ANTONIO, Jazmine C.

BS Biology 4-2 MB
ANCIENT APOCALYPSE
Introduction
Human history and pre-history are replete with cataclysmic events which wiped
out entire civilizations, including plants and animals extant during those times. Our
literature and religion narrated a great flood which decimated a significant portion of
humanity as well as the coexisting wildlife. Our collective consciousness, welling up
within us, described in detail what happened to those ancient civilizations which were
inundated by a massive volume of water. Nothing was left behind but masses of huge
rocks, obviously man-made, as evidence that a technology more advance than anything
we ever created existed before. The story of Noah in the Bible and the Legend of
Atlantis may not be pure fiction but true events of people and places existing during the
latest global- scale disaster.
But what causes those cataclysmic events to happen? Studies of sedimentary
rocks by geologists described several extinction events that wiped out entire biomes as
shown by evidence embedded in sedimentary rocks. The latest extinction event during
the end Cretaceous Period wiped out the population of giant reptiles giving way to the
rise and development of mammals. The mini- extinction event caused by the advance
and retreat of glaciers, our ice age, happens every 20 000 years and right now we are
at the mid portion of the cycle for the tail end of the last Ice Age happened 10 000 years
ago. If an Ice Age event will again recur only the fittest plants and animals will survive
and adapt to the deep freeze environment.
Graham Hancock’s investigation of evidence from different places around the
world has one common theme- advance civilizations previously existed, which were
wiped out by a great flood. Since written records were non- existent or destroyed during
those times, only the oral traditions of the human survivors narrating a great flood
served as evidence, in addition to the remnants of structures, obviously man-made,
which were not wiped out by the flood.

Episode 1: Indonesia- Gunung Padang

Gunung Padang is located on top of a hill in the islands of Java. The top of the
hill was strewn with thousands of volcanic rocks, transported from far-away places.
There is an obvious man-made construction of walls and buildings spanning an area of
67 acres. Research by Indonesian Geologist and Archeologist discovered 3
underground chambers underneath the stone rubble. Dating of the site’s underground
chambers yielded an astonishing age of 22 000 years, at the beginning of the last Ice
Age.
Episode 2: Mexico- Great Pyramid of Cholula
Just as in Gunung Padang, the Great Pyramid of Cholula was the exterior of 2
older pyramids built by the technology of an advanced civilization using the materials
and labor of indigenous people. Purportedly built as a place of worship of the Rain God,
the pyramid is honeycombed with miles of passages. Dating of the interior of the
pyramid’s inner chambers revealed an age of more than 10 000 years, the time when a
great flood inundated the Earth. According to ancient legends the architect of the
Pyramid of Cholula as well as other pyramids in Mexico have engineering, architectural,
astronomical, agricultural skills which were handed down to the local populace.

Episode 3: Malta- Ggantija, Sirius Rising

The enormous stone structure of Ggantija is composed of superimposed stone
weighing hundreds of tons. With the primitive technology of the people in the area
around 5900 BC, the lifting of these huge stones on top of one another would be an
impossible task. It required advance engineering skill of a far more advanced race to
accomplish the construction of the huge circular structure. It was designed as a temple
and an astronomical observatory marking the beginning of the spring and autumn
solstice by observing the position of the star Sirius- the Dog Star. Other sites in Malta
were constructed for the same astronomical purpose- the observation of the heavens
and the slow precession of the equinox. There is evidence that Malta before is not an
island and was connected to other European landmasses. Submerged structures
composed of huge stones were clearly roads for the transport of goods. Local legends
also narrated that the ancient technology was handed by a more advance race of
beings. Ggantija is only one of the structures discovered in the island, all made of huge
stones. Again, the story of a great flood which happened thousands of years before was
the subject of local legends.

Episode 4: The Bimini Road- The Legend of Atlantis

The story of Atlantis, an advanced civilization swallowed by the sea, tentatively
dated 10 000 years ago may have physical proof in the examination of submerged
rocks forming a straight line along the sunken coast of Bimini in the Bahamas. Close
examination of the rocks via diving underwater and by means of electronic equipment
proved that the structures were man- made. This is not surprising as 10 000 years ago
the level of sea water rose gradually due to the melting of glaciers- the end of the last
ice age, when most of the land masses connected by land bridges became submerged
by sea water. Here in the Philippines, our archipelago was connected before to
Sundaland comprising Java and Borneo. What ancient chronicles narrated as the great
flood was the rising of sea level due to the melting of Glaciers which covered a great
part of the world 10 000- 20 000 years ago. Although there is no physical proof that the
Bahamas is the location of Atlantis, the fact remains that 10 000 years ago much of the
world was inundated by sea water submerging man-made structures lying in areas near
the sea (The World’s Last Mysteries, 1978).

