Is there any Credible Evidence of a Lost, Technologically Advanced, Worldwide Civilization?

A commentary by Robert Arvay

Preface

According to a speculative hypothesis, a worldwide civilization once existed that was far more technologically advanced than the present one.  There is little direct physical evidence to support that hypothesis, but a considerable volume of indirect evidence is cited in favor of it by some popularizers.  If the hypothesis is substantially true, then there are significant implications for the future technological advancement of human civilization.

Not surprisingly, experts in various relevant fields strongly dispute such speculations, with well-reasoned objections.  For example, this one:

“. . . are we to believe that after centuries of flourishing every last tool, potsherd, article of clothing, and, presumably from an advanced civilization, writing, metallurgy and other technologies—not to mention trash—was erased? Inconceivable.”  (Internet citation:  Scientific American dot com—No, There Wasn't an Advanced Civilization 12,000 Years Ago; Scientific American; Michael Shermer)

And this one:

Direct evidence also strongly indicates that the Great Pyramid was built within historic times.  This involves the carbon dating of mortar, which contains datable plant material.  (Internet Citation: https://www.bing.com/videos/riverview/relatedvideo?&q=carbon+dating+of+pyramid&&mid=A26D98A05A4061E44340A26D98A05A4061E44340&&FORM=VRDGAR)

While the objections are indeed reasonable, and possibly correct, the indirect evidence suggests, at the least, that further investigation is warranted. 

Unfortunately, as with so many speculative hypotheses, the legitimate investigations are often overshadowed by the poor ones.  A cacophony of fraudsters tends to drown out credentialed dissident experts.  Even when there is no overt fraud, there is a spectrum of under-qualified popularizers ranging from the culpably careless to the honestly mistaken.  The sad result is that the works of credentialed dissident experts are unfairly tainted.  It is a difficult task to separate the proverbial wheat from the chaff.

We shall attempt to explore the most compelling examples of evidence, both direct and indirect, regarding the possibility that the hypothesis is underlay by fact, and if it is, to what degree.

Among the credentialed experts is Dr. Robert Schoch, who has a PhD in Geology and Geophysics from Yale University (PhD, 1983) (Source: Wikipedia) Schoch is perhaps best known for his claim, based on direct evidence, that the signs of erosion on the Sphinx, which he examined in person, are due not to wind erosion (as claimed by Egyptologists) but to water erosion.  This would strongly indicate (due to ancient climate change) that the Sphinx was not made by historic Egyptians, but rather by a prehistoric civilization which preceded them.  Schoch’s claims are controversial, and are rejected by most experts in the field.

At his official website, (robertschoch.com), Schoch notes that there is much misinformation about him.  He disavows any belief in the Ancient Aliens hypothesis on the grounds that there are better explanations for known artefacts.

Other dissidents include professionals outside of academia, among them being construction engineers, stone-cutters and hydraulic engineers.  Their testimony tends to dispute the claims that ancient Egyptian architecture could have been produced by the technology presently attributed to ancient Egyptians.

Additional indirect evidence contradicts the claim that the Great Pyramid was ever a burial site, because there is no decisive evidence that it ever was.  For example, no mummies or other corpses have ever been found inside the three largest pyramids, nor any associated artefacts such as those found in known tombs.  (The known tombs are not pyramids.)

Further indirect evidence supports the claim that the ancient Egyptians could not have built the Great Pyramid.  No tools have been found adequate to the task, except for copper chisels which, despite purported demonstrations, have not been able to quarry and carve a multi-ton stone, particularly those of granite, to the precision found in the Great Pyramid, in the time frame claimed by experts.  Moreover, other artefacts attributed to historical Egyptians such as granite bowls, boxes and minor structures, are of such high quality that even today, no one can make them without advanced equipment that the ancients are not known to have had.

The Egyptians kept detailed records of their greatest achievements, but so far, no comparable hieroglyphic evidence has been found claiming credit for building the Great Pyramid. 

In the preceding paragraphs we have illustrated the compelling nature of second-tier evidence, which herein is defined as indirect or disputable items of evidence which, when taken separately, might not be decisive, but which when accumulated in context, demands respect by unbiased observers.

It must be mentioned that, throughout history, dissident scientists have been strongly opposed, even punished, sometimes by extreme measures, prior to their claims being vindicated and accepted.  While in the modern era, we do not see dissident scientists imprisoned by civilized nations, we do see a troubling degree of academic dishonesty, some of which impedes the advance of science.  Every successful researcher is aware that his career can be threatened by people motivated by personal reasons. 

