March 8, 2015 — David Hatcher Childress

[Christopher O'Brien]

Post Script: Yeah, barely 'bronze-age' humans quarried, transported, shaped and set these 2000 ton trilithon platform stones at Baalbek. They must of hired hercules and his Titan army, because we probably couldn't accomplish this today with modern heavy equipment.

 

[LatentCauses]

Every once in a while someone comes along to show us what the future looks like. In the 1940s it might have been Mirin Dajo. Right now it's the magician known as Dynamo.

 

[Ezechiel]

Totally insane. What's the point of such a massive structure in the first place, unless maybe you're forced to shield yourself from something or want to show off your godly powers ?

They didn't have million dollar Bugatti Veyrons to show off but maybe a massive block of stone did the job lmao. Or maybe it's just a like a post-it message for the future: 'we had brains too' and 'you're not the best of the best of the best' yet lol.

Extreme Masonry
Mendelssohn (11) suggested that the purpose of building fantastically large structures (such as the early-dynastic pyramids of Egypt) was simply to unite the people through a common purpose, at the same time as reinforcing the social hierarchy of 'Kingship'. Extending this theory, one could say that if the size of the monument reflects the greatness of the builder, then the size (and type) of stone in turn, reflects the greatness of the masons.

The expression 'get a life' takes on a whole new meaning

 

[pong]

You may disagree with some of David Childress' theories, but there's no disagreement that David is one of the most admired figures in the alternative science and archaeology field. Like the fictional "Professor Wexler" that pops up in every issue of World Explorer Magazine, David is no armchair explorer. His hiking shoes have tread every corner of the world, allowing him to document everything from Yeti to Gobekli Tepe to Nan Madol. I had the privilege of meeting David in June of 2011 as he hosted one of his special conferences in Kempton, Illinois, the site of his publishing company. David is on the right in my snapshot and on the left is tooling engineer Christopher Dunn, author of "Lost Technologies of Ancient Egypt." Paracast alumnus John Brandenburg was also on hand and it was great fun to chat with him and experience his remarkable sense of humor.

 

[Gudnooz]

The interview with David Childress left me very dissatisfied. He paints all archeologists with one brush, incompetence. Really? Where is his proof? To paraphrase: "Just look around. Look in the museums." In other words, do your own research, he's not about to give us any details. Another series, "Ancient Discoveries" appreciates the fact that human intelligence and ingenuity have been around much longer than the last two centuries. Many great human inventions have been forgotten. A recent program on the use of overhead infrared photography had revealed the presence of large settlements around pyramids. Excavation revealed a skilled labor force and their families lived there. Writings on the walls revealed the size of labor crews, skills, work done etc. I don't remember details because I wasn't watching for that; but guys like Childress really get to me with their quasi research and disdain for human ingenuity. And no one challenged him! Only soft balls! Weak Paracast!

 

[Burnt State]

Building these large monolithic structures is time consuming indeed. My son had to go and smelt some local ore to create his saw and then the rest of the early afternoon was all about cutting and fitting the blocks. I have yet to check block density to get a proper read on largest tonnage. He will not divulge the purpose of the structure nor how he convinced his dog to help with quarrying. I suspect another intelligence was possibly involved.

 

[Gudnooz]

I've had some experience building these same structures in Upstate New York during the middle-twentieth century. My neighbors and I were young and innocent. No one had ever told us it couldn't be done. They were high with connecting tunnels. Our backyards were littered with them during the coldest season of the year. And when we were done we went to war with each other! It was the natural thing to do after building a formidable fort!

 

[Christopher O'Brien]

The interview with David Childress left me very dissatisfied....guys like Childress really get to me with their quasi research and disdain for human ingenuity. And no one challenged him! Only soft balls! Weak Paracast!

Yeah, I noticed you posted all sorts of "hardball" questions for us to ask him. I zinged him several times but he's one of my best friends, my landlord and publisher. I'd like to see you interview your best friend, landlord and publisher! Now that you've been lured out from lurker-closet land Mr. Critic, I expect to see you posting well thought out, deeply probing, provocative, hard-hitting questions for our guests. Make 'em squirm, dude!