Episode 5: Ancient Sumeria- Gobekli Tepe/ Karakhan Tepe

Our modern civilization has its roots in the fertile crescent of the middle east, the
area now occupied by modern Iraq. It is said that our knowledge of agriculture,
astronomy, engineering, and Science begun at the area of the fertile crescent when
people abandoned their hunter- gatherer way of life and settled down in communities
where they tilled the rich, alluvial soil of the land. From these agricultural beginnings
mankind evolved by stages to an ever more advance way of life which culminated in our
current state of technological sophistication.
But there is a puzzling anomaly in this pretty picture of the rise and evolution of
human civilization. Huge, megalithic structures were discovered in modern Turkey, the
original site of ancient Sumeria, which could not be built by the hunter- gatherer skills of
the local people 10 000 years ago. How were the huge stones of Gobekli Tepe and
Karakhan Tepe raised, weighing hundreds of tons each, to a massive structure and for
what purpose? According to local legends an advance race of beings came at the
closing stage of the Ice Age and taught the local people agriculture, astronomy,
engineering, and other skills. Beings whose knowledge of astronomy were reflected in
the positioning of the windows at Gobekli Tepe and Karakhan Tepe. The carvings on
stone features at the 2 sites are representations of constellations on the heavens where
they came from, in the area occupied by the constellation Taurus, the bull (Arnold,
2020).
Of all the sites visited by Graham Hancock, Ancient Sumeria is the most
interesting. Just as in other sites the story of an ancient flood, the coming of giant
beings who helped the local people rise from the damage wrought by the great floods,
the erection of huge monuments as memorial to their arrival, have become a familiar
theme and has endured up to this day (Mark, 2019).

Episode 6: America’s Lost Civilization

 The arrival of human immigrants to the American continent is said to be relatively
recent. At the height of the most recent Ice Age ancient human races coming from the
European land mass cross the Bering strait via land bridges connecting Europe and
Northern America. The immigrants followed the route of migrant animals, seeking a
more favorable environment to settle down. These settlers spread not only in North
America but also in Southeast Asia, Indonesia, and the Australian land mass via land
bridges which connected mainland Asia to the land mass far south.
The discovered ancient ceremonial site at Poverty Point in northeast Louisiana is
situated atop a hill and presumably dedicated to the arrival of the spring and autumn
solstice. It is therefore an astronomical site. Diggings around the site revealed an
amphitheater shaped area surrounding Poverty Point. The welcoming of the spring and
autumn solstice was attended obviously by a large crowd.
The Serpent mound in Ohio is again an astronomical site functioning as an
indicator of the spring and autumn solstice. Other than this function the Serpent mound
may have other uses as its gigantic size may serve as an indicator of position by space
travelers when seen from above which may be identical to the function of the NAZCA
figures in Peru (the World’s Last Mysteries, Readers Digest).
The estimated age of both sites was found to be 12 800 years, at the height of
the most recent Ice Age. As the construction of the site followed precise astronomical
points it can only be done by a race with advanced skills in surveying and astronomy.
Historical records revealed that American Indians are late arrivals to the North
American continent. The builders of Poverty Point amphitheater and Serpent mound left
no physical evidence of their existence, only the physical structures they built remained
to testify to their advance level of technology.

Episode 7: Cappadocia and Derinkuyu

At the central region of Turkey lies Cappadocia, an area discovered to be riddled
with underground dwelling places connected to each other by underground tunnels and
nourished by an underground river at a depth of 85 meters. The site of Derinkuyu is
estimated to hold 30 000 souls at any one time. Derinkuyu sits on top of a hill, one side
of which was exposed to the atmosphere to allow ventilation of the inner chambers.
Derinkuya looks like a beehive with numerous chambers.
The official explanation of the underground existence of the people in the area
was protection from the invading Assyrian army. But dating of the site revealed an age
of more than 12 800 years, long before the rise of the Assyrian hordes. During the
height of the Ice Age, Turkey was covered with a sheet of Ice a mile thick. The more
reasonable explanation for the underground dwelling is protection from the deep freeze
for the ground is an effective insulator of both heat and cold. Just who constructed those
underground chambers is a mystery for 12 000 years ago humans are not yet
sophisticated enough to build underground chambers which demanded a high level of
engineering expertise. There are no remnants of the ancient builders left behind.

