Short description: British pseudoscientific writer (born 1950)

Graham Hancock

Born|

Graham Bruce Hancock

(1950-08-02) 2 August 1950 (age 72)

Edinburgh, Scotland

Nationality| British
Alma mater| Durham University
Occupation| Author
Known for| The Sign and the Seal
Fingerprints of the Gods
The Message of the Sphinx
Magicians of the Gods
America Before: The Key to Earth's Lost Civilization
Spouse(s)| Santha Faiia
Website| grahamhancock.com

Graham Bruce Hancock (/ˈhænkɒk/; born 2 August 1950) is a British author and journalist. He has become known to a general audience through his pseudoscientific theories[1][2] involving ancient civilizations; a topic on which he has published twelve books.[3]

The main thesis of Hancock's work is a proposed connection between the ancient cultures of Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Mesoamerica with a previous and more advanced 'mother culture' from which he believes later ancient cultures have emanated.[4] Hancock has received considerable criticism from historical and archeological academics for his work, which has neither been peer reviewed nor published in academic journals;[5] thus an example of pseudohistory and pseudoarchaeology.[6]

## Contents

* 1 Education and journalism career
* 2 Works
* 3 Pseudoarchaeology
* 3.1 Orion correlation theory
* 3.2 BBC Horizon program
* 4 Media appearances
* 5 Books
* 6 Videos
* 7 See also
* 8 References
* 9 Bibliography
* 10 External links

## Education and journalism career

Graham Bruce Hancock was born in Edinburgh, Scotland. He moved with his parents to India at the age of three, where his father worked as a surgeon. Having returned to the UK, he graduated from Durham University in 1973, receiving a First Class Honours degree in sociology.[7][8]

As a journalist, Hancock worked for many British papers, such as The Times, The Sunday Times, The Independent, and The Guardian . He co-edited New Internationalist magazine from 1976 to 1979, and served as the East Africa correspondent of The Economist from 1981 to 1983.[7]

Graham Hancock is married to Santha Faiia, a professional photographer specializing in ancient cultures and monuments.[7]

## Works

Hancock describes himself as an "unconventional thinker who raises controversial questions about humanity's past".[9] Prior to 1990, his works dealt mainly with problems of economic and social development. Since 1990, his works have focused mainly on speculative connections he makes between various archaeological, historical, and cross-cultural phenomena.

His books include Lords of Poverty, The Sign and the Seal, Fingerprints of the Gods, Keeper of Genesis (released in the US as Message of the Sphinx), The Mars Mystery, Heaven's Mirror (with wife Santha Faiia), Underworld: The Mysterious Origins of Civilization, and Talisman: Sacred Cities, Secret Faith (with co-author Robert Bauval). In 1996, he appeared in The Mysterious Origins of Man.[10] He also wrote and presented the documentaries Underworld: Flooded Kingdoms of the Ice Age (2002) and Quest for the Lost Civilisation (1998)[11] shown on Channel 4.

In Hancock's book Talisman: Sacred Cities, Secret Faith,[12] co-authored with Robert Bauval, the two put forward what sociologist of religion David V. Barrett called "a version of the old Jewish-Masonic plot so beloved by ultra-right-wing conspiracy theorists."[13] They suggest a connection between the pillars of Solomon's Temple and the Twin Towers, and between the Star of David and The Pentagon.[14] A contemporary review of Talisman by David V. Barrett for The Independent pointed to a lack of originality as well as basic factual errors, concluding that it was "a mish-mash of badly-connected, half-argued theories".[15] In a 2008 piece for The Telegraph referencing Talisman, Damian Thompson described Hancock and Bauval as fantasists.[14]

Hancock's Supernatural: Meetings With the Ancient Teachers of Mankind, was published in the UK in October 2005 and in the US in 2006. In it, Hancock examines paleolithic cave art in the light of David Lewis-Williams' neuropsychological model, exploring its relation to the development of the fully modern human mind.

In 2015, his Magicians of the Gods: The Forgotten Wisdom of Earth's Lost Civilization was published by St. Martin's Press.

His first novel, Entangled: The Eater of Souls, the first in a fantasy series, was published in the UK in April 2010 and in the US in October 2010. The novel makes use of Hancock's prior research interests and as he has noted, "What was there to lose, I asked myself, when my critics already described my factual books as fiction?"

## Pseudoarchaeology

In Archaeological Fantasies Garrett G. Fagan points out that pseudoarchaeologists cherry pick evidence and misrepresent known facts. When apparently factual claims in their works are investigated it turns out that "quotes are presented out of context, critical countervailing data is withheld, the state of understanding is misrepresented, or critical archaeological information about context is ignored".