We make it look easy, but it ain't as many longtime listeners know. But now we have YOUR help to inspire us to be even more tough and confrontational on our guests. That's "Gudnooz" indeed!

 

[Gudnooz]

Post Script: Yeah, barely 'bronze-age' humans quarried, transported, shaped and set these 2000 ton trilithon platform stones at Baalbek. They must of hired hercules and his Titan army, because we probably couldn't accomplish this today with modern heavy equipment. [QUOTE ]

Maybe we lack the tools because we lack the interest to use huge stones. Our culture builds structures meant to be replaced.

Yeah, I noticed you posted all sorts of "hardball" questions for us to ask him. I zinged him several times but he's one of my best friends, my landlord and publisher. I'd like to see you interview your best friend, landlord and publisher! Now that you've been lured out from lurker-closet land Mr. Critic, I expect to see you posting well thought out, deeply probing, provocative, hard-hitting questions for our guests. Make 'em squirm, dude!

We make it look easy, but it ain't as many longtime listeners know. But now we have YOUR help to inspire us to be even more tough and confrontational on our guests. That's "Gudnooz" indeed!

Thanks Chris. Unfortunately I didn't catch the name of the guest nor the the interview until after it was aired. I was ignorant of your "full disclosure " of your relationship with David. I hope to be more involved in the future.

 

[Standanista]

I certainly defer to your personal experience but may I suggest some of the intricate walls in places like Cusco with the crazy sides that fit together amazingly snugly are still probably beyond us to copy - never mind using the tools of the supposed time? Is it not the case that in many of these sites, the excellent build quality of the older parts is superior to newer walls etc that are built on top? The difference is so stark and yet they are often ascribed to the same builders and era?
(I'll state up front this is not my top subject and I am not speaking with any authority whatsoever; I am open to being corrected if wrong!)

I certainly speak with no authority either Goggs. I've no doubt that they had some very clever techniques, some of them now lost, plus technologies more advanced than what mainstream history credits them with. I guess where I was coming from in my original post is that it can still be human ingenuity and concerted effort that built these things rather than space aliens.

You're right about older construction in many cases being of better quality than the newer stuff, for example in the use of vitrification to heat-seal the stones' surfaces, as I understand it.

 

[Burnt State]

A few words on whose got the biggest Baalbek's of them all (a little AC/DC reference there), or the biggest monoliths never raised but quarried. Their weights say something about our ancient ancestors.

The Yangshan Stele is considered to be the biggest stone still in quarry. I've seen estimates range from 8800 t to 16700 t. This is one of the great problems with looking at the monoliths is that estimates frequently vary as estimates of actual completed size and density calculations yield a lot of different results. This stone is just enormous and it scratches one's mind to think how they were going to move this character along with its other components that can still be found on the quarry site.

This is the unfinished Aswan Obelisk of Egypt. It comes in at 1200 t and would have been quite the character if ever fully erected insteacd of cracked. Either way, to their credit, a large group of people were organized into carving this character out and they did it well and in confidence that they would raise it up. That was a fail unfortunately but impressive nonetheless and demonstrates that we have been engineering in unique ways for quite some time.

The Stone of the Pregnant Woman at Baalbek is one of those stones that has a lot of debate over its actual weight. Some call it 2000 t but most agree that this one is 1000 t only. Regardless, our ancient ancestors were a determined, inventive bunch and they built with purpose. Sometimes the talk about how crude they were back in the day is simply not accurate.

I have an excellent 16mm copy of the first real scientific inquiry into Stonehenge. A young new generation scientist, at the dawn of the computer age used a punch card system to plot out Stonehenge's features up against astronomical observations across time. On this doc the old stuffy prof. from Oxford is waxing on about what poppycock it is to imagine that these primitive peoples had any conception of the math needed to complete the astronomical observations that would coincide with lunar and solar movements. But then the young scientist dude made his calculations and brought the crew back for the solstice. There the sun shone bright though the stone window with perfect clarity, a shot of sunlight crisp through to another marker proving that in fact Stonehenge was an observatory.

