From Galileo and Nostradamus to Einstein and Stephen Hawking, all breakthroughs in scientific discovery are never easily achieved. The general curiosity and scepticism of the current status quo within science is what makes great discoveries great. Science, as an authority, should be constantly scrutinised and questioned. This is because it is impossible for any scientific authority to claim it has discovered the truth as science is chasing after the truth that will never be fully unearthed. Therefore, who gives scientific authorities the right to rule out any possibility? We do not know nearly enough to make general objective statements about anything. Scepticism in science is how science itself is created. Backlash is to be expected within these circumstances.
One such example of backlash against alternative approaches to science is the case of researcher Graham Hancock. Hancock is an author and ex-journalist who’s published 16 books regarding various topics however his main focus has been on recovering humanity’s lost past. He’s been heavily criticised by the Archaeological community and branded a pseudoscientist for going against certain conventionally held beliefs amongst that community. Hancock has risen to popularity through documentaries, his books and many appearances on The Joe Rogan Experience. Hancock has been attacked many times by archaeologists for going against the conventional view by promoting different ideas which are backed up by significant evidence.
The Younger Dryas
The Younger Dryas is an event which Hancock believes links a lot of separate cultures that lived thousands of years ago together. It is the period of geological history situated c. 12,900-11,700 years ago. It marks a period in which the earth was going through very drastic climactic changes and cataclysmic events that shaped the following thousands of years. There are multiple hypotheses as to what caused this Ice Age and what brought it to an end. Hancock believes that it was in fact a comet that struck the Earth via multiple fragments, while others believe it ended due to an enormous solar flare. However, the most important part of The Younger Dryas is the fact that it was a catastrophic and apocalyptic period within the human story.
Göbeklitepe
The mysterious and wonderful nature of Göbeklitepe is that it
comes out of nowhere and destroys the preconceived notion
that agriculture started around 6,000 years ago and that
civilisation before that did not exist. The idea that before 6,000 years ago humans were simple hunter-gatherers is shattered by the discovery of this site. Göbeklitepe is exactly 11,600 years old. This precedes the first known civilisation by about 5,500 years and puts a dent in what we think we know about our prehistory. Hancock makes clear that this structure should not exist. If we are the believe the conventional archaeological knowledge, Göbeklitepe should not show up when it does. This is why Hancock is correct to be sceptical of archaeological knowledge as we really don’t know as much as we think we do. It is the world’s first known structure that is aligned to north and south therefore it means that astronomy was used during the construction of it. Way before we know of any astronomical research being done. Now, imagine having the arrogance to rule out the idea that civilisation flourished before 6,000 years ago and then missing more than 5,000 years of history because the scientific community had
come up against an idea that challenged their paradigms. Hancock has faced many attacks because of his implications regarding this fascinating site.
The Sphinx Water Erosion Hypothesis
Researcher John Anthony West was an avid supporter of the SWEH, as is Hancock. The basic idea is that during a study conducted by Schwaller de Lubicz, it ismentioned that the Sphinx was weathered by rain. By time, West became interested in this and started researching it. Geologist Robert Schoch, who was contacted by West to join research efforts, went into it expecting to disprove West’s idea
and prove him wrong. However, Schoch said on the Joe Rogan experience that within 90 to 120 seconds of seeing the Sphinx for the first time, his perspective flipped. In short, the eroded stone and evidence of great precipitation on the stone of the sphinx’s embankment does not match any climactic records of the past 5,000 years. The only known great rainfall and flooding that happened in Egypt was at the end of the last Ice Age approximately 11,700 years ago. Does that sound familiar? For context, conventional archaeology would tell you that this sphinx is 4,500 years old. Therefore, this is another example of not only how wrong can conventional science be, but also of how much we still do not know about our collective past.
Conclusion
I want to be clear in saying that not every sceptical idea should be believed. Some are fanatical, some are not evidence based. And not everything spouted by the scientific community is false or misleading. However, the truth always lies somewhere in the middle and dismissing the sceptics is exactly what not to do when trying to get closer to the truth.
This article was written by an independent writer whose views are not associated with The Third Eye. The Third Eye strives to be the student’s voice, and that entails giving them a platform to voice their opinions.