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Forbidden History: Prehistoric Technologies, Extraterrestrial Intervention, and the Suppressed Origins of Civilization

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I am a writer whose articles appear in this book, one who has investigated alternative scholarship, drawn on various sources, and found that prevalent theories and mindsets often distort what may be the truth regarding history and science. That is what this book is about. It attempts to open the door to a new understanding of the past, and in so doing to better understand who we are, where we come from, and our potential. This often requires unraveling the tangled ball of string that is accepted as historical fact, etymological fact, scientific fact, etc.
I do not have the previous reviewer's specific training in languages and etymology, only a fascination for the subject, and a lifelong sense that something was amiss in this field (Perhaps that is a good thing, for established mind sets may be part of the problem, the perpetuation of distortions by those, who, are often prevented from taking seriously anything that threatens the established way of thinking).
In my research for several articles included in this book, I found, among other things, that standard tenets of history and prehistory ought to be seriously questioned, and that the perpetuation of misinformation through academia is inherent to the institutional and psychological nature of academia itself (which, in turn, is often a product of the human ego and its processes, a state of affairs that often derails a genuine quest for truth).
The ancient history of India is a case in point (as told in this book). That history seems to have been rewritten by Europeans. It should be understood that the Indo-European language is not really a language or anything historical (the language from which, we are to believe, the great family of other languages derive). This "language" is an assumption, a theory, based on the fact that there are great similarities in the roots words of many varied languages across the globe. Indo-European is an invention to try to account for this, a device that runs hand in hand with the alleged Aryan Invasion of India (which reduces the antiquity of India and her languages by several thousand years as compared to tradition). For the sake of simplicity, the story goes like this, as espoused now by various sources: Both the Indo european "language" and the Aryan Invasion were invented, and contrary to the indigenous "nonacademic" history of India as told for millennia. Evidence now shows, though, that India's extreme antiquity as expressed in her mythology is probable, given the discovery of an ancient city (dated to 8000 years ago), now submerged, off the western coast, and satellite images that show the path of the "mythical" Saraswati river. These developments validate that which is written in India's ancient texts, the tradition of a timelessly old India held as a common understanding in her past, from generation to generation. These are developments similar to the archeological discovery of Troy, taking what was deemed fiction by scholars into the realm of actual history.
Furthermore, traditions exist, and perhaps ignored geologic evidence, that what we call India was once a more vast continent, the land, perhaps, of the great rishis whence the vedas and traditions of southern India derive. This book, and Atlantis Rising magazine, tries to unravel the series of untruths piled upon one another regarding the past, and to debunk some of academia's sacred tenets. It is certainly not Christian creationism (as a previous reviewer strangely suggested) merely because it points out the glaring problems in evolutionary theory. The problem in seeing things that way is simple mindedness, as if we have but two choices, Biblical creationism or Darwinism.
(Another reviewer complains, by the way, that one part of the book discredits Ice Age theory, while another uses it to support a point. Keep in mind that the chapters in this book are written by various authors, not a single author. That reviewer's complaint would only be valid if one author had done this. Contained in the book are various points of view with a coherent theme as expressed in various articles, not that of one individual.)
The previous reviewer, who takes issue with the proposition that the languages of India predate those of the rest of the world's languages (as evidence of that land and people's profound antiquity), might look into the ancient traditions and the modern evidence that supports them (and my effort is not the first to do this). Don't expect to find such material in a textbook though. You won't, just as you won't find other "anomalous" evidence in your textbooks that throw monkey wrenches into widely accepted theories. That's the whole point of the book, and Atlantis Rising magazine. Instead, start all over, from the beginning, setting aside what you were taught to believe were indisputable facts.

Is history real? Do we even have a rough idea who we are and where we come from? This book is an ideal gift for anyone on your list who thinks Orthodox History is bunk but don't know what to do next. Collected from some excellent articles from New Atlantis Magazine, these essays are nicely arranged to build the case slowly, carefully and wisely. Contributors include Christopher Dunn and Peter Thomkins, and subject ranges from debunking Darwin to the Electric Universe. You've been warned! This is the place to start finding out Henry Ford didn't know the half of it. Bunk? Most of the history we get in school is FICTION! Rounded out with discussions of eclectic goodies available only with difficulty elsewhere, this is a must for any alternative science/history bookshelf.

