The Ancient Alien Question (31 page)

He also believed that of all ancient accounts, the story of Oannes was the best evidence for the possibility that an alien had interacted with our ancestors, presenting a gift—the gift of civilization—which would enable major cultural change for those who received Oannes’ information.

Babylonia was not the only culture that credited a nonhuman intelligence with the gift of civilization; in fact, most civilizations on all continents relate that their dawn of civilization came about through contact with mythical creatures—sometimes human, sometimes less so, as in the case of Oannes. In Egypt, author R.T. Rundle Clark noted a wall painting in the tomb of Ramses IV as depicting Osiris with seven fish-like genii, beings from the “Abyss of the waters.” In the case of the Inca, we know their civilizing deity was the god Viracocha, and though we have so far not identified how he came about, we do know he appeared around Lake Titicaca and went down the Sacred Valley, bringing civilization to the people. In Ancient Egypt, wisdom was linked with the god Thoth, the scribe of the Gods, who was said to have been physically present—as were the other gods—in Egypt, many millennia ago.

Civilization, in short, was a gift from an unknown group of beings, all of whom were labeled “gods,” who seemed to have a clear mission: to visit the various continents and emerging cultures of the world and educate them, not just with the basic means of making fire and basic commands like “Do not kill,” but also with detailed information having to do with geometry, mathematics, astronomy, and the like. Indeed, this “central command” as the source of all knowledge might explain why, across the world, all ancient civilizations divided the sky in the same
constellations—a remarkable feat, seeing as our ancestors had thousands of stars to pick from!

Going back to Christianity, Byzantine Chronicler George Syncellus specifically linked the “Seven Sages” with the Egregori, or Watchers, “who had descended to earth in the cosmic year 1000, held converse with men, and taught them that the orbits of the two luminaries, being marked by the twelve signs of the Zodiac, are composed of 360 parts.”
¹⁰
In short, the Watchers had taught astronomy. And the Watchers, of course, were those beings who somehow had fallen from the sky to mate with women....

Atomic Warfare in India

Another candidate for best evidence is the conquest of the atom—nuclear warfare, which, according to Zecharia Sitchin, is precisely what occurred in the Middle East in the third millennium
BC
. In support of this conclusion, Sitchin consistently pointed to photographs of the Sinai Peninsula, taken from space. They purportedly showed an immense cavity and crack in the peninsula’s surface, revealing where a nuclear explosion had taken place. He explained that the area was strewn with crushed, burnt, and blackened rocks, which contained a highly unusual ratio of the isotope uranium-235, “indicating in expert opinions exposure to sudden immense heat of nuclear origin,” to quote Sitchin.
¹¹
Alas, he provided no further details as to who these experts were, or where they had expressed such opinions, thus weakening his case despite what would otherwise be very good evidence.

In recent publications, Sitchin has also argued that the article “Climate Change and the Collapse of the Akkadian Empire: Evidence from the Deep Sea,” which was published in the April 2000 issue of
Geology
, is confirmation of his claim. The essay argues that an unusual climate change occurred in the areas adjoining the Dead Sea, which gave rise to dust storms, and that the dust—an unusual “atmospheric mineral dust”—was carried by the prevailing winds over the Persian Gulf. According to Sitchin, this was due to an “uncommon dramatic event that occurred near 4,025 years before the present,” or about 2025
BC
.
¹²
He added that the water level of the Dead Sea fell abruptly by 100 meters at the time, further indicating that something truly catastrophic did happen.

Alas, consultation of the article itself reveals that Sitchin has been more than selective in his summary of it. Though the article states a catastrophe did occur, it also clearly reveals that the likely cause of this climate change was a volcanic eruption—not a nuclear explosion. The article is unable to identify which volcano was responsible for this sudden climate shift, but clearly correlates the presence of volcanic ash with the ensuing disasters. And volcanic ash is very distinct from nuclear fallout. In short, the quoted report is not evidence of a nuclear explosion at all; it is evidence of a so-far unidentified volcanic eruption. As there are specific references to volcanic ash in the abstract and summary of the report, the question should once again be asked why Sitchin failed to see or report this.

Despite decades of searching, Sitchin seems to have been unable to find supporting evidence that the Sinai Peninsula is indeed strewn with nuclear debris. This does not invalidate his theory as such, but has stopped him—and the Ancient Alien cause in general—to advance. Indeed, his often-maligned unscientific methodology of writing has been seen by some as hindering, more than advancing, that cause.

Another possible site of a long-ago nuclear explosion is the Indus River Valley, where towns such as Harappa and Mohenjo Daro flourished. Some believe that these ancient cities might have been irradiated by an atomic blast. If true, it would be
impossible to ignore the conclusion that some ancient civilizations possessed high technology.

All work in Harappa and Mohenjo Daro in recent years—and so many other sites across the world—has been about preservation, not exploration. This scientific attitude makes it very hard to find new information to settle
any
controversy, let alone the Ancient Alien Question. We do know that a layer of radioactive ash was found in Rajasthan, India, after a very high rate of birth defects and that cancer was discovered in that area. It covered a 3-square-mile area, 10 miles west of Jodhpur. The levels of radiation registered so high on investigators’ gauges that the Indian government cordoned off the region. Scientists then apparently unearthed an ancient city where they found evidence of an atomic blast dating back thousands of years: from 8,000 to 12,000 years ago. The blast was said to have destroyed most of the buildings and probably a half-million people. So far, this story seems to have all the necessary credentials—but can it be proven?

