What do you think?
Rate this book
The Forbidden Archeologist by Michael Cremo
Michael Cremo, an international authority on human antiquity, has justly earned the 'forbidden archeologist' title. For over twenty-seven years he's been 'digging up' documented, credible findings that mainstream archeologists don't want you to know about - discoveries in the fossil record that tell a completely different story from Darwinian evolution.
This collection of forty-nine articles published in Atlantis Rising magazine is like the Cliff Notes on his best selling, encyclopedic Forbidden Archeology and formidable Human Devolution. Readers will quickly understand the strongest arguments and remarkable discoveries that reveal evolution as a failing theory.
MICHAEL A. CREMO is a research associate of the Bhaktivedanta Institute, specializing in the history and philosophy of science. He is a member of the World Archeological Congress and the European Association of Archeologists, and is an expert on archeological evidence for extreme human antiquity.
This collection of forty-nine articles published in Atlantis Rising magazine is like the Cliff Notes on his best selling, encyclopedic Forbidden Archeology and formidable Human Devolution. Readers will quickly understand the strongest arguments and remarkable discoveries that reveal evolution as a failing theory.
MICHAEL A. CREMO is a research associate of the Bhaktivedanta Institute, specializing in the history and philosophy of science. He is a member of the World Archeological Congress and the European Association of Archeologists, and is an expert on archeological evidence for extreme human antiquity.
271 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 1, 2010
29 people are currently reading
139 people want to read
About the author
Michael A. Cremo
19 books105 followersMichael A. Cremo (born July 15, 1948), is an American freelance researcher who identifies himself as a Vedic creationist and an "alternative archeologist" and argues that humans have lived on Earth for millions of years. In case of artifacts allegedly found in the Eocene auriferous gravels of Table Mountain, California and discussed in his book, Forbidden Archeology, Cremo argues for the existence of modern man on Earth as long as 30 to 40 million years ago.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
February 19, 2016
Michael Cremo wears his bias on his sleeve. He has been a practicing Hare Krishna for over 20 years. He has no formal training in archeology. He simply took an interest in the sacred texts of his faith, and those texts consistently referred to humans being on the earth for millions of years. He set out to see if there was evidence of this, and indeed there was.
Documentation of what he finds is quite meticulous. There is little room to critique him on the grounds of shoddy research. In addition to citing hordes of primary descriptions of these archeological anomalies, he has traveled the world to see hundreds of these sites and artifacts first hand. And what he reports is truly astonishing. His interest is in remains of what are widely agreed upon as *modern* humans (Homo sapiens), in sediments that are dated through multiple methods at hundreds of thousands and even millions of years old. Keep in mind that the orthodox chronology of human evolution puts modern humans as emerging about 250,000 years ago, at the earliest.
Every chapter in this book is an essay written for Atlantis Rising magazine. I didn't have the fortitude to read his more academic tome, Forbidden Archeology, so chose this book of essays instead. For those who want to know the gist as well as the narrative context for each skeletal find, I suspect this book is a very accessible substitute for the longer version.
For instance, Chapter 14 details his presentation at the Darwin Museum, where he described the discovery and recording in 1887 of modern human remains found in sediment of the Eocene era. That's over 33 million years old. And in Chapter 25 he details multiple lines of evidence that anatomically modern humans were hunting mastadons as long ago as 375,000 years. Every chapter is a discovery that is tied to others. Each time such findings are made, the community of archeologists make heroic effort to come up with explanations of how modern human remains got *placed* in these old sediments. The problem is that the remains are most often embedded in sediments along side tools and bones of animals known to have only lived some millions of years ago.
Chapter 18 discusses the modern (homo sapiens) human femur found on the island of Java in sediment dated at 800,000 years old. One year earlier and about 15 yards from the femur, in the same sediment, a skullcap was discovered that had a distinctly Homo erectus shape. More perplexing, across a large stretch of Pacific Ocean on Flores Island, in sediments dated at the same 800,000 years, archeologists found bones that appeared to be modern humans, as well as tools. But current thinking is that modern humans wouldn't appear on the scene for another 600,000 years. In addition, deliberate sea crossings didn't happen, orthodoxy says, until just about 50,000 years ago by modern humans going from SE Asia to Australia. So the bones found on Flores Island were declared, in spite of their modern form, to be Homo erectus. How to explain the ocean crossing by the landlubbing Homo erectus? No answer offered.