Let's not deny our inheritance. We descend from brilliance and continue to be brilliant. If we could just get rid of the idiots that are dictating how we should use our science to make war on our brothers & sisters and kill them at a distance. Then we could better engage in what we do best, make artistic and engineering feats that will one day capture enough of the sun's power to lift us out into the stars.

 

[Burnt State]

Also, I agree with, Chris. Not always can he ask the hard questions, especially not when it's colleagues, friends or landlords on the show. If you make it a point to chase away everyone then you'll never get guests - then what? The membership carries the mandate and you can put out whatever you question you like out on the question bank or hash it out after the fact on the forums. But we'll make more progress when great questions are posted ASAP when guests are announced. It makes for better radio. When obvious fakers are on the hosts let it rip and there is a general critical air that Gene has as he looks to see who critiques who and why - a little in house cleaning in those moments I think. Really missing Moseley now that I think about it - that was a clear critical voice for all his jesting and mockery.

 

[Constance]

. . . I have an excellent 16mm copy of the first real scientific inquiry into Stonehenge. A young new generation scientist, at the dawn of the computer age used a punch card system to plot out Stonehenge's features up against astronomical observations across time. On this doc the old stuffy prof. from Oxford is waxing on about what poppycock it is to imagine that these primitive peoples had any conception of the math needed to complete the astronomical observations that would coincide with lunar and solar movements. But then the young scientist dude made his calculations and brought the crew back for the solstice. There the sun shone bright though the stone window with perfect clarity, a shot of sunlight crisp through to another marker proving that in fact Stonehenge was an observatory.

The mathematical and astronomical knowledge of early humans is mind-boggling and inspires my curiosity most about what kinds of intelligent human communities developed in the ancient world and how far back they must have started. Archaeoastronomical artefacts suggest that very primitive humans, probably pre-linguistic, were asking themselves ontological questions about what existed beyond their planetary horizons and what it signified. The archaeological digging has to go deeper before we'll begin to understand the past.

 

[Ezechiel]

The mathematical and astronomical knowledge of early humans is mind-boggling and inspires my curiosity most about what kinds of intelligent human communities developed in the ancient world and how far back they must have started. Archaeoastronomical artefacts suggest that very primitive humans, probably pre-linguistic, were asking themselves ontological questions about what existed beyond their planetary horizons and what it signified. The archaeological digging has to go deeper before we'll begin to understand the past.

My hunch is that agriculture became so critical to the survival of growing civilizations (food requirements) that anything relating to it acquired deep existential meaning. A seemingly judgmental mother earth became the first god to venerate as she allowed you to live in large groups and dominate others who might be less organized... And you better not miss the first planting day of the year or you're done ... thus math and astronomy are the key to those heavy and precise agricultural temples which guided you from year to year. Probably more than a hunch lol.

History of agriculture - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Agriculture involving domestication of plants and animals was developed around 12,000 years ago, although earlier people began altering communities of flora and fauna for their own benefit through other means such as fire-stick farming prior to that.[1][2] Agriculture has undergone significant developments since the time of the earliest cultivation. The Fertile Crescent of Western Asia, Egypt and India were sites of the earliest planned sowing and harvesting of plants that had previously been gathered in the wild. Independent development of agriculture occurred in northern and southern China, Africa's Sahel, New Guinea, parts of India and several regions of the Americas.[3] Agricultural techniques such as irrigation, crop rotation, the application of fertilizers were developed soon after the Neolithic Revolution but have made significant strides in the past 200 years. The Haber-Bosch method for synthesizing ammonium nitrate represented a major breakthrough and allowed crop yields to overcome previous constraints.

 

[Constance]

@Ezechiel, I think you'll find this book to be very interesting:


It's out of print currently, and remaining copies are priced at astronomical levels, but you can get it from or through your library. John Burke worked with W. C. Levengood for years in analyzing seed growth and plant vigor changes in crop circle plants and later set out on the research project described in this book. I read it about five years ago and found it fascinating and persuasive.

Here are several amazon reviews that present a good overview of the work.


Groundbreaking
By Walter Cruttenden on January 19, 2006

Seed of Knowledge Stone of Plenty is an important book.

Many authors have hypothesized about the possible purpose or use of the thousands of mysterious henges, dolmens, cairns and other Neolithic structures found around the world. Most of the theories are based on little science and lots of conjecture. But author, scientist and businessman John Burke takes a different approach.

