Fingerprints Of The Gods: The Evidence of Earth's Lost Civilization

by Graham Hancock

Hardcover, 1995

Status

Available

Call number

GN751 .H293

Publication

Crown (1995), Edition: 1st American ed, 578 pages

Description

Could the story of mankind be far older than we have previously believed? Using tools as varied as archaeo-astronomy, geology, and computer analysis of ancient myths, Graham Hancock presents a compelling case to suggest that it is.   "A fancy piece of historical sleuthing . . . intriguing and entertaining and sturdy enough to give a long pause for thought."--Kirkus Reviews   In Fingerprints of the Gods, Hancock embarks on a worldwide quest to put together all the pieces of the vast and fascinating jigsaw of mankind's hidden past. In ancient monuments as far apart as Egypt's Great Sphinx, the strange Andean ruins of Tihuanaco, and Mexico's awe-inspiring Temples of the Sun and Moon, he reveals not only the clear fingerprints of an as-yet-unidentified civilization of remote antiquity, but also startling evidence of its vast sophistication, technological advancement, and evolved scientific knowledge.   A record-breaking number one bestseller in Britain, Fingerprints of the Gods contains the makings of an intellectual revolution, a dramatic and irreversible change in the way that we understand our past--and so our future.   And Fingerprints of God tells us something more. As we recover the truth about prehistory, and discover the real meaning of ancient myths and monuments, it becomes apparent that a warning has been handed down to us, a warning of terrible cataclysm that afflicts the Earth in great cycles at irregular intervals of time--a cataclysm that may be about to recur.   "Readers will hugely enjoy their quest in these pages of inspired storytelling."--The Times (UK)… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member saskreader
This book made me re-evaluate how I think about the origins of civilization. Some of Hancock's theories might be a little hard to accept, but it's certainly worth reading for the intriguing information he presents regarding ancient Egypt, Central America, Antarctica, as well as myths and legends.
LibraryThing member jcovington
Graham Hancock's seminal work. It's wildly speculative and many of its hypothesis rest on bad history or bad science, but he really is passionate about it, its fun to read and some of it is quite thought provoking. Just keep in mind that Graham himself has said that his methods were faulty and that
Show More
many of his conclusions are off base.
Show Less
LibraryThing member miketroll
FOTG is a landmark book. Not because it is enormously well written or because the scholarship is thorough. Rather because it was the first popular, eclectic survey of ancient history to capture the imagination of millions with its ideas of an advanced, early, global civilisation.

Von Daeniken had
Show More
done something similar two decades before, but his focus on extaterrestrials and the fraudulence of his claims had, arguably, put this field of research out of bounds for a time to scholars conscious of their reputation.

This copy was signed by the author in Cardiff.
Show Less
LibraryThing member lunaverse
This book discusses an alternate view of ancient history -- that a civilization existed long before the Egyptians and Sumerians came on the scene.

This is one of several of Hancock's books which expound upon the many evidences we have, that the orthodox understanding of ancient history is incorrect.
Show More


Not every piece of evidence in this book is absolute proof (in fact, I think he is just wrong on some points). Yet when you put it all together, it seems there is something we should look at more closely. Orthodoxy of all kinds should be questioned, especially in the face of conflicting information.
Show Less
LibraryThing member emanate28
Fascinating. Whether one believes this or not, it opens up a lot of possibilities in how we explain our world and history. I'm certainly not looking forward to 2030, esp. considering the many earthquakes & other large-scale natural disasters in recent years!
LibraryThing member keylawk
Hancock is a Scots journalist who made a fortune writing Best Sellers, most of which have the theme that everything we were taught about Fertile Crescent origins is wrong. He presents evidence of an ancestral people inhabiting coastlines which were flooded by rapid sea-rise as Ice Age melt raised
Show More
the oceans. "Orthodox" historians regard him as a pseudo-scientist because he is selective with the material. He does not try for "balanced" views. He seems to enjoy putting the mystery back into the discoveries. As if it is disquieting to anyone that cultural evolution diversified in starts and stops, little boltings, instead of one smooth linear advancement. The importance of Hancock's work is that he knows how to get rich using beautiful and even hard-to-collect information, and it really is "information". Interpretion? He is better at asking questions than answering them. Aren't all civilizations "vanishing" right before our eyes?

