Journeys to Ancient Worlds: What Modern Man Can Learn from Ancient Civilisations

By Richard J Oldale

There is a misconception about South America. The same can be said about the history of mankind. Combine the two and an entirely different story develops. Journeys to Ancient Worlds asks the questions - and finds the answers - that shatter the illusion of orthodox history. From the sophisticated engineering works of Peru and Bolivia to the extraordinary knowledge of astronomy found in Mesoamerica, this fascinating book serves as a travel guide that takes you on a voyage of discovery – not only of ancient cultures and their “impossible” temples, but of mankind as a species. We have a mysterious relationship with the Universe, and when you learn to connect with nature, you discover a new you. Witty, informative and enlightening, What Modern Man Can Learn From Ancient Civilisations is essential reading for travellers brave enough to explore countries and cultures you know little about – but more importantly, it awakens you to the fact that you have to discover your inner-self!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Apr 10, 2015
• ISBN: 9781326243418

Book preview

Journeys to Ancient Worlds

What Modern Man Can Learn from Ancient Civilisations

SOUTH AMERICA

Copyright © 2014 Richard J Oldale

All Rights Reserved

ISBN: 978-1-326-24341-8

Preface

Armed police gather in the main plaza of Santa Cruz de la Sierra. They carry transparent plastic shields and wear hard blue helmets with Perspex visors. Automatic machine guns cradle in their arms as they watchfully survey their surroundings. A black baton hangs from one hip, a holstered pistol from the other.

As a visiting westerner, the scene unfolding before me in the southern climes of Bolivia is not much of a culture shock given the image western media paints of Latin American countries. Reports of drug pushing, kidnapping, gang violence, shootings, political corruption, violent protests, street crime, dictatorships and abject poverty are typical stories. Yet the same horrors are evident in most countries. The only difference is so-called developed countries are marketed better.

And we believe the perceptions – despite them being a deception. I spent three years in South America writing this book and felt safer than I did living in London or Amsterdam. Like many things in this world, the so-called authorities create a false impression of other countries and people blindly believe it. In truth, you do not know anything until you experience it for yourself.

Visit Latin America and you will realise it is an enthralling continent with an entirely different story to tell in so many ways. The boundless experiences will amaze and astonish you. South America is packed with adventures, passionate people, incredible scenery and a mysterious past stamped out by the arrival of Spanish Conquistadors. You can swim in caves, trek through dense jungles, raft down raging white-water rivers, climb the challenging peaks of the Andes, ride horseback through mountain foothills and witness awe-inspiring views of dramatic landscapes. Discover fascinating cultures, learn sensual dances, sample extraordinary flavours and soak up the sun on lush white sands. And don´t be surprised if you are invited to join hospitable Argentineans, Brazilians or Chileans for asado (barbecue) and drink copious amounts of mate, beer and sumptuous wines for low prices.

In Honduras and Belize, you can laze on perfect beaches and scuba with turtles, stingray and sharks in crystalline waters. In Guatemala you can peer into the mouth of active volcanoes, witness the beauty of Lake Atitlan and learn how the humble Mayan live. And in Mexico, anything go!

But there is a darker story to South America that is not told often enough. In Chile, Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador, you will find ancient tribes fighting corrupt authorities to recover land taken from them by western invaders. The history of these peoples is practically buried with the dead killed in the onslaught of British and Spanish crusaders. Indigenous elders do their best to keep ancient traditions and practices alive within their communities, but the younger generations are too distracted and tempted by the glamour and false promises influenced by America and Europe.

After almost five hundred years of suppression, ancient traditions are making a steady comeback, not through the locals, but ironically, by western travellers that are drawn to the enigmatic traditions of indigenous shaman and want to understand more about their knowledge. Authorities in the West may want to destroy the knowledge of indigenous peoples around the world, but the good people of the west want to help revive knowledge our established institutions have denied us.

It does seem that virtually anything is possible in Latin America. Yet when I ask a Bolivian police officer if he will take a photograph of me outside the towering Cathedral in the Plaza 24 de Septiembre, he ignores me. In fact, he point-blank refuses to answer and barely looks me in the eye. This, I find, is a typical attitude for authority figures in Latin American. People here hate the police and politicians; little wonder given the authorities barely even attempt to hide corruption and deception.

But the evils of greedy men should not reflect on Latino people in general. On the contrary, Latin Americans are exceptionally warm and friendly. The indigenous peoples are understandably a little stand offish, but when initiated in conversations are always cheery and helpful. People from European descent are typically well educated, confident and proud of their country. They are only too happy to offer help and advice to tourists and expats.