Using a magnetometer and electrostatic voltmeter Burke has taken hundreds of readings at approximately 80 different ancient sites including Carnac, Avebury, Stonehenge as well as assorted American mounds and Mesoamerican pyramids. The results are clear and compelling indicating that these ancient sites are places where subtle energies emanate from the Earth or are enhanced by the structure itself.

Beyond the extensive research Burke also conducts a number of agricultural experiments and finds that seeds placed at such sites are stressed by the ambient currents resulting in higher propagation rates, quicker maturity and improved crop yields. Thus it seems that ancient myth and folklore about taking seeds to "sacred sites to be blessed" may be true and indeed have a highly practical purpose.

While many modern scholars consider megalithic man a mere primitive, Seed of Knowledge shows he had wisdom well beyond our current understanding and put it to useful purpose. It will undoubtedly take further experimentation to fully understand all the energies and uses of the many different ancient sites and structures but Burke's work is sure to cause more research to be undertaken - and it might even encourage a few historians to reexamine their opinions of early man.

This is a well-written book that builds on itself and is supported by strong science and a number of excellent photos. Whether you understand a lot about ancient culture and want another perspective, or you just want to know what our ancestors were thinking, Seed of Knowledge Stone of Plenty is a great read!



Robust hypothesis carefully presented
By DJ Hancock on September 5, 2007

Leaving the northern hemisphere winter of 1995 I stopped off for a month or two in Egypt, Israel and Jordan, armed with a fresh copy of The Orion Mystery by BAUVAL and GILBERT. To my pleasure it opened up a whole different possibility and appreciation of the mysteries of the Giza pyramids than the conventional story told by the locals that they were tombs constructed for the ruling class who worshipped the Sun.

There are many commentators offering diverse opinions on the purpose and true age of the great pyramids and the Sphinx, ranging from UFO landing pads and interstellar navigation systems, to Temples housing chambers of frequency and sound that combine different hertz rates with low magnetism to simulate human emotions including fear and love.

A shaman once told me if the Earth's crust was laid out flat at the time of construction, the pyramids were positioned bang smack in the middle of the Earth's landmass, centered over ley lines to harness the enormous power of the Earth's gravitational field and used as generating stations. Some of the older indigenous traditions, as authors BURKE and HALBERG point out, speak of the connections between Mother Earth and Father Sun, in modern day terms telluric currents possibly creating nodes or ducts. Dr Bruce Lipton and Gregg Braden's efforts hypothesize that the human body, through its carbon base derived from Earth, provides the grounding for our consciousness from the Stars (environment) in such a way that we act as receptors on the crust (membrane) of the earth - in fractal and holographic language the same way the relationship between the membrane of our cells of the human body operate.

However relevant it may be to any of this, SEED of KNOWLEDGE, STONE of PLENTY provides yet more interesting speculation for the purpose of constructing these, and other, massive megalithic structures around the world. The harnessing of electromagnetism to promote growth in seeds to meet the needs of civilization during times of crises is well within the bounds of possibility. The ionization of the atmosphere through the concentrated focus of these energies caused by deliberate intention is hard to debate. Tesla, the founding father of alternating current, is purported to also have experimented with ionization.

SEED of KNOWLEDGE, STONE of PLENTY links ball lightening, balls of light, geology, minerals, stone placements such as Avebury and Stonehenge, and American Indian mounds with people's quest for channeling earth energies to enhance fertility and agriculture. While certainly one possible outcome I find it difficult to accept that this would be the sole use for these magnificent icons. While BURKE and HALBERG steer clear of any references to the enhanced growth of seeds from genuine crop circles which mainly manifest in the chalk aquifer areas of southern England, this probably reflects their practical and pragmatic approach to the subject matter. Often this detachment is sadly lacking from the controversial and misleading information that surrounds that phenomenon.

In addition to ten well written chapters including diagrams and colour photos, the references, notes and appendix section is close on 80 pages long - highly recommended. My thanks to Walter Cruttenden's free podcast monthly radio show THE COSMIC INFLUENCE on iTUNES which included an interview with John Burke and was how I found out about this material.

