Ancient People smarter than Us

Originally posted by soothsayer
This is an update to my old thread "Why are we the only civilization?"
www.abovetopsecret.com...

I am placing this here because it does touch upon the original subject, yet it brings to light some other aspects. Also, I am hoping not to have a religious debate in this one!

I will be briefly discussing a couple topics, hoping that others will be added. Knowing that some of these have been discussed before, they have not been talked about in this context (ie, that there is a cycle of advanced civilizations, then decline, then advancement again).

The first is the scientist and inventor Heron. Created the first coin operated device, automatic water machines, the first steam engine (2000 years before the Industrial Revolution), and on and on.

www-gap.dcs.st-and.ac.uk...

and secondly, the Antikythera Mechanism, a device used for navigation by tracking star movements. It used a multitude of gears and clockworks... many centuries before gear-operated clocks were invented.

www.math.sunysb.edu...

Many other ancient puzzles and mysterys can be found here at:

www.world-mysteries.com...

I am still sticking with my theory that the world has known several advanced/modern societies, that due to war or celestrial events, perished, faced decline and stagnation, then had to re-develope. I am not giving credit that aliens are responsible for every developement made by man... we as a race are much smarter than that! Aliens CANNOT be made into the conspiracy scapegoat everytime something unexplained is brought to surface!

With the numerous subjects discussed on "World Mysteries", the advancement of the Antikythera Mechanism, the sheer brillance of Heron... how can we not wonder?

My eight year old son said it best, after watching the Heron special on History channel... "How were those people so much smarter than us?"

[Edited on 22-12-2003 by soothsayer]

Well ancient people did:
1) Make cars
2) Didnt know what eletricity was or how do make it
3) Dont go to space
4) Didnt develop computers, Cd's, CD players, T.V.'s etc...
So ancient people cant possibly be smarter than we are today.

Originally posted by AD5673
Well ancient people
2) Didnt know what eletricity was or how do make it

4) Didnt develop computers...

So ancient people cant possibly be smarter than we are today.

I don't remember the name of it, but it was a battery found in either India or Iran... a thousand years old or so... don't remember the details on it. Experts believe it was used for electroplating gold onto statues.

The device I mentioned earlier is a simple computer. It isn't too much different than from the room sized computers we invented that read punch cards.

Just remembered another ancient 'anomoly'... there's a 100% pure iron column in India, at least 500 years old (if not older), that has no rust, never had rust. But it was man made.

Iraq and its referred to as the Baghdad battery. And yes it was used for electro plating. There are volumes of world history that hav been hidden from mankind for centuries. The history of the world is not like what you read in the books. While this is accurate up until 3000 AD it does not tell about the prior struggles of humanity and civilization.

There are many things in this world that are still unknown. There is an antenna at the bottom of the ocean near antartica, sitting perfectly upright with precise 22 degree radials. Yet no one knows how it got there and why its there. No sub can currently reach that depth. And it was found back in 1969, by a sonar surveying ship dragging an underwater camera.

The mystery of Oak Island and the stuff contained in its pit and why there are so many different levels of capping material that have been found.

Or the millions of tons of mined copper that was extracted from (Royal Island ?) in Great Lakes region that are un accounted for in history and can not be attributed to any cvilization during which it was mined nor accounted for in the transportation of it out of the mining pits.

Or the origination of the Pries Reis (spelling?) map that accuratly maps the coast of Antartica that was not visable even in ancient times and is now currently under miles of ice shelf.

Or how about the fact that ancient astronomers knew the precise relationship and cycles of the outer planets yet we only "rediscovered" them during the 1800's. Adding to that we are not aware of any advanced telescope that dates back to antiquity that could have been used to make observation of the planets. Calculations that today require the use of a computer and complex calcualations.

Or how about the ancients being able to "carve" manipulate huge stone pieces wieghing hundreds of tons and erect huge monuments and buildings yet without the aid of electricty or motorized machinery.

There is a lot we dont know about our own past.

If there were other advanced civilizations before ours, would'nt there be more historical evidence? I mean think about it, if our race suddenly fell into a decline so deep, that not even a computer monitor, a book, a peice of glass, or any other trace of our advancement ever occurred, would'nt there at least be some more recorded evidence? Would'nt we have found a history book or something? Wouldn't there be the remains of an electrical wire or anything??(ruling out the possiblity that it was on another planet)

With our society and technologies, most of our materials would rust away or decompose... our current junk yards would be what, iron or tin mines in the future. Glass shards, broken over time, could be grouped in a catagory similiar to crystal formations, or 'naturally occuring due to pressure and heat'. Plastic is something different.

I can not think of a way to explain away plastic deposits... maybe a form of petroleum not yet liquified.

Concrete and cement... ha! The things we have constructed today is nothing like that used hundreds of years ago. Look at your driveway, or your roads, and compare them to the Colluseum, and you'll understand what I mean. Those will crack and break apart, erode, and become like those rock formations/foundations found by the Martian Rovers.

I'd say go to my other thread (I think it was called 'Why are we the only civilization') for more information... Gazrok gave many good valid points for us being the only ones due to lack of evidence/garbage, and many others gave good points for there being proof (odd findings such as screws embedded in coal, metal workings encased in stone, etcetera); that is, I would tell you to go there, but this new 'search' thingy is so fickle...

in regards to Herman's post about ancient civilisations ruins and the sort: There probably were tons of things (buildings, tools, weapons, books...) left behind by these ancient people, think about how many people/cultures/nations that have come and gone over the same area as some of these civs. Maybe these ancient buildings were "rennovated" or entirely knocked down in order to make way for the new just like in modern society. Think of how hard it is for a book or scroll to last long enough for us to be able to read it? I have some books that belonged to my mom that are 30-40 years old and are already falling apart! the ancient texts we do have probably only represent a tiny fraction of what these civs did but it's been lost or destroyed. The pyramids and the Sphinx were almost buried in sand! until the 1900's (i think) who knows how much is buried under the earth and under the water?

heres an interesting link on a ancient site being built upon by a "newer" building:

www.azer.com...


[Edited on 14-4-2004 by Red_Rocket]

Talking about 'modern' being built atop of 'older'...

We all know that ancient/old sites are built ontop each other. The city of Troy is a good example... there was, what, 5 different layers/towns on the one site.

Then, too, look at London. How many towns is London on top of? I know that there is more to London than the London we see... wasn't there supposed to have been an old Roman settlement found underneath that city?

But I go off-subject... this topic was about the ancient people being smarter than us, to discuss inventions or things discovered that 'modern' people try to discredit, because the olders could not have made them.

Please, please, refer to the other threads/links provided in talking about ancient civilizations. Or not, no biggie.

It's hard to say if ancient cultures were 'smarter' than we are today, however, they definately appeared more Spiritual and in tune with their surroundings according to the information we've found to date. Of course probably due in part to the right/left brain theory. Anyways, we may never know due to the enormous loss of information ex. The Library of Alexandria. Scientists have claimed a nuclear blast happened 10,000-30,000 yrs ago (?) that the green colored glass being found in large shards across the deserts mainly in Lebanon were due not to an Asteroid but an actual nuclear explosion. So, maybe they 'did' have the same Technology we do today, and they like us are now the ones standing the brink of repeating their mistakes, and humanity wiping ourselves out once more.


[Edited on 14-4-2004 by Sapphire]

Anyne else here read 'The Atlantis Blueprint'.
Its pretty convincing that there has been a previous advanced civilization on Earth.

Synopsis

Amazon Link