Episode 1

The man is described as a pseudo-archaeologist, his books read by millions, but he is

rejected mostly by most scholars. He is Graham Hancock. He is a journalist, and he is subjecting
human pre-history.
According to Hancock, humans are species with amnesia and throughout the vast history
of it. We may have forgotten something important with it, something big. And it is the lost,
advanced civilization of the Ice Age. What makes Hancock’s studies advanced? In the first
episode, he never says. He might be reserving the revelation for a later episode, perhaps the
conclusion of the current one. But I have my doubts. I have a feeling he would prefer not to be
forced to answer this. Did his culture own aircraft? Or a vehicle of some kind? Or were they
simply more advanced horse and buggies?
They are supposedly "more developed than hunter-gatherers" (whatever this might
mean). He mentions that they were present at the same time, at least in his mental palace, so I say
this. Hancock appears to think that since there are still contemporary hunter-gatherer
communities and we continue to throw our coke bottles out of aircraft at them, then this is how
things were before the Ice Age.
The first episode's major focus and setting is a little mountain called Gunung
Padang in Indonesia. The first person to describe it was the Dutch geologist R.D. M. Verbeek
constructed four terraces of upright columns in 1891. A Dutch researcher named NJ Krom later
wrote about Gunung Padang in 1941; he compared the pillars to Shaivite lingas found in Hindu
temples and hypothesized that it was probably a burial site. After the 1940s, the site may have
gone utterly unnoticed, but local farmers discovered it in 1979, reigniting interest in the location.
Mount Padang archeological site has been known since late nineteen century as a
megalithic complex that sits on top. Our studies proves that the structure does not cover just the
top but also wrap around the slopes covering about 15 ha area at least. Comprehensive
geophysical surveys combining ground penetration radar (GPR) and multi-channel resistivity
methods, seismic tomography augmented by bore-holes coring data and archeological
excavations, show further that the structures are not only superficial but rooted into greater
depth. The structures are not built at once but consisting several layers from consecutive periods.
The uppermost layer on the surface consists of horizontal piles of basaltic columnar rocks
forming step-structure terraces and decorated by exotic arrangements of stand-up rock columns
forming walls, paths and spaces. The second layer, which had been previously misinterpreted as
natural rock formation, buried 1-3 meters beneath the ground surface, is a several-meter thick
fills consisting of more compact and advance arrangement of similar columnar rocks in fine-
grain matrix. The third layer is also artificial arrangement of rock fragments with various kinds
that extent down to about 15 meter deep. The third layer sits on fractured, massive basaltic lava
tongue. The survey also reveals evidences of large underground cavities or chambers. Results of
preliminary radiocarbon dating indicates that the first layer was built around Cal BP 3,000. The
second layer was built around about Cal BP 7,000. The third layer was built prior to Cal.BP.
9,500, and could be as old as Cal.BP.13,000 to 28,000 years old. Natawidjaja, (2018)
 Vulcanologist Sutikno Bronto scribbled that, contrary to the claims of sensationalists, the
site isn’t an enormous pyramid, but a small, man-made complex on top of an ancient volcano.
The construction of the site involved using naturally occurring columnar joints-basaltic columns
of cooled lava flows that look curious hexagonal "logs." Raspati, A.D. (2022)
According to Hancock's theory, flood myths across the world record the history of this
event in mythic form, as does the myth of Atlantis. While the Younger Dryas may well have had
a sudden onset, possibly measured in a few decades, and the rise in sea levels at the end of that
period may also have been as sudden, there is no evidence of any civilization developing before
the Younger Dryas. Callahan, (2020)
Hancock claims that Gunung Padang ‘’utterly confounds’’ mainstream archaeologists'
because it puts into question everything that they've taught us about the prehistory of humanity. I
obviously missed that note. Leaving aside Hancock's unnecessarily dramatic vernacular, Gunung
Padang intrigues me. However, I'm much more intrigued by websites with has the ability to give
us useful data and much more eagerness to invest money in locations that might be more
transitory. These locations could soon be lost due to climate change due to glacier melt or rising
sea levels.
Gunung Padang, which Hancock claims means "mountain of light" or "mountain of
enlightenment," is a mountain. Its literal translation is "field mountain." Technically, a volcano
that has erupted, with its main components being stone blocks which is still standing.
The location of Gunung Padang is challenging to date. A labyrinth to decipher. Although
I'm pleased to have those as well, I haven't seen an excavation report yet. (Or maybe there are
some lurking on the internet which requires mainstream attention) This is likely because the
work completed since 2012 is still being processed. I haven’t seen in episode one where either
Akbar or Natawidjaja mention what the samples were.
Hancock is quick to point out how dismissive and unwelcoming archaeologists are to his
quest to find a vanished civilization, but he only tells a portion of the tale. He selectively
highlights the passages that lend credence to the conclusions he arrived at and ignores the rest.
Consider this for a second, you can see how Hancock is thrilled to talk with Akbar and
Natawidjaja in episode one, both geologists and archaeologists, the two of them. Hancock seems
to desire for scholarly approval but takes offense to their criticism. Therefore, he only displays
those that support the viewpoint he wishes to advance. No opposing argument or notion is taken
into consideration.
The hard truth is, that he would have come across as thoughtful and cautious if he had
taken the extra step and investigated what some of the complaints are with Gunung Padang dates
and architectural assumptions. However, that clouds his analysis, making it a mirage. And the
statement he makes at the beginning is what makes his books, videos, and speaking engagements
popular.
Hancock departs from Gunung Padang and complains that researchers "can't seem to get
how the Ice Age was a very remarkable moment when the globe was extremely different" and
"the Earth didn't look the same." He seems to genuinely feel that he understands something that
scientists working in the fields of geology and archaeology don't. However, their names appear
on the countless articles, books, and course outlines pertaining to the Pleistocene, the Ice Age,
and the climatic, geologic, and archaeological changes that have occurred since then.
Quoting Hancock in the first episode. He says: ‘’The way archaeology works, there is
going to continue to be huge resistance to new evidence, and that’s really problematic. Science
should be open to new evidence.’’ That infuriated me. It is as ignorant as he is to the field of
archeology and history. He believes that science is closed to fresh evidence and that this is how
archaeology functions. If you think about it for a moment, and realize that there are quite a few
archaeological papers, I'm not being harsh by labeling it "ignorant." And those papers contain
research studies and reports, each of which delivers fresh evidence—often for locations where novel
methods or approaches are permitting the collection of new data. Or innovative techniques enable the
improvement of existing data. If you take all of this into perspective, you must admit that science is
open to emerging evidence and that archaeologists are all about new information.
Hancock's arrogance is the true issue, not his ignorance. He ambles along that journey,
picking only the cherries that are sweet enough to support the conclusion already in his other
hand, and it's obvious that either he craves validation from experts in the fields of archaeology
and history or he just wants to be seen as the victim in a circumstance where he's "just asking
questions" and "just a journalist looking for answers."

References:
Callahan, T. (2017). Lost civilizations and imaginative conjectures: an analysis of myth
and history in Graham Hancock's magicians of the Gods. Skeptic [Altadena, CA], 22(3), 42+.
Natawidjaja, D. H., Bachtiar, A., Endar, B., Daryono, M., & Subandrio, A. (2022).
Evidences of Large pyramid-like structure predating 10,000 Year BP at Mount Padang, West
Java, Indonesia: Applications of geological-geophysical methods to explore buried large
archeological site. Authorea Preprints.
Raspati, A. D. (2022). Competence of the Mysterious Civilization Builder of Gunung
Padang. History & Future Book Store.