Cremo, Michael A. (1994) "Puranic Time and the Archeological Record." World Archaeological Congress 3, New Delhi, India.
Published as chapter 3 in Time and Archaeology: Vol. 37, One World Archaeology Series, edited by Tim Murray, Routledge, London (1999)
I presented this paper at the World Archaeological Congress 3, which was held December 4-11, 1994, in New Delhi, India. I gave it in the section on Cultural Concepts of Time, chaired by Dr. Tim Murray of Latrobe University in Australia and Dr. D. P. Agarwal of the Physical Research Laboratory in Amedhabad, India. It was originally published in a collection of papers circulated to members of the section in advance of the Congress. An edited version of this paper appears in Back to Godhead, the magazine of the Hare Krishna movement (May/June 1995, pp. 36-40), and the original version appears in ISKCON Communications Journal (No. 4, July-December 1994, pp. 34-43). I read this same paper, with some minor changes, at the conference Revisiting Indus-Sarasvati Age & Ancient India, sponsored by the Greater Atlanta Vedic Temple Society in cooperation with the Hindu University of America and other organizations. The conference was held in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, October 4-6, 1996.
Abstract
The time concept of modern archeology, and modern anthropology in general, resembles the general cosmological-historical time concept of Europe's Judeo-Christian culture. Differing from the cyclical cosmological-historical time concepts of the early Greeks in Europe, and the Indians and others in Asia, the Judeo-Christian cosmological-historical time concept is linear and progressive. Modern archeology also shares with Judeo-Christian theology the idea that humans appear after the other major species. The author subjectively positions himself within the Vaishnava Hindu world view, and from this perspective offers a radical critique of modern generalizations about human origins and antiquity. Hindu historical literatures, particularly the Puranas and Itihasas, place human existence in the context of repeating time cycles called yugas and kalpas, lasting hundreds of millions of years. During this entire time, according to the Puranic accounts, humans coexisted with creatures in some ways resembling the earlier toolmaking hominids of modern evolutionary accounts. If one were to take the Puranic record as objectively true, and also take into account the generally admitted imperfection and complexity of the archeological and anthropological record, one could make the following prediction. The strata of the earth, extending back hundreds of millions of years, should yield a bewildering mixture of hominid bones, some anatomically modern human and some not, as well as a similarly bewildering variety of artifacts, some displaying a high level of artistry and others not. Given the linear progressivist preconceptions of generations of archeologists and anthropologists, one could also predict that this mixture of bones and artifacts would be edited to conform to their deeply rooted linear-progressive time concepts. A careful study of the archeological record, and the history of archeology itself, broadly confirms these two predictions. Linear-progressivist time concepts thus pose a substantial barrier to truly objective evaluation of the archeological record and to rational theory- building in the area of human origins and antiquity.
Cremo, Michael A. (1994) "Divine Nature: Renewing the Scientific Worldview." Ithica Onearth Symposium, Christchurch Town Hall, March 12-18. Christchurch, New Zealand.
Cremo, Michael. A. (1995) "The Reception of Forbidden Archeology: An Encounter Between Western Science and a Non-Western Perspective on Human Antiquity." Kentucky State University Institute for Liberal Studies Sixth Annual Interdisciplinary Conference: Science and Culture.
I presented this paper at the Kentucky State University Institute of Liberal Studies, Sixth Annual Interdisciplinary Conference: Science and Culture, held at Frankfort, Kentucky, March 30 - April 1, 1995. A short abstract is published in the conference proceedings. A short excerpt from the paper appears in Back to Godhead (March/April 1996, p. 26). The entire text of the paper appears in ISKCON Communications Journal (Vol. 5, No. 1, 1997).
Abstract
Forbidden Archeology, by Michael Cremo and Richard Thompson of the Bhaktivedanta Institute, documents voluminous scientifically reported evidence contradicting current ideas about human antiquity. This suppressed evidence supports accounts of extreme human antiquity encountered in ancient India's Puranic literature. Responses to Forbidden Archeology from mainstream and nonmainstream knowledge communities illuminate Western science's descent from self-proclaimed epistemic superiority into a diverse multipolar global intellectual constellation from which may emerge a new consensus on human origins.
Cremo, Michael A. (1995) "Forbidden Archeology." Lecture at Seattle Center, February 4, 1995.
Cremo, Michael A. (1995) "Forbidden Archeology: Evidence for Extreme Human Antiquity and the Ancient Astronaut Hypothesis." Ancient Astronaut Society World Conference, Bern, Switzerland.