Other than the ominous police presence in the central plaza, the scene in Santa Cruz de la Sierra is a typical lazy Latino afternoon in the sun. Locals lounge on polished wooden benches and escape the searing heat under the leafy branches whilst they chat to amigos and listen to Camba, a popular - yet for me, not very appealing type of music - from the Eastern lowlands of Bolivia.

Sierra de la Cruz is perhaps the most mixed bag of immigrants in Bolivia. Brazilians cross paths with bearded Russians and overall wearing Mennonites. Suited businessmen from Germany and the States sit high in the chairs of shoe-shine boys who frantically polish leather shoes. Meanwhile, low-paid parents of infants casually go about their day whilst their pigeon-chasing children scream and create minor chaos. A group of college students are stopped dead in their tracks as an explosion of birds flap in the air. People of all ages slouch and perch on wooden benches, slurp on ice-creams or casually chat. The pace is lackadaisical and nobody seems to care about the armed gang in police uniforms.

The Plaza 24 de Septiembre is dominated by the Basilica Menor de San Lorenzo. Founded in the early 17th Century, the red-sand facade is designed in typical Spanish baroque with a bell tower in one steeple and a clock tower in the other.

Although Santa Cruz is Bolivia´s most heavily populated and multi-cultured city, the centre has a small town feel. The grid-planned streets collect cars that jostle for pole position at intersections and constantly blast their horns. Today however, the usually hectic traffic is uncharacteristically calm.

As I walk back to my hotel a few blocks from the central plaza I discover why. A snail-trail of indigenous locals amble through the street, gathered in unity and hoisting banners. The protestors chat among themselves, most of them smiling. There is no chanting, no rallying of the troops or even an effort to be heard. This is the most subdued protest imaginable. And these peace-seeking people are who the armed police are waiting for!

The demonstration is part of a series of marches taking place across Bolivia in a protest to halt the construction of the Villa Tunari to San Ignacio de Moxos Highway. It is planned that the road will cut through Indigenous territory that is the ancestral land of the Chimane, Yuracaré and Mojeño-Trinitario tribes. Evo Morales, the President of Bolivia labelled the protestors as enemies of the nation, and accused them of being brainwashed by non-governmental organisations.

Considering the torment indigenous peoples of Bolivia have suffered since the arrival of the Spanish conquistadores in the 16th Century, you would expect Morales to be more sympathetic and supportive of his fellow natives. He comes from an indigenous background and is Bolivia´s first indigenous President. You would think he knows the true story of the past, but instead he discredits his own people in public for caring about land they rightfully own. His loyalty is as divided as the communities he originates from.

But the desecration of ancient cultures and knowledge has been a systematic undertaking all over the world. In fact, you could argue the ruling classes are trying to destroy the memory of the ancient civilisations altogether considering the version of history we are told in schools and mainstream text books does not fit with the growing body of evidence that suggests mankind was more physically and intellectually advanced than mainstream scholars are prepared to admit.

Suppression of pagan knowledge began with the Roman Empire and the Catholic Church in Europe, before spreading its wings to Africa, parts of Asia and Australia. When the European entourage of Jesuit thugs led by Christopher Columbus supposedly discovered the Americas in 1492, Catholicism stamped out indigenous beliefs in the Americas as well.

After the arrival of Spanish Conquistadors, Andean communities were forced to adopt Christian belief systems and European ways of life. Many Indians were against the idea of a monotheistic God as they believed numerous gods and spirits exist for every aspect of life. Despite their disapproval however, many Indians went along with the Spanish priests for fear of reprisal. Those who refused were tortured and even killed.

To avoid detection the indigenous peoples went to church and conducted Christian customs, but would organise their own ceremonies in secret. It was normal to bury their dead in Jesuit churches, but they would later take the bodies to the Machay at night. As a result of taking their rituals underground, the tribes were able to retain ancient traditions and rescue some knowledge that has been passed down through generations. But now, the knowledge of ancient peoples is under threat and in danger of completely dying out - and with it perhaps vitally important knowledge the common man can use to improve our own lives. I for one certainly believe that and intend to write a series of books about what modern man can learn from ancient civilisations.

Latin America boasts a wealth of evidence that blows the doors of history - and the possible origins of mankind – off its hinges. It seems possible that on this vast continent we can rediscover the knowledge of our ancient past and appreciate the outstanding capabilities the ancients clearly had. But whatever writings the natives had were destroyed by Jesuits, although mainstream archaeologists typically say, the ancients here didn’t have a writing system at all.

