Civilizations Beyond Time and Space

Civilizations Beyond Time and Space

In 2007, a team of astronomers located a pair of planets only 20 light years away from Earth.  These planets are called “Gliese 581c and d, respectively; in 2009, Gliese 581g was discovered.  These planets, known as exoplanets, are located in what is known as the “Goldilock Zone,” which describes conditions similar to Earth, yet not necessarily inhabitable without further research. This sort of discovery has occurred before; in 1959, “NASA funded its first exobiology investigation” (NASA, 2010).  Science now has the tools to explore distant solar systems; however, this could just be the onset of another cycle in humankind’s evolution of discovery.  Human beings share an instinctual desire to explore and discover, but perhaps the discovery lies within this galaxy.  As science reaches further in every direction, historical, religious, and personal ideologies may clash with ethics and morals, all of which need to be addressed before embarking outside the spherical comfort zone. 

Exobiology addresses a “branch of science which deals with the morphology, physiology, origin and distribution of extra-terrestrial life” (Howe, 2009); astrobiology addresses three fundamental questions:  “How does life begin and evolve? Is there life beyond Earth and, if so, how can we detect it? What is the future of life on Earth and in the universe” (Gronstal, 2010).  These forms of science are evidence of not only scientific evolution, but also how human beings evolve in both individual and collective thought processes.   

Stephane Udry, lead author and astronomer from Geneva, realizes the thoughts and wonderment of other planets like Earth actually exist.  When asked whether or not he wonders about other planets like the earth, he replied:  Those questions were already asked more than 2,000 years ago by the ancient Greeks, and we are at a very special point in time where science can start to answer at least part of that question” (EarthSky, 2007).  He further discussed man’s ability to explore the idea because the necessary instruments to do so are now available.  Udry is one of many scientists who realize that this is not the first time to entertain this idea. 

The earth is approximately 4.2 billion years old and the idea of human beings only existing for the short timeframe taught in biology is no longer realistic; in addition, many also believe the missing link may have had something to do with ancient extra-terrestrial visitation.  Ancient ruins exist all over the world:  “By about 4.2 million years ago, unquestionable australopithecines were present.  By 3 million years ago, they were common in both East and South Africa.  Some have been found dating to this period in North Central Africa also” (O’Neil, 2011).  In fact, scientists concur that between many catastrophic events, different civilizations existed.  Archaeologists have uncovered more and more evidence of ancient civilizations existing before most of what is being taught in schools and colleges.

 The Earth has endured several creation and destruction cycles.  Author Jerry Kroth concedes that, “[a] ceiling painting on a beam found in a 3,000 year old New Kingdom Temple near Cairo depicts what looks remarkably like a helicopter and some old Buck Roger’s space ships” (Kroth, 2010, pp. 14-15).   As the populations evolve, the ability to tap into technology evolves.  Ancient Mayan text states:  “Men came from the stars, knowing everything, and they examined the four corners of the sky and the Earth’s round surface” (Kroth, 2010, p. 43).   Kroth continues to illustrate the importance of myth in modern societies, intimating that myths have been incorrectly interpreted in the past.  In fact, cultural myths could be interpreted as actual historical accounts. 

Many ancient texts base their creation theories on similar accounts, which may commonly include a history of unknown, yet familiar, flying objects and related stories of technology.  The “miniature solid fold airplanes at the Bogota Gold Museum  . . . or the stories from ancient texts (such as the Ramayna or even the Bible)” proves how technological advancement has been cyclical (Childress, 2000, p. 11).  Author Jerry Kroth explains:  “From ancient India come other accountings, ‘From the Mahabarata: Bhima flew with his Vimana on an enormous ray, which had the brilliance of the sun and whose noise was like the thunder of a storm’” (Kroth, 2010, p. 44).  