 

[Ezechiel]

Beyond the extensive research Burke also conducts a number of agricultural experiments and finds that seeds placed at such sites are stressed by the ambient currents resulting in higher propagation rates, quicker maturity and improved crop yields. Thus it seems that ancient myth and folklore about taking seeds to "sacred sites to be blessed" may be true and indeed have a highly practical purpose.

As modern technologies evolve and destroy our natural survival instincts and senses, there is no doubt in my mind that some of our ancestors might have been sensible to forces/electromagnetic currents that enhanced growth.
The Australian aboriginal horn is a prime example of that kind of sensibility to earthly tones.

Our own noses used to be able to track prey and warn us of dangers. Who nose what what else we're missing out on ? We are clearly not the same homosapiens.

 

[Bergen]

According to David it is (reddish colored) "red granite." I think you are right, technically, he is wrong and he is not a geologist. Granite, is not andesite. However, that said, the type of andesite in the Puma Punku area is high in quartz and very hard—between 5.5 and 6.5 on the Moh scale. This hardness would make it extremely difficult, if not impossible to create perfect curves and elaborate multi-leveled bevels, etc.

Please understand: I am NOT a geologist or an apologist for DHC. There are many things, opinions and questionable theories he propounds that I have major problems with. He can get a bit sloppy in his thinking–I'll be the first to confirm that, but at least he gets his ass out there!

A really good person to speak w/listen to about Puma Punku is engineer Christopher Dunn. For 50 years he has "worked at every level of high-tech manufacturing from machinist, toolmaker, programmer and operator of high-power industrial lasers, Project Engineer and Laser Operations Manager" and has worked in and out of aerospace for years. He wrote an eye opening book titled: The Giza Power Plant (1998) where he postulates that based on his measurements of Egyptian monuments, ancient stonecutters somehow "achieved a high-precision accuracy surpassing modern accuracy standards in building."

David and Chris produced a video titled: Ancient Advanced Technology in Peru & Bolivia. In it you can see the level of precision that the "experts" claim was achieved by stone-age stonecarvers. You decide... I'm done here...

first , i think it is a bit iffy to point out that he is your friend and landlord in a diiscussion about his claims. The Paracast has always been the show that asks the hard questions , even to the point where it becomes uncomfortable. "'separate the signal from the noise" has always been the Paracast mantra and i dont , personally , think that shouldnt apply just becouse you know the guy. If you feel uncomfortable with it then maybe Gene should do that part when guest who are personal friends of you are on. I find that highly understandable. I also dont see you as an "DHC apologist" at all.

On to DHC. I , personally , dont take him seriously. Ive seen him in far to many TV shows, listened to him on various radio shows ( C2C and here ) and i just dont buy a word he is saying. Not necessarily becouse i think he is lying , but becouse I think he is naive and gullible. IMO he just travels around the world pointing out "weird stuff" and blaming aliens. I saw about ten minutes of the video you posted and , this coming from a guy who hates political correctness , it struck me as an unintentionally racist travel video. Intercutting between local indian people , ancient structures and constantly pointing out that " theres no way these peolpe did this" just leaves a bad taste. Again , i dont think DHC is a racist , im saying his video , at least the first ten minutes , came out that way. To me atleast. Anyways , i feel im done with this. Ive got nothing but respect for you and your work btw and im buying you stalking the herd next month ( on ebook if available, it would take weeks to mail to Norway )

 

[Polterwurst]

On to DHC. I , personally , dont take him seriously. Ive seen him in far to many TV shows, listened to him on various radio shows ( C2C and here ) and i just dont buy a word he is saying. Not necessarily becouse i think he is lying , but becouse I think he is naive and gullible.

Well, not so gullible after all. He went to Yugoslavia, looked at the "Bosnian Pyramids" and declared them natural formations (which I think they are, there might be some mines, but that doesn't mean that there is a system of corridors and chambers in there), despite the claims of "archaeologist" Semir Osmanagic. Don't know if he stayed with that conclusion, but I haven't heard otherwise so I guess he did.

Obviously he won't believe everything. Or promote obvious hoaxes to sell books.