Customer Reviews

Eden in the East

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The beginning of human civilization as you learned it in school goes like this:

Human beings (homo sapiens) have been around for some 100,000 years, give or take. Until about six or seven thousand years ago, after the end of the most recent ice age, humans were a bunch of wandering hunter-gatherers. They made some great cave paintings, but other than that and a few gnawed bones, they made nothing and left nothing behind. Then, when the ice age ended, they spontaneously dropped their fur cloaks, stopped hunting woolly mammoths and invented agriculture, the wheel, cuneiform, beer, and everything else that makes up civilization.

The problem with this picture, of course, is that the ice age didn't cover the entire earth with ice -- just some of the parts we live on now. And because there was so much more ice, there was less water, and sea levels were some 100-odd meters lower than at present.

So all the best land, the fertile, coastal land, during the ice age -- the era immediately preceeding the first great civilizations of the near easy -- is now underwater.

In _Eden in the East_, Oppenheimer focuses on the great Sunda Shelf in southeast Asia, which in the last ice age was a continent-sized land mass (now sometimes called "Sundaland"). His thesis is that the great civilizations of the near east did not spring whole cloth from the soil, but were founded, or informed, or guided, by refugees from the east, refugees fleeing the great destruction of their homeland with the submergence of the Sunda Shelf.

He argues for his thesis on the basis of genetic, linguistic and mythological studies, all appearing to show a diffusion of culture and people from some prehistoric Sundaland home. The arguments are varied and interesting, maybe even compelling. Certainly they are worth reading.

But they are also very difficult to read. This is a dense book, almost five hundred pages in the edition I have and written in a fairly dry, scholarly tone. So read it, but be warned.

If you're interested in the argument that human prehistory is to be sought in the lands that sank beneath the waves at the end of the last ice age, check out Graham Hancock's book _Underworld_ (already published here in the UK and coming to America soon). Hancock does not focus exclusively on Sundaland, but his arguments and evidences are complementary to those adduced by Oppenheimer. Hancock is less scholarly and more chronological in his approach; _Underworld_ is all first person and very readable.

The central theme of "Eden in the East" is derived from the fact that island southeast Asia, or more correctly the now mostly submerged Sunda shelf, was actually an extensive subcontinent, comparable in size to India, during the last Ice Age. Oppenheimer summarizes one current understanding of how the Ice Age ended--that is, not slowly, but in three quite dramatic and rapid melts that resulted in severe flooding and perhaps even substantial seismic activity and tsunamis. Thus, the Sunda subcontinent was subjected to a series of horrendous cataclysms, the last one occurring circa 8000-7000 B.C. After this introduction to the climatic facts of the case, the first half of the book is devoted to an examination of genetic and linguistic evidence, or rather to Oppenheimer's own re-examination of this evidence, with the conclusion that Ice Age Sundaland harbored a thriving neolithic culture that dispersed throughout the Pacific and into most of Eurasia subsequent to its flooding, and thus that much of Western civilization can be expected to be derived, or at least influenced, by this antediluvian culture. The second half of the book is entirely concerned with a comparative analysis of several myths that exist in recognizable forms throughout most of the world, including Noah's flood, creation myths, Cain and Abel, and the dying god who is resurrected. Again, Oppenheimer argues that the evidence indicates an origin for each of these basic myths in neolithic southeast Asia.

I am not really qualified to argue with Oppenheimer's analyses; then again, the author is himself a pediatrician with no apparent formal training in linguistics, genetics, or anthropology. Be that as it may, I found his ideas highly intriguing, and a reading of this book reveals him to be completely unlike most of the recent spate of speculative (and very silly) pseudoarchaeologists, concerned as they are with finding Atlantis or some other vision of a long-lost but highly advanced ancient civilization. Unlike the "work" of Rand Flem-Ath or Graham Hancock, what is presented here at least seems reasonable and worthy of intelligent debate. Not the least of the reasons for this is the fact that Oppenheimer is arguing for the existence of an influential neolithic culture, not an enlightened antediluvian civilization. Much of what he argues could still be wrong, and probably is, but at least something interesting might come of the discussion.

The drawbacks of this book are mostly editorial: Oppenheimer is not a gifted writer, and the prose is sometimes tortured enough to give pause. Additionally, the book as a whole, especially the second half dealing with comparative mythology, is entirely too long. I found myself nearly nodding off during the recitations of various "dying-and-rising-tree-god" myths from around the islands of southeast Asia. Beyond this, little attention seems to be paid to the provenance of the many myths recounted in this book; one wonders if the "warring brothers" (Cain and Abel) or Adam and Eve stories in southeast Asia could not have been introduced by Christian missionaries, despite Oppenheimer's protestations. Overall, though, this is a book worth reading, or at least skimming.

Stephen Oppenheimer is the first author to treat this subject in an extensive manner using both scientific evidence and comparative mythology. He brings together a wide range of complimentary fields to support his theory on the rise of Southeast Asian during the Neolithic and Bronze Age periods. A must read for those interested in new historical perspectives.

I loved this book! It clearly and concisely cites evidence for the origin of civilization in the now flooded lowlands of Southeast Asia under the South China Sea. The types of evidence considered are: geological evidence of great floods, linguistic and genetic evidence of dispersion, and mythological evidence of floods and dispersion. I thoroughly enjoyed the sections on geological, linguistic and genetic evidence. The mythological section was long, complicated and labored; and there was almost no summary and conclusion. Hence my four-star rating. This is the only book I know of on the subject and I highly recommend it.

The book badly needed additional chapters reinterpreting world history in light of the evidence that civilization began in Southeast Asia, and spread outward along equatorial sealanes driven by the monsoons. I would have enjoyed a chapter closely comparing Plato's discription of Atlantis with the archeological and other evidence of early SE Asian civilization. Perhaps Doctor Oppenheimer could write a follow on volume to cover these points.