In addition to Mayan and ancient Indian creation theories, the Sumerian story of Gilgamesh, translated by Samuel Noah Kramer in 1938, states:  “After Heaven and Earth had been separated and mankind had been created . . .” (Kramer, 1938). This story is very similar to the Christian story of Creation, told in the Christian Bible, and how God created man.  The story of Gilgamesh also conveys a Creator from the sky (Kramer, 1938), which is similar to the Hopi Tribe of Arizona who believes in a similar form of creation, as well as a final day of reckoning.   Dr. Allen Ross, Santee Dakota educator and Lakota language scholar, proclaims the end of Hopi will be known when a "Kachina removes his mask during a dance in the plaza before uninitiated children [the general public]” (Ross, 2011).   He continues that time will pass again while humankind labors for consciousness, which has been studied for millennia, and seems repetitive as history completes another cycle (Ross, 2011).   

Ross continues to translate the Hopi story of creation, time, and destruction.  He details an account of World War III, which will begin by “those peoples who first revealed the light (the divine wisdom or intelligence) in the other old countries (India, China, Islamic Nations, Africa)” (Ross, 2011).  The similarities between the Hopi and the Sumerian beliefs are notable, containing information such as the Hopi believe Kachinas (Kat'sinas) are the spirits of nature and the messengers and teachers sent by the Great Spirit.  The Sumerians believed KAT.SI.NA were righteous ones sent of God.  The Bible’s Armageddon, the subject of the world’s destruction in the Book of Revelation, similarly details an end through war.

 When compared to similar teachings of ancient Hindu text, the Veda or verses, which are also believed to be without beginning and without ending, emphasize in all its simplicity how the soul that is at-peace will never be contained.   

Patterns of creation theories being culturally similar could possibly have a genetic basis, as well.  At one time in history, human beings were of one culture, one language, and one origin.  The analysis of ancient recordings dating back to petroglyphs leads to the belief that sightings of flying objects took place.  Again, the Native American Hopi tribe is not alone in its beliefs.  More and more sightings are occurring as more people come forth with what they witness.  Among this population are notable scholars and scientists, once too afraid of ridicule. 

The studies of Paleontology to Exobiology uncover how life has always existed elsewhere besides the Earth.  In fact, the discovery of the exoplanetary system of Gliese enable human beings to further ponder and analyze historical and religious data; the possibility exists for human beings to understand what has already occurred.  Swiss author Erich Von Daniken wrote Chariots of the Gods in 1968, stating his theory that travelers from other planets visited Earth and they taught humans about technology and influenced ancient religions. The terms “Ancient Alien Theory” and “Ancient Astronaut Theory” began about the time Von Daniken’s book was published.  An excerpt from the third chapter of Chariots of the Gods illustrates Von Daniken’s concept of time, and how it is not necessarily a straight line as many timelines would have one think: 

Our historical past is pieced together from indirect knowledge.  Excavations, old texts, cave drawings, legends and so forth were used to construct, i.e. a working hypothesis. From all this material an impressive and interesting mosaic was made, but it was the product of a preconceived pattern of thought into which the parts could always be fitted, though often with cement that was all too visible.  (Von Daniken, 1968, p. 23).

Von Daniken’s books have been translated into 32 languages and are used around the world.  He focuses on two types of evidence to support his ideas:  (A)- Ancient religious texts describe how humans witness and interact with gods or other beings that come to Earth from the sky.  This sometimes happens in vehicles which resemble spaceships and these beings  appear to have spectacular powers; (B)- Physical evidence like drawings, carvings, and even some of the Nazca Lines (located in Peru) resemble perceived alien-like appearances in addition to ancient architectural mysteries, such as Stonehenge and the pyramids of Egypt (see figure 2).

(Fig. 2) (personal communication with friend LTC. T. Pettit

regarding his recent Christmas 2011 trip to

Peru’s Nazca Lines). Photo depicts aircraft scribed

in the shaven plateau, only visible from the sky.

The photo in figure 2 can be explained, theorized, rationalized, or deliberated that the Nazca plateau was mined thousands of years ago.  In addition, the geometric shapes could have been landing strips, created in order to mine that part of South America which has always been rich in natural minerals and resources.  In Chariots of the Gods, author Erich Von Daniken argues that several hundred years ago, the idea of a “giant metal bird” transporting people from continent to continent, or giant fire-spitting ships disappearing into the clouds, would have been dismissed as imagination or myth.  Perhaps the ancient gold carvings of Columbia had something to do with the lines of Nazca.  Evidence of ancient airplanes are displayed in museums in Germany (the Goldkammer of the Uebersee Museum, Bremen and the Völkerkundemuseum Dahlem in Berlin) and Columbia (Museo del Oro Bogota), (see figure 3).