The profound knowledge the ancients seemed to possess is just as relevant today as it was hundreds of years ago, and if we still had that knowledge, the common man would be more advanced than we are today. We should be asking why the Jesuits destroyed the writings of Latin American tribes and pronounce their traditions as the work of the devil. Some historians recognise that the history and knowledge of this race burst into flames. The only manuscripts that did survive are four Mayan codices now kept in Dresden Museum, Germany. So of course the ancients had writing – otherwise how would they be able to construct temples and settlements to such precise measurements and geometry? It would be impossible.

Travel to Latin America and you will witness colossal temples that rise above the trees, impossible structures built on the sides of rugged mountains and cities that align with stars and planets. You will find space-age technology modern day stonemasons say is impossible to replicate with tools we have today. The advanced engineering simply defies logic. The ancient sites in this part of the world is a paradise for historians, archaeologists and anthropologists yet for the most part, mainstream scholars overlook and understate the astonishing achievements.

It is a classified fact the ancient builders had a profound knowledge that is incomprehensible. They welded stones that slotted together millimetre perfect, shaved stone surfaces that are smooth to the touch, drilled holes in andesite rock and built settlements that align with constellations. Their understanding of mathematics and science was far more advanced than mainstream scholars are prepared to admit. We should be asking ourselves why!

The ancients were expert astronomers and astrologers, with such in-depth knowledge they could align buildings to such precise degrees of accuracy the sun will shine on a specific point at key times in the year. The ancients built their cities to use as solar calendars for agricultural, astrological and ritual purposes. The fact they did this was not by accident!

What you find in the ancient settlements of Latin America does not fit the orthodox story of mankind. What we read in school textbooks and encyclopaedias does not even begin to scratch the surface of the mystery left behind by ancient cultures. Look closely at the evidence - which is available in abundance - and it is possible to unlock the doors of perception and recover the knowledge of our ancient ancestors. Dig deep enough and you will find there is a wealth of important knowledge from which modern man can learn from past civilisations. Before you can break free from this prison planet created by the ruling classes, you need to know the truth!

Chapter One

Who Were The Ancient Andeans?

Ancient history has fascinated me for a long time; mainly because it makes no sense. Modern day stonemasons and engineers declare that even with the sophisticated technology we have today, builders cannot achieve some of the engineering works our ancient ancestors managed hundreds, if not thousands of years ago – and supposedly with rudimentary tools.

To date, scholars have been unable to provide a satisfactory answer to explain how our ancient ancestors built temples and pyramids using such primitive tools such as copper and Amorite stone. According to mainstream history, man was not supposed to have had the knowledge or the capability to build such great structures. The evidence is there for all to see, yet scholars do not have satisfactory answers that make any sense! Alas, the ancient world remains a mystery.

Yet there could be so much more modern man can learn from the ancient past if only we opened our minds to the possibilities of what mankind can achieve. Many of you reading this will point to space exploration and the mesmerising advancements in technology to disprove my point, and so you should – but you probably also go mental when your internet connection goes down! So what’s happening with broadband technology? If we can send satellites into outer space and beam images back to mission control, why do we experience so many faults and problems with everyday devices?

Technology is not the issue, it is knowing how the technology works.

One of the great archaeological sites with the potential to unlock some of the mysteries of our past is found in the Mountains of northern Bolivia, 45 miles west of La Paz. Tiwanaku (or Tiahuanaco) is one of the most sophisticated structures ever discovered – so complex it defies logic. What you find there is space-age technology that continues to baffle modern day stonemasons, historians and researchers.

By orthodox calculations, the Tiwanakan culture is thought to have begun around 1200 BCE and went on to dominate the Andes region far beyond the Titicaca basin where they originated. In the views of orthodox archaeologists and historians, the settlement of this dynamic pre-Columbian nation of mastermind thinkers could not have been built much earlier than 500 AD, and supposedly using bronze and copper tools together with Amorite stone. Yet what you find at Tiwanaku is precision cut blocks that indicate the builders had a knowledge of advanced engineering techniques. I can´t wait to see this for my own eyes!

By the time I arrive in La Paz, it is 7.30pm and darkness is beginning to fall. The traffic is manic. I think I have hit rush hour traffic - but in La Paz it turns out this is the norm. Hundreds of cars fill the network of main roads like schools of fish swimming into a roundabout from all sides. Car horns blare constantly. A high level of energy pulses through the night sky. I am already shaken with excitement and I haven´t even got out the taxi yet. This place is electric!