This book is interesting and in places challenging, but the presentation often appears rather one-sided. Mainstream scholarly counter-arguments are not given sufficient credit or attention. In face of criticisms levelled at the allegedly biased and hidebound approach of mainstream scholarship, this is very disappointing.

My comments here are directed at the linguistic aspects of the material, where my own professional expertise applies. Here, there is a considerable amount of palpable error (see details below). Given this, readers lacking expertise in any specific discipline should treat with caution all novel claims made.

Chapter 10, David Lewis, pages 83-86

To my knowledge, no qualified writers have argued that Sanskrit derives from Proto-Dravidian; it is transparently Indo-European. The only clearly Dravidian elements in Sanskrit are some transferred vocabulary and some aspects of the sound-system.

It is not clear where Dravidian might have been spoken before it was in India. Although it is quite possible that Dravidian is related to Elamite and that its speakers came into India from the north-west, this has not been demonstrated. There is no actual trace of Dravidian outside South Asia.

The linguistic material presented by Churchward, Cerve etc is unverified and implausible. Some of the relevant claims, eg the dramatic claim about links between Greek and Mayan, do not hold up at all.

The view that the Easter Island Script (which itself has no agreed decipherment) and the Indus Valley Script are genuinely related has never been adequately supported.

To my knowledge, no linguistically qualified commentators have linked the Cambay material with the Indus Valley Script.

Chapter 23, Frank Joseph, pages 174-176

Joseph cites similarities between short words and syllables, with allegedly related meanings, in languages normally regarded as unrelated and as not having experienced important cultural contact, eg the words moai in Okinawa and Easter Island (where the meanings are not in fact close), Japanese torii and German Tor, various words containing the syllable mu. He believes that these similarities are `remarkable' or at least significant, and that they suggest common origin (in Lemuria/Mu) - or maybe in some cases important early contact. However, it is easy to show in linguistic and statistical terms that superficially similar forms such as these are very likely to arise by chance, especially with very short words and single syllables. Indeed, many cases are known where pairs of identical or very similar forms, with genuinely related meanings, are DEMONSTRABLY unconnected and only accidentally similar. Only if the parallelisms are very extensive and/or linguistically systematic is there good evidence of a real connection. Cases such as those presented here do not show any connection. The impressionistic method used in this section was superseded in the mid-19th Century as these facts became clear. It is now used only by authors unfamiliar with what historical linguists have learned.

Joseph's comment about the pronunciation of the names Romulus and Remus is mistaken.

Chapter 25, David Lewis again, pages 184-186

Lewis makes some strange statements about Indian languages. The following corrections are required:
a) So-called root words of Sanskrit do NOT appear `almost universally in the world's major languages'. Only other Indo-European languages share words with Sanskrit, except for the special cases of a) words (etc) transferred within India into Dravidian (notably Malayalam) and other local languages and b) medieval and modern transfers into other languages of cultural words involving Hinduism etc.
b) Even the words shared between Sanskrit and other Indo-European languages do NOT derive from Sanskrit, as Lewis implies. Sanskrit itself, though archaic, is demonstrably NOT as close to the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European ancestor language as was believed by European scholars when the relationship of Sanskrit with ancient European languages was first understood (1780s & after). For instance, Greek is demonstrably a better guide to the Proto-Indo-European vowel system than Sanskrit is. (The idea of an Indo-European or Aryan RACE is a 19th Century idea, long abandoned. This is all about LANGUAGES. Of course, ethnic groups TEND to retain their languages over time; but there are many exceptions.)
c) Whether or not there was an `Aryan Invasion' of India, the linguistic evidence therefore suggests (strongly) that Indo-European languages (including early Sanskrit or pre-Sanskrit) were introduced into India from the north-west, rather than the whole Indo-European family initially developing there. (We still do not know which language family is represented by the Indus Valley Script. A recognised solution to this problem would help to date the arrival of Indo-European in India. The main candidates are Indo-European and Dravidian.)
d) Lewis does not specify which `orthodox' scholars ascribe the first known alphabet to India.
e) Apart from Sanskrit transfers into Tamil of words which Sanskrit shares with Greek via Indo-European, there are no known demonstrably significant similarities or shared words between Tamil (Dravidian) on the one hand and Greek, Hebrew, languages of Kamchatka, languages of Polynesia etc on the other. It is easy to show in linguistic and statistical terms that superficially similar forms are very likely to arise by chance in such cases. (On the impressionistic method suggested by these remarks, see above on Joseph's material.) However: some Tamil words and features do appear in Sanskrit; but this is evidently because of contact within India in the last 3500 years. (As noted, Sanskrit has also influenced Dravidian in return.)

