Customer Reviews

Sacred Symbols of the Dogon: The Key to Advanced Science in the Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphs

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

 

 

I have to admit that the string theory is a bit over my head, but Laird Scranton made some excellent observations in this book. I have studied Egyptology and ancient languages for many years, and he put forth explantions for the hieroglyphs I had never even considered, and they have great merit. Based upon Mr. Scranton's reasoning and use of hieroglyphs, I have been prodded to study other words (like about obelisks) to see what deeper meanings they might possibly have, and I haven't been disappointed.
Semitic languages are fascinating, and Egyptian writing is even more so, because of the determinatives used at the ends of the words. This book has opened up a whole new avenue of research for me, and I want to thank Mr. Laird for his contribution to the study of science, language, and ancient history.

In THE SCIENCE OF THE DOGON Scranton demonstrated the cosmological structure described in the myths of the Dogon parallels modern science, with illustrations often representing scientific diagrams of today. SACRED SYMBOLS OF THE DOGON continues the exploration for collections interested in early spirituality or Egyptian hieroglyphic language: here the Dogon symbols are revealed in a discussion of ancient Egyptian languages and scientific parallels sure to interest any New Age collection interested in scientific foundations of early Egyptian history.

Sacred Symbols of the Dogon is essentially an extension of Scranton's previous book "The Science of the Dogon" where the author attempted to show parallels between Dogon mythology/cosmology, and modern theories of the nature of matter and the universe (quantum mechanics, general relativity, string theory). In Sacred Symbols of the Dogon, Scranton looks for similar parallels in the language and symbology of Egyptian hieroglyphs. Readers who lack a familiarity with any of these areas of study may find this book difficult in more than one way. That there are similarities between the languages and symbols of the Dogon and Egyptian's is both interesting, and not really surprising. That they also embody modern concepts of string theory is less convincing. Other concerns with this book:
1. According to Scranton, the primary purpose of the book is to focus on the "prima facie" similarities in Dogon and Egyptian symbols and their root meanings. Scranton does not investigate as to whether there is any historical link between the Dogon and Egyptian cultures and what importance this may have for his findings.
2. Scranton relies almost entirely on Wallis Budge's "Egyptian Hieroglyphic Dictionary" for his interpretations, even though Budge's work is considered outdated by modern Egyptologists.
3. Budge's dictionary often shows mutliple meanings for a single hieroglyph or Egyptian word. Scranton is not bothered by this, and attempts to show that all the various meanings are related.
4. Scranton also relies exclusively on the work of Marcel Griaule and Germaine Dieterlen for his knowledge of the Dogon. According to Griaule/Dieterlen, the Dogon cosmological view has always been a closely guarded secret knowledge held only by the Dogon priest class. Modern Dogon researchers have been unable to confirm this fact.
5. Scranton wants to suggest that the Dogon/Egyptians had an "a priori" knowledge of modern science but never attempts to investigate where they got this knowledge, what they did with it, or how it benefited them. It does not occur to Scranton that modern science may in fact be a product of ancient mythologies and religious beliefs. Take the "Big Bang" and "Black Hole" theories for example.
6. Scranton claims that the Dogon/Egyptian symbols provide evidence that both were aware of string theory. This claim is simply hard to believe for reasons too numerous to go into here. In short, string theory is a relatively new theory that is still a work in progress, and has little support from mainstream scientists. It is a theory based on a magic-like vibrating string that doesnt even exist in our 3D space-time continuum. Consequently, it cannot be proved or verified in practice. Why would the ancient Dogon/Egyptians possess such a theoretical/magical theory that modern science cant even prove?

There is no doubt that the author is seeing some things way beyond the standard archeology community. The problem is that his writing style is very droll. He could also get his message across using about half the number of words. He frequently repeats his themes and suppositions many times.

In this book he is partly hiding behind Egyptian Hieroglyphic Dictionary, Part 2 as a major part of his justification behind his associations between Dogon and Egyptian words. He also, repeatedly, refers to his just previous book The Science of the Dogon: Decoding the African Mystery Tradition. You end up with the feeling, that not only is the current book not so interesting, but that it should have been included as a couple of chapters in the previous. Readers curious about new thinking about ancient Egypt will be more fulfilled sticking to John Anthony West and Christopher Dunn.

Realizing I may seem harsh with one star, my explanation is as follows:
1. The Dogon have had contact with the Egyptians in antiquity, this is highly likely.
2. The Dogon are not a 'pure culture'... this is an anthropological given.
3. To bring the 'mystery' teachings of the Dogon to the level of understanding 'string theory'... is irreconcilable.
4. The Dogon have a piece of the ancient puzzle, and may have had contact with ancient Hebrews as well, or an expeditionary force of some ancient culture as the Assyrians, Lybians or Phoenecians... who knows how many cultures?
4a. What did that interaction add to their 'mysteries'.
Beside symbolic notes... what do they have for written language?
However with all this noted, I cannot personally accept this study by Mr. Scranton as fact. Like all discovery - who else discovered it? Or who else input information to the scheme?
Reconcile the stretch between so many cognates - show the interlink between the cultures that can yield like information in the Egyptian culture, that is the answer.
There may be more links than we know, or that are known beyond this study by Mr. Scranton. Do they show any link?
However sadly, I don't think Mr. Scranton has done that (make solid links) with this book.
In truth, String theory is not a solid concept. It doesn't satisfy the questions of strangeness, quantum theory or reconcile 'how' all these little Calabi-Yau configurations come to be or what purpose each configuration provides. Brian Greene is not very convincing to me... It is just a good excercise in number theory nothing more... The Multiverse theory is something that should be investigated, I think, in relation to the Dogon.
My biggest question is simply: If the Dogon understand all this 'wisdom'... why haven't they shared it before? Or why haven't previous people related their teachings as being important to our modern day?
My second biggest question is "what is the origin of the Dogon people?"... from whence did they spring?
I do understand a bit about the Egyptian culture and times that may have been when there could have been such contact. And that would bring into question a number of 'cognates' we see illustrated in this book. I do not find any true link to anything... Seneb is NOT the name of the image of the Jackal god, it is Anubis... and he is the god of the gates to the netherworld.

I have not yet read the entire book, but did receive it and am eager to get to it, as soon as it is returned (I loaned it immediately to a friend :)

I expect that many in my 'circle' will enjoy and gain from the information.