Interesting premise which is painstakingly researched and documented. Oppenheimer makes a very cogent argument which if true will completely rewrite history!

Can be heavy going in the detail, but is the product of a 'Good Analytical Mind'. I really enjoyed the introduction to Religious & Folkloric Analysis, and to Linguistics, & Genetics (a fast growing symbiosis).
Another book in this growing category is 'Genes - People and languages' by Luigi Lica Cavalli-Sforza ISBN: 0140296026.
A classic analysis. It makes one realise we are on the brink of discoveries regarding early human history similar to the unfolding of the age of the dinosaur in the last century.
This book layed the foundation and blazed the trail for 'Underworld Flooded Kingdoms' by Graham Hancock ISBN: 0718144007 (USA - 1400046122 ).
Lounes Chikhi, from University College London (UCL), UK, and colleagues looked for markers by analysing mutations (errors) on Y chromosomesstudied rare mutations called unique event polymorphisms (UEPs). These are not thought to have occurred more than once in recent human history.

However I feel that the book is missing some intermediate stages and can be viewed, with valid reasons, as focused only on the South Asia region.
the main focus of the book is the region east of indonesia, including Micronesia and Polynesia.

The early Polynesian and related groups traded and travelled the Pacific from Madagascar in the West to Easter island in the East.
For a reference see 'Man Across the Sea (Univ. of Texas 1971) by Riley, Kelley, Pennington and Randa.

Latin America:-
Recognising that the Polynesians got to Rapa Nui (Easter island), only 2,000 from Chile (where the nearest other Polynesian island is 1,500 mile east), there is little analysis and mention is made of Latin America.
In Rapa Nui per folklore is said to have been populated by long & short eared peoples (one group from the East and the other from the West).
With the Humboldt current from Peru & Chile would have brought this island within a week or two sailing.
A more inclusive reference would have included a section on Inca (Peruvian & Chilean) contacts.
Witness the late Palaeolithic remains and rock art found by Dr. Walter Neves (Univ. of Sao Paulo) and Marcello Caosta Souza in the Serra da Capivara, Pedra Furada and Lagoa Santa, Belo Horizonte and in Tierra del Fuego again by Walter Neves.

Africa & Australia:-
However, it has no reference to the cradle of human-kind, Africa nor to Australia ?
Both ancient and habitable continents covering the period in question, late Palaeolithic, witness 'Australian' rock-art specialist Grahame Walsh.
We know from recent finds in Southern Africa and lately on the Congo river that there many settlements existed here. I believe this is a serious shortcoming. We know for example that towns and later settlements existed along the coasts of Africa during Roman times.
Why not provide any reference to the region around Madagascar on the African coast ?
And what archaeological discoveries await the Ivory Coast, the Canary islanders and the Congo river delta ?

Unanswered Questions & Puzzles :-
With all this navigation, the study of the astronomy etc how come little is or no written record has been found ?
Is it, as explained in the book, the joining up of the cycles of agriculture with astronomy with power and religion and control ?
Thus have we missed important sources of ancient knowledge ?
For instance to date there is no translation of the Rapa Nui 'Rongo-Rongo' tablets and their similarity to Indus Valley tablets.

What treasure throve of hidden knowledge lies with the Basque fisherman (who since time began knew the coast of Canada and Iceland).
As human markers are being identified that help unravel these ancient migrations, See Mapping Human history, 'Discover the past thro Genes' by Olson Steve and Mapping Human History by Prof Steven Rose ISBN 08706667979 and 7 Daughters of Eve by Sykes Bryan ISBN: 0593047575
When will similar markers be found for domesticated animals, such as pigs, dogs, goats etc or fruit, rice, cereals, sugar cane and sweat potatoes.

In Conclusion:-
I cannot help but think that this unique book has instigated a whole new area that we will be viewing in documentaries in the not too distant future, when the rest of the world catches up.

Naoise O'H

I enjoyed reading this book and feel that the author made a good case for his premise if not a compelling one.

I was troubled by the use of references which are obviously false for example:

Page 247 (17) "Noah, who altogether reigned for 1565 years or 86400 weeks"
I cannot believe that anyone lived this long there has to be an error in the translation of this myth.
The number 86,400 is the number of seconds in a day ( the sumerians divided the solar day into 24 hours, 60 minutes, and 60 seconds)
while this number is well known to those who compute the trajectories of deep space probes It is not a commonly use number
and there is no reason I can think of the relate this number to years or weeks.

Page 250 paragraph 3 "the ten kings ruled for 432,000 years (that is 86,400X 5, five years being 60 months)

There is more of this nonsense with numbers which should have been examined. for example sumerian time periods also contained fractions of years which would have essentially reduced the total by a factor of ten...950 year would have become 95

It is possible that scribes could have misread ancient texts which used numbering systems that were no longer in use.

THESE NUMBER DON'T MAKE SENSE

Roland Boucher

Eden in the East turns the prevailing archaeological view of southeast Asian prehistory upside down. The author presents a view of southeast Asia as the cradle of civilization with the technology and culture of an Ice Age southeast Asian subcontinent spreading north and west at the time when the sea levels rose following the melting of the Ice Age glaciers. An interesting idea, but without real support of actual archaeological excavation on the part of Dr. Oppenheimer (a pediatrician). The author picks and chooses data from many sources to suit his theories. A questionable technique to say the least. The second half of the book reviews the legends and myths of various cultures concerning creation, floods, Cain & Able stories an so forth. Mildly interesting, but not convincing.

Very happy with this transaction. Item had arrived within the expected time frame and as in great condition as described. Many thanks and keep up with good work!

it came when they said, quality was as they said, what more can I ask?