The following day I would find out what La Paz is really like. She is two-faced. On the surface she is tiring and dirty, yet underneath there is a forgiving softness and passion waiting to be unleashed. During the day she is humid, hot and bothered, yet at night, cool and easy going. Roam the bustling streets in broad daylight and beggars cup their hands in your face and men openly urinate in the gutter. A thick stench of poverty weighs heavily in the thin air; the high altitude makes it hard to breathe. Steep hills don’t help. Narrow streets are chaotic. It’s every man, woman and minibus for themselves.

Bumper to bumper traffic shuffles along narrow roads. Young men and women hang out the open slide doors of colour-fading collectivos (small local buses) calling out their destination. Experienced locals cross the road without looking – meandering through the traffic without a care in the world. There is no system to speak of, but wise locals know how the roads work. Pedestrians don’t have any automatic right of way, but then neither do drivers. It’s simply a matter of who gets the space first. La Paz is not for the procrastinator or the faint of heart. The key is when you see a gap go for it and don’t stop!

Yet despite the manic atmosphere, La Paz brims with positive energy that literally soaks into my skin. I feel it most walking through the Downtown streets and round the Plaza Alonso de Mendoza. In the evenings from Thursday to Sunday, bars, cafes and restaurants are full of life. It’s easy to talk to people here. Waiters and bar staff can’t do enough for you.

La Paz is Bolivia´s administrative capital and has more governmental departments than anywhere else in Bolivia - which may explain why the street graffiti is so politically motivated and thought-provoking. Most murals tell the story of how the natives were suppressed by the invading Spanish Conquistadors and still continues today. Although the reminder of Inca traditions is painted on the city walls, the majority of young Chocos, (indigenous natives with western values) are ignorant of their ancient past and the knowledge handed down by their ancestors is mostly forgotten. In modern-day Bolivia, young people of indigenous descent are lured by the influence of western society and their parents are labelled as mad or drunks.

In the main, it is the older generation that still remember their roots and continue historical traditions. The women in particular, wear brightly woven ponchos and bowler hats that appear to balance on top of their heads. Men generally wear jeans and western style suits. The women also keep ancient traditions alive in the infamous Witches Market located on Calle Jiminez and Linares. Surprised travellers are shocked to find magic potions for sale alongside the foetuses of baby llamas.

To the casual observer the Witches Market is nothing more than a tourist trap, but to the ancients, the llama was a sacred animal that was sacrificed and offered to Pachamama - Mother Earth - in return for food from the land. Llama foetuses were buried in the foundation of homes with the hope that the house would be rewarded with food for their generous gift.

Once darkness falls and workers go home for the night, the pace in La Paz grinds to a virtual halt. The narrow backstreets mellow, yet packed bars are vibrant and cheery. Many have live music. Everyone is relaxed. Even the weather chills out. The winter nights in La Paz are so cold even the dogs are wrapped up in knitted jumpers.

I walk Downtown to the romantic Plaza del Vincente Mario and relax on the benches. The streets are livelier here, mostly young lovers and families with children. A couple of indigenous infant children dressed in traditional clothes beat on a tambourine and perform a dance for passersby. The girl is no older than six, her brother even younger. This is how many indigenous families make money. I hand the girl a 10BOB note, about 1 Euro. She chases after me wanting more, but it is all I have with me.

Later that night I go to The English Pub in the hope I will be able to get the skinny on the city. The atmosphere is pleasant and attracts locals who want to meet foreign travellers to practice their English. I was fortunate enough to meet Eduardo, an IT technician in his early forties. He is polite and mild-mannered with a tanned, fleshy face and a permanent smile. We talk for a while and he asks me what I am doing in La Paz. I tell Eduardo about my quest to discover what modern man can learn from ancient civilisations and that I was in La Paz specifically to visit Tiwanaku.

Eduardo tells me of an Australian archaeologist that runs a bar in La Paz five minutes’ walk from where we are sitting. I couldn´t believe my luck! Before I left London, I had read as much as I could about Tiwanaku, but good quality information is difficult to come by and I am not convinced the details that are available come from reliable sources. And here I am with the opportunity to meet a qualified scholar that has researched the Tiwanaku settlement and culture. I finish my beer, thank Eduardo and set off up the hill.

Lindsay Hasluck is an archaeologist, anthropologist and historian and has performed extensive research into the ancient past of Bolivia and neighbouring Peru. His findings are detailed in his book, ´Urban Continuity of the Andes.´ He is tall with dark hair greying at the temples and speaks softly, but with certainty. He tells me about his work with sincerity and pride, and appears to have an open-minded view about the ancient past.

The official view of Tiwanaku - given on UNESCO´s website - is that the pre-Hispanic Empire reached its apogee between 500 and 900 AD although it is widely acknowledged village life began around 1200BCE. It became a small town in the first century which may be attributable to the introduction of copper metallurgy, to the consequent availability of superior tools and implements.

UNESCO do not explain what other implements the Tiwanakans may have used, nor is there any mention of how they were able to cut stones to precise 90 degree angles. All they reveal is that excavations at the site found "exceptional examples of the ceremonial and public architecture and art of one of the most important manifestations of the civilizations of the Andean region."

The fact of the matter is that UNESCO does not provide sufficient information or show any evidence that precision engineering even exists. The have simply swept the amazing feats of the ancients back under the dirt. Ultimately, the reader does not feel inclined to visit or ask how the Tiwanakans achieved seemingly impossible tasks. You would need other sources to do that. But curiously, top-ranking websites in Google (at the time of writing at least) written or contributed to by scholars, do not wax lyrical about the achievements at Tiwanaku either.

Hasluck on the other hand has tackled the subject of the ancient Andes with an open mind and believes Tiwanaku was built by three or four different cultures over a number of years.

Welsh monks led an expedition to Tiwanaku around 200-300AD, he tells me. That alone was more information than anything UNESCO has to say. And it fits with the ancient myths of the region.

Andean legends quote the arrival of a White God who showed the natives how to be civilised and taught them mathematics, geometry and architecture. He is known as Wiracocha and is depicted as the Sun God or Creator God. He is described as a bearded white man with fair hair and blue eyes. He wore a long gown and arrived in a ship with other white men. Could this be the Welsh monks Lindsay was referring to? At Tiwanaku, we also find megalithic rocks strewn on the ground, just as we find at the famous stone circle of Stonehenge in England and many other site in Western Europe.

How did the ancients get 40 and 50 ton stones from the quarry up the mountain? I ask.

They were floated along the lake using rafts then transported to the building site on wooden rollers.

This is the standard industry answer and is a plausible solution. Wally Wallington, a retired construction worker from Michigan, USA, built a replica of Stonehenge in his back garden using nothing but wooden rollers, stones weights and gravity. His techniques show how one man alone can move and stand a 90 ton rock in an upright position. The mysterious Coral Castle in Florida, said to have been built single-handedly by the slim-built Latvian, Edward Leedskalnin, is another example of how the ancients could have had a technique that moved huge megalithic stones without much fuss.

Although primitive methods of transporting great weights is proven to be possible, there is no account for how the ancient builders at Tiwanaku were able to cut such hefty stones from the quarry walls and remove them from the pit. Nor is there any explanation of how masons were able to carve stones to such precise degrees of accuracy. To perform these kinds of tasks today, we use heavy machinery and CNC technology.

Lindsay didn´t have a definitive answer either, but did steer me in another direction.

Look up Colonel Percy Fawcett, he told me. There’s a strong possibility the builders knew of a plant found in the Amazon that can soften rocks and mould them together. This would have enabled them to cut and shape the rocks into whatever dimensions they wanted.

Percy Fawcett was an English explorer in the earlier 20th Century and spent many years exploring the Amazon Forests of Peru. During one such visit, Fawcett is said to have observed a species of bird that pecked holes into the sides of solid granite rocks in which they built their nests. He said the Amerindians who lived in the forest explained that the birds softened the rock by mixing a red leaf plant with the saliva in their beaks.

At the time of writing, the name and identity of the plant or the bird is not known, although the theory is being entertained by the renowned professor of Anthropology, Clark Erickson who investigated the Peruvian Amazon in search of the plant.

If the theory is correct, it is likely the ancient Andean tribes knew of such plants and learned about its ability to soften rock from the birds. Should that have been the case the answer to the outstanding feats of architectural technology found at Tiwanaku and other archaeological sites throughout the Andes may simply be the product of nature and the force of gravity.

Alternative researchers have a different idea. Arthur Posnansky, an archaeologist of some distinction, conducted extensive research in Bolivia for over forty years. He deduced the structural layout of Tiwanaku is orientated with the astronomical alignments of the constellation Pleiades - as it would have looked in the ancient sky around 15,000 BCE.

In his book, Tiwanaku: The Cradle of American Man, Posnansky, eludes to the possibility that Tiwanaku is the oldest city in the western world. He writes the city was the pre-eminent and most ancient metropolis of the Americas… ultimately responsible for every sophisticated civilization that appeared in the Western Hemisphere.

Posnansky may have got this idea from Inca mythology which identifies Tiwanaku as the birthplace of mankind. To back