Archaeologist Francis Taylor stated that etchings he translated in some nearby temples suggested that the local population prayed to be spared from the great light that was coming to lay ruin to the city. “It’s so mind-boggling to imagine that some civilization had nuclear technology before we did. The radioactive ash adds credibility to the ancient Indian records that describe atomic warfare.”
¹³

Another curious sign of ancient nuclear war in India is a giant crater near Mumbai (formerly Bombay). The nearly circular Lonar crater has a diameter of 7,064 feet, is located 250 miles northeast of Mumbai, and is dated at around 50,000 years old. No trace of any meteoric material or the like has been found at the site or in its vicinity, and this is the world’s only known “impact” crater in basalt. Indications of great shock (from pressure exceeding 600,000 atmospheres) and intense, abrupt heat (indicated by basalt glass spherules) can be ascertained from the site.

Whereas the story of the Mahabharata is indirect evidence, the archaeological and geological discoveries in India pose serious problems for those trying to deny the possibility of ancient atomic warfare. What makes it all the more remarkable is that these indications were found in a corner of the earth where accounts say that just such horrible warfare had occurred! Indeed, when confronted with these findings, one skeptic stated, “I am sick and tired of hearing this [the possibility of an atomic explosion in India], and I cannot find any debunks of this either. [Is there] anyone who can debunk this, or is this really true?”
¹⁴
That is indeed the question—and it is an important one. The stakes are high, as one would expect when facing the best evidence for the Ancient Alien Question.

Let us further examine this best evidence in India. The first question is whether the named archaeologist Francis Taylor existed. Alas, no one has ever been able to identify him. There was a Francis Taylor, an American museum director, who died in 1957; he was, however, not an archaeologist. There is also a “Franciscio Taylor,” but he is not the quoted Francis Taylor either.

Not a good start. Skeptics have also wondered whether this ancient atomic warfare theory is meant to deflect attention away from a serious issue: modern atomic contamination. In 1998, it was reported that some Indian power stations had major problems, including an incident in which 2,000 workers became exposed to excess radiation, 300 of whom had to be hospitalized. Surendra Gadekar investigated the conditions of the villagers at Rawatbhatta in Rajasthan and confirmed that there were indeed gross radiation-related deformities. Rawatbhatta is in the same region as the “ancient warfare” site. Gadekar did not find evidence of ancient warfare, but he did find evidence of modern negligence: Wood that had been used in the power plant had then somehow made its way into the local community, where it was subsequently used as wood for fires. This in itself was a
minor incident, but could there have been more serious incidents, whereby a decision was made to create an “ancient enigma” to cover up a modern disaster? This is a possibility, but there is no evidence to back up this conclusion at present.

Regrettably, no newspapers carried the story of the discovery of radioactive material in Rajasthan. The Indian archaeological authorities are not aware of it. And as there is a government laboratory in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, the question is whether something might have gone wrong there. With these objections, the case has become more controversial than straightforward. Still, it is clear that the counterarguments have not demolished the potential of this evidence.

Until the subject is seriously tackled, the bodies of Harappa and Mohenjo Daro remain a mystery. Whether or not the Indian radioactive site turns out to be modern or ancient, it is, at least, an uncontested fact that the site was radioactive. The anomalous crater adds power to the ancient-nuclear-warfare possibility, as does other circumstantial evidence, such as the Mahabharata. Finally, the fact that all these enigmas are within the same general region (as opposed to scattered across the world) adds even further weight to the case.

The Chief Fetish

Mitchell-Hedges never came across extraterrestrial beings, but he did come upon what experts told him was a unique human being—which looks just as strange as an alien being. This bizarre “mummy” is the so-called Chief Fetish of a tribe known as the Chucunaque, which Mitchell-Hedges and his frequent travel companion, Lady Brown, discovered in Panama. When the two arrived among the Chucunaque, the tribe decided to kill the white intruders, as it was a tribal custom that death should be dispensed to anyone violating their territory.

Mitchell-Hedges’s intelligence and knowledge was put to the test when he realized that the best way to deal with this lethal danger was to pretend he and his companion were gods. To that end they put on a spectacle: He had brought some flares and Lady Richmond Brown’s Queen of Sheba costume, resulting in a performance that convinced the Chucunaque that Mitchell-Hedges and Lady Richmond Brown were indeed gods sent to cure their ills!

The Chief Fetish appears to be a human male fetus, given to Mitchell-Hedges by a native tribe in Panama. But expert analysis revealed the formation of the skull to be a true anomaly, involving the eyelashes, the bones, and more. It currently resides in the British Museum, and no research has been done at all toward exploring the mysteries of this object.

During their subsequent stay with the tribe, a huge number of fascinating exhibits were collected. Among these was the Chief Fetish of the Chucunaque tribe, used to treat males on the point of death. The artifact itself was assumed to be a male human fetus preserved by an unknown means. But when Professor Arthur Keith, FRS, regarded by Mitchell-Hedges as one of the greatest anthropologists of his day, examined the fetish, he declared it had a skull formation “hitherto entirely unknown.”
¹⁵
The unique specimen was presented to the British Museum
along with hundreds of others—and nothing else has since ever come of it; this anomaly has never been explained.

To quote from Mitchell-Hedges’s
Danger My Ally
: