BY TIM CALLAHAN
Few topics in science evoke more wonder than the idea that there was once a great prehistoric civilization now lost to history, whose scant remnants are presented in breathtaking revelations by independent scholars insightful and brave enough to think outside the box of mainstream archaeology. Most prominent among those who promote this view is Graham Hancock, author of The Message of the Sphinx, The Mars Mystery, Underworld: The Mysterious Origins of Civilization, The Divine Spark, Sign and the Seal: The Quest for the Lost Ark of the Covenant, Fingerprints of the Gods, and now,Magicians of the Gods. This latest work, at over 400 pages, expands upon his earlier books, all of which are oriented around his belief that a worldwide civilization existed more than 20,000 years before present (BP).
What happened to this advanced culture? It was wiped out by a planet-wide cataclysm that Hancock now suggests was triggered by a comet strike on the Earth, as evidenced by many geological features he thinks have no better explanation than a massive flood caused by the comet impact that erased nearly all traces of this advanced civilization. This initiated the Younger Dryas period of intense cold, ca.12,900- 11,700 BP, followed by a disrupting period of gradual warming at the end of the last glacial maximum from 27,000-24,000 BP when, presumably, this ancient advanced civilization flourished. The Younger Dryas was followed by extensive flooding of the continental shelf land areas previously exposed due to falling sea levels during the glaciations. The flooding was caused by rapid warming of the entire planet at the end of the Younger Dryas.