Fagan gives two typical examples from Hancock's book Fingerprints of the Gods (1995):

* Hancock claims that "the best recent evidence suggests that" large regions of Antarctica may have been ice-free until about 6,000 years ago, referring to the Piri Reis map and Hapgood's work from the 1960s. What is left entirely unmentioned are the extensive studies of the Antarctic ice sheet by George H. Denton, published in 1981, which showed the ice to be hundreds of thousands of years old.[16]
* When discussing the ancient Bolivian city of Tiwanaku, Hancock presents it as a "mysterious site about which very little is known" and that "minimal archaeology has been done over the years", suggesting that it may date to 17,000 years ago. Yet in the years prior to these statements dozens of studies had been published, major excavations were conducted and the site was radiocarbon dated by three sets of samples to around 1500 BC.[17]

### Orion correlation theory

Main page: Astronomy:Orion correlation theory

Representation of the central tenet of the OCT – the outline of the Giza pyramids superimposed over a photograph of the stars in Orion's Belt. To achieve this concordance the pyramids have been rotated and scaled to suit. The validity of this match has been called into question by Hancock's critics, as noted in the text.

One of the many recurring themes in several of Hancock's works has been an exposition on the "Orion correlation theory" (or OCT),[18][19] supported by Belgian writer Robert Bauval and then further expounded in collaborative works with Hancock, as well as in their separate publications. OCT posits that there is a correlation between the location of the three largest pyramids of the Giza pyramid complex and Orion's Belt of the constellation Orion, as intended as such by the original builders of the Giza pyramid complex.

### BBC Horizon program

BBC Two's Horizon TV series broadcast a programme, Atlantis Reborn, on 4 November 1999 that challenged the ideas presented by Hancock. It detailed one of Hancock's claims that the arrangement of an ancient temple complex was designed to mirror astronomical features and attempted to demonstrate that the same thing could be done with perhaps equal justification using famous landmarks in New York. It also alleged that Hancock had selectively moved or ignored the locations of some of the temples to fit his own theories (see below).[1]

Hancock claimed he was misrepresented by the programme, and he and Robert Bauval made complaints to the Broadcasting Standards Commission against the way Horizon had portrayed them and their work. Eight points were raised by Hancock, two by Bauval (one of which duplicated a complaint of Hancock's).[20] These included the complaint that:

> The programme had created the impression that he [Hancock] was an intellectual fraudster who had put forward half-baked theories and ideas in bad faith, and that he was incompetent to defend his own arguments. Adjudication: [The Commission] finds no unfairness to Mr Hancock in these matters.[21]

The BSC dismissed all but one of the complaints. Overall, the BSC concluded that "the programme makers acted in good faith in their examination of the theories of Mr Hancock and Mr Bauval".[22] The complaint which was upheld was that

> The programme unfairly omitted one of their arguments in rebuttal of a speaker who criticised the theory of a significant correlation between the Giza pyramids and the belt stars of the constellation Orion (the "correlation theory")

which the Commission did find to be unfair. That speaker was the astronomer Edwin Krupp. Krupp argued that Bauval had fudged the maps of Orion and the Pyramids by placing them upside down in terms of stellar directionality to make the theory work.[1] The BBC was not obligated to do more than broadcast an apology for the single point of unfairness but made a decision to modify the Orion sequence to demonstrate that the overall argument of the film remained intact.

In Atlantis Reborn Again, shown on 14 December 2000, Hancock and Bauval provided further rebuttals to Krupp and argued that the ancient Egyptians had made the Pyramids correlate with the three stars of Orion's Belt. However, the documentary as a whole continued to present serious doubts about Hancock's claims, demonstrating as an example how, by using his methods, the constellation of Leo may be 'discovered' among landmarks of modern Manhattan, concluding: "As long as you have enough points and you don't need to make every point fit, you can find virtually any pattern you want."[23]

## Media appearances

Hancock gave a TEDx lecture titled "The War on Consciousness", in which he described his use of ayahuasca, an amazonian brew containing a hallucinogenic compound DMT, and argued that adults should be allowed to responsibly use it for self-improvement and spiritual growth. At the recommendation of TED's Science Board, the lecture was removed from the TEDx YouTube channel and moved to TED's main website where it "can be framed to highlight both [Hancock's] provocative ideas and the factual problems with [his] arguments".[24]

Hancock has appeared on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast several times.[25]

In 2009, Roland Emmerich released his blockbuster disaster movie 2012, citing Fingerprints of the Gods in the credits as an inspiration for the film,[26] stating: "I always wanted to do a biblical flood movie, but I never felt I had the hook. I first read about the Earth's Crust Displacement Theory in Graham Hancock's Fingerprints of the Gods."[27]

## Books

* Hancock, Graham (1985). Ethiopia: The Challenge of Hunger. London: V. Gollancz. ISBN 0-575-03680-X.
* Hancock, Graham; Enver Carim (1986). AIDS: The Deadly Epidemic. London: V. Gollancz. ISBN 0-575-03837-3.
* Hancock, Graham (1989). Lords of Poverty: The Power, Prestige, and Corruption of the International Aid Business. Boston: Atlantic Monthly Press. ISBN 0-87113-253-2. https://groveatlantic.com/book/lords-of-poverty/.
* Hancock, Graham (1992). The Sign and the Seal: The Quest for the Lost Ark of the Covenant. New York: Crown. ISBN 0-517-57813-1.
* Hancock, Graham (1995). Fingerprints of the Gods: The Evidence of Earth's Lost Civilization. New York: Crown Publishers. ISBN 0-517-59348-3.
* Hancock, Graham; Robert Bauval (1996). The Message of the Sphinx: A Quest for the Hidden Legacy of Mankind. New York: Crown Publishers. ISBN 0-517-70503-6. Published in the United Kingdom as Hancock, Graham; Robert Bauval (1996). Keeper of Genesis: A Quest for the Hidden Legacy of Mankind. London: Heinemann. ISBN 0-434-00302-6. https://archive.org/details/keeperofgenesisq0000bauv.
* Hancock, Graham (1998). The Mars Mystery: A Tale of the End of Two Worlds. London: Michael Joseph. ISBN 0-7181-4314-0.
* Hancock, Graham; Santha Faiia (1998). Heaven's Mirror: Quest for the Lost Civilization. New York: Crown Publishers. ISBN 0-517-70811-6.
* Hancock, Graham; Santha Faiia (2001). Fingerprints of the Gods: The Quest Continues (New Updated ed.). New York: Crown Century. ISBN 0-7126-7906-5.
* Hancock, Graham (2002). Underworld: The Mysterious Origins of Civilization. New York: Crown. ISBN 1-4000-4612-2.
* Hancock, Graham; Robert Bauval (2004). Talisman: Sacred Cities, Secret Faith. Tisbury: Element Books. ISBN 0-00-719036-0.
* Hancock, Graham (2005). Supernatural: Meeting with the Ancient Teachers of Mankind. London: Century. ISBN 1-84413-681-7.
* Hancock, Graham (2010). Entangled: The Eater of Souls. New York: The Disinformation Company. ISBN 978-1-934708-56-9. [28]
* Hancock, Graham (2013). War God: Nights of the Witch. Coronet. ISBN 978-1-444734-37-9.
* Hancock, Graham (2015). Magicians of the Gods: The Forgotten Wisdom of Earth's Lost Civilisation. Coronet. ISBN 978-1444779677.
* Hancock, Graham (2019). America Before: The Key to Earth's Lost Civilization. St. Martin's Press. ISBN:9781250243737.

## Videos

* Michael Palin's Pole to Pole – Crossing the Line (EP 5) (1992)
* Quest for the Lost Civilization – Acorn Media (1998)
* Atlantis Reborn Again – BBC Horizon (2000)
* Earth Pilgrims – Earth Pilgrims Inc. (2010)
* "The War on Consciousness" – TEDx (2013)

## See also

* Archaeoastronomy
* Erich von Däniken
* Mythology

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Atlantis Reborn Again {programme synopsis}". Science & Nature: Horizon. BBC. 2000. http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/horizon/2000/atlantisrebornagain.shtml.
2. ↑ Fagan 2006, p. 27-28.
3. ↑ "Books by Graham Hancock (Author of Fingerprints of the Gods)". https://www.goodreads.com/author/list/18520.Graham_Hancock.
4. ↑ "...the belief of Hancock and other writers in a lost civilisation that passed its wisdom on to ancient Egypt or the Maya repeats the theme of Atlantis: the antediluvian world popularised by Ignatius Donnelly from 1882." Kevin Greene, Tom Moore, Archaeology: An Introduction, page 252 (Routledge, 2010 edition). ISBN:978-0-203-83597-5
5. ↑ Regal 2009.
6. ↑ Fritze (2009), pp. 214–218.
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 "Biography". https://grahamhancock.com/bio/.
8. ↑ "Durham University gazette, XX" (in en). http://reed.dur.ac.uk/xtf/view?docId=bookreader/DU_Gazettes/DUGazette20_3/dg203METS.xml#page/22/mode/2up.
9. ↑ "Books by Graham Hancock - Graham Hancock Official Website". http://www.grahamhancock.com/library/default.htm.
10. ↑ Thomas, Dave (March 1996). "NBC's Origins Show". Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. http://www.csicop.org/sb/9603/origins.html.
11. ↑ "Quest for the Lost Civilization". https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0252165/.
12. ↑ London: Michael Joseph, 2004. ISBN:0-7181-4315-9
13. ↑ Barrett, David V (19 August 2004). "Talisman: Sacred Cities, Secret Faith". The Independent. https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/preformtalisman-sacred-cities-secret-faith-by-graham-hancock--robert-bauvalpreform-557110.html.
14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Thompson, Damian (12 January 2008). "How Da Vinci Code tapped pseudo-fact hunger". The Daily Telegraph. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1575347/How-Da-Vinci-Code-tapped-pseudo-fact-hunger.html.
15. ↑ Barrett, David V (18 August 2004). "Talisman: sacred cities, secret faith, by Graham Hancock & Robert Bauval". The Independent. https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/talisman-sacred-cities-secret-faith-by-graham-hancock-robert-bauval-557110.html.
16. ↑ Denton (1981). The Last Great Ice Sheets. ISBN 978-0471060062.
17. ↑ Fagan 2006, p. 34-36.
18. ↑ Graham Hancock, Santha Faiia.Heaven's Mirror: Quest For The Lost Civilization (London: Michael Joseph, 1998). ISBN:0-7181-4332-9
19. ↑ Glenn Kreisberg (editor), Lost Knowledge of the Ancients: A Graham Hancock Reader (Bear & Company, 2010). ISBN:978-1-59143-117-6
20. ↑ "Horizon: Atlantis Reborn and the Broadcasting Standards Commission". Science & Nature: Horizon. BBC. 2000. http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/horizon/2000/atlantisreborn_bsc.shtml.
21. ↑ Broadcasting Standards Commission (2000). "Synopsis of adjudication: Horizon: Atlantis Reborn (November 4th 1999)" (reproduced at BBC Online). Science & Nature: Horizon. BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/horizon/2000/atlantisreborn_bsc_synopsis.shtml.
22. ↑ Broadcasting Standards Commission (30 November 2000). "Fairness Complaints" (PDF online reproduction). The Bulletin (London: Broadcasting Standards Commission) 37: 1–3. http://www.ofcom.org.uk/static/archive/bsc/pdfs/bulletin/bulletin37.pdf. Retrieved 1 September 2009.
23. ↑ Atlantis Reborn Again BBC documentary transcript
24. ↑ News TEDx – Open for discussion: Graham Hancock and Rupert Sheldrake from TEDx Whitechapel, 14 March 2013, http://blog.ted.com/2013/03/14/open-for-discussion-graham-hancock-and-rupert-sheldrake, retrieved 28 December 2016
25. ↑ "Joe Rogan (Podcast Site)" (in en-US). http://podcasts.joerogan.net/.
26. ↑ "2012 (2009) – Credit List". chicagoscifi.com. http://chicagoscifi.com/movies/0011/presskit_pages/credits.pdf.
27. ↑ Jenkins, David (16 November 2009). "Roland Emmerich's guide to disaster movies". Time Out. http://www.timeout.com/film/features/show-feature/9039/roland-emmerichs-guide-to-disaster-movies.html. Retrieved 25 November 2009.
28. ↑ "The Big Idea: Graham Hancock". 15 October 2010. http://whatever.scalzi.com/2010/10/15/the-big-idea-graham-hancock/.

## Bibliography

* Fagan, Garrett G. (2006). Archaeological Fantasies: How Pseudoarchaeology Misrepresents the Past and Misleads the Public. Psychology Press. ISBN 9780415305921. https://books.google.com/books?id=sIYpx9mzd4gC.
* Fritze, Ronald H. (2009). Invented Knowledge: False History, Fake Science and Pseudo-religions. London: Reaktion Books.
* Regal, Brian (2009). Pseudoscience: A Critical Encyclopedia. Greenwood. ISBN 978-0313355073.

## External links

* Official website
* Graham Hancock on IMDb
* Broadcasting Standards Commission – Synopsis of adjudication. Horizon: Atlantis Reborn (4 November 1999)
* Horizon: Atlantis Reborn and the Broadcasting Standards Commission – The BBC's response to the Horizon programme debate
* Brass, M., nd, , The Antiquity of Man Web Site.
* Brass, M., 2002, Tracing Graham Hancock's Shifting Cataclysm, Skeptical Inquirer. vol. 26, no. 4: 45–49.
* Carroll, R. T., 2009, Atlantis, The Skeptic's Dictionary website.
* Fagan, N., nd, An Answer to Graham Hancock and Analysis of Hancock's Position Statement on C-14 Dating, Papers, In the Hall of Ma'at website.
* Flemming, N., nd, Review of Flooded Kingdoms of the Ice Age, Papers, In the Hall of Ma'at website.

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