I presented this paper at the Ancient Astronaut Society World Conference, held in Bern, Switzerland, August 17-19, 1995. A slightly edited version of the paper appears in Ancient Skies (Vol. 22, No. 4, September-October 1995, pp. 1-4). Ancient Skies is the newsletter of the Ancient Astronaut Society (1921 St. Johns Avenue, Highland Park, IL 60035, U.S.A) . A German translation of the complete text is scheduled to appear in a collection of papers edited by Ulrich Dopatka and published by ECON Publishers of Germany.
Cremo, Michael A. (1996) "Screams from the Stream: Mainstream Science Reacts to Forbidden Archeology." The Anomalist, vol. 4, pp. 94-103.
This article appeared in The Anomalist (No. 4, Autumn 1996, pp. 94-103) a journal edited by Patrick Huyghe. The version below differs slightly from the version published in The Anomalist. The differences result from the elimination of direct quotations from personal correspondence from certain individuals, at their request. In such cases I have substituted brief paraphrases.
Cremo, Michael A. (1996) "The City of Nine Gates: A Complex Model of Mind/Body Dualism from India's Bhagavata Purana." Toward a Science of Consciousness. Tucson, Arizona.
I presented this paper at the Toward a Science of Consciousness conference sponsored by the University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, April 8-13, 1996.
Is there a conscious self that exists apart from the physiological structures of the brain? An allegory from the ancient Sanskrit writings of India gives crucial insights into the relationship between consciousness and matter.
Cremo, Michael A. (1996) "Alfred Russell Wallace and the Supernatural: A Case Study in Reenchanting Reductionistic Science's Hagiography in Light of an Alternative Cosmology." Kentucky State University Institute for Liberal Studies Seventh Interdisciplinary Conference on Science and Culture. Frankfort, Kentucky.
This presentation for the Kentucky State University Institute for Liberal Studies Seventh Interdisciplinary Conference on Science and Culture was given on April 18-20, 1996 at Frankfort, Kentucky.
Cremo, Michael A. (1996) "Forbidden Archeology." Russian Academy of Sciences, Institute for the Study of Theoretical Questions. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada Centennial Conference. Moscow, July 14.
Cremo, Michael A. (1996) "Reflections on Puranic Archeology and the Indo-European Question." Russian Academy of Sciences, Institute for Oriental Studies. Symposium on Krishna Consciousness in Russia. Moscow, July 17.
Cremo, Michael A. (1996) "Puranic Time" Presented at International Conference on Revisiting Indus-Sarasvati Age and Ancient India. Atlanta, October 4-6.
Cremo, Michael A. (1997) "Divine Nature: Practical Application of Vedic Principles for Solving the Environmental Crisis." Second World Congress for Synthesis of Science and Religion. Calcutta, India, January 4-6.
Cremo, Michael A. (1997) Lectures on Forbidden Archeology to graduate students and faculty of archeology and earth sciences at University of Amsterdam, Free University of Amsterdam, and Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium. February 1997.
Cremo, Michael A. (1997) "The Later Discoveries of Boucher de Perthes at Moulin Quignon and Their Bearing on the Moulin Quignon Jaw Controversy" XXth International Congress of History of Science, Liège, Belgium.
This paper was accepted for presentation at the XXth International Congress of History of Science, at Liège, Belgium, July 20-26, 1997, in the section Earth Sciences in the Contemporary Period (Since 1800).
Abstract
When Jacques Boucher de Perthes reported stone tools in the Pleistocene gravels of northern France at Abbeville, he was ignored by the French scientific establishment. Later, he was vindicated by English scientists, who came to the Abbeville region and confirmed his discoveries. But some of these same English scientists later turned on him when he reported the discovery of the famous Moulin Quignon jaw. Eventually the discovery was proved a hoax. That is how the standard history goes. But when considered in detail, the hoax theory does not emerge with total clarity and certainty. Boucher de Perthes felt the English scientists who opposed him were influenced by political and religious pressures at home. In order to restore his reputation and establish the authenticity of the Moulin Quignon jaw, Boucher de Perthes conducted several additional excavations at Moulin Quignon, which yielded hundreds of human bones and teeth. But by this time, important minds had been made up, and no attention was paid to the later discoveries, which tended to authenticate the Moulin Quignon jaw. This lack of attention persists in many histories of archeology. This paper details the later discoveries of Boucher de Perthes at Moulin Quignon, addresses possible reasons for their scanty presence in (or complete omission from) many histories of the Moulin Quignon affair, and offers some suggestions about the role the historian of archeology might play in relation to the active work of that science.
Cremo, Michael A. (1997) Lectures on Forbidden Archeology to students and faculty of archeology, anthropology, and biology at University of Amsterdam, Free University of Amsterdam, University of Leiden, University of Groningen, University of Utrecht, and University of Nijmegen in Holland, and Catholic University of Louvain and University of Ghent in Belgium. October 1997
Cremo, Michael A. (1998) "Divine Nature: Practical Application of Vedic Ethical Principles in Resolving the Environmental Crisis." International Symposium on Energy and Environmental Management and Technology, Long Beach, California, January 29-30.
I presented this paper at the International Symposium on the Management and Technology of Energy and Environment held January 29-31 at the Long Beach, California Hilton Hotel. Nobel Laureates, F. Sherwood Rowland and Martin Perl, along with Ambassador Mark Hambley, key US Delegate to the Kyoto Conference were among the speakers invited from 21 countries for this conference.
Abstract
Many thoughtful people who have looked at the world's environmental crisis, which is closely linked to issues of consumption, have concluded it is ultimately a spiritual crisis that demands a spiritual solution. Part of the problem lies with our modern scientific cosmology, which is mechanistic and reductionistic. There is little place in modern science for the soul and God. Modern science concentrates on matter and its transformations, leading to an ethic of extravagant consumption. But Vedic philosophy concentrates on consciousness and its transformations. This leads to an ethic of frugality that emphasizes the cultivation of consciousness over the exploitation of matter. The Vedic teachings give people powerful tools for achieving high levels of nonmaterial satisfaction. This leads to a lessening of demands for consumption, and this can lead to a reduction in the ever-increasing global processes of industrialization, which fuels the environmental crisis. The Vedic ethic of ahimsa or nonviolence favors a meatless diet, which itself would improve many environmental problems, ranging from acid rain to ground water contamination. A world living according to Vedic ecological principles would be a world of villages, towns, and small cities, with most economic necessities produced and consumed locally in a sustainable fashion. It would be a world of simple living and high thinking. The efforts of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness to implement various elements of Vedic ecological concepts, especially in its 40 rural communities on five continents, are reviewed.
Cremo, Michael A. (1998) "Famous Scientists and the Paranormal." Toward a Science of Consciousness 3, Tucson - University of Arizona, April 27 - May 2, 1998.
Cremo, Michael A. (1999) "Forbidden Archeology of the Early and Middle Pleistocene: Evidence for Physiologically and Culturally Advanced Humans." World Archaeological Congress 4, Capetown, South Africa, January 8-14, 1999.
Abstract:
In 1998, M. Morwood reported stone tools at 800,000 years on Flores Island, Indonesia, 15 miles from nearest land. Morwood concluded toolmaking hominids arrived by boat. According to standard ideas, the only hominid then in existence was Homo erectus. Boatmaking and sailing are normally associated with anatomically modern humans. Morwood chose to elevate Homo erectus culturally, but one could also elevate the Flores hominid physiologically to Homo sapiens sapiens. Anatomically modern human femurs of the same age from Java offer corroborating evidence. In 1997, H. Thieme reported advanced wooden hunting spears in German coal deposits about 400,000 years old. Spears are normally associated exclusively with anatomically modern humans. Thieme chose to raise the cultural status of European Homo erectus, but another possibility is to posit anatomically modern humans. Discoveries of anatomically modern human bones by Boucher de Perthes at Abbeville, France, in deposits the same age as the German spears, offer corroborating evidence. The paper reviews other skeletal and artifactual evidence for anatomically modern humans in the Early and Middle Pleistocene in Africa, North America, and South America, in addition to the Asian and European evidence mentioned above. This evidence is consistent with accounts of extreme human antiquity found in the ancient Sanskrit writings of India.
Cremo, Michael A. (1999) "Forbidden Archeology" The Masterpiece of Creation Conference, Budapest, Hungary, March 12, 1999.
Cremo, Michael A. (1999) "Forbidden Archeology" The Royal Geographical Society, London, UK, April 8, 1999.
Cremo, Michael A. (1999) "The Hidden History of the Human Race" UNCON Fortean Conference, London, UK, April 24-25, 1999.
Cremo, Michael A. (1999) "Forbidden Archeology." Invited lecture. University of Oklahoma School of Geology and Geophysics, Shell Oil Colloquium Series, Guest Speaker, September 9, 1999.
Cremo, Michael A. (1999) "Forbidden Archeology of the Paleolithic: How Pithecanthropus Influenced the Treatment of Evidence for Extreme Human Antiquity" Presented at the "History of Archeology Session" at the European Association of Archaeologists Conference, Bournemouth, UK, September 15-18, 1999.
Abstract:
Over the past two centuries, researchers in Europe and elsewhere have found anatomically modern human skeletal remains and artifacts in geological contexts extending to the Pliocene and earlier. In the late nineteenth century, these discoveries attained wide circulation among archeologists and researchers in allied fields (geology, paleontology, anthropology). At this early point in the history of archeology, a fixed scheme of human evolution had not yet emerged, and researchers were able to approach the evidence of extreme human antiquity with little theoretical bias. With the discovery of Pithecanthropus (Java man) in the late nineteenth century and the discovery of Australopithecus in the early twentieth century, archeologists and others were finally able to construct a credible and widely accepted theoretical picture of human origins, with the anatomically modern human type arriving rather late on the scene. This caused the earlier evidence for extreme human antiquity to be dropped from active discourse, and eventually forgotten. In the late twentieth century, finds that could be taken as evidence for extreme human antiquity continue to be made. But archeologists often interpret them to fit within the now generally accepted scheme of human evolution. It is therefore possible that commitment to a particular evolutionary scheme has resulted in a process of knowledge filtration, whereby a large set of archeological evidence has dropped below the horizon of cognition. This filtering, although unintentional, has left current researchers with an incomplete data set for building and rebuilding our ideas about human origins.
Cremo, Michael A. (2000) "Forbidden Archeology: The Hidden History of the Human Race" Alternative History Conference, San Francisco, California, Februrary 19, 26, 27, 2000.
Abstract: First lecture Title: Forbidden Archeology: The Hidden History of the Human Race
Over the past two centuries, archaeologists have found bones and artifacts showing that people like ourselves have existed on earth for millions of years. But many scientists have forgotten or ignored these remarkable facts. Why? Primarily because they contradict dominant views about human origins and antiquity. According to these views, humans like ourselves have existed for only about 100,000 years, and before that there were only more primitive human ancestors. This evolutionary paradigm, to which influential groups of scientists are deeply committed, has acted as a “knowledge filter.” And the filtering, intentional or not, has left us with a radically incomplete set of facts for building our ideas about human origins. Recovering the complete set of facts, broadly consistent with accounts of extreme human antiquity found in traditional literatures such as India’s Puranas, takes us on a fascinating expedition, across five continents to key archaeological sites, some long forgotten, some the center of ongoing controversy.
Second Lecture Title: Human Devolution: An Alternative to Darwin’s Theory
In this slide-illustrated lecture, Michael reviews the evidence for extreme human antiquity presented in the first lecture. The significance of this anomalous evidence is that we need a new explanation of human origins. But before asking the question, “Where did human beings come from?” we should first ask the question, “What is a human being?” If we start with the assumption that human beings are simply combinations of ordinary matter, that limits our explanatory options. But there are very good reasons for starting with another assumption, namely, that human beings are composed not just of one thing, matter, but of three things, matter, mind, and spirit. Having established this, Michael offers an explanation of how all three came together in the human form, based on his studies in the ancient Sanskrit writings of India.
Cremo, Michael A. (2000) "Forbidden Archeology: The Hidden History of the Human Race" 1st World Symposium on the Origins of Lost Civilisation and the Anacronisms of Archaeology, Teatro Turismo, Republic of San Marino, March 25-26, 2000.
Cremo, Michael A. (2000) "Forbidden Archeology" Royal Institution, London, UK, May 3, 2000.
Abstract: According to current scientific theories, human beings like ourselves emerged between one hundred and two hundred thousand years ago from more apelike ancestors. But accounts found in various ancient wisdom traditions posit a more ancient human presence. Could there be any truth to such accounts? Michael A. Cremo, surveying the entire history of archeology, concludes that the answer to this question if quite possibly "yes." Over the past one hundred and fifty years, archeologists, anthropologists, geologists, and paleontologists have reported many discoveries of anatomically modern human skeletal remains and artifacts normally attributed to anatomically modern humans in geological contexts far older than one or two hundred thousand years. Why do we not hear so much about these discoveries today? Even professional archeologists are often unaware of them. According to Cremo, evolutionary prejudices, deeply held by influential groups of scientists, have acted as a "knowledge filter." Evidence that conforms to the consensus view on human origins passes easily through this filter. Evidence that radically contradicts the consensus view does not. This filtering, intentional or not, has left us with a radically incomplete set of facts for building our ideas about human origins. We have thus come to accept a picture of prehistory that is largely incorrect. Cremo calls for a change in today's arbitrarily rigid mindset. Drawing upon evidence he has presented at scientific conferences and in his controversial book Forbidden Archeology, Cremo lays out the case for extreme human antiquity. He takes his listeners on a fascinating journey, a slide-illustrated historical excavation of a vast store of hidden knowledge that adds a new dimension to our understanding of the history of our species. This journey of exploration takes us across five continents to key archeological sites, some long forgotten, some the center of ongoing research. Along the way we encounter many famous and infamous pioneers of prehistoric research, all with secrets to share. This topic is bound to spark controversy, challenging as it does one of the most fundamental concepts in our modern scientific worldview.
Cremo, Michael A. (2000) "The Discoveries of Carlos Ribeiro: A Controversial Episode in Nineteenth Century European Archeology" Presented at the "History of Archeology" session of the European Association of Archeologists Annual Meeting, September 11-15, 2000, Lisbon, Portugal.
Michael A. Cremo
Historian of Archeology, Bhaktivedanta Institute
Abstract: Carlos Ribeiro was director of the Geological Survey of Portugal and a member of the Portuguese Academy of Sciences. In the years 1860-63, Ribeiro surveyed discoveries of stone tools found at various sites in Portugal, and was surprised to find that some of the sites were of Tertiary age. Ribeiro proceeded to make his own collections of implements from Tertiary formations in Portugal. He presented his discoveries in 1871 to the Portugeuse Academy of Sciences at Lisbon and in 1872 to the International Congress of Prehistoric Anthropology and Archeology at Brussels. Some scientists accepted the human manufacture of the objects and their Tertiary provenance, but others did not. Ribeiro presented more specimens at the meeting of the International Congress of Prehistoric Anthropology and Archeology in Lisbon in 1880. A special commission was appointed to judge them. As part of their investigation, the commission members took a field trip to the Miocene formations at Monte Redondo, at Otta, and there one of the commissioners discovered an implement in situ. For many decades, Ribeiro's discoveries had influential supporters in archeology. But the discovery of Pithecanthropus erectus in Pleistocene formations in Java ended serious consideration of Tertiary toolmakers. The discoveries of Ribeiro, and other evidences for Tertiary man uncovered by European archeologists and geologists, are today attributed (if they are discussed at all) to the inevitable mistakes of untutored members of a young discipline. Another possible explanation is that some of the discoveries were genuine, and were filtered out of the normal discourse of a community of archeologists that had adopted, perhaps prematurely, an evolutionary paradigm that placed the origins of stone toolmaking in the Pleistocene. But as the time line of human toolmaking begins to once more reach back into the Tertiary, perhaps we should withhold final judgement on Ribeiro's discoveries. A piece of the archeological puzzle that does not fit the consensus picture at a particular moment may find a place as the nature of the whole picture changes.
Cremo, Michael A. (2000) "Forbidden Archeology: The Hidden History of the Human Race." Presented at "Questings 2000" Conference, October 14, 2000, London University Institute for Education
Cremo, Michael A. (2001) Lecture on Forbidden Archeology for MUFON of Orange County, California. March 28, 2001
Cremo, Michael A. (2001) Lecture on Fobidden Archeology for Seattle Northwest UFO/Paranormal Conference, May 26, 2001
Cremo, Michael A. (2001) Lecture on Forbidden Archeology at Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, WA, May 30, 2001
Cremo, Michael A. (2001) Lecture on Forbidden Archeology at Simon Frazier University, Vancouver, BC, Canada June 1, 2001
Cremo, Michael A. (2001) Lecture on Forbidden Archeology, Unsolved Mysteries Conference, Vienna, Austria, June 23, 2001
Cremo, M.A. (2001) "Paleobotanical Anomalies Bearing on the Age of the Salt Range Formation of Pakistan: A Historical Survey of an Unresolved Scientific Controversy." Presented at XXIst International Congress of History of Science, Mexico City, July 8-14, 2001
Abstract: The age of the Salt Range Formation in the Salt Range Mountains of Pakistan was a matter of extreme controversy among geologists from the middle nineteenth century to the middle twentieth century. Of great importance in the later discussions were fragments of advanced plants and insects discovered in the Salt Range Formation by researchers such as B. Sahni. According to Sahni, these finds indicated an Eocene age for the Salt Range Formation. But geological evidence cited by others was opposed to this conclusion, supporting instead a Cambrian age for the Salt Range formation. Modern geological opinion is unanimous that the Salt Range Formation is Cambrian. But Sahni's evidence for advanced plant and insect remains in the Salt Range Formation is not easily dismissed. It would appear that there is still a contradiction between the geological and paleontological evidence, just as there was during the time of active controversy. During the time of active controversy, E. R. Gee suggested that the conflict might be resolved by positing the existence of an advanced flora and fauna in the Cambrian. This idea was summarily dismissed at the time, but, although it challenges accepted ideas about the evolution of life on earth, it appears to provide the best fit with the different lines of evidence. The existence of advanced plant and animal life during the Cambrian is consistent with accounts found in the Puranic literature of India.