(Fig. 3) Evidence of ancient airplanes as displayed

 in Germany and Columbia museums.

Many of the ideologies may seem foreign to those with a Christian upbringing but other cultures may not be so quick to dismiss, as some of the ancient Indian or Hopi texts suggest.  Vatican City recently recognized that life exists elsewhere in the Universe, that we are not alone, and that our theories of Creation may not actually be the first Creation at all.  In fact, through many cataclysmic events in time, several Armageddons have occurred.  David Childress, author of Technology of the Gods, speculates about the use of ancient death rays and atomic warfare during battles, citing Greek mathematician Archimedes and his use of a metallurgic death ray; he further introduces researcher L.M. Lewis, author of Footprints of the Sands of Time.  In his book, Lewis declares that both Sodom and Gomorrah were “destroyed by atomic weapons and says that the salt pillars and high salt content around the Dead Sea are evidence of a nuclear blast” (Childress, 2000, p. 231). 

Childress reveals discoveries all over the Middle East and Africa which contain extraordinary desert glass made of 98% silica (Childress, 2000, p. 214).  He cites P. Clayton, a surveyor for the Egyptian Geological Survey, who originally came across this glass in 1932.   As humans evolve, knowledge has also evolved; yet, with every creation, there has been eventual destruction.  Technology advances, allowing the human race much insight to both the future and the past.  One could say that the human race is on the brink of knowing.

The Bible is alleged to have excluded fourteen ancient texts, collectively called the Apocrypha (Childress, 2000, p. 328).  The Book of Enoch the Prophet was discovered by James Bruce, Scottish explorer and was translated by Richard Laurence.  Chapter XIII states:

Moreover Azayel taught men to make swords, knives, shields, breastplates, the fabrications of mirrors, and the workmanship of bracelets and ornaments, the use of paint, the beautifying of the eyebrow, the use of stones of every valuable and select kind, and of all sorts of dyes, so that the world became altered. (as cited in Childress, 2000, p. 328). 

History has handed down information, in cycles, for much longer than originally thought or has been taught.  Language and story-telling is reflected throughout the ages, as human beings have evolved throughout this modern cycle.  The etchings revealed in caves, in mountain plateaus, gold sculptures, giant megaliths like the Giza Pyramids, have caused man to look at the sky for answers.  In addition, as technology evolves, humans have the ability to look under oceans and ice caps for answers.  Underwater cities are evidence of cataclysmic events which show how vulnerable civilization is in the grand scheme of things. 

           As human beings of the modern era have evolved, leaps in technology have been made.  For example, the Industrial Revolution enabled societies from all over the world to begin trading both information as well as product; what once took centuries to learn has condensed to a timeframe of days, as the ability to access knowledge instantly through computers enables the evolution of human mind.  Through technology, perhaps in studying the history of life on Earth will help to transform science, as we know it.  Further, science has transformed – Christopher Columbus set out to prove the world was not flat, which he accomplished.  However, he did not actually discover America because it was already inhabited when he arrived. 

In Mark Erickson’s text, Science, Culture and Society, Erickson quotes writer Ziauddin Sardar:

First, it denied the achievements of non-Western cultures and civilizations as real science, dismissing them as superstition, myth, and folklore. Second, the histories of non-Western sciences were largely written account of the general history of science. Third, it rewrote the history of the origins of European civilization to make it self-generating... fourth, through conquest and colonization, Europe appropriated the sciences of other civilizations, suppressed the knowledge of their origins, and recycled them as Western. (as cited in Erickson, 2005)

The context in which this passage was written seems young when compared to the overall span ancient history.  If the theories of many creations and destructions are actually true and if extra-terrestrial life has visited planet Earth throughout many time continuums, all for the purpose of education of the human race, the most sensible thing to do is to continue on this planet until the human race gets it right.   Until human beings are able to get it right without destroying ourselves, we have no right to take the same mistakes elsewhere into the Universe. 

Overwhelming evidence exists which proves that humankind is much older than originally thought, and that we mastered technology to the point of almost completely destroying ourselves.  Conversely, theories of creation can include human beings having  already traveled to other solar systems, already existing as a more advanced race, and possibly returning to Earth in order to protect it from further destruction, such as the ancient battles described in Technology of the Gods. And then, the question remains:  Why?  Why pursue life elsewhere besides this beautiful planet?  Why spend trillions of dollars on building spacecraft to travel 20 light years away when children are starving on this planet?  Why continue to pursue atomic energy if it has to potential to obliterate life? 

The ability to fully understand certain parts of the mosaic, as Von Daniken mentions, remains to be seen.  Human beings share an instinctual desire to explore and discover.  As science reaches further in every direction, historical, religious, and personal ideologies may clash with ethics and morals, all of which need to be addressed before embarking outside the spherical comfort zone.  Belief in life beyond the earth does not mean a person is any less spiritual or religious.  Believing in creation theories which may include both evolution and extraterrestrial life does not mean a person is less than good.  This could be more a spiritual belief than what many organized religions preach today.  But, in order to pursue science and a spiritually-sound existence, we must continue to have faith in mankind and our motivations.

  

References

Archimedes Death Ray:  Idea Feasibility Testing.  (2005).    2.009 Product Engineering Process.  Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2011.  Retrieved from http://web.mit.edu/2.009/www/experiments/deathray/10_ArchimedesResult.html

Childress, D.   (2000).  Technology of the Gods:  The Incredible Sciences of the Ancients.  Adventures Unlimited Press. 

Erickson, M.  (2005). Science, culture and society: Understanding science in the 21st century. Malden: Polity.

Gronstal, E.  (2010).  Seeking signs of life: A symposium celebrating the 50th anniversary of NASA’s Exobiology Program.  Astrobiology:  Life in the Universe.  National Aeronautics and Space Museum.  Retrieved December 12, 2011 from http://astrobiology.nasa.gov/articles/seeking-signs-of-life-a-symposium-celebrating-the-50th-anniversary-of-nasa-s-exobiology-program/

Howe, M.  (2009).  Exobiology.  Orwell Astronomical Society (Ipswich) (OASI).  Retrieved December 12, 2011 from http://www.oasi.org.uk/index.html

Kroth, J.  (2010).   Aliens and Man : A Synopsis of Facts and Beliefs. Algora Publishing: New York, NY.

Kramer, S. N. (1938).  Gilgamesh and the Huluppu-Tree.  Chicago: 1938. 

(1944).  Sumerian Mythology.  Chicago:  1944.

Londhe, S.  (2011).  Hindu Wisdom.  Pragun Publications, New Delhi, India.  Retrieved January 3, 2012, from http://www.hinduwisdom.info/index.htm

Ross, A.  (2011).  We are all related.  Retrieved December 12, 2011 from http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/esp_leyenda_hopi09.htm

O’Neil, D.  (2011).  Discovery of early hominins.  Early Hominin Evolution:  A survey of the Australopithecines and related genera.  Behavioral Sciences Department, Palomar College, San Marcos, CA.  Retrieved December 13, 2011 from http://anthro.palomar.edu/hominid/australo_1.htm

Udry, S.  (2007).  Interview, EarthSky.org.  Retrieved December 12, 2011 from  http://earthsky.org/space/astronomer-believes-habitable-planets-are-common

Von Daniken, E.  (2011).  Chariots of the Gods:  Was God an Astronaut? Retrieved December 11, 2011 from http://sites.matrix.msu.edu/pseudoarchaeology/files/2010/08/Erich-Von-Daniken-Chariots-Of-The-Gods.pdf

Woods, M. and Woods M. (2011).  Ancient Warfare Technology:  From Javelins to Chariots.  Lerner Publishing Group, Inc:  Twenty-First Century Books.