Semir Osmanagić
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Semir Osmanagić (born June 1, 1960), also known as Sam Osmanagich, is a Bosnian businessman and author. He is best known for promoting his pseudo-archaeological project in central Bosnia (near the town of
Visoko Visoko ( sr-cyrl, Високо, ) is a city located in the Zenica-Doboj Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013, the municipality had a population of 39,938 inhabitants with 11,205 livi ...
) related to the so-called " Bosnian pyramids". Osmanagić claims that a cluster of natural hills in central Bosnia and Herzegovina are the largest human-made ancient
pyramid A pyramid () is a structure whose visible surfaces are triangular in broad outline and converge toward the top, making the appearance roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be of any polygon shape, such as trian ...
s on Earth. He has conducted extensive marketing about the site and promoted tourism there. An enthusiast of pyramids, Osmanagić completed a doctorate in social sciences but does not have a science background in any archaeological field. Professional geologists, archaeologists and other scientists have directly refuted his claims about the central Bosnian hills; they have concluded – after direct analysis of the site, its known history, and excavations – that the hills are common natural formations known as
flatirons The Flatirons are rock formations in the western United States, near Boulder, Colorado, consisting of flatirons. There are five large, numbered Flatirons ranging from north to south (First through Fifth, respectively) along the east slope of ...
with no signs of human construction.The great Bosnian pyramid scheme
by Anthony Harding, ''British Archaeology'', November/December 2006.


Early life and career

Osmanagić was born in
Zenica Zenica ( ; ) is a city in Bosnia and Herzegovina and an administrative and economic center of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina's Zenica-Doboj Canton. It is located in the Bosna (river), Bosna river valley, about north of Sarajevo. The ...
, PR Bosnia and Herzegovina,
Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...
. After graduating from
University of Sarajevo The University of Sarajevo (Bosnian language, Bosnian, Croatian language, Croatian and Serbian language, Serbian: ''Univerzitet u Sarajevu'' / Sveučilište u Sarajevu / Универзитет у Сарајеву) is a List of universities in Bo ...
, he ran an import-export business for seven years. In 1992 as the
Bosnian War The Bosnian War ( / Рат у Босни и Херцеговини) was an international armed conflict that took place in Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. Following several earlier violent incid ...
was breaking out, he emigrated to the United States. He settled in
Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
, Texas, where he found a job as a marketing assistant for a company producing parts for oil and gas wells. He was promoted to manager and minority owner in the firm, holding a five percent stake in 1999. Osmanagić founded the manufacturing company Met Company, Inc. in Houston in 1995, and continues to be its owner and CEO. In 2006, he founded the Bosnian Pyramids of the Sun Foundation, to support excavations and construction of an "archaeological park" at the site. He has served from the beginning as its executive director. He holds a master's degree in international economics and politics. He completed a doctoral degree in social sciences in 2009; both degrees were obtained from the
University of Sarajevo The University of Sarajevo (Bosnian language, Bosnian, Croatian language, Croatian and Serbian language, Serbian: ''Univerzitet u Sarajevu'' / Sveučilište u Sarajevu / Универзитет у Сарајеву) is a List of universities in Bo ...
. In 2009 he became a member of the
Russian Academy of Natural Sciences The Russian Academy of Natural Sciences (Russian language, Russian: Российская академия естественных наук) is a Russian non-governmental organization founded on August 31 1990 in Moscow in the former Soviet Uni ...
which has come under criticism for promoting pseudoscientific theories; a large number of the purported academy's members also had no formal education in
natural sciences Natural science or empirical science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer ...
or any scientific credentials in applicable fields of research.
Опасность лженауки
("Danger of Pseudoscience")
«Существует большое количество невежд и жуликов». Интервью с академиком РАН В. Л. Гинзбургом
/ref> This association should not be confused with the unrelated
Russian Academy of Sciences The Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS; ''Rossíyskaya akadémiya naúk'') consists of the national academy of Russia; a network of scientific research institutes from across the Russian Federation; and additional scientific and social units such ...
, which has reputable standing among the international community of scientists.