It is often easier to submit than to speak truth.

Chapter 1

Prehistoric Megalithic Architecture

It is not disputed that, prior to any surviving writings, prior to written history, there were massively large, stone structures built by humans.  The pyramids of Egypt, if built before the development of hieroglyphics, would be the largest, but there are others of significance.

One of the best-known megalithic sites is at Stonehenge, in England.  Estimated to be around five thousand years old, this structure is made of large stones weighing up to twenty-five tons, plus lintel stones of many tons.  Some of the stones were quarried and transported more than twenty miles to the site, and then lifted into place.

Older, less well-known structures of a similar nature, in nearby regions, are mostly in ruins, but are dated at approximately eight thousand years old, before writing is known to have been developed.  Stonehenge, then, may be the highest stage to which a series of prehistoric constructions in Britain were built.  If so, then this indicates a progression of development, from the relatively simple, to the more advanced, as we would expect.

But was that the case?

If Stonehenge is older than the Pyramids, then we may reasonably conclude that there is a pattern in which, as expected, older constructions are simpler, and the later ones are more complex.  On the other hand, if further research concludes, as some dissident experts claim, that the Pyramids are vastly older than the present estimates of Egyptologists, older than Stonehenge, then we may be forced to conclude what is unexpected.  We may be led to the conclusion that the oldest megalithic structures were the product of a civilization that was more advanced, and that during later generations, there was a deteriorating process, the opposite of advancement—a regression, in which more ancient techniques were being gradually forgotten.  The later constructions may have been inferior imitations of the older ones.

Is there any direct evidence for that?

Yes, there is.  Göbekli tepe is an archaeologic site in Turkey that is estimated (by the experts) to be more than eleven thousand years old.  This is much older than the estimated five to eight-thousand-year age of Stonehenge. Despite being older, Göbekli tepe is a more sophisticated structure than Stonehenge.  What that means is that, the older civilization which built Göbekli tepe was more advanced than the later one in England.  If so, then this supports the notion that the later civilization was regressing, not advancing.  And all of that supports the notion, by extrapolation, that there may have been a prehistoric civilization that was more advanced than our present one.

A very powerful case can then be made, but only if future discoveries indicate that the Great Pyramid is older than Göbekli tepe.  (More recent findings indicate that other sites in Turkey may be even older than Göbekli tepe.)  Otherwise, the case for ancient advanced civilizations weakens, or perhaps collapses entirely.

In addition to this item of evidence, concerning Göbekli tepe, there is the matter of ancient megalithic sites in the Americas. 

The very large pyramidal-shaped towers in Mexico have been compared to the Great Pyramid in Egypt, however, the comparison is not much more than superficial.  It is coincidental that large, stone structures will be unstable if not built in pyramidal (or conical) fashion.  They would otherwise tend to collapse, and the collapsed structure would resemble a conical shape.  Therefore, such structures were made in the pyramidal shape, to prevent collapse.

The most significant resemblance of the structures in Mexico, to those of Egypt, is not their shape, but the methods involved in making them.  Large stones had to be cut, transported and lifted to great heights.  How this was accomplished is not fully understood, although there are several theories that may explain it.

The pyramids of Mexico are much younger than those of Egypt, with the oldest being about 1,500 years of age, at least 3,000 years younger than the 4,500 officially estimated age of the Great Pyramid.  Therefore, using those ages, we must continue to conclude that pyramid-building technology was not advancing after the Great Pyramid was built.

It is important to point out that the Great Pyramid of Egypt is the oldest and largest of the three greatest pyramids.  This is important because it is also the most complex.  According to diagrams online, the two smaller pyramids of the three, have very simple internal structures by comparison with the Great Pyramid, which is far more complex.  Once again, regression in technology is suggested by this fact.

The three pyramids are said to have contained the mummified corpses of pharaohs, but no mummies have ever been found in them.  Therefore, the purpose of these pyramids is in doubt.  The two smaller pyramids may possibly have been designed and built as crypts, but the Great Pyramid seems to have been designed and built for a much more complex purpose.  This places it in a category all by itself.

Chapter 2

Lost and Found Technologies

The Great Pyramid of Egypt is the most complicated pyramidal structure of the ancient world, far more complex than its two companions on the Giza Plateau.  It is far more complex than what was needed as a tomb.

What was its function?

No one can say for certain what was the larger purpose of the Great Pyramid. It may have been used partly as a tomb, but it was almost certainly used for much more than that.  There are electrical and hydraulic features that, after careful investigation by engineers, have raised some informed speculations, indeed, very reasonable hypotheses. 

One of these is that the pyramid was, at least in part, a pulsating water pump.  The water may have been used for irrigation, but it also seems to have been used for generating electrical power.  While those hypotheses seem spectacular, engineers have found them too plausible to ignore.  A working water pump was designed based on the first hypothesis. 

The second idea, that of electricity generation, seems to be very similar in some respects, to the work of Nicola Tesla, inventor of the electric motor, among many other important achievements.  He was admired and respected by no less famous a scientist than Albert Einstein.

In order to understand Tesla’s relevance to the pyramids, and to the hypothesis under discussion, we need to refer to two known examples of ancient technology:  the Antikythera device, and the steam turbine.

The Antikythera device might never have been known, in modern times, to exist.  It was discovered by sponge fishermen in about the year 1900 A.D.  It was found in the remains of a submerged, ancient shipwreck, where it had lain corroding for about two thousand years.

It took many decades for scientists to understand what it was, its purpose, and how it worked.  Astoundingly, it is an analog computer, not powered by electricity, but operating with mechanical wheels and gears, which are intermittently turned by a small hand-crank.  It served a navigational purpose, predicting the phases of the moon, and performing other astronomical functions.

On the one hand, the device is technologically simple, a clockwork mechanism only.  Making one, however, requires skills of craftmanship involving precise placement of the gear teeth which were geometrically spaced by odd numbers.  On the other hand, designing the device took the work of a genius, because each of the numerous components have to work in precise coordination with all the others.

Only one such device has ever been found, which is itself a mystery.  It seems inconceivable that only one was made.  Its value must have been enormous.  To my knowledge, no records exist of its invention, design, manufacture or use

One vital principle is established, regarding the Antikythera device.  It is that astounding technological feats were achieved in ancient times, and then, but for an unlikely and happenstance discovery, were lost to history.  This fact leads one to ask, are there any other artifacts, of advanced design, yet to be discovered?

Another example is the steam turbine, built in or about the year 90 A.D. in Egypt, by a man whose name was Hero, or Heron, depending on the source.  The device consisted of a metal chamber and two vents.  The chamber held water, which was heated by burning wood under the device.  When the water boiled, the steam was channeled in two opposite directions, turning the chamber due to the force of the escaping steam.  It converted steam power to rotary power.

Undoubtedly, the device was primitive, and the power generated by it was not seen for its magnificent potential for another 1500 years.  It was lost to history for all that time.  Then, when the first working steam engine was built in the 1600s A.D., and was put to practical use, it sparked the Industrial Revolution.  That altered the course of world history to such an extent that we can barely imagine our lives without the developments that resulted.

An important point here is to identify the principle that inventions are not necessarily inevitable, not even when, in retrospect, they seem to have been obvious all along.  It would be a mistake to assume that we have not overlooked something that would seem obvious only after we invent it, but at the present moment, before we invent it (if ever we do), it is not obvious at all.  For example, the meso-Americans seem never to have invented the wheeled wagon, even though they built massive buildings, and had astonishingly advanced astronomy.

The principle illustrated by both of these examples is that advanced technology can be lost to history, and remain lost for centuries.  It was.  It happened during historical times, and was recovered.  Could it have happened in prehistoric times?  Has it not been recovered?  Could the Pyramids give us clues regarding some ancient, highly advanced technology?

Was Nicola Tesla on the trail of such a discovery?

Chapter 3

Lost Prehistoric Technologies

The so-called Baghdad Battery was invented in ancient times, but seems never to have led to any practical use.  Other tentative forays into the discovery of electric power involve the static electricity produced by wool, and the magnetic properties of lodestone, an iron ore that is used in compasses.  Piezoelectricity is a property of crystals, including in granite.  Unknown to the ancients, as far as we know, are the electric properties of lightning.

The point being made is that, while we tend to think of electricity as a modern development, it was there all along, in various forms.  It is as pervasive as gravity, but largely escaped notice, and was never harnessed until modern times.

Nicola Tesla was a genius in many respects, but perhaps his most lasting legacy is the electric motor, an invention which enabled much of the electrical technologies which dominate our lives.  This invention was not inevitable, and without Tesla, we may not have had it for many years after him.  Tesla was also a competitor with two famous inventors, Thomas Edison and Guglielmo Marconi.  Edison was credited with the invention of the electric light bulb, and Marconi with radio transmitters.  Tesla claimed to have invented both.

A more important story is this:  what might have been Tesla’s most revolutionary invention—never happened.

