First published 2006
Graham Hancock examines humanity's sudden leap from primitive existence to sophisticated culture less than 50,000 years ago. Scientists call this transformation the greatest puzzle in human history. All advanced human capabilities appeared at once, fully developed, as if granted by unknown forces. Hancock searches for answers in prehistoric painted caves across France, Spain, and Italy. He studies ancient rock art in South African mountain shelters. His investigation leads him deep into the Amazon rainforest, where he drinks the plant hallucinogen Ayahuasca with indigenous shamans. Their visionary paintings show supernatural beings identical to the animal-human hybrids found in prehistoric caves. Mescaline and other hallucinogens produce encounters with these same entities. Modern consciousness researchers consider whether such visions might reveal other dimensions of reality. Hancock questions whether these supernatural beings served as humanity's first teachers and whether human evolution follows a more intentional pattern than Darwin's random process suggests.
Genres: archaeology, anthropology, non-fiction, ancient
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: investigative-journalism, supernatural
Setting: Amazon Rainforest, France, Italy, South Africa, Spain
Period: Prehistoric
468 pages · Paperback · Arrow
Content warnings: drug-use