Episode 8: Cataclysm and Rebirth

The scablands in the Northeastern United States is a monument to the scale of
devastation wrought by the onrushing flood of melted glaciers which gouged a deep
scar on the landscape. This massive scale of destruction not only happened in the
United States but all over the world, particularly in areas covered by ice glacier. In
another area in the USA, Murray Springs, analysis of sedimentary rocks revealed that
the devastation happened 12 800 years ago, during the Ice Age.
What caused the sudden melting of the glacier ice? Numerous areas in the US
and Europe have the same crystalline layers in sedimentary rocks, sedimentary deposit
with the same chemical composition which can only be caused by the impact of a
meteor shower or a comet fragment. That violent collision with the Earth produced a
vast cloud of particles rising to the stratosphere and around the earth which
accumulated heat because the sun’s rays and heat were trapped by the cloud layer.
The heating up of the atmosphere and the Earth melted the glacier ice and global- scale
flood ensued which inundated low-lying areas. Stone records at Gobekli Tepe starkly
portrayed the origin of the meteor swarm, an area of the heavens around the
constellation of Scorpio.
Survivors of the cataclysm had recounted the event in their oral tradition and
sagas and how they were assisted by an advance race of beings coming from the sea.
The Bible recounted the story of Noah who survived the great flood together with his
family and numerous animals and plants. Many other cultures around the world have
similar tales of catastrophe and survival, a collective narration of an apocalyptic event
from our dim past. 12 800 years ago.

Postscript
The Earth’s history has been a chain of cataclysmic events which continuously
shaped the evolution of plants and animals, including primates from which humans
descended. Since the birth of the Earth 4.5 billion years ago five major extinction events
occurred (Benton, 1995) during the late Ordovian, late Devonian, late Permian, late
Triassic, and end- Cretaceous. These extinction events decimated a major portion of
plant and animal life. The latest extinction event in the end- Cretaceous period, 50
million years ago, wiped out the great reptilian inhabitants thus paving the way for the
evolution of mammals and eventually the rise of mankind.
Evidence culled from sedimentary rocks pointed to the impact of a huge heavenly
body, either a meteorite or a comet, that precipitated the extinction event. Other
potential causes were volcanic eruptions and forest fires, each capable of enveloping
the Earth with a layer of dust particles, causing global warming and a change in weather
conditions.The gigantic explosion of Santorini Volcano in the island of Thera in1500 BC,
the eruption of Krakatoa in the island of Java in the 19 th century, even the 1991 eruption
of Mt. Pinatubo here in the Philippines, served as reminders that catastrophic earth
movements can unleash a massive amount of ash and dust which can affect global
weather conditions significantly. The ash and dust particles eventually settled down on
earth which formed a layer of sedimentary deposits.
The cause of the periodic Ice Age which apparently occurs every 20 000 years is
due to the Earth’s slow wobbling rotation around the sun every 20 000 years. The
precession of the Equinox- an astronomical phenomenon known to ancient astronomers
causing the shifting of the north and south poles to a different region of the sky. This
shifting of the poles has an enormous effect on the land masses of which the formation
of the ice glaciers is the most obvious. The Earth, however, will return to its former
position thousands of years later with the consequent recession of the glaciers, unless
an astronomical event such as the collision with a meteorite, hastens the return to the
Earth’s former position.
An intriguing aspect of Graham Hancock’s presentation is the ubiquitous
presence of a technologically- advance race who assisted the indigenous people to
recover from the disaster. They taught the local people agriculture, astronomy,
engineering, as well as civilized skills. Sumerian accounts carved in stone in the Saga
of Gilgamesh are full of the assistance of these beings and their debt of gratitude to
them. This could account for the mystery of how a hunter-gatherer group of people were
able to build huge megalithic structures which not even the current world could match.
This is the essence of Graham Hancock’s tantalizing arguments in his presentation (The
World’s Last Mysteries, 1978).
The megalithic structures of the past, from a different perspective, serves as a
message to the future civilization of Earth that benevolent alien races once visited us
and assisted in the rebuilding of our civilization.
The evolution of plants and animals on earth is shaped by environmental forces
to which extant life has no control. Humans might have been non-existent if the last
great extinction event during the End-Cretaceous period had not happened for the
extinction of the great reptilian line paved the way for the evolution of mammals and
ultimately the rise of mankind. Even the periodic ice ages could have a significant
impact on the evolution of extant plant, animal, and microbial life.
The lesson that we could gain from these 8 episodes is that we are still
vulnerable to celestial events and meteoritic impacts for in the future we can expect
another Ice Age or an extinction event to happen. Armed with this knowledge and
lessons of past events we should be better prepared to cope for the sake of the survival
of our descendants. If we would not utilize the lessons of past cataclysms, then the
human line would perish and go the way of dinosaur extinction. Humankind would then
be replaced by another species of sentient beings better adapted to living conditions in
the post-apocalypse world.

References:
Arnold, M. (2020). Ancient Sumer & The Sumerian Civilization: Here’s What We Know.
Retrieved from: https://www.thecollector.com/ancient-sumer-civilization/
Benton, J. (1995). Diversification and Extinction in the History of Life. Science, p. 268,
52-58
Mark, J. J. (2019, October 09). Sumerians. World History Encyclopedia. Retrieved from
https://www.worldhistory.org/Sumerians/
The World’s Last Mysteries. (1978). Reader’s Digest. Pleasantville, NY.