Tesla’s experiments with wireless transmission of electric power were showing some astonishing results.  Unfortunately, they were also dangerous.  Here is a quote from Wikipedia, regarding his experiments in Colorado, USA.

“He produced artificial lightning, with discharges consisting of millions of volts and up to 135 feet (41 m) long. People walking along the street observed sparks jumping between their feet and the ground. Sparks sprang from water line taps when touched. Light bulbs within 100 feet (30 m) of the lab glowed even when turned off. Horses in a livery stable bolted from their stalls after receiving shocks through their metal shoes. Butterflies were electrified, swirling in circles with blue halos of St. Elmo's fire around their wings.

While experimenting, Tesla inadvertently faulted a power station generator, causing a power outage.”

It is one thing to make discoveries and inventions, quite another to control them.

Tesla later moved his experimental project to Wardenclyffe, New York, and began construction on a tower and laboratory which were intended to demonstrate long range generation of electric power through the air, without wires.

The project was never completed due to its major investor, JP Morgan, withdrawing his financial support.  There were other complications, and Tesla was deemed a failure both financially and professionally. 

When Tesla died in 1943, it is said that his papers were confiscated by the US government, and that they may contain secrets that have never been released.

It seems likely that Tesla was on the trail of sparking a technological revolution, the scientific basis of which only he could understand.

It is here that we make the connection between Tesla and the Great Pyramid.

It is claimed by some popularizers of Pyramid technology that the Great Pyramid was not built by the classic ancient Egyptians, but by a lost, previous, technologically advanced civilization.  It is claimed that that prehistoric civilization had discovered the same principles of electricity that Tesla was working toward at Wardenclyffe Tower.  It is claimed that the classic, ancient Egyptian civilization inherited, or found, the Great Pyramid long after it was built, and perhaps after it had been opened and looted by robbers.

Of course, this seems to be highly speculative, and such claims are made in a variety of versions, mostly by people with no real expertise—mostly fraudsters and practitioners of junk science.  Such claims by under-qualified dissidents have produced great skepticism regarding the plausible hypotheses posed by experts who dissent from the mainstream scientists.  It has become difficult to sort out the plausible from the fraudulent, but let’s try.

Given what is known about the Great Pyramid, it is plausible to attribute electrical properties to it.  Its internal structures, not all of which have been opened, but only detected by technological means, are to all appearances not intended as burial chambers, nor for any other known purpose.  The granite stones which are a major portion of the stones used in its internal construction, are known to have piezoelectric properties.

Electrical engineers who have studied the Great Pyramid have not firmly declared any spectacular conclusions, but there are clues that the Great Pyramid fits the description of a large-scale generator of electric power of the sort with which Nicola Tesla was experimenting in Colorado and Wardenclyffe.

Going out on a limb, then, it is a speculation worthy of further inquiry, that the precursors of the ancient Egyptians were, as Tesla later was, experimenting with the idea of transmitting electric power through the atmosphere, or the ground, or some combination of these two.

As to the question of how successful these experiments may have been, no answer can be given without further inquiry and discoveries.  There is the distinct possibility that material evidence has all been destroyed (or buried) in the mega-catastrophes that are known to have occurred in the era of roughly eleven-thousand or more years ago. 

We are constrained, of course, by the maxim that extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.  We are also bound by the principle of Occam’s Razor, that the most likely explanation is the simplest one that fits all the known facts.

Therefore, I do not wish to get too far afield here, especially as I am already in the realm of speculation—albeit I believe reasonable ones.

The point of it all is that there is reason to believe that Tesla’s Wardenclyffe laboratory was experimenting with a set of natural principles which, when properly combined, have the potential to revolutionize our society by supplying unlimited, renewable and sustainable energy.

Chapter 4

Implications of Lost Prehistoric Technologies for our Future

If there really was a prehistoric civilization which possessed technologies more advanced than we have in the present, an inevitable question arises:  what happened to it?  Why did it disappear?

A closely related question is this:  if we somehow recover that lost technology, will it cause us, also, to become a lost civilization?

One possible answer is that the hypothesized prehistoric civilization was destroyed by overwhelmingly catastrophic natural cataclysms.  If so, then we might conclude that the prehistoric civilization’s technology was not able to save it, but at the same time, did not actually cause its destruction.