Summary: Current mainstream views on ancient India are based on the overall pattern of the evidence, not on `Eurocentrism'. There is, naturally, dispute over many specific points, and mysteries remain (notably the Indus Valley Script). And the whole mainstream viewpoint might in principle be overthrown by evidence. But there is no sign of that happening. For instance, Bryant's generally scholarly book on this theme, endorsing a position fairly close to Lewis', was weak on linguistics. (It should also be noted that Oppenheimer and even his linguist ally Manansala appear to be unfamiliar with historical linguistics; their linguistic points are among their weakest.)

As can be seen, the linguistic material in this book, at least, is seriously flawed.

If you are not already aware of the fact that this book is a collection of articles, you need to know that going in. It makes a big difference in how you can approach this book. By that I mean you don't have a consistent reading experience or point of view, making it a bit uneven. Some of the articles are well written and easy to read. Others are hard to get through. Furthermore, since the book is composed of articles, many of the topics discussed don't get fully fleshed out. In several cases statements of fact are made with no evidence or reference provided where if they'd been posed in a book more may have been provided to back them up. I thought there were too many essentially repetitive articles in some areas (especially Dunn's). While there are a number of things presented to make you think about what you've been taught over the years, I would only call this book average at best.

Forbidden History is a series of short magazine articles from the alternative science magazine Atlantis Rising that all question the orthodox and mainstream explanations of what the past was like that come from academia. It is rather hostile to mainstream thought and frustrated that the more outlandish theories do not get more respect, even when legitimate questions and evidence are given for these views. Sometimes I thought the articles were too short to cover the subjects properly, but other times I was grateful that they were short if my interest in the article was only casual. Some of the explanations about how the pyramids were engineered were hard to explain without pictures and a demonstration.

Several theories are under fire in the book. For instance, it is suggested that neither the Creationists nor the Darwinists have correct explanation of our past. Earth has been here for millions of years and there are no "missing links" to prove that we evolved gradually from apes. However, a cataclysm such as a flood may have occurred around -11,000. Darwinists and other scientists have been loath to pursue a theory that would suggest a cataclysm because they were scared that it would prove the Bible right and the religion would win and science would lose in their various political battles. Before this cataclysm during the days of Atlantis and Lemuria, civilization was in its golden age that is far greater than our civilization today. It is suggested that in our collective unconscious we fear mentioning past cataclysms because it is too painful to remember and talk about and so catastrophic theories are an anathema. Mainstream scientists are also hostile to supernatural explanations for anything and are firmly committed to the materialism that states that the material is all there is. On the contrary, the book suggests mystics that have declared that everything that exists is all one are right and the new physics is coming to that conclusion.

The book covers some racial topics peripherally. It questions the Aryan invasion theory of ancient India, attributing such a theory to Western scholars "West is Best" ethnocentrism. The great civilization of ancient India is created solely by the Indians, according to the book. On the other hand, it is claimed that red-haired people were the first people to live on Hawaii and there is evidence of an advanced civilization there that was created by them. The story about them in Forbidden History claims that they were unwilling to mix with the newcomers of a different race and left the island. There is also the strange case of huge sculpted Olmec heads in Central America that have Negroid characteristics. As we all know, people usually make statues of their own ethnic group's heroes. Blacks may have had a high civilization before the cataclysm.

I particularly enjoyed the section that dealt with how the pyramids were built and the authors do a pretty good job at making mainstream Egyptologists look silly with their explanation that the pyramids were built with ropes, pulleys, sledges, and a colossal amount of good, old-fashioned manpower. It is suggested that the older pyramids such as Cheops never were grave sites and were built using advanced technological tools with electricity. Egypt was a more advanced society than any modern society because we cannot build such a pyramid with such precision to this day. Chris Dunn, a high tech engineer, gives us this new perspective on how they were built that historians may miss because they do not have his training. He suggests that pyramid at Giza was a power plant.

It is suggested that the book called Temple of Man by Schwaller Lubicz is a great, but difficult read that will enlighten readers who prove themselves worthy by having patience enough to keep reading it until they understand it. It is a book about the pyramids and its symbols and their multi-meanings that are continually shifting in meaning.

This is a good book for finding out about some of the alternative theories related to the origin of the human race, Atlantis, the pyramids, and other topics for which conventional history, archeology, and Egyptology cannot provide adequate explanations.

Any fool should be able to realize that, for example, the pyramids and other monuments on the Giza plateau in Egypt could not have been created by the primitive farmers that historians think were living there back thousands of years ago.

Christopher Dunn's unraveling of the technological functioning of the Great Pyramid is certainly one of the great scientific and archeological discoveries of all time. He was able to figure this out by thinking outside of the box of our current technology. It's people like this who are knowledgeable about conventional science, archeology, and history but who have an open mind that will ultimately make the great discoveries.

It is not hard to imagine that the awesome forces which were created inside this pyramid could, if abused, become very dangerous. This is all eerily similar to the legend about how the terrible fire stone crystal on Atlantis was misused to cause the final destruction.

Dunn has become a sort of high tech folk hero for all of the researchers who struggle against the orthodox hypocrites who cling to their preposterous theories. His comments about Hawass and the other conventional Egyptologists are far from flattering to say the least. As he points out when the new age guys come up with a theory it is subjected to intense scientific scrutiny. But this same high standard is not applied to the hypocrites with their theories about how the pyramids were created by manual labor using thousands of slaves, etc.. This book talks about researchers who dared to challenge the orthodox academics and lost their careers.

This book is a treasure trove of pointers to other authors and books about alternative history. The bibliography alone is worth the price of the book. The books by Schwaller de Lubicz look interesting for me. These get into philosophy, metaphysics, and spirituality.

Not that there's any shortage of crackpot theories in the new age movement either. Some people think they have found the fossils of human footprints next to dinosaur footprints, the planet Venus was created when a large piece of Jupiter broke off, and pulsars were created by advanced races to warn other planets of the approaching 'galactic wave'. They also think they see rock formations on Mars and the moon which are not natural but rather were created by someone.

But each chapter is short so if you don't believe in or like a particular topic you can just read about it anyway and go to the next chapter.

There have been some truly tragic desecrations and destructions of knowledge throughout the troubled history of our world. The removal of the surfaces of the pyramids at Giza by the Muslims so they could use the limestone is probably at the top of the list. The burning of the library at Alexandria is another. The cure for every disease known to man was probably hidden in those books and scrolls somewhere. Let's not forget the burning of the Mayan's priceless codex booklets by the Spanish.

See below for some of my book recommendations about new age topics. Although what we call the impending 'new age' will really be the resurrection of ancient knowledge I guess.

Jeff Marzano

Origins
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See Cayce's explanation of why the pyramids at Giza were created. He stated that he himself as the priest Ra Ta together with Thoth and Horus created the Great Pyramid over a period of 100 years. Cayce was the reincarnation of the Egyptian god Osiris I believe.

Edgar cayce's story of the origin and destiny of man

Space Gods
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Information provided by beings from a planet called Iarga which is 14 light years from earth. Talks about their planet, Jesus Christ, Satan, the anti Christ, etc.:

Ufo...Contact from Planet Iarga

This is a very important book for the impending new age:

The Mystery of the Crystal Skulls: Unlocking the Secrets of the Past, Present, and Future

Atlantis
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Edgar Cayce's Atlantis

Frank Joseph's research into the Edgar Cayce psychic material:

Edgar Cayce's Atlantis and Lemuria: The Lost Civilizations in the Light of Modern Discoveries

Pyramids
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Christopher Dunn's groundbreaking discovery. Probably the greatest new age book of all time:

The Giza Power Plant : Technologies of Ancient Egypt

Life In Very Ancient Egypt
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Elizabeth Haich and Earlyne Chaney were somehow able to remember past lives in very ancient Egypt. They talk about how Atlantis was destroyed by the evil sorcerers, what the Ark Of The Covenant was, the mystical meanings of geometric shapes and numbers, and the mysterious initiation process which supposedly Moses, Plato, Pythagoras, and Jesus Christ also went through:

Initiation

Initiation in the Great Pyramid (Astara's Library of Mystical Classics)

Edgar Cayce's Egypt: Psychic Revelations on the Most Fascinating Civilization Ever Known by Edgar Cayce and A R E Press (Jul 2004)

Alchemy
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The Great Pyramid may have been an alchemical power plant.

Fulcanelli: Master Alchemist: Le Mystere des Cathedrales, Esoteric Intrepretation of the Hermetic Symbols of The Great Work (Le Mystere Des Cathedrales ... of the Hermetic Symbols of Great Work)

The Philosopher's Stone: Alchemy and the Secret Research for Exotic Matter

Once I started reading this book, I could hardly put it down. I really enjoyed the wide range of alternative historical topics from several different authors/researchers. I would highly reccomend this book to anyone be they serious researcher or just someone who is curious.

This is a fantastic book but I would expect no less from the contributers of Atlantis Rising magazine which is breathlessly awaited at my house every other month!

This book pretty much skims the whole ball of wax for the alternative science/history buff and there are a multitude of thought provoking ideas even into the last mentioned which were written by Paramahansa Yogananda.

Surely the kitchen witch jests when she expected to read mainstream ideas in this book. Lordy, there's a gazillion of those out there. And newcomers certainly need to know that the orthodox scientists and historians are completely out of their elements critisizing this genre of alternatively viewed ideas; especially so when many are so over educated in one narrow field it is totally impossible for them to see the whole picture as we do, as do those of us broader minded such as myself! And don't believe a word the witch says when she talks about anti/pro Darwinism or Cristianity. The book does not even address these philosophies nor attempt to discount/promote either theory. The witch should have stayed in the kitchen, maybe even barefoot and pregnant! There are ceratinly no pregnant ideas in her so called review!

This is an excellent book and to follow up I suggest reading any or all of the books by the many authors of the book's chapters or by the authors in the suggested follow up reading for the individual chapters. Or even subscribe to Atlantis Rising. If you're wanting enlightenment, you won't be sorry; you'll even develop a hunger for more, more, more!

Forty-two essays chosen from the bimonthly journal Atlantis Rising offer positions from key philosophers, spiritualists, scientists and more on alternative history and ancient mysteries. Material gathered for the presentations support challenges to both Darwinism and Creationism, building on the works of various authors to present the latest theories about Atlantis, the pyramids, extraterrestrial influences, and more. The best articles contrast theories of others in their fields and provide thought-provoking discussions of new age ideas. An intriguing survey.

Forbidden History edited by J. Douglas Kenyon feels very much like a bunch of people tooting their own horns. Not that some of it wasn't interesting - the questions they ask about prehistory, the origins of civilization and the technologies of the past need to be answered. Yet when whole chapters deal with such subjects as Darwin's missing link between apes and men (which is a creation, a myth, of the media and has nothing to do with Darwinism), aliens breeding with mankind and the lost city of Atlantis (or cities as everybody seems to think it is somewhere else) it is hard to take seriously. One chapter says there is proof that there was no ice age but there really were floods when another chapter uses the ice age as part of their arguments. In other words they embrace facts that help them and dismiss facts that don't - just what they say the other mainstream scientists are doing.
Also some of what they say just sounds wrong or slightly off, like there was no proofreading. Example, a quote from page 9, from the chapter Darwin's Demise:

We have all learned that fish changed into amphibians, amphibians became reptiles, reptiles evolved into birds and birds changed into animals.

I guess birds were a form of rock before they became animals, eh? I will point out again, that many of the subjects they bring up are interesting and they do point out flaws in many of the theories dealing with the pyramids, prehistoric man and past civilizations. But the theories they hold up as replacements need to be polished and worked on more. Or, as with the old theories that don't fit, tossed out.