Bosnian pyramid claims

In April 2005, Osmanagić was invited to visit Visočica and its fortress ruins. During the visit Osmanagić noticed the pyramidal shape of Visočica hill. He subsequently wrote a book promoting the claim that the hill was the remains of an ancient, man-made
pyramid A pyramid () is a structure whose visible surfaces are triangular in broad outline and converge toward the top, making the appearance roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be of any polygon shape, such as trian ...
, which he claimed was one of five colossal stone structures in the shape of a pyramid with an extensive prehistoric
tunnel network In transport, tunnels can be connected together to form a tunnel network. These can be used in mining to reach ore below ground, in cities for underground rapid transit systems, in sewer systems, in warfare to avoid enemy detection or attacks, ...
. He named those structures "Bosnian pyramids", and established a charitable foundation, the 'Archaeological Park: Bosnian Pyramid of the Sun Foundation', to fund the promotion and investigation of the site. Osmanagić claimed that he wished to excavate in order to "break a cloud of negative energy, allowing the Earth to receive cosmic energy from the centre of the galaxy". In early 2006, geologists from the
University of Tuzla University of Tuzla ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Univerzitet u Tuzli, Универзитет у Тузли) is a public university located in Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The university was founded in 1958. It became a proper university in 1976, and today ...
analyzed core samples at Visočica. Their tests showed that the hill is composed of the same material as other mountains in the area: alternating layers of conglomerate,
clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolinite, ). Most pure clay minerals are white or light-coloured, but natural clays show a variety of colours from impuriti ...
and
sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...
. Excavations revealed layers of fractured conglomerate at Visočica, while those at Pljesevica uncovered cracked sandstone plates, separated by layers of silt and clay. Robert M. Schoch, associate professor of Natural Science at
Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...
, said at the time, "What smanagić hasfound isn't even unusual or spectacular from the geological point of view. It's completely straightforward and mundane." In April 2006, twenty-one historians, geologists and archaeologists signed an open letter describing the excavations as amateurish and lacking proper scientific supervision. The 'Bosnian Pyramid' project is alleged to have done considerable damage to the archaeological heritage of the area, which contains ruins of a medieval capital, Roman observation post, and earlier remains. Anthony Harding, Professor of Archaeology at Exeter University and then-president of the European Association of Archeologists, said that, "Osmanagić is conducting a pseudo-archaeological project that, disgracefully, threatens to destroy parts of Bosnia's real heritage."


Other claims

Osmanagić's theories and credibility have come under near-universal criticism from the scientific community since he gained prominence in marketing the excavations at Visočica. He is interested in pyramids but is an amateur in their study. During this period, he has pursued graduate study at the University of Sarajevo, where his doctoral adviser was Hidajet Repovac, Professor of Sociology at
Faculty of Political Science in Sarajevo The Faculty of Political Sciences in Sarajevo () or FPN is one of the 24 Faculty (division), faculties of the University of Sarajevo. The faculty was formed in 1961 as the former "High School (i.e. Tertiary education, tertiary institution) of Poli ...
. In his 2009 doctoral thesis, Osmanagić claims that the
Maya civilization The Maya civilization () was a Mesoamerican civilization that existed from antiquity to the early modern period. It is known by its ancient temples and glyphs (script). The Maya script is the most sophisticated and highly developed writin ...
of
Mesoamerica Mesoamerica is a historical region and cultural area that begins in the southern part of North America and extends to the Pacific coast of Central America, thus comprising the lands of central and southern Mexico, all of Belize, Guatemala, El S ...
predates the
Olmec The Olmecs () or Olmec were an early known major Mesoamerican civilization, flourishing in the modern-day Mexican states of Veracruz and Tabasco from roughly 1200 to 400 Before the Common Era, BCE during Mesoamerica's Mesoamerican chronolog ...
, and that their culture mysteriously ceased to exist after the 10th century CE. He also discusses in some detail Mayan
crystal skull Crystal skulls are human skull hardstone carvings made of clear, milky white or other types of quartz (also called "rock crystal"), claimed to be pre-Columbian Mesoamerican artifacts by their alleged finders; however, these claims have been refut ...
s, positing that they were created with the use of advanced technology. He discusses the alleged psychological and parapsychological phenomena surrounding them. He suggests that the Maya had contact with the Chinese, giving as an example a jade carving of a jaguar, which he posits is carved from Chinese
nephrite Nephrite is a variety of the calcium, magnesium, and iron-rich amphibole minerals tremolite or actinolite ( aggregates of which also make up one form of asbestos). The chemical formula for nephrite is Ca2( Mg, Fe)5 Si8 O22(O H)2. It is on ...
. Others have identified the material as
jadeite Jadeite is a pyroxene mineral with composition Na Al Si2 O6. It is hard (Mohs hardness of about 6.5 to 7.0), very tough, and dense, with a specific gravity of about 3.4. It is found in a wide range of colors, but is most often found in shades ...
, a material used by the Mayans. As early as 2007, Repovac was part of the Foundation set up by Osmanagić to support excavations on the hills. Repovac also served as one of the co-chairmen of the 2008 International Conference on the (so-called) Bosnian Pyramids. In an article in ''
Archaeology Magazine ''Archaeology'' is a bimonthly magazine for the general public, published by the Archaeological Institute of America. The institute also publishes the professional ''American Journal of Archaeology The ''American Journal of Archaeology'' (AJA), ...
'', Beth Kampschror refers to Osmanagić's book, ''The World of the Maya'' (2004), which suggests that the Maya were descendants of aliens from the
Pleiades The Pleiades (), also known as Seven Sisters and Messier 45 (M45), is an Asterism (astronomy), asterism of an open cluster, open star cluster containing young Stellar classification#Class B, B-type stars in the northwest of the constellation Tau ...
by way of
Atlantis Atlantis () is a fictional island mentioned in Plato's works '' Timaeus'' and ''Critias'' as part of an allegory on the hubris of nations. In the story, Atlantis is described as a naval empire that ruled all Western parts of the known world ...
. Osmanagić wrote in his book, "Were perhaps those who were ready picked up in spaceships by their mentors from the Pleiades star cluster? Or perhaps they joined the Lords of the Galaxy and, in pods of light, set off on a journey with no return." Osmanagić also wrote,
"It is my theory that the Maya should be considered watchmakers of the cosmos whose mission it is to adjust the Earthly frequency and bring it into accordance with the vibrations of our Sun;... Their ancestors, the civilizations of
Atlantis Atlantis () is a fictional island mentioned in Plato's works '' Timaeus'' and ''Critias'' as part of an allegory on the hubris of nations. In the story, Atlantis is described as a naval empire that ruled all Western parts of the known world ...
and
Lemuria Lemuria (), or Limuria, was a continent proposed in 1864 by zoologist Philip Sclater, theorized to have sunk beneath the Indian Ocean, later appropriated by occultists in supposed accounts of human origins. The theory was discredited with the dis ...
, erected the first temples on energy potent points of the Planet. Their most important function was to serve as a gateway to other worlds and dimensions."
In his book ''Alternative History'' (2003, published in Bosnian), Osmanagić suggests that
Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...
and other leading
Nazis Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...
escaped from Germany at the end of World War II to an underground base in Antarctica.


Bibliography

* Sam Osmanagich, ''Pyramids around the World'', The New Era Times Press, 2012, Houston, Texas (language: English) * Semir Sam Osmanagich, ''Bosnian Valley of the Pyramids'', Mauna-Fe Publishing, 2006, Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina (language: English) * Sam Osmanagich, ''The Mayan World'', Gorgias Press , 2005, Piscataway, New Jersey, USA (language: English) * Sam Osmanagich, ''The World of Maya'', Svjetlost, 2004, Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina (language: English) * Sam Osmanagich, '' Alternativna povijest – tragovima Atlantide'', Indrija, 2003, Zagreb (385/1-370-7688)(language: Croatian) * Semir Osmanagich & Peggy Sue Skipper ''Ancient History from Beyond the Veil: An Akashic Records Experiment Bridges the Gap Between Science and Spirituality'', Blue Bonnets Boots and Books,2011


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Osmanagic, Semir 1960 births Living people Writers from Zenica Bosnia and Herzegovina expatriates in the United States Pseudoarchaeologists Atlantis proponents Lemuria Ancient astronauts proponents Pyramidologists