On the other hand, we are well aware that even our present technology poses many risks to our own civilization.  The best known of these is the threat of nuclear war, but there are many other dangers as well.  Not all of them involve explosions.  Some are more subtle and pernicious.  Experiments are being conducted to weaponize disease-causing pathogens (germs).  Computer technology is advancing so rapidly that there are fears that it could get out of hand, for example, with artificial intelligence playing a destructive role.  Computer chips can be implanted in the brain to reverse debilitating paralysis, but also, to implement a sort of thought-control.  Biological experiments have explored the feasibility of producing human-animal hybrids, with the result that highly intelligent species of slaves can be generated which have no legal protections beyond those of cattle.

Clearly, then, technological barbarism is at least as great a threat to us now as were the Vikings to medieval Europe, or the mysterious (but very real) Sea People during the time of the ancient Egyptians.  Technology has been of great benefit to humanity, but it is most certainly a mixed blessing.

Technology is what in military terms is called a “force multiplier.”  In non-military terms, it multiplies our ability to do good, but also, vastly increases our ability to do evil.

It is not unreasonable to hypothesize that Tesla was getting close to achieving his dream of harnessing the planetary electrical field to provide virtually free energy to all of humanity.  We know from science that the Earth is a giant magnet, able to repel powerful destructive particles that are constantly bombarding us from outer space.  The planet’s magnetism makes it actually an electro-magnet, a spinning core of molten iron that is continually producing vast amounts of electrical energy.

A single lightning storm can generate enough electric current to power a large city for a year.  It is entirely possible that, with innovative engineering, that potential could become a reality, not only for one city for one year, but for all of human civilization for many centuries.

Why has this, or some other beneficial technology, not happened?  Perhaps JP Morgan said it best, when he withdrew his funding for Wardenclyffe:  where would you put the meter?  How could I make money by giving something away for free?

Beware, however, that JP Morgan understood that it is the profit motive that produces the wealth that even poor people enjoy.  Without profit, no factory could operate.  Worse yet, when governments control all the means of production, the result has always been tyranny and barbarism, not utopia.

If a way is discovered to produce free energy in unlimited supply, the initial result would very likely be something that at first feels like utopia.  That initial phase would be only temporary, however, because human greed is not restricted only to money and material things.  A far greater greed among humans is the greed for power—the lust to rule over the powerless.

Even in very small groups of people, power struggles can become brutal.  It has often been noted, in various forms of expression, that “academic politics is the most vicious and bitter form of politics, because the stakes are so low.”  Greed for power is instinctive.

It is that greed, not the lust for gold, that has dominated human history.  Yes, material wealth was a huge factor, but it has always been only a means to an end.  That end is empire.

Today we see politicians and governments promising great material comforts to all their populations.  Some promise it by rewarding work, but most promise it by taking from those who produce wealth, and giving it away freely to those who produce nothing, but who support the rulers.

Technology is power.

Chapter 5

The Entire Cosmos is Pervaded by an Unknowable Force, that of Spirit

This final chapter does not pretend to be scientific, but it most certainly is not speculation.  When one has a continuing personal encounter with a reality that has no physical explanation, but cannot be denied, then that person must accept it as fact, despite all the seemingly logical arguments to the contrary.

One of those continuing experiences is one that we all have, that of the physical universe.  It may seem paradoxical, but the physical universe has no physical explanation.  It just is.  It has many secrets, which scientists attempt to unravel, to varying degrees of success.  No one can explain how it came to be, or how it continues to exist.  Those are matters for philosophy and religion.  Science concerns itself with observation, repeatable experiments, and reason.  Nothing more.

Another continuing experience that we all have is consciousness.  It cannot be fully defined nor explained, but neither can it be denied.  Consciousness is the only known phenomenon which observes itself.  It does so from within itself, by means of itself.  While the outward appearance of consciousness can be defined, the inward experience cannot.  It seems to be of a recursive nature, wrapping inward on itself.

The inward experience of consciousness has no physical explanation, even though physicalist scientists seek one in the brain.  Is that not like seeking for music inside the violin?

The revered physicist, Stephen Hawking, who rejected the idea of a personal God, famously asked, "What is it that breathes fire into the equations [of science] and makes a universe for them to describe?"

If ever a question contained its own answer, perhaps this one comes closest. 

Each of us has his own personal, inward experience of existence.  As Renee Descartes famously said, “I think, therefore I am.” 

The universe is in a fallen state, and within it are sad and terrifying examples of unspeakable suffering.  Yet, at the same time, it bears the benchmarks of a benevolent Creator.

All of existence is saturated with that creative force, that conscious, purposeful and living spirit of God.  All we can know is that which is divinely revealed, and only to the extent that we are given the capacity to know.  A cup can be filled, but beyond that, it is pointless to pour more into it.

May you be fulfilled with the Holy Spirit of God.

-