From the bestselling author of Fingerprints of the Gods, and creator of the explosive Netflix series, Ancient Apocalypse
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‘Supernatural: of or relating to things that cannot be explained according to natural laws.’
‘As gripping as any thriller’ New Statesman
‘Provocative and fascinating’ Daily Mail
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Less than 50,000 years ago mankind had no art, no religion, no sophisticated symbolism, no innovative thinking. Then, in a dramatic and electrifying change, described by scientists as “the greatest riddle in human history”, all the skills and qualities that we value most highly in ourselves appeared already fully formed, as though bestowed on us by hidden powers. Graham Hancock sets out to investigate this mysterious “before-and-after moment” and to discover the truth about the influences that gave birth to the modern human mind.
His quest takes him on a journey of adventure from the stunningly beautiful painted caves of prehistoric France, Spain and Italy to remote rock shelters in the mountains of South Africa where he finds a treasure trove of extraordinary Stone Age art, ending in the depths of the Amazon rainforest, where he drinks the powerful plant hallucinogen Ayahuasca with Indian shamans, whose paintings contain images of “supernatural beings” identical to the animal-human hybrids depicted in prehistoric caves and rock shelters.
Could these “supernaturals” be the ancient teachers of mankind? And is human evolution in fact more purposeful and intelligent that we have barely even begun to understand?
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‘A welcome exploration and celebration of the mystery inside our skulls’ Guardian
‘Extraordinary’ Daily Express
‘Intelligent and articulate . . . his writing is as expert as you would expect from an esteemed international correspondent’ Scotsman
‘Hancock’s most important book . . . Quite stunning’ Independent
Woosh –
It’s always a pleasure to read Graham Hancock’s work and this title is no exception. It is amusing, entertaining, flows naturally, is factual and also incredibly inspirational, being the fact that he is one of the few people who actually engages in self-experimentation to gain facts that support his hypotheses, very much in the same sort of vain as C.G Jung, though whether Jung used Hallucinogens to get his visions, is disputed, it adds a gravity of authenticity to the work.Though secondary sources through scholars and scientists are always referred to when they are necessary to reinforce his findings which add an incredible amount of credibility to what he is suggesting, it is his own visions and experiences I find the most compelling.There are a several different, but ultimately entwined, subjects addressed in this book, the primary one being that hallucinogenic consumption (as well as self-induced trance states) is responsible for the rock art of ancient humans. This book, backed by scholars and scientists easily pushes this particular hypothesis beyond reasonable doubt for me. The next is whether organised religion was founded through the visions received during these trance states and gave birth to the way modern man operates. Again with a lot of evidence and agreement from the experts this too seems entirely likely and I find it almost astonishing that people have only just started to piece this together now. It seems pretty straightforward.Though there are several more ideas that are knocking about in the novel, my favourite, and perhaps the most infeasible (solely because it would be impossible to prove these with current technology) of his hypotheses is that the entities found in these trance states are in fact organisms, or guides on a different plane of existence that runs alongside ours but just out of reach in our usual conscious states. Though it seems unlikely at a glance, the more you look into it the more you find that it is entirely feasible, if not, possible, for this to occur.Masterfully he combines psychological/scientific studies from DMT testing, Alien Abductions, Ayahuasca and even the old stories of Fairies and Elves as well as DNA coding to form an impressive speculation that all of these entities are in fact the same and can be accessed through DMT’s effect upon, not just on humans, but many more animals and why we would be hardwired to react to this in the first place in evolutionary terms.I could talk about this for an exceptionally long time and entirely analyse the book from cover to cover as mentioned before, that would be an entire novel in itself. But as he so constantly does in all of his factual titles, it pushes what you think you know about a subject to the limits and beyond in an enjoyable and always coherent way. It also makes you wonder about exactly what your dreams are and how, just maybe, all those characters and people you’ve met in your dreams, could be the entities that you meet under a DMT trip. (That’s my speculation by the way, not the author’s I would like to point out.)It is a brilliant novel with plenty of facts for the scientists in us but it never gets tedious for the readers in us. The theories placed beyond doubt, backed by evidence and driven by speculation, (Graham constantly reiterates that they ARE speculations that cannot be proved at this point) are enjoyable and in a strangely straight-forward way, make a lot of sense. If you like to think out of the box, with regards to self-experimentation, pushing the boundaries of your consciousness, spirituality or knowledge, or just want to know about prehistoric cave paintings, some folklore, alien abduction accounts and speculation upon where religion sprang from, this is definitely the book for you.Five stars from me.
Andrei –
I planed the book for 5 weeks, finished in 2. The best book out of 27 last year. That was a hell of a ride. We need more!!!
freerangefaeries –
This book is an real eye opener, it questions how and when we became conscious and offers amazing insights into where humanity could be heading. It takes you into fantastic realms and Ideas that I didn’t expect it to but glad it did, all the ideas and theories are thoroughly researched and really well written, some are even from personal experience which I found really insightful and interesting. I’d recommend this book to anyone with a open mind who is prepared to go on a epic journey that takes you from the dawn of history and then blasts you off into other dimensions to try and bring back some answers to some fundamental questions about the nature of reality itself. A truly brilliant read. Once you’ve read this book I’d really recommend reading Graham Hancock’s first fiction novel ‘Entangled’ as it uses some of the ideas brought up in Supernatural but expertly weaves them into a mind blowing adventure story
Lou –
For anyone interested in the evolution of human consciousness this book is a ‘must’. As usual, Graham Hancock provides plenty of factual evidence before giving his interpretation, conclusions, and hypothesis.The first part of the book is a trifle wearisome and concerned with ancient cave art discoveries and conventional theories, but like a steam locomotive Mr.Hancock gradually accelerates until he thunders along and one simply cannot put the book down until one reaches the end.Great value and a book that will surely give the reader plenty to think about.
Ioana Cos –
Amazing book. The author takes us through all kinds of rituals and practices and invites the reader to do a bit more research on the side as well. It was quite hard for me to read, sometimes I would take time to know more about certain subjects. I do recomand for all the spiritual children out there.
Marie Harbon –
A well researched and thought provoking concept. This was one of the books I used to research my novel series ‘Seven Point Eight’. Hancock uses a blend of his own experiments with psychedelic compounds and the history of shamanism. It also covers UFO folklore and faery mythology, which is put into context along with aspects of neuroscience.He draws much of his key research from the work of Rick Strassman and his experiments with DMT, so readers who enjoyed Hancock’s book should check out ‘DMT: The Spirit Molecule’ too. However, Hancock develops this further by personally experimenting with a range of hallucinogenic compounds. His experiences make fascinating reading and push us to question the concept of ‘reality’.The only negative is that at times, it was repetitive so it could have benefited from downsizing a little. But otherwise, an enthralling read.
Dee –
The book is well written and full of eye opening insight into the past and knowledge. Big book to get through.
mmmmmmmmmmmmm –
this book superb and basicily a theasis and is very informative about cave art and much more. several ideas are talked about in this book form differnt people and places with puzzleling links. does not presume to know the truth rather to give you the tools to think for your self and find what you belive to be true.
Placeholder –
Intriguing
The book size is smaller than I’d expected but it’s good because I can carry it around with me easily. Graham Hancock’s writing style is really fascinating. Must read if you are into supernatural annd otherworldly mysteries.
Rosa Maria Calapiz –
Su teoría es que las pinturas rupestres se realizaron bajo los efectos de alucinógenos.
El autor emplea 756 páginas en describir el uso y los efectos de sustancias alucinógenas que él y un sinnúmero de personas, chamanes principalmente, han empleado para lograr estados alterados de conciencia y justificarlo en aras