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First time Quote by Graham Hancock

“Not for the first time I felt myself confronted by the dizzying possibility that an entire episode in the story of mankind might have been forgotten. Indeed it seemed to me then, as I overlooked the mathematical city of the gods from the summit of the Pyramid of the Moon, that our species could…” quote by Graham Hancock
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““Not for the first time I felt myself confronted by the dizzying possibility that an entire episode in the story of mankind might have been forgotten. Indeed it seemed to me then, as I overlooked the mathematical city of the gods from the summit of the Pyramid of the Moon, that our species could have been afflicted with some terrible amnesia and that the dark period so blithely and dismissively referred to as 'prehistory' might turn out to conceal unimagined truths about our own past. What is prehistory, after all, if not a time forgotten--a time for which we have no records? What is prehistory if not an epoch of impenetrable obscurity through which our ancestors passed but about which we have no conscious remembrance? It was out of this epoch of obscurity, configured in mathematical code along astronomical and geodetic lines, that Teotihuacan with all its riddles was sent down to us. And out of that same epoch came the great Olmec sculptures, the inexplicably precise and accurate calendar the Mayans inherited from their predecessors, the inscrutable geoglyphs of Nazca, the mysterious Andean city of Tiahuanaco ... and so many other marvels of which we do not know the provenance. It is almost as though we have awakened into the daylight of history from a long and troubled sleep, and yet continue to be disturbed by the faint but haunting echoes of our dreams””

Graham Hancock

About This Quote

Source Book: Fingerprints of the Gods, 1995

The quote suggests that humanity’s distant past is largely forgotten, yet ancient civilizations left sophisticated traces that hint at lost knowledge.

In simple terms: We have forgotten much of early history, but ancient clues remain.

Key Takeaway

Explore ancient mysteries to broaden our historical view.

Themes

history archaeology humanity memory mythology

Mood

curious reflective inquisitive

Type

philosophical historical speculative

When to use this quote

  • researching ancient sites
  • studying ancient engineering
  • interpreting mythic narratives
  • examining astronomical alignments

Key Concepts

lost knowledge civilizational cycles archaeological evidence cultural memory

Questions to Reflect On

  • What evidence could reshape our view of prehistory?
  • How do modern assumptions hinder interpreting ancient achievements?
A Different Perspective

Our understanding is limited by fragmentary evidence and modern bias.

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