By Analea Styles
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| Ancient carving depicting human flight? http://www.keyway.ca/htm2005/20050829.htm |
In The Genius of Ancient Man we talk about the various puzzle pieces that
make up the “big picture” (Chapter 12). Many times the pieces aren’t
recognizable at first or don’t seem to fit anywhere; but as we continue to
study and learn, we widen our view and sometimes the pieces fall suddenly into
place.
Did Ancient Man Fly?
Now you may be one of those people who have never and would never even
think to ask such a question. Perhaps it seems ridiculous, absurd, and foolish
to ponder or speculate about. Or maybe you are the opposite and have scoured
the internet and searched through dozens of books looking for a conclusive
answer to that very question.
Unfortunately, this post will not provide such an answer. It will
however highlight some of the mysterious evidences that seem to support that
ancient people may have achieved flight long before our modern airplanes. Like
the other posts (Chinese Language, Giants, and Dragons), this is yet another
puzzle piece to approach with a mixture of fascination and trepidation.
We know ancient man had a fascination with the heavens. The many
examples of their astronomical knowledge, star worship, and astronomically aligned monument building testifies to this fact (see chapters 4, 6, and 8 in The Genius of Ancient Man). Could it be
that their enthrallment with the skies led them to attempt flight?
Legends of Flight
One of the most fascinating and perhaps convincing evidences of ancient
flight comes from the legends and writings of the ancient world, particularly India.
The vimanas were supposedly ancient
flying machines and are referred to in many Indian texts such as the Ramayana,
the Mahabharata, and the Samara Sutradhara.
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| A temple relief supposedly depicting a flying vimana http://ancientaliens.wordpress.com/2010/11/24/vimanas/ |
The Mahabharata describes a vimana as “an aerial chariot with the sides
of iron and clad with wings”. The Yanta Sarvasva says they were “impregnable,
unbreakable, non-combustible and indestructible; capable of coming to a dead
stop in the twinkling of an eye”[1].
Indian epics also describe fantastic aerial battles, weapons of terrible
destructive power, and some texts even explain how to build and fly the
aircraft.
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| Drawings supposedly made from the vimana texts http://atlara.wordpress.com/2011/11/29/vimana-chariots-of-the-gods/ |
What should we do with such records? Are they completely imaginative? Or
were their authors writing real historical accounts?
India is not the only culture with such records. The “Hakatha” (Laws of
the Babylonians) records that, “The privilege of operating a flying machine is
great. The knowledge of flight is among the most ancient of our inheritances. A
gift from ‘those from upon high’. We received it from them as a means of saving
many lives.” And the Chaldean work, “The Sifrala”, clearly describes how to
build a flying machine.[2]
There are also several accounts of supposed successful flights in
ancient China. Apparently both Emperor Shun (2258-2208 BC) and Emperor Cheng
Tang (1766 BC) designed working
flying machines and the Chinese poet, Chu Yuan (3rd Century BC)
describes a flight he made in a jade chariot, including an aerial survey[3].
Ancient myths of flight abound in many other cultures around the world.
However these are often related to the activities of the gods and could perhaps
come from pure imagination as mankind observes the abilities of birds and other
flying creatures.
“The Prince of the Power of the Air”
It is interesting to note that the Bible describes Satan as the “prince
of the power of the air” (Ephesians 2:2) and as believers, “our struggle is not
against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against
the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness
in the heavenly places” (Eph. 6:12). We cannot exclude the work of Satan and
his demons because we know that there is a spiritual war waging. Could these
legends and written records come from interactions with the spiritual world?
What about Geoglyphs?
One of the great mysteries in archeology is the enormous geoglyphs that
are found carved into the earth’s surface in various places. Though theories
for their purpose abound, some researchers claim that these massive formations
are evidence of ancient flight. From ground level, geoglyphs are generally
unimpressive and incomprehensible, however from above, the big picture emerges
and the mysterious lines form images of animals, plants, human-like figures and
geometric shapes.
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| Amazon Geoglyphs http://cryptoforest.blogspot.ca/2010/09/written-on-land-geoglyphs.html |
The Nazca Lines
The Nazca Lines of Peru are probably the most well known geoglyphs. First discovered in 1927 by an archeologist hiking in the foothills nearby[4] they were made well known as people saw them from airplanes flying over since 1939. Archeologists believe they were created between
500 BC and AD 500. To accomplish the etchings, the ancient peoples dug down removing
the top layer of reddish gravel (about 15-20 inches deep) to reveal the lighter
substrate beneath[5].
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| The "Hummingbird" 310 feet across Wikimedia Commons |
But just because the geoglyphs appear most obvious and purposeful from
above, does not mean that they were created to be viewed in such a way. We may
be quick to jump to conclusions of ancient flight or aliens but this could
simply be due to the influences of the culture we live in.
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| Wikimedia Commons |
German researcher, Maria Reiche studied the lines for 40 years and was
convinced that they were used for astronomical and calendrical purposes.
However later researchers claim that the etchings had more religious purposes.
They suggest the people used the lines in rituals to obtain water and crop
fertility. Similarly, the animal etchings could simply be symbols of rain and
fertility[6].
