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Title: Maps of the Ancient Sea Kings: Evidence of Advanced Civilization in the Ice Age by Charles H. Hapgood ISBN: 0-932813-42-9 Publisher: Adventures Unlimited Press Pub. Date: 01 January, 1997 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.91 (23 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Fascinating, rigorous analysis.
Comment: I recently read the book "Maps of the ancient sea kings" by Charles H. Hapgood. The book provides a rigorous analysis of a number of maps that appear to be copies and compilations of far more ancient maps detailing the coasts of North and South America, Antartica, India, possibly Australia and other coastlines that are currently thought not to have been "discovered" until only comparatively recently. The ancient maps appear to have used a projection system that was not "invented" until recent times and some of the maps seem to indicate a remarkably accurate estimate of the circumfrence of the earth. Interestingly, the ancient maps, according to the author, appear to have been drawn at a time when the level of the oceans was lower and the distibution of glaciers was different, thus detailing islands (e.g., in the Aegean Sea) that are currently submerged. The author's conclusion is that the ancient maps were created by a highly organized and advanced culture predating currently known cultures of the ancient world. I found the author's analysis of the maps to be rigorous and convincing although some of the assumptions are questionable. The author wisely keeps speculation to a refreashing minimum (as compared to other books on related topics) and bases conclusion on the facts at hand. I recommend this book to anyone interested in the topic.
Rating: 3
Summary: Some good and some bad
Comment: All too often, people who write about alternate theories about history advance fanciful theories, and use any evidence, no matter how flimsy, to support their beliefs. Hapgood flirts with this, but does not go as far as some.
How he flirts with this is glossing over the inaccuracies in maps that support his views. However, even in doing this, he does show some interesting maps - accurate maps of the African coast before Europeans explored them, maps showing Antarctica before it's "discovery", maps of the Mediterranean that show a greater degree of map-making skill than what was available to Europeans at the time.
He does convince me that somebody in ancient times had good map-making skills, but on other points, he does not convince. He does not show the Chinese maps could not have been made by them. I have seen some very good debunking of the accuracy of the Antarctic maps.
Several of the maps show a lower water level leading to his theory the maps were made in the Ice Age. But several of the same maps he shows also show higher water levels. It's far easier to believe they were simply inaccurate, than to believe they were spliced together from maps made with two different sea levels.
He raises some good questions, but ultimately does not prove all his ideas. However, the book seems more aimed at showing a lack in our knowledge of the ancient world and their map-making. At this, the book does succeed.
Rating: 4
Summary: Recommended--for the Critical Thinker
Comment: It's hard to find a richly detailed and respectably scholarly work of counter-establishment ancient history. This is one.
Hapgood leaves me behind at the end by lapsing into the discredited 'pole shift' theory (and he plugs his other book on that topic). But the bulk of his book sticks closely to the maps, and Hapgood's scholarly and detailed analysis of them. He argues that maps ranging from Ptolemy's to some made during the Renaissance are actually compilations of far more ancient maps. Much of the evidence is compelling, especially the Renaissance maps of Antarctica, which wasn't officially discovered by Europeans until much much later.
At least in this book, Hapgood's work should not be lumped in with other psuedo-crypto-historians like Graham Hancock. Modern historians would do well to reexamine their beliefs about ancient explorers and their knowledge of world geography. The fact is, the maps passed down to classical civilizations cannot be explained with the established history of human civilizations.
There is a good deal of cartographical science to wade through, but it is not overwhelming for the interested reader. Many of Hapgood's references are to material that is clearly quite outdated by now (the book was published in 1966). One of the least gassy books on lost history for the critical thinker.
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Title: When the Sky Fell: In Search of Atlantis by Rand Flem-Ath, Rose Flem-Ath ISBN: 0312964013 Publisher: St. Martin's Press Pub. Date: 01 December, 1997 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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Title: The Path of the Pole by Charles Hapgood ISBN: 0932813712 Publisher: Adventures Unlimited Press Pub. Date: 01 October, 1999 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
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Title: Technology of the Gods: The Incredible Sciences of the Ancients by David Hatcher Childress ISBN: 0932813739 Publisher: Adventures Unlimited Press Pub. Date: 01 May, 2000 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
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Title: Fingerprints of the Gods by Graham Hancock ISBN: 0517887290 Publisher: Three Rivers Press (CA) Pub. Date: 01 March, 1996 List Price(USD): $18.95 |
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Title: The Message of the Sphinx: A Quest for the Hidden Legacy of Mankind by Graham Hancock, Robert Bauval ISBN: 0517888521 Publisher: Three Rivers Press (CA) Pub. Date: 01 June, 1997 List Price(USD): $17.00 |
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