Cremo, M. A. (2001) "The Discoveries of Belgian Geologist Aimé Louis Rutot at Boncelles, Belgium: An Archeological Controversy from the Early Twentieth Century." XXIVth Congress of the International Union of Prehistoric and Protohistoric Sciences, Liège, Belgium, September 2-8, 2001
Abstract: In the early twentieth century, the Belgium geologist Aimé Louis Rutot announced discoveries of stone tools in Oligocene formations in Belgium, at sites such as Boncelles. The artifacts, although somewhat primitive, resembled those made by modern humans, such as the Tasmanians. The discoveries attracted considerable attention. They were discussed at scientific conferences and were the subject of substantive articles in the scientific literature. For some years after they were discovered, they were displayed in museums in Belgium. However, because the discoveries contradicted the emerging consensus on human evolution, they were eventually dropped from ordinary discourse in archeology and the artifacts were removed from display, thus illustrating the influence of theoretical conceptions in the treatment of evidence in the prehistoric and protohistoric sciences. In this paper, I will explain how my own theoretical conceptions, drawn from the ancient Sanskrit historical texts, have influenced my perception of Rutot's discoveries and their subsequent history.
Cremo, Michael A. (2001) Lecture on Forbidden Archeology at MUFON of Ventura County, California, September 22, 2001
Cremo, Michael A. (2001) Lecture on Forbidden Archeology, Pennsylvania State University, October 2, 2001
Cremo, Michael A. (2001) Lecture on The Hidden History of the Human Race, Cornell University, Kaufmann Auditorium, October 4, 2001
Cremo, Michael A. (2001) Lecture on Forbidden Archeology at Institute for the Study of American Cultures (ISAC), Columbus, Georgia, October 13, 2001
Cremo, Michael A. (2001) Lecture on Forbidden Archeology at the Archeological Society of Midland, Texas, November 1, 2001
Cremo, Michael A. (2001) Lecture on Forbidden Archeology for the Ancient Wisdom and Modern Science Conference in Berkeley, CA, November 4, 2001
Cremo, Michael A. (2001) Lecture on Forbidden Archeology, at the invitation of the Faculty of Philosophy at the Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic. November 12, 2001
Cremo, Michael A. (2002) Invited lecture on Forbidden Archeology. Ukrainian Academy of Sciences. Institute of Archeology, Kiev, November 22, 2002
Cremo, Michael A. (2003) Invited lecture on Forbidden Archeology at the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow. Department of Ethnography and Anthropology, April 14, 2003
Cremo, Michael A. (2003) Invited lecture on Forbidden Archeology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. Department of Experimental Morphology and Anthropology, Sophia, May 28, 2003
Cremo, M. A. (2003) "The Nineteenth Century California Gold Mine Discoveries: Archeology, Darwinism, and Evidence for Extreme Human Antiquity." World Archaeological Congress 5, June 21-26, 2003 Washington, D.C.
Abstract
In 1880, Harvard University’s Peabody Museum of Natural History published The Auriferous Gravels of the Sierra Nevada of California, by Dr. Josiah D. Whitney, state geologist of California. In this book, Whitney documented extensive discoveries by California gold miners of advanced human artifacts and anatomically modern human skeletal in undisturbed Tertiary deposits. According to modern geological reporting, most of the discoveries occurred in Eocene river channels, capped by solid layers of Miocene latite several hundred feet thick. The discoveries attracted the attention of scientists worldwide, but were rejected primarily because they contradicted the then emerging Darwinian picture of human evolution. With the discovery of prehuman Pithecanthropus in the early Pleistocene of Java, a human presence in the Tertiary was considered theoretically impossible. For archeologists and historians of archeology operating from the Darwinist perspective, the California gold mine discoveries make no sense at all. But for archeologists and historians of archeology operating from the alternative perspective of the Puranas, ancient India’s historical writings, which posit extreme human antiquity, the California gold mine discoveries do make sense. Further investigation is possible, because several of the artifacts remain in the collections of the Phoebe Hearst Museum of Anthropology, and from old records, it has been possible to relocate some of the mines from which the artifacts were originally taken.