However why they were created so
massive and how they managed to make
them so accurate is not readily explained by this theory.
Other large geoglyphs include:
· The Uffington
White Horse, Oxfordshire England (dated around 1000 BC)
· The Sajama Lines,
Bolivia (dated around 900 BC)
· The Atacama Giant
(as well as over 5000 figures nearby) in Chile (around 900 AD)
· Over 60 humanoid
figures found in the Colorado Desert of California (around 900 AD)
· The recently
discovered Amazon geoglyphs in Brazil (dated between 600-1000 AD)[7]
· Another possible
geoglyph has been discovered in Russia north of Kazakhstan in the Ural
mountains (supposedly dated to be at least a thousand to two thousand years
older than Peru’s Nazca Lines)[8]
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| Russian Geoglyph Google Earth image: http://www.foxnews.com/science/2012/10/12/mysterious-elk-shaped-structure-discovered-in-russia/?intcmp=features |
Aircraft Artifacts
There are also a couple significant artifacts that have convinced some
people that ancient man could fly, or at least attempted to, with some sort of
airplane-like craft.
For instance, the Saqqara Bird, found in a tomb in Egypt, resembles a
model plane. It supposedly has the exact proportions needed to glide and stay
in the air almost by itself, apparently requiring extensive aeronautical
knowledge to create. Archeologists theorize it was made around 200 BC[9].
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| The Saqqara Bird Wikimedia Commons |
Similar golden models have been found in South America, estimated at
over 1000 years old. The trinkets do not seem to resemble any known animal and
contain several features that lend support toward the airplane model theory[10].
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| http://www.2atoms.com/weird/ancient/plane.htm |
Concrete Proof?
Do any of these evidences prove ancient flight? Not really. Not until more
substantial and physical evidence is found and precisely dated to ancient times
will the scientific community accept such a theory. However, there is enough
out there to get us thinking and speculating.
We have no problems with ancient cultures mastering the ability of
flight. We already know that they had skills and capabilities that we don’t
understand so it is hardly difficult for us to accept that they could fly as
well.
Created to fly?
It is interesting to note that God did not create mankind with the
ability to fly. But He did give us a fascinating brain that we still have not figured
out. He made us creative and persistent and inventive. He gave us the ability
to reason, solve problems, and calculate. But it is what we do with these
abilities that matters.
Our purpose is not merely to build, invent, discover and fly. We were
made for so much more; we were created to bring glory to the only One who
deserves it. We are in fact commanded
to do all to the glory of God (1 Peter 4:11, 1 Cor. 10:31).
So today, in your own attempts to fly (or whatever your dream may be),
let God’s glory be the center and the focus. What is your motivation? Who are
you serving? What will all your accomplishments mean in the end? These are the
truly important questions to ponder and answer correctly.
[1] Childress,
David Hatcher. Fly the Friendly skies in
Air India Vimanas. http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/vimanas/esp_vimanas_4.htm.
Accessed August 20, 2013.
[2] Ancient Flying Machines. http://www.world-mysteries.com/sar_7.htm.
Accessed August 20, 2013.
[3] Early and Ancient Records of Flying Machines.
http://rense.com/general25/recs.htm.
Accessed August 20, 2013.
[4] Reece, Kathrine. Grounding the Nasca Balloon. In the Hall of Ma'at. http://www.hallofmaat.com/modules.php?name=Articles&file=article&sid=96. Accessed August 26, 2013.
[5] Top Ten Geoglyphs – UK and the World. Britain
Explorer. http://www.britainexplorer.com/top-ten-geoglyphs.html.
Accessed August 20, 2013.
[6] Golomb,
Jason. Nasca Lines – The Sacred Landscape.
National Geographic. http://science.nationalgeographic.com/science/archaeology/nasca-lines/.
Accessed August 20, 2013.
[7] Top Ten Geoglyphs – UK and the World. Britain
Explorer. http://www.britainexplorer.com/top-ten-geoglyphs.html.
Accessed August 20, 2013.
[8] Jarus, Owen.
Mysterious ‘Nazca Lines’ in Russia are
Thousands of Years Old. October 12, 2012. http://www.foxnews.com/science/2012/10/12/mysterious-elk-shaped-structure-discovered-in-russia/?intcmp=features.
Accessed August 26, 2013.
[9] Ancient Flying Machines. http://www.world-mysteries.com/sar_7.htm.
Accessed August 20, 2013.
[10] Ibid.
In "The Word Came With Power" the missionary mentions how the locals weren't surprised to find knowledgeable people who could fly. They'd told stories about such highly civilized people for centuries.
ReplyDeleteThese were Tribals farming the same ancient terraces in the Philippines for who knows how long.
It's fascinating to learn about these ancient tribes! Do you know which tribe specifically the book was talking about? There are many cultures with old stories and legends about things like flying or high tech building techniques or even magic and sometimes it is very difficult to separate the truth from the myth. Still the existence of so many accounts worldwide does lend support to our belief in ancient genius, perhaps even ancient pilots. Thanks for sharing!
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