This work begins with an introduction to "the maps". For example, one wonderful map was found in 1929, in the Imperial Palace of Constantinople, (the library of which is neglected and remains unexplored to this day). The Piri Reis riparian chart clearly depicts the New World coastlines, as well as portions of Antarctica -- Queen Maud's Land -- which were under ice at the time of Admiral Reis's recopying efforts. Piri Reis, a reknowned officer in the navy of the Ottoman Turks [12]was beheaded by Islamic fanatics in 1554. Hence, the map appears to be a legacy of a "lost civilization" or at least a voyage we do not know much about.

And what explains the accuracy of the number of early maps used, for example, by Mercator (the pseudonym of Gerard Kremer), and which were not matched by the technologies of his peers in the 1560's? John Harrison's marine chronometer was not developed until 1761 [28].

The "gods" of the title do not appear to be divine. Maybe they were "Viracochas" -- the bearded ones from across the sea who pieced together the 100-ton polygonal block walls of Sacsayhuaman. Even when relying upon Watch Tower Tracts [499] and Christian psychics [Edgar Cayce, 500], Hancock does not pretend a personal contemporary contact with a transcendental God, or even a numinous experience.

Hancock's vivid and present-tense presentation -- "I'm in southern Peru, flying over the Nazca lines" -- reveals a man on a quest, and it is an honor to accompany him. Feel like Watson to Hancock's Holmes.
Show Less
LibraryThing member seanoc
A revealing look into the numerous similarities and beliefs of civilizations that emerged around the world.The evidence put forward by Graham Hancock is very convincing,such as pyramids being built both sides of the Atlantic,myths and legends that appear to have a common origin and how were such
Show More
megalithic buildings created with such precision?Maps that could only have been drawn when Antarctica was FREE of ice thousands of years ago.This is a compelling read and one of those books that once you start reading you do notwant to put down.Theories once considered `wacky'are given a new lease of life with the proper investigative journalism of the author.
Show Less
LibraryThing member millsge
Hancock is a very talented writer and his ideas are presented with great skill. Regardless of what one thinks about his ideas, one can always profit from reading his books as he presents many anomalies that sometimes get swept under the carpets of archaeology and anthropology.
LibraryThing member DBJones
When many speculation books attempt to drive the evidence to meet their conclusions the final result lacks credibility. Graham Hancock presents his evidence, offers his conclusions and lets the reader make up their own mind. This mature approach instantly made me like Hancock, his evidence can be
Show More
researched and verified and his conclusions, while outside of how we understand history and open to alternate views, are sound. From the introduction and the Piri Reis Map onwards Hancock presents fascinating evidence for an older civilization that we have not yet discovered and unlike Von Daniken, his conclusions do not require a belief in aliens or ancient technologies left behind like a plot from Star Trek.