Cremo, M. A. (2003) "Puranic Time and the Archeological Record." Invited lecture. Dept. of Sanskrit Literature. Benares Hindu University, Varanasi, India. December 22, 2003
Cremo, M. A. (2003) "Puranic Time and the Archeological Record." Invited lecture. Faculty, Staff and Graduate Students. Sampurananda Sanskrit University, Varanasi, India. December 23, 2003
Cremo, M. A. (2004) "Human Devolution" Pennsylvania State University. January 29, 2004
Cremo, M. A. (2004) "Forbidden Archeology." University of California at Irvine. February 3., 2004
Cremo, M. A. (2004) "Human Devolution: A Vedic Alternative to Darwin's Theory." Invited university lecture and seminar for faculty, staff and students at Udayananda University, Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia. March 15, 2004
Cremo, M. A. (2004) Lectures on Human Devolution at University of Michigan, Michigan State University, and Wayne State University, March 2004
Cremo, M. A. (2004) Lecture tour of Hungary, including Bhakti University, Budapest. April 2004
Cremo, M. A. (2004) Lecture tour of Brazil. September 2004
Cremo, M. A. (2004) Lecture tour of Ukraine, including Kiev University, Kiev Mogilanskaya Academy, and National Museum of History of Ukraine. October 2004
Cremo, M. A. (2004) "Human Devolution: A Vedic Alternative to Darwin’s Theory." Bhaktivedanta Institute Conference: Life and Its Origin, Rome, Italy. November 2004
Cremo, M. A. (2004) Lecture tour of Bulgaria, including Sofia University, American University at Blagoevgrad, and Southwestern University at Blagoevgrad. November 2004
Cremo, M. A. (2005) "Human Devolution: A Vedic Alternative to Darwin’s Theory." College of Psychic Studies. London, England. January 18, 2005
Cremo, M. A. (2005) Lecture tour for chapters of the Wessex Research Group in London, Bournemouth, Sherborne, Totnes, Highbridge, and other towns in England. January 2005
Cremo, M. A. (2005) "Human Devolution: A Vedic Alternative to Darwin’s Theory." Theosophical Society. Edinburgh, Scotland. February 5, 2005
Cremo, M. A. (2005) "The Mayapura Pilgrimage Place." 20th International Congress for History of Religions. Tokyo, Japan. March 25
Cremo, M. A. (2005) "Human Devolution: A Vedic Alternative to Darwin's Theory." Invited lecture at the Annual Conference of the Society for the Anthropology of Consciousness, a division of the American Anthropological Society. University of Massachusetts, Amherst. April 14
Cremo, M. A. (2005) Lecture tour of Estonia, with lectures at Tartu University, including the archaeology department, and appearances on Estonia national television and radio. May - June
Cremo, M. A. (2005) "Excavating the Eternal Folk Archaeological Traditions in India." European Association of South Asian Archaeologists Conference at the British Museum in London. July 8
Cremo, M. A. (2005) "Beijing Man and the Rockefeller Foundation." 22nd International Congress for History of Science. Beijing, China. July 25
Cremo, M. A. (2005) Lecture tour of the United Kingdom, with lectures at the chapters of the Wessex Research Group in Sherborne, Milborne Port, Glastonbury, Dorchester, Axminister, Tintagel, Totnes, and Shaftesbury
September-October 2005. Lecture tour of Brazil, with lectures at the University of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the Federal
University of Bahia (in Salvador), the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (in Campina Grande), the Catholic
University of Pernambuco (in Recife), the University of Fortaleza, the Amazon Institute for Higher Studies (in Belem), the
Catholic University of Brasilia, the Lutheran University of Brazil (in Porto Alegra), Lasalle University (in Porto Alegra), the
Federal University of Santa Catarina (in Florianopolis), the University of the State of Santa Catarina (in Florianopolis), the
Federal University of Parana (in Curitiba), the Federal Center for Technical Education (in Curitiba), and the University of
Sao Paulo.
Cremo, M. A. (2006) Rewriting the History of Indian Archeology. World Archeological Congress Intercongress. January 12-15,
Osaka, Japan.
Cremo, M. A. (2006) The Discoveries of Carlos Ribeiro. Archeological Association of the Algarve, Portugal, February 7.
Cremo, M. A. (2006) Forbidden Archeology: Archeological Evidence for Extreme Human Antiquity and Implications for
Education Policy. Seminar Presentation for Faculty of Education, School of Education Studies, University of Kwazulu-Natal,
Edgewood Campus, in cooperation with the Provincial History Committee. May 4, South Africa.
April – May 2006. Lecture tour of South Africa, including lectures at the University of Johannesburg, University of the
Witwatersrand, University of Pretoria, University of Kwazulu-Natal (several campuses), University of Stellenbosch, University
of Cape Town, and Cape Peninsula Technological University. I also did shows for South African national radio and tv.
October 2006: Lecture tour of India, including invited lectures at the Calcutta University Dept. of Anthropology, Indian
Institute of Technology (IIT Mumbai), National Institute of Technical Education (Mumbai), Grant Medical College
(Mumbai), Indian Institute of Science (Bangalore), University of Kerala (Trivandrum), Indian Institute of Technology
(Chennai), Institute for Cellular and Molecular Biology (Hyderabad), University of Delhi (New Delhi).
Feburary 2007 Lecture tour of Denmark.
April 2007 Lecture tour of Croatia, including lecture at Philosophical University, Zagreb. Television and newspaper interviews.
Cremo, M. A. (2007) Excavating the Eternal: An Indigenous Archeological Tradition in India. World Archaeological Congress
Intercongress. Kingston, Jamaica. May 20-27.
Abstract: Histories of Indian archeology typically begin with observations by 16th-century European travelers. For example, in the introduction to his History of Indian Archaeology from the Beginning to 1947 (2001) , D. K. Chakrabarti says, 'Without doubt these records constitute the first group of archeological writings on India.' But Indian historical texts reveal a rich parallel indigenous archeological tradition, involving the excavation of lost artifacts, deities, temples, and sacred sites. A particularly striking example of this indigenous archeology is the excavation by Hindu saints of the 15th and 16th centuries of deities and sacred sites in the Vrindavan region, famous as the place where the Hindu god Krishna appeared in ancient times. This indigenous archeological tradition is absent from the general archeological literature, especially works on history of archeology or works that include substantial sections on history of archeology. In giving notice of this absence, I am not seeking to devalue the useful histories of conventional Indian archeology. But an awareness of the extensive indigenous archeological tradition could add to our understanding of the history of Indian archeology, especially our appreciation for the variety of motives underlying the archeological quest, in its sacred and secular aspects.
Cremo, M. A. (2007) Finding Krishna: 16th Century Archeological Activity by Vaishnava Saints in the Braj Mandal Region of
Northern India. European Association of South Asian Archaeologists conference. Ravenna, Italy, July 2-6.
Abstract: Histories of Indian archeology typically begin with observations by 16th-century European travelers. But Indian historical texts reveal a rich parallel indigenous archeological tradition, involving the excavation of lost sacred images and sites. A particularly striking example of this indigenous archeology is the excavation by Hindu saints of the 15th and 16th centuries of sacred images and sites in the Braj Mandal region of northern India.
Cremo, M. A. (2007) An Insider’s Look at an Alternative Archeology. European Association of Archaeologists annual
conference, Zadar, Croatia, September 17-23.
Abstract: Since 1984, I have been developing an approach to archeology and history of archeology with roots in a perspective on humans origins and antiquity derived from the Puranas, the historical writings of ancient India. The Puranas present a picture of extreme human antiquity, incompatible with current mainstream theories. In my project, I have made use of mainstream archeological materiality. In the paper I will explore how and why I have done that. I will also describe the various audiences for my alternative archeological perspective: mainstream archeologists, Christian creationists, intelligent design theorists, conspiracy theorists. ancient astronaut theorists, New age and spiritual seekers, Hindu nationalists, alternative science researchers, historians of science, educators, etc.. I will also explore the various methods of communication I use to reach these various audiences: papers presented at mainstream science conferences, mainstream science publications, lectures at mainstream science institutions and universities; lectures at alternative science conferences, UFO conferences, New Age conferences, yoga societies, religious organizations; the web, radio interviews, television shows, newspaper and magazine articles in countries around the world (my books Forbidden Archeology, Hidden History of the Human Race, and Human Devolution: A Vedic Alternative to Darwin's Theory are now in 20 languages). I will also explore my motivations and agenda. My motives are to introduce into archeology, and science generally, a perspective on human origins and antiquity with roots in an ontology that includes nonmaterial substance, intelligence, and agency. The perspective is meant to transcend nationalism, race, gender, etc. I will offer some suggestions as to how alternative perspectives like mine should be accommodated in state supported education systems, state supported research institutions, and state supported museums.
Cremo, M. A. (2007) The Forbidden Zone: Archeologists and Archeology in an Invented Civilization (Planet of the Apes).
European Association of Archaeologists annual conference, Zadar, Croatia, September 17-23.
Abstract: The novel Planet of the Apes and its film adaptations depict an invented civilization that has captured the minds of people around the world, probably ranking second to Star Trek in influence in the space adventure genre. The ape inhabitants of the invented civilization, which also has a primitive human population, have a history of their relationship with the humans. Among the civilized apes are scientist apes, including an ape archeologist named Cornelius. The arrival of human astronauts on the planet of the apes sets off a chain of events that leads one of the astronauts and Cornelius to the Forbidden Zone, where there is an archeological site with evidence that contradicts the ape scientists' view of their history and relationship with the primitive humans on their planet. An examination of the role of archeology and archeologists in the invented civilization sheds light on the role of archeology and archeologists today, on our planet, in maintaining the authority of a socially accepted view the past. Is there today on our planet the equivalent of a forbidden zone of archeology which could challenge the authority of the now socially accepted view of the human past?
September 2007: Lecture tour of Croatia, including lecture at University of Zagreb, for students of departmens of physics and math, lecture at University of Dubrovnik. Television and newspaper interviews.
February 2008: Lectures at universities and colleges in and around Pune, India.
