In The Year 2001, at the invitation of editor Doug Kenyon, I began writing a regular column, titled "The Forbidden Archeologist," for Atlantis Rising magazine. I've decided to publish these columns, through 2009, in this book.
The main topic is archeological evidence for extreme human antiquity. Today, most scientists believe that human beings like us first appeared on earth between 100,000 and 200,000 years ago. But the ancient Sanskrit writings of India, and the writings of other ancient wisdom traditions, tell us that humans like us have existed for many millions of years, going back to the very beginnings of life on earth. Therefore, many of my columns are about this evidence. They also record my experiences in presenting this evidence at major international scientific conferences, such as the meetings of the World Archeological Congress, the European Association of Archeologists, and the International Congress for History of Science.
The evidence that I write about, especially the archeological evidence for extreme human antiquity, is not very well known in mainstream scientific circles or among the general public, because of a process of knowledge filtration. Evidence that supports the mainstream theories of human origins and antiquity passes through this filter very easily. Therefore students will read about it in their text-books, people will hear scientists talking about it on television, and if they go to the local museum they will see it on display. But evidence that radically contradicts the mainstream theories is filtered out, so we do not hear very much about it.
Michael Cremo is an international authority and speaker on archeological anomalies and extreme human antiquity. A best-selling author and research associate of the Bhaktivedanta Institute, he specializes in the history and philosophy of science. He is a member of the World Archeological Congress and the European Association of Archeologists.
IN THE YEAR 2001, at the invitation of editor Doug Kenyon, I i began writing a regular column, titled "The Forbidden Archeologist," for Atlantis Rising magazine. I've decided to publish these columns, through 2009, in this book. The columns as they appear in this book are not exactly in the order in which they were originally published. I have made some adjustments so as to conform to the order of events as they happened in my life. The tides and texts of the articles are as they appeared in the original manuscripts I sub-mitted for publication.
The topics of my articles in Atlantis Rising reflect my various interests, as recorded in my books Forbidden Archeology and Human Devolution: A Vedic Alternative to Darwin's Theory. The main topic is archeological evidence for extreme human antiquity. Today, most scientists believe that human beings like us first appeared on earth between 100,000 and 200,000 years ago. But the ancient Sanskrit writings of India, and the writings of other ancient wisdom traditions, tell us that humans like us have existed for many millions of years, going back to the very beginnings of life on earth. Therefore, many of my Atlantis Rising columns are about this evidence. They also record my experiences in presenting this evidence at major international scientific conferences, such as the meetings of the World Archeological Congress, the European Association of Archeologists, and the International Congress for History of Science. The columns also record my experiences in presenting this evidence at alternative science and new age conferences, and my experiences in presenting this evidence to students at university lectures and to the general public on publicity tours around the vvorld. I also have an interest in UFOs, extraterrestrial archeology, and crop circles, and these interests are reflected in some of my columns.
The evidence that I write about, especially the archeological evidence for extreme human antiquity, is not very well known in mainstream scientific circles or among the general public, because of a process of knowledge filtration. Evidence that supports the mainstream theories of human origins and antiquity passes through this filter very easily. Therefore students will read about it in their textbooks, people will hear scientists talking about it .on television, and if they go to the local museum they will see it on display. But evidence that radically contradicts the mainstream theories is filtered out, so we do not hear very much about it. I explore this knowledge filtration process is many of my columns.
The archeological evidence for extreme human antiquity contradicts the Darwinian theory of evolution. I believe that alternatives to the theory of evolution should be presented in the science curriculum in the public tax-supported education systems. It is true that today the vast majority of scientists accept the theory of evolution, but it is also true that there is a small minority of scientists who do not accept the theory of evolution. This minority, which includes me, is presenting alternative points of view. At the present moment, these alternatives are completely excluded from the science curriculum. I think this needs to change. Biology text-books in the public education system should devote the vast majority of their pages to the theory of evolution, but they should also devote a small minority of their pages to a neutral, objective presentation of the principal alternatives to the theory of evolution. And then let students make up their own minds on the question of the origin of species.
In my book Human Devolution: A Vedic Alternative to Dar-win's Theory), I present my own alternative, based on my studies in the ancient Sanskrit writings of India, the Vedas. Basically, I propose that we did not evolve up from matter; rather we have devolved or come down from pure consciousness. Human beings are not just combinations of the ordinary material elements. Instead we are a combination of matter, mind, and consciousness. By mind and consciousness, I do not mean temporary by products of bioelectrical activity in the brain, I mean real things, with their own independent existence. There is scientific evidence for a subtle mind element, associated with the human organism, that can act in ways that we cannot explain by our current laws of physics. There is also a conscious self that can exist apart from the material body, apart from the mind. In many of my Altantis Rising columns I discuss things that relate to my human devolution theory.
Another topic of interest to me is Indian archeology. According to a great many Western and Indian archeologists and historians, the Vedic culture was not native to India. Supposedly, it was introduced into India by invading or migrating waves of immigrants, about 3,500 years ago. According soars alternative point of view, held by scholars like me, Vedic culture was native to India, and has existed there continuously for vast periods of time. So some of my columns deal with this topic. A related topic is the history of archeology in India. Most archeologists say that archeology began in India with the arrival of European travelers, who began writing about ruined temples and other monuments in the seven-teenth century. But there is evidence that India had its own archeological tradition, even before this. I discuss this evidence in some of my columns.
In these columns, I have also tried to give my readers some glimpses of my personal life as a forbidden archeologist. I tell what it is like meeting different kinds of audiences, traveling to different countries. I also share some things about my association with the Krishna consciousness movement, my personal meditation practices (I meditate each day on the Hare Krishna mantra), and my vegetarian diet (I avoid meat, fish, and eggs).
I am not a professional archeologist, with a Ph.D. in archeology. But I do present my work at mainstream archeological conferences and in mainstream archeological publications. I am much like many of the gentlemen scientists of the nineteenth century. Charles Darwin, for example, was not a professional biologist. He did not have a Ph.D. in biology, nor was he a biology professor at a university. He was a country gentleman who pursued his interests on his own, without taking a salary for it. His university stud-ies were in preparation for a career as a clergyman.
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