A very entertaining read and very thought provoking.
Show Less
LibraryThing member aterracciano
Great book offering a whole new thought on the beginning of civilization. Hancock does a great job in presenting his evidence and letting the reader decide whether or not his idea is valid. There is so much evidence supporting his case that it's almost hard to disagree with him. Of course, this
Show More
idea is that of a minority, but I believe that it is a definite possibility that a civilization existed much earlier than we think. History is a mystery; Hancock takes commonly known evidence and adds his own conclusion to it, proving that history is not quite set and can be subject to change. I loved the maps that he presents in the beginning of the novel depicting a drawing of Antartica without the ice on it; something that can only be in modern times or before there was ice there, which was way before the supposed first civilization existed. I'm not going to go through all of the evidence that he presents because there are 592 pages devoted to that cause. The points is, evidence like the maps are every convincing and effectively argue Hancock's point. If you are interested in learning about a different idea of where human civilization actually started, this is the book for you.
Show Less
LibraryThing member davepave
Hancock has a very understandable writing style that is easy to follow. He offers insights that cause the reader to question their previous knowledge. I was fasinated with his coverage of the Maya ruins and the depth of insight he gave me into the pyrimids of Egypt. I am now looking for information
Show More
on Antartica, where he theorizes that the lost civilization he seeks was located over 12,000 years ago. The thought that the history of mankind would need to be rewritten if he is right is monumental.
Show Less
LibraryThing member paperloverevolution
Thoroughly entertaining combination: equal parts common sense and crackpot. He's probably onto something.
LibraryThing member AprilAasheim
Hancock was making a pretty good case about an early antideluvian race long before Ancient Astronauts ever appeared on The History Channel. Compelling.
LibraryThing member Gregorio_Roth
The year 2012 is nearing closer and we will see if the Mayan prophecy is the end of a certain age. We will see if there will be a deluge of fire that will clear the current civilized age. Fingerprints of the Gods: The Evidence of Earth's Lost Civilization by Graham Hancock shows the reader that
Show More
these deluge and new beginnings have occurred before, and will most probably happen again.
I was often bored in my studies of primitive culture. But this book has made me re-examine my own beliefs about the ancients, especially the way that the primitive was taught in school.
The way antiquities was taught in high school and college seemed so cleaned up, sterile that I lost interest in the history. But maybe there was more to the story. The book renewed interest in re-reading Herodotus and Marco Polo.
The one thing that was a stumbling block was that there was so much information that it was at times really really difficult to remember them all, and describe what I was reading to my wife and friends. Graham is so eager to share that he encumbers the reader to sort through all the factual debris.
Graham asks the reader, "If there is a cataclysmic deluge what does civilization do to preserve the historical record?" He examines the preservation through examining myths, oral story telling, architecture, universal languages, astronomy, and the location of lost civilizations. All in all I liked this book a lot and give it a hearty cluck cluck.








Note: 3.9 Stars so rounded to 4.
Full Points given to each value of the book.
Flow 4 5
Details add to Understanding 3 5
Useful 3 5
Introduction of topics 3 5
Book Design 4 5
Author Notes to Readers 4 5
Word Choice 4 5
"Content and Preocess Collaberate
for overall effect." 4 5
Sparks interest in Topic 5 5
Desire to Share with Others 5 5
39 50
Total # 78
Total Stars 3.9 4 Stars
Show Less
LibraryThing member Arkrayder
This was a fairly interesting book. Could there have been a highly advanced civilization which exists 10,000+ years ago and we’re suddenly wiped out, leaving only a few survivors to find a way to let us, their descendants, know they once thrived? It is thought provoking.
LibraryThing member A.Godhelm
Hancock's first stab at his now infinitely more popular theories is insightful in just how much of the more hyperbolic and less popular alternative ideas he's ditched through the years (here the crust displacement hypothesis plays a very prominent role in trying to make it all add up despite
Show More
evidence to the contrary). Clearly written with an eye toward the success of Däniken's Chariots of the Gods, Hancock can act confident as he stabs the 'need for an alien hypothesis' in the side, replacing it with a far less extravagant prior (atlantean) civilization, of which we ultimately learn next to nothing.
Still it's hard not to get sucked in to the enthusiasm and travelogue sections. There's always that kernel of something interesting in the center and the connective tissues in familiar civilizational developments across the world just seems all too coincidental. Which is probably why he's been more successful the less he speaks about sound vibrations used for drilling or levitating blocks of rock with psychic powers.
Show Less

Language

Original language

English

Original publication date

1995

ISBN

0517593483 / 9780517593486

Barcode

34662000517778

Other editions

Similar in this library

Page: 0.4129 seconds