Cremo proposes the answer that the orthodox archeology community can't: anatomically modern humans traveled by boat from Java to Flores Island, bringing tools with them, 800,000 years ago. The findings on Java demonstrate that modern humans and Homo erectus lived in the same space at the same time, 800,000 years ago. They co-habitated. Like using charge instead of invisible dark matter to explain the shape of galaxies, Cremo's hypothesis accounts for the facts, leaves no loose ends hanging, and is consistent with the large body of evidence he presents throughout the rest of the book.
Why not bring these findings into the larger fold of thinking about human evolution? Because they don't conform and fit with the reigning model of How Things Are. If (to give one more example) the modern human skeleton found in the Olduvai Gorge of Tanzania - in sediment dated at 1.5 million years - actually is a modern human, then the whole story of human evolution is in need of revision. Cremo isn't basing his case on a single finding, or even a few. He has documented hundreds of these anomalies, and he has traveled the world speaking at conferences and presenting his case.
I highly recommend Cremo's book for two reasons. The first is the compelling strength of evidence he brings together. It is fascinating to consider that perhaps modern humans have been around for millions of years. If true, there are a few evolutionary biologists who are going to be upset. The second reason to read the books is to see, in yet another field of science, how orthodoxy becomes mandatory. Anomalous data, no matter how compelling, has to be denied or given uncomfortable dismissals to preserve the reigning model. The pattern repeats, from particle physics, to cosmology and into archeology.
Documentation of what he finds is quite meticulous. There is little room to critique him on the grounds of shoddy research. In addition to citing hordes of primary descriptions of these archeological anomalies, he has traveled the world to see hundreds of these sites and artifacts first hand. And what he reports is truly astonishing. His interest is in remains of what are widely agreed upon as *modern* humans (Homo sapiens), in sediments that are dated through multiple methods at hundreds of thousands and even millions of years old. Keep in mind that the orthodox chronology of human evolution puts modern humans as emerging about 250,000 years ago, at the earliest.
Every chapter in this book is an essay written for Atlantis Rising magazine. I didn't have the fortitude to read his more academic tome, Forbidden Archeology, so chose this book of essays instead. For those who want to know the gist as well as the narrative context for each skeletal find, I suspect this book is a very accessible substitute for the longer version.
For instance, Chapter 14 details his presentation at the Darwin Museum, where he described the discovery and recording in 1887 of modern human remains found in sediment of the Eocene era. That's over 33 million years old. And in Chapter 25 he details multiple lines of evidence that anatomically modern humans were hunting mastadons as long ago as 375,000 years. Every chapter is a discovery that is tied to others. Each time such findings are made, the community of archeologists make heroic effort to come up with explanations of how modern human remains got *placed* in these old sediments. The problem is that the remains are most often embedded in sediments along side tools and bones of animals known to have only lived some millions of years ago.
Chapter 18 discusses the modern (homo sapiens) human femur found on the island of Java in sediment dated at 800,000 years old. One year earlier and about 15 yards from the femur, in the same sediment, a skullcap was discovered that had a distinctly Homo erectus shape. More perplexing, across a large stretch of Pacific Ocean on Flores Island, in sediments dated at the same 800,000 years, archeologists found bones that appeared to be modern humans, as well as tools. But current thinking is that modern humans wouldn't appear on the scene for another 600,000 years. In addition, deliberate sea crossings didn't happen, orthodoxy says, until just about 50,000 years ago by modern humans going from SE Asia to Australia. So the bones found on Flores Island were declared, in spite of their modern form, to be Homo erectus. How to explain the ocean crossing by the landlubbing Homo erectus? No answer offered.
Cremo proposes the answer that the orthodox archeology community can't: anatomically modern humans traveled by boat from Java to Flores Island, bringing tools with them, 800,000 years ago. The findings on Java demonstrate that modern humans and Homo erectus lived in the same space at the same time, 800,000 years ago. They co-habitated. Like using charge instead of invisible dark matter to explain the shape of galaxies, Cremo's hypothesis accounts for the facts, leaves no loose ends hanging, and is consistent with the large body of evidence he presents throughout the rest of the book.
Why not bring these findings into the larger fold of thinking about human evolution? Because they don't conform and fit with the reigning model of How Things Are. If (to give one more example) the modern human skeleton found in the Olduvai Gorge of Tanzania - in sediment dated at 1.5 million years - actually is a modern human, then the whole story of human evolution is in need of revision. Cremo isn't basing his case on a single finding, or even a few. He has documented hundreds of these anomalies, and he has traveled the world speaking at conferences and presenting his case.
I highly recommend Cremo's book for two reasons. The first is the compelling strength of evidence he brings together. It is fascinating to consider that perhaps modern humans have been around for millions of years. If true, there are a few evolutionary biologists who are going to be upset. The second reason to read the books is to see, in yet another field of science, how orthodoxy becomes mandatory. Anomalous data, no matter how compelling, has to be denied or given uncomfortable dismissals to preserve the reigning model. The pattern repeats, from particle physics, to cosmology and into archeology.
July 13, 2022
Since I don’t believe in Darwin’s theory of evolution, this book is really my thing.
The first two chapters are awesome, but later seems a bit repetitive.
The first two chapters are awesome, but later seems a bit repetitive.
July 15, 2024
Excellent
Extraordinary!!!
The book made me think and rethink the possibility of getting the answer to an old question. How long have humans walked on this earth?
I strongly agree with Michael Creek that Homo Sapiens have bee around for millions of years.
Extraordinary!!!
The book made me think and rethink the possibility of getting the answer to an old question. How long have humans walked on this earth?
I strongly agree with Michael Creek that Homo Sapiens have bee around for millions of years.
July 6, 2012
Okay, something really different. The author, a Hare Krishna member, asserts that "modern humans," meaning humans like us, not like the "ancestors" of modern man, have been on earth for millions and millions of years, almost from the beginning of the earth. This extreme antiquity of the modern human existence is subjected to "knowledge filtration" which means that any discovery deviating from the "norm" is considered to be an error. He gives numerous examples of discoveries of human remains and artifacts dated to a million years or more, coming from recognized experts in the field, but not accepted by the mainstream. Much of his study has been on the Vedas of India, ancient histories which posit a much more ancient human existence than accepted by most. Being a reader of Van Daniken's books, I found it quite interesting and plan to read more of his work.
March 1, 2020
Very good so far...
April 11, 2017
I would rate a 4.5 if I could. Cremo is an engaging writer that makes you want to continue reading. He is not a tin foil raving loony, but a very gifted author who has a couple of critical points to make.
1. His statements about knowledge filtration is very correct. We humans had a tendency to want the evidence to fit our beliefs. It happens in politics, religion, economics, social activity and in science.
2. There is a number of anomalies in the fossil evidence of ancient man. Do I believe that homo sapiens have been around for millions year. No, but I also believe science should look at the exceptions that are out there. Cremo proves that this is not happening. Remember that Galileo was forced to recant his theories on pain of death.
I don't think that that his theory "A VEDIC ALTERNATIVE TO DARWIN'S THEORY" is correct, but I have not studied it in detail. This book does make you think. He really is a strong believer in intelligent design, just not from a fundamental Christian viewpoint. I hope to read "The Hidden History of the Human Race" soon. I have not giving up on Darwin, but I must admit he has made me rethink much of the theory.
Highly recommended to free thinkers and inquisitive minds. Only thing that I found I did not like was some of the repetitive statements in the book, though since it is a collection of articles he wrote it is understandable.
1. His statements about knowledge filtration is very correct. We humans had a tendency to want the evidence to fit our beliefs. It happens in politics, religion, economics, social activity and in science.
2. There is a number of anomalies in the fossil evidence of ancient man. Do I believe that homo sapiens have been around for millions year. No, but I also believe science should look at the exceptions that are out there. Cremo proves that this is not happening. Remember that Galileo was forced to recant his theories on pain of death.
I don't think that that his theory "A VEDIC ALTERNATIVE TO DARWIN'S THEORY" is correct, but I have not studied it in detail. This book does make you think. He really is a strong believer in intelligent design, just not from a fundamental Christian viewpoint. I hope to read "The Hidden History of the Human Race" soon. I have not giving up on Darwin, but I must admit he has made me rethink much of the theory.
Highly recommended to free thinkers and inquisitive minds. Only thing that I found I did not like was some of the repetitive statements in the book, though since it is a collection of articles he wrote it is understandable.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews