Graham Hancock
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Graham Bruce Hancock (born 2 August 1950) is a British
journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...
and author who promotes
pseudoscientific Pseudoscience consists of statements, beliefs, or practices that claim to be both scientific and factual but are incompatible with the scientific method. Pseudoscience is often characterized by contradictory, exaggerated or unfalsifiable cl ...
ideas about ancient
civilization A civilization (also spelled civilisation in British English) is any complex society characterized by the development of state (polity), the state, social stratification, urban area, urbanization, and symbolic systems of communication beyon ...
s and hypothetical lost lands. Hancock proposes that an advanced civilization with spiritual technology existed during the last Ice Age until it was destroyed following comet impacts around 12,900 years ago at the onset of the
Younger Dryas The Younger Dryas (YD, Greenland Stadial GS-1) was a period in Earth's geologic history that occurred circa 12,900 to 11,700 years Before Present (BP). It is primarily known for the sudden or "abrupt" cooling in the Northern Hemisphere, when the ...
. He speculates that survivors of this cataclysm passed on their knowledge to primitive
hunter-gatherer A hunter-gatherer or forager is a human living in a community, or according to an ancestrally derived Lifestyle, lifestyle, in which most or all food is obtained by foraging, that is, by gathering food from local naturally occurring sources, esp ...
s around the world, giving rise to all the earliest known civilizations (such as
ancient Egypt Ancient Egypt () was a cradle of civilization concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in Northeast Africa. It emerged from prehistoric Egypt around 3150BC (according to conventional Egyptian chronology), when Upper and Lower E ...
,
Sumer Sumer () is the earliest known civilization, located in the historical region of southern Mesopotamia (now south-central Iraq), emerging during the Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age, early Bronze Ages between the sixth and fifth millennium BC. ...
, and
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 ...
). Born in
Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
, Hancock studied
sociology Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...
at
Durham University Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university in Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament (UK), Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by r ...
before working as a journalist, writing for a number of British newspapers and magazines. His first three books dealt with
international development International development or global development is a broad concept denoting the idea that societies and countries have differing levels of economic development, economic or human development (economics), human development on an international sca ...
, including ''Lords of Poverty'' (1989), a well-received critique of corruption in the aid system. Beginning with '' The Sign and the Seal'' in 1992, he shifted focus to speculative accounts of human
prehistory Prehistory, also called pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the first known use of stone tools by hominins   million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use ...
and ancient civilizations, on which he has written a dozen books, most notably '' Fingerprints of the Gods'' and '' Magicians of the Gods''. Experts have described Hancock's investigations of archaeological evidence, myths and historical documents as superficially resembling investigative journalism but lacking in accuracy, consistency, and impartiality. They define his work as
pseudoarchaeology Pseudoarchaeology (sometimes called fringe or alternative archaeology) consists of attempts to study, interpret, or teach about the subject-matter of archaeology while rejecting, ignoring, or misunderstanding the accepted Scientific method, data ...
and pseudohistory because they consider it to be biased towards preconceived conclusions by ignoring context, misrepresenting sources, cherry picking, and withholding critical counter-evidence.
Anthropologist An anthropologist is a scientist engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropologists study aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms, values ...
Jeb Card has described Hancock's writings as being
paranormal Paranormal events are purported phenomena described in popular culture, folk, and other non-scientific bodies of knowledge, whose existence within these contexts is described as being beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding. Not ...
in nature and his idea of an Ice Age civilization as a modern mythological narrative that, due to its emphasis on alleged secret and spiritual knowledge (including
psychic A psychic is a person who claims to use powers rooted in parapsychology, such as extrasensory perception (ESP), to identify information hidden from the normal senses, particularly involving telepathy or clairvoyance; or who performs acts that a ...
abilities and communing with souls and "powerful nonphysical beings" via the use of psychedelics), is incompatible with the archaeological
scientific method The scientific method is an Empirical evidence, empirical method for acquiring knowledge that has been referred to while doing science since at least the 17th century. Historically, it was developed through the centuries from the ancient and ...
. Hancock portrays himself as a culture hero who fights the "dogmatism" of academics, presenting his work as more valid than professional archaeology and as "a path to truly understanding reality and the spiritual elements denied by
materialist Materialism is a form of philosophical monism according to which matter is the fundamental substance in nature, and all things, including mental states and consciousness, are results of material interactions. According to philosophical materia ...
science", though he often cites science in support of his ideas. He has not submitted his writings for
scholarly peer review Scholarly peer review or academic peer review (also known as refereeing) is the process of having a draft version of a researcher's methods and findings reviewed (usually anonymously) by experts (or "peers") in the same field. Peer review i ...
, and they have not been published in
academic journals An academic journal (or scholarly journal or scientific journal) is a periodical publication in which scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. They serve as permanent and transparent forums for the dissemination, scr ...
. He has also written two
fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...
novels and in 2013 delivered a controversial TEDx talk promoting the use of the psychoactive drink
ayahuasca AyahuascaPronounced as in the UK and in the US. Also occasionally known in English as ''ayaguasca'' (Spanish-derived), ''aioasca'' (Brazilian Portuguese-derived), or as ''yagé'', pronounced or . Etymologically, all forms but ''yagé'' descen ...
. His ideas have been the subject of several films as well as the
Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...
series '' Ancient Apocalypse'' (2022). Hancock makes regular appearances on the podcast ''
The Joe Rogan Experience ''The Joe Rogan Experience'' is a podcast hosted by American comedian, presenter, and UFC color commentator Joe Rogan. It was initiated on December 24, 2009, on YouTube by Rogan and comedian Brian Redban, who was its sole co-host and produce ...
'' to discuss his work.


Early life and journalism

Graham Bruce Hancock was born in
Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
, Scotland in 1950. He moved to India with his parents at the age of three, where his father worked as a surgeon. Having returned to the UK, he graduated from
Durham University Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university in Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament (UK), Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by r ...
with a degree in sociology in 1973. As a journalist, Hancock worked for many British papers, such as ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
'', ''
The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...
'', ''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'', and ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
''. He co-edited ''
New Internationalist ''New Internationalist'' (''NI'') is an international publisher and left-wing magazine based in Oxford, England, owned by a multi-stakeholder co-operative and run day to day as a worker-run co-operative with a non-hierarchical structure. Known ...
'' magazine from 1976 to 1979 and was the East Africa correspondent of ''
The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British newspaper published weekly in printed magazine format and daily on Electronic publishing, digital platforms. It publishes stories on topics that include economics, business, geopolitics, technology and culture. M ...
'' from 1981 to 1983. Before 1990, his works dealt mainly with problems of economic and social development. His 1989 book ''Lords of Poverty: The Power, Prestige, and Corruption of the International Aid Business'' was based on his experience writing about international aid for ''The Economist''. In the book, Hancock critiques the international aid system, stating in the book: "aid is not bad ... because it is sometimes misused, corrupt or crass; rather, it is inherently bad, bad to the bone, and utterly beyond reform". Critics agreed that Hancock's work was a powerful critique of the international aid system, though a number disagreed with Hancock's thesis that aid was inherently bad. During his time as a journalist, he was criticized for being on what he described as "friendly personal terms" with dictator
Siad Barre Mohammed Siad Barre (, Osmanya script: , ''Muhammad Ziād Barīy''; 6 October 1919 – 2 January 1995) was a Somali military officer, politician, and revolutionary who served as the third president of Somalia from 21 October 1969 to 26 Janu ...
of
Somalia Somalia, officially the Federal Republic of Somalia, is the easternmost country in continental Africa. The country is located in the Horn of Africa and is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, th ...
(according to ''The Independent'', "he set up a company to publish government-approved coffee table books about Somalia as a multi-racial paradise"). He was additionally criticized for having links to then dictator of
Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...
Mengistu Haile Mariam Mengistu Haile Mariam (, pronunciation: ; born 21 May 1937) is an Ethiopian former politician, revolutionary, and military officer who served as the head of state of Ethiopia from 1977 to 1991. He was General Secretary of the Workers' Party o ...
, which caused controversy when Hancock wrote a favourable profile of Barre for ''The Independent'', as, by his own admission, "various aspects of my trip were facilitated by the arreregime". He admitted that he "definitely made a mistake" by establishing links to Mengistu.


Later writing

Since 1990, Hancock's works have focused mainly on speculative connections he makes between various archaeological, historical, and cross-cultural phenomena. He has stated that from about 1987 he was "pretty much permanently stoned ... and I felt that it helped me with my work as a writer, and perhaps at some point it did", while an article published in ''The Independent'' in 1995 claims that in 1989 he shifted from working for Barre to investigating the
Ark of the Covenant The Ark of the Covenant, also known as the Ark of the Testimony or the Ark of God, was a religious storage chest and relic held to be the most sacred object by the Israelites. Religious tradition describes it as a wooden storage chest decorat ...
(on which he wasn't able to enter due to being blocked by Ethiopian guards), which resulted in his 1992 book, '' The Sign and the Seal''. Other books include '' Fingerprints of the Gods'', '' Keeper of Genesis'', ''The Mars Mystery'', ''Heaven's Mirror'' (with wife Santha Faiia), ''Underworld: The Mysterious Origins of Civilization'', and ''Talisman: Sacred Cities, Secret Faith'' (with co-author Robert Bauval). In his 1997 book ''The Mars Mystery'', Hancock speculated based on the low-resolution ''Viking'' lander images that the supposed face on the Cydonia region of Mars, along with a purported "five sided pyramid", may have been the work of an advanced civilization on Mars that was later destroyed by a cataclysm. In Hancock's book ''Talisman: Sacred Cities, Secret Faith'', co-authored with Robert Bauval, the two put forward what sociologist of religion David V. Barrett called "a version of the old Jewish-Masonic plot so beloved by ultra-right-wing conspiracy theorists." They suggest a connection between the pillars of
Solomon's Temple Solomon's Temple, also known as the First Temple (), was a biblical Temple in Jerusalem believed to have existed between the 10th and 6th centuries Common Era, BCE. Its description is largely based on narratives in the Hebrew Bible, in which it ...
and the Twin Towers, and between the
Star of David The Star of David (, , ) is a symbol generally recognized as representing both Jewish identity and Judaism. Its shape is that of a hexagram: the compound of two equilateral triangles. A derivation of the Seal of Solomon was used for decora ...
and
The Pentagon The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense, in Arlington County, Virginia, across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. The building was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As ...
. A contemporary review of ''Talisman'' by David V. Barrett for ''The Independent'' pointed to a lack of originality as well as basic factual errors, concluding that it was "a mish-mash of badly-connected, half-argued theories". In a 2008 piece for ''The Telegraph'' referencing ''Talisman'', journalist Damian Thompson described Hancock and Bauval as fantasists. Hancock's ''Supernatural: Meetings With the Ancient Teachers of Mankind'' was published in the UK in October 2005 and in the US in 2006. In it, Hancock examines
paleolithic The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic ( years ago) ( ), also called the Old Stone Age (), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone tools, and which represents almost the entire period of human prehist ...
cave art In archaeology, cave paintings are a type of parietal art (which category also includes petroglyphs, or engravings), found on the wall or ceilings of caves. The term usually implies prehistoric art, prehistoric origin. These paintings were often c ...
in the light of David Lewis-Williams'
neuropsychological Neuropsychology is a branch of psychology concerned with how a person's cognition and behavior are related to the brain and the rest of the nervous system. Professionals in this branch of psychology focus on how injuries or illnesses of the brai ...
model, exploring its relation to the development of the fully modern human mind. In 2015, his book '' Magicians of the Gods: The Forgotten Wisdom of Earth's Lost Civilization'' was published by St. Martin's Press. In addition to writing, Hancock has been involved in a number of
television documentaries Television documentaries are televised media productions that screen documentaries. Television documentaries exist either as a television documentary series or as a television documentary film. * Television documentary series, sometimes called d ...
about his pseudoarchaeological theories. 1996, he appeared in '' The Mysterious Origins of Man''. He also wrote and presented the documentaries ''Underworld: Flooded Kingdoms of the Ice Age'' (2002) and ''Quest for the Lost Civilization'' (1998). In 2022, he presented '' Ancient Apocalypse'', a
Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...
documentary series that was widely viewed but panned by critics and academics. His first novel, ''Entangled: The Eater of Souls'', the first in a
fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...
series, was published in 2010. The novel makes use of Hancock's prior research interests. He has noted: "What was there to lose, I asked myself, when my critics already described my factual books as fiction?"


Pseudoarchaeology

Experts consider Hancock's
pseudoarchaeological Pseudoarchaeology (sometimes called fringe or alternative archaeology) consists of attempts to study, interpret, or teach about the subject-matter of archaeology while rejecting, ignoring, or misunderstanding the accepted Scientific method, data ...
work to be based on cherry picked information and strident opposition to "mainstream archaeology". They suggest it superficially resembles investigative journalism, but is neither accurate, consistent, nor impartial. His ideas are built with references to myths, pseudoscience, outdated scientific models, and cutting-edge science depending on what suits his claims. Hancock aims to erode trust in known facts and archaeological expertise, and he responds to criticism with accusations of censorship. Many of his supporters
echo In audio signal processing and acoustics, an echo is a reflection of sound that arrives at the listener with a delay after the direct sound. The delay is directly proportional to the distance of the reflecting surface from the source and the lis ...
his rhetoric and label critics as disinformation agents. Pseudoarchaeologists mislead their audience by misrepresenting the current state of knowledge, taking quotes out of contexts, and withholding countervailing data. Historian of Ancient Rome Garrett G. Fagan pointed out two typical examples in Hancock's book '' Fingerprints of the Gods'' (1995): * Hancock wrote that "the best recent evidence suggests that" large regions of
Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole. ...
may have been ice-free until about 6,000 years ago, referring to the Piri Reis map and Hapgood's work from the 1960s. What is left entirely unmentioned are the extensive studies of the Antarctic ice sheet by George H. Denton, published in 1981, which showed the ice to be hundreds of thousands of years old. * When discussing the ancient city of Tiwanaku, Hancock presents it as a "mysterious site about which very little is known" at which "minimal archaeology has been done over the years", suggesting it dates to 17,000 years ago. Yet in the years prior to these statements, dozens of studies had been published, major excavations were conducted, and the site was radiocarbon dated by three sets of samples to around 1500 BC.


Lost ice age civilization

Hancock's main thesis throughout most of his work is that there was an advanced civilization during the last Ice Age, which was destroyed as a result of a widespread natural disaster, causing the small number of survivors to travel the world, spreading their knowledge and giving rise to the earliest known civilizations. He does not accept that these civilizations could have arisen independently or that faraway peoples developed the same ideas, arguing that they all came from one advanced ice age civilization. It is a form of
hyperdiffusionism Hyperdiffusionism is a pseudoarchaeological hypothesis that postulates that certain historical technologies or ideas were developed by a single people or civilization and then spread to other cultures. Thus, all great civilizations that engage in ...
Jeb J. Card
America Before as a Paranormal Charter
''The SAA Archaeological Record'' NOVEMBER 2019 - Volume 19 Number 5
based on
Ignatius L. Donnelly Ignatius Loyola Donnelly (November 3, 1831 – January 1, 1901) was an American Congressman, populist writer, and pseudoscientist. He is known primarily now for his fringe theories concerning Atlantis, Catastrophism (especially the idea of ...
's book '' Atlantis: The Antediluvian World'' (1882), an influence Hancock has cited. The idea lacks concrete evidence, is biased towards western civilization, and oversimplifies complex cultural developments. To explain the disappearance of his ice age civilization, Hancock embraces the
Younger Dryas impact hypothesis The Younger Dryas impact hypothesis (YDIH) proposes that the onset of the Younger Dryas (YD) cool period (stadial) at the end of the Last Glacial Period, around 12,900 years ago was the result of some kind of cosmic event with specific details var ...
, which has little support in the scientific community. He argues that the civilization was destroyed around 12,000 years ago by sudden climate change during the
Younger Dryas The Younger Dryas (YD, Greenland Stadial GS-1) was a period in Earth's geologic history that occurred circa 12,900 to 11,700 years Before Present (BP). It is primarily known for the sudden or "abrupt" cooling in the Northern Hemisphere, when the ...
cool period, which he attributes to an impact winter caused by a massive meteor bombardment. Hancock claims that the few survivors of the catastrophe arrived in places like
Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
,
Mesopotamia Mesopotamia is a historical region of West Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent. Today, Mesopotamia is known as present-day Iraq and forms the eastern geographic boundary of ...
, and
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 ...
, where they shared their knowledge and superior technology with primitive
hunter-gatherer A hunter-gatherer or forager is a human living in a community, or according to an ancestrally derived Lifestyle, lifestyle, in which most or all food is obtained by foraging, that is, by gathering food from local naturally occurring sources, esp ...
s – introducing them to
agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...
, monumental architecture, and astronomy. He believes the monuments they built encode astronomical data to warn future humans. The narrative assumes that the advanced civilization lacked a writing system that enabled them to leave a less ambiguous message. Hancock does not explain why this warning is not uniform across different cultures and is so hard to decode that generations of researchers missed it. Hancock believes that these events are preserved in various
myth Myth is a genre of folklore consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society. For scholars, this is very different from the vernacular usage of the term "myth" that refers to a belief that is not true. Instead, the ...
s, such as
Plato Plato ( ; Greek language, Greek: , ; born  BC, died 348/347 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher of the Classical Greece, Classical period who is considered a foundational thinker in Western philosophy and an innovator of the writte ...
's story of Atlantis, and that the Atlanteans were remembered as "magicians and gods". Hancock has accepted the
fringe theories A fringe theory is an idea or a viewpoint that differs significantly from the accepted scholarship of the time within its field. Fringe theories include the models and proposals of fringe science, as well as similar ideas in other areas of scholar ...
of other Atlantis proponents regarding several historic sites. For example that of geologist Robert M. Schoch, who contests that the
Great Sphinx of Giza The Great Sphinx of Giza is a limestone statue of a reclining sphinx, a mythical creature with the head of a human and the body of a lion. Facing east, it stands on the Giza Plateau on the west bank of the Nile in Giza, Egypt. The original sh ...
was carved over 11,500 years ago based on claims of the Sphinx having been eroded by water or that of geologist Danny Hilman Natawidjaja, who believes Gunung Padang to be a 27,000 year old Atlantean structure. Scholars
Olav Hammer Olav Hammer (born 1958) is a Swedish professor emeritus at the University of Southern Denmark in Odense working in the field of history of religion. Career Hammer has written four books in Swedish and one monograph, ''Claiming Knowledge: Strat ...
and Karen Swartz write that Hancock's works are "based largely on an imaginative reinterpretation of artifacts and myths that divorces them from their immediate cultural and religious contexts."


Spiritual technology and Ice age civilization as myth

Hancock believes that the technology his lost Ice Age civilization possessed was primarily spiritual. According to anthropologist Jeb Card, in ''America Before'' (2019) Hancock describes his advanced Ice Age civilization as a "global-sea based society comparable with the late pre-industrial British Empire" with knowledge "that would seem like magic even today", with this knowledge suggested by Hancock to include
psychic A psychic is a person who claims to use powers rooted in parapsychology, such as extrasensory perception (ESP), to identify information hidden from the normal senses, particularly involving telepathy or clairvoyance; or who performs acts that a ...
capabilities. Hancock suggests that the teachings of Atlanteans to later civilizations were "geometric, astronomical and spiritual" in nature, which were faciltated by the use of psychotropic plants, such as
ayahuasca AyahuascaPronounced as in the UK and in the US. Also occasionally known in English as ''ayaguasca'' (Spanish-derived), ''aioasca'' (Brazilian Portuguese-derived), or as ''yagé'', pronounced or . Etymologically, all forms but ''yagé'' descen ...
and peyote, used to access the Otherworld, allowing them to commune with souls and "powerful nonphysical beings". He also proposed that they were able to move and shape large stones with the help of meditation and psychoactive plants, and asserted that granite blocks of the
Great Pyramid of Giza The Great Pyramid of Giza is the largest Egyptian pyramid. It served as the tomb of pharaoh Khufu, who ruled during the Fourth Dynasty of Egypt, Fourth Dynasty of the Old Kingdom of Egypt, Old Kingdom. Built , over a period of about 26 years ...
were moved by "priests chanting", suggesting a form of acoustic levitation. Archaeologist John Hoopes has described Hancock's claims as effectively religious in nature and rooted in
New Age New Age is a range of Spirituality, spiritual or Religion, religious practices and beliefs that rapidly grew in Western world, Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclecticism, eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise d ...
beliefs. Jeb Card stated that attempts to critique Hancock's work "using the criteria of professional archaeology is doomed to failure, as his goals are outside the goals of the
materialist Materialism is a form of philosophical monism according to which matter is the fundamental substance in nature, and all things, including mental states and consciousness, are results of material interactions. According to philosophical materia ...
practice of scientific archaeology", describing Hancock as part of the
paranormal Paranormal events are purported phenomena described in popular culture, folk, and other non-scientific bodies of knowledge, whose existence within these contexts is described as being beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding. Not ...
milieu, and the idea of the ice age civilization as a mythic narrative rooted in opposition to materialism, describing Hancock as "not a failed version of an archaeologist" but a "successful mythographer of a post-science age". Olav Hammer and Karen Swartz, both primarily scholars of
new religious movement A new religious movement (NRM), also known as a new religion, is a religious or Spirituality, spiritual group that has modern origins and is peripheral to its society's dominant religious culture. NRMs can be novel in origin, or they can be part ...
s, have also concurred with interpretation of Hancock as a creator of myths, describing him as a " bricoleur who creates a myth from a motley selection of cultural elements".


Racist implications

Archaeologists and the author Jason Colavito have criticised Hancock for the origins of some of his claims being drawn from racist sources. For instance, Hancock draws from the work of Donnelly, a proponent of the racist " mound builder myth", with Donnelly suggesting that the
Indigenous peoples of the Americas In the Americas, Indigenous peoples comprise the two continents' pre-Columbian inhabitants, as well as the ethnic groups that identify with them in the 15th century, as well as the ethnic groups that identify with the pre-Columbian population of ...
were not capable of creating sophisticated structures, attributing their creation instead to white Atlanteans. Jason Colavitobr>Whitewashing American Prehistory
''The SAA Archaeological Record'' NOVEMBER 2019 - Volume 19 Number 5
Hancock has distanced himself from this claim, yet failed to explain how a fully competent local population could serve as evidence for a lost civilization that transferred superior science and technology to them. Although Hancock has identified the Atlanteans as indigenous Americans, he stated in ''Fingerprints of the Gods'' that Atlanteans were "white ndauburn-haired". Hancock has based some of his work on outdated race science and has argued for the presence of indigenous " Caucasoids" and "
Negroid Negroid (less commonly called Congoid) is an obsolete racial grouping of various people indigenous to Africa south of the area which stretched from the southern Sahara desert in the west to the African Great Lakes in the southeast, but also to i ...
s" in the Americas prior to 1492, which he claims are depicted in indigenous American art and mythology. The
Maya Maya may refer to: Ethnic groups * Maya peoples, of southern Mexico and northern Central America ** Maya civilization, the historical civilization of the Maya peoples ** Mayan languages, the languages of the Maya peoples * Maya (East Africa), a p ...
were described by Hancock as only "semi-civilized" and their achievements as "generally unremarkable" to support the thesis that they inherited their calendar from a much older, far more advanced civilization. Hancock has denied that he is racist, and he has expressed support for native rights.


Orion correlation theory

One of the many recurring themes in several of Hancock's works has been an exposition on Robert Bauval's Orion correlation theory (OCT). OCT posits that the relative locations of the three largest
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 of the
Giza pyramid complex The Giza pyramid complex (also called the Giza necropolis) in Egypt is home to the Great Pyramid of Giza, Great Pyramid, the pyramid of Khafre, and the pyramid of Menkaure, along with their associated pyramid complexes and the Great Sphinx of G ...
were chosen by the builders to reflect the three stars of
Orion's Belt Orion's Belt is an asterism in the constellation of Orion. Other names include the Belt of Orion, the Three Kings, and the Three Sisters. The belt consists of three bright and easily identifiable collinear star systems – Alnitak, Alnilam, ...
of the constellation Orion. The pyramids are aligned to the cardinal direction within a fraction of a degree, however they are mismatched with Orion's Belt exceeding five degrees, according to astronomer Tony Fairall. Hancock and Bauval's OCT was the subject of ''Atlantis Reborn'', an episode of the
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
documentary series ''
Horizon The horizon is the apparent curve that separates the surface of a celestial body from its sky when viewed from the perspective of an observer on or near the surface of the relevant body. This curve divides all viewing directions based on whethe ...
'' broadcast in 1999. The programme was critical of the theory, demonstrating that the constellation Leo could be found amongst famous landmarks in New York and alleging that Hancock had selectively moved or ignored the locations of temples to support his argument. It concluded: "as long as you have enough points and you don't need to make every point fit, you can find virtually any pattern you want." Following the broadcast, Hancock and Bauval complained to the Broadcasting Standards Commission, but the commission found that "the programme makers acted in good faith in their examination of the theories". One complaint was upheld: that the programme unfairly omitted one of their arguments in rebuttal of astronomer Edwin Krupp. The following year the BBC broadcast a revised version of the episode, ''Atlantis Reborn Again'', in which Hancock and Bauval provided further rebuttals to Krupp.


''The Message of the Sphinx'' (1996)

''The Message of the Sphinx: A Quest for the Hidden Legacy of Mankind'', a.k.a. ''Keeper of Genesis'' in the United Kingdom, is a
pseudoarchaeology Pseudoarchaeology (sometimes called fringe or alternative archaeology) consists of attempts to study, interpret, or teach about the subject-matter of archaeology while rejecting, ignoring, or misunderstanding the accepted Scientific method, data ...
book written by Hancock and Robert Bauval in 1996 which argues that the creation of the
Sphinx A sphinx ( ; , ; or sphinges ) is a mythical creature with the head of a human, the body of a lion, and the wings of an eagle. In Culture of Greece, Greek tradition, the sphinx is a treacherous and merciless being with the head of a woman, th ...
and
Pyramids A pyramid () is a Nonbuilding structure, structure whose visible surfaces are triangular in broad outline and converge toward the top, making the appearance roughly a Pyramid (geometry), pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid ca ...
occurred as far back as 10,500 BC using
astronomical Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and their overall evolution. Objects of interest include ...
data. Working from the premise that the
Giza pyramid complex The Giza pyramid complex (also called the Giza necropolis) in Egypt is home to the Great Pyramid of Giza, Great Pyramid, the pyramid of Khafre, and the pyramid of Menkaure, along with their associated pyramid complexes and the Great Sphinx of G ...
encodes a message, the book begins with the fringe Sphinx water erosion hypothesis, evidence that the authors believe suggests that deep erosion patterns on the flanks of the Sphinx were caused by thousands of years of heavy rain. The authors go on to suggest, using computer simulations of the sky, that the pyramids — representing the three stars of
Orion's Belt Orion's Belt is an asterism in the constellation of Orion. Other names include the Belt of Orion, the Three Kings, and the Three Sisters. The belt consists of three bright and easily identifiable collinear star systems – Alnitak, Alnilam, ...
 — along with associated causeways and alignments, constitute a record in stone of the celestial array at the vernal equinox in 10,500 BC. This moment, they contend, represents Zep Tepi, the "First Time", often referred to in the hieroglyphic record. They state that the initiation rites of the Egyptian pharaohs replicate on Earth the Sun's journey through the stars in this remote era, and they suggest that the "Hall of Records" of a lost civilization may be located by treating the Giza Plateau as a template of these same ancient skies.


''Ancient Apocalypse'' (2022)

Hancock's theories are the basis of ''Ancient Apocalypse'', a 2022 documentary series produced by
Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...
, where Hancock's son Sean is "senior manager of unscripted originals". In the series, Hancock outlines his long-held belief that there was an advanced civilization during the last ice age, that it was destroyed following comet impacts around 12,000 years ago, and that its survivors introduced agriculture, monumental architecture, and astronomy to
hunter-gatherer A hunter-gatherer or forager is a human living in a community, or according to an ancestrally derived Lifestyle, lifestyle, in which most or all food is obtained by foraging, that is, by gathering food from local naturally occurring sources, esp ...
s around the world. He attempts to show how several ancient monuments and natural features are evidence of this, and he repeatedly claims that archaeologists are ignoring or covering up this alleged evidence. Archaeologists and other experts say that the series presents pseudoscientific claims that lack evidence, cherry picks, and fails to present counter-evidence. Other commentators criticized the series for unfounded accusations that "mainstream archaeology" conspires against Hancock's ideas. Archaeologists linked Hancock's claims to "white supremacist" ideologies from the 19th century, which they say are insulting to the ancestors of indigenous peoples who built the monuments. A Maltese archaeologist who appeared in an episode said her interview had been manipulated. The Society for American Archaeology (SAA) objected to the classification of the series as a documentary and requested that Netflix reclassify it as
science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...
. The SAA also stated:


Other media appearances

Hancock gave a TEDx lecture titled "The War on Consciousness", in which he described his use of
ayahuasca AyahuascaPronounced as in the UK and in the US. Also occasionally known in English as ''ayaguasca'' (Spanish-derived), ''aioasca'' (Brazilian Portuguese-derived), or as ''yagé'', pronounced or . Etymologically, all forms but ''yagé'' descen ...
, an Amazonian brew containing a hallucinogenic compound DMT, and argued that adults should be allowed to responsibly use it for self-improvement and spiritual growth. He stated that for 24 years he was "pretty much permanently stoned" on cannabis, and that in 2011, six years after his first use of ayahuasca, it enabled him to stop using cannabis. At the recommendation of TED's Science Board, the lecture was removed from the TEDx YouTube channel and moved to TED's main website where it "can be framed to highlight both ancock'sprovocative ideas and the factual problems with isarguments". Hancock has appeared on ''
The Joe Rogan Experience ''The Joe Rogan Experience'' is a podcast hosted by American comedian, presenter, and UFC color commentator Joe Rogan. It was initiated on December 24, 2009, on YouTube by Rogan and comedian Brian Redban, who was its sole co-host and produce ...
'' podcast several times. In April 2024 (episode #2136) Hancock debated Flint Dibble, a professor of archeology at
Cardiff University Cardiff University () is a public research university in Cardiff, Wales. It was established in 1883 as the University College of South Wales and Monmouthshire and became a founding college of the University of Wales in 1893. It was renamed Unive ...
, who strongly rebutted Hancock's unfounded ideas, leading even many of Hancock's backers to see Dibble – and orthodox science – as the victor. Both Hancock and Dibble agreed that continuing archeological research would be a great benefit to humanity.


In popular culture

In 2009,
Roland Emmerich Roland Emmerich (; born 10 November 1955) is a German-American filmmaker. Emmerich is widely known for his science fiction and disaster films and has been called a "master of disaster" within the movie industry. His films, most of which are Eng ...
released his blockbuster disaster movie ''
2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...
'', citing '' Fingerprints of the Gods'' in the credits as an inspiration for the film, stating: "I always wanted to do a biblical flood movie, but I never felt I had the hook. I first read about the Earth's Crust Displacement Theory in Graham Hancock's ''Fingerprints of the Gods''."


Works


Books

* * * * * * Published in the United Kingdom as * * * * * * * * * *


Video

* '' Pole to Pole with Michael Palin'' — Crossing the Line (EP 5) (1992) * ''Quest for the Lost Civilization'' — Acorn Media (1998) * ''Atlantis Reborn Again'' — BBC Horizon (2000) * ''Earth Pilgrims'' — Earth Pilgrims Inc. (2010) * "The War on Consciousness" — TEDx (2013) * Ancient Apocalypse (2022)


Notes


References


Works cited

* * * * * * * * *


Further reading

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External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hancock, Graham 1950 births Living people 20th-century Scottish journalists 21st-century Scottish novelists Alumni of St Cuthbert's Society, Durham Atlantis proponents Scottish expatriates in India Scottish fantasy writers Scottish male writers British psychedelic drug advocates People in international development Pseudoarchaeologists Pseudohistorians Psychedelic drug researchers The Guardian journalists The Independent people The Sunday Times people The Times journalists Writers from Edinburgh