
The authenticity Shroud of Turin has been the most debated of Christian relics in history. Many believe this is the burial shroud of Jesus. Some dismiss it out of hand because of their religious or philosophical beliefs about God. Some Protestants are wary of what they perceive as a “Catholic” relic. But what if it is real? What if it is an authentic archaeological piece?
Many people are under the impression that the shroud was dated to the Middle Ages. This is untrue, the carbon datings were done in way that defies all scientific protocol: On a part of the shroud that has been often handled and repaired. No one has been able to reproduce a similar shroud with its same properties. Just in the past year, studies have pointed to it being caused by energy — a “radiation photo” of sorts — and a “death certificate” was potentially found on the shroud.
The honest thinker is compelled to look at all the evidence. In The Truth About the Shroud of Turin, Robert Wilcox traces all of the shroud’s history, the debates and the tests. He leaves it up to readers to evaluate the evidence.
Indeed, the evidence is compelling. Many will ignore it. Others dismiss it without examination. However, if one considers it with same standards applied to all other artifacts — and leaves their personal bias behind — will they continue to pretend it doesn’t exist?
An interesting test for those who believe they are open-minded and critical thinkers.
Lost City in Grand Canyon
On April 5, 1909, the front page of the Arizona Gazette reported that Smithsonian explorers S.A.. Jordan and G.E. Kinkaid had found a cave opening that led to a vast underground complex of rooms, relics and mummified remains. The report gives extensive detail of the discoveries. The article was also the last mention of the find every recorded.
Some have claimed it was a hoax because the Smithsonian denied knowing the named explorers. The article also referred to the Smithsonian Institute, not Institution. Investigators did discover references to a S.A. Jordon and a E.K. Kincaid at the Smithsonian. So were the “errors” in the article simplly typos in the era before spell check and multiple editors? Or were they more parts of an elaborately fabricated story?
If it was fabricated, why did the same paper briefly mention Kinkaid’s journey a few weeks earlier? Famed Grand Canyon explorer John Wesley Powell also alludes to odd finds in the same region of the Canyon that the Gazette article refers to. It’s not beyond the realm of possibility for the Canyon to hide its secrets for so long. No one has proven this one to a reasonable conclusion either way. Maybe some hiker in the canyon will stumble across something…
Isaiah and the Pyramids
Regardless of your beliefs, few would dispute that the Bible is one of the most important documents from antiquity. While the original autographs are lost, more copies of it exist than any other ancient writings. Some are also quite old. While not a history book per se, since its events are set in our past, the Bible does have many historical references. Understanding these passages may have been easy to the original audience, but not always for us. Granted, many people forget their elementary school comprehension skills and don’t consider: Who wrote this, when and where did they and to whom? The original context is necessary to understand what the authors meant then and what meaning it may hold for us, but I digress.
I recently came across Isaiah 19:19-20:
In that day shall there be an altar to the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar at the border thereof… And it shall be for a sign and for a witness unto the Lord of hosts in the land of Egypt.”
Many have argued that this is a reference to the pyramids at Giza. A “pillar” at Giza (which may mean “border” or Giza being at the border or the Nile delta). But why? Why would God be involved in the building of this structure through a non-Hebrew people? Most people have dispensed with the idea that the Hebrews built the pyramids. The timeline and biblical references don’t fit. Others have created a variety of theories that interpret the pyramids and their internal and external structures as revealing biblical truths or signs of the creator. The problem is that they all seem forced and difficult to find.
Though there is that verse. Is it a prophetic verse referring to the time Jesus spent in Egypt? The Bible is silent on his time there, but this would make more sense. Or is this one of those verses with more than one meaning?
A fascinating reference. Perhaps someone will someday solve the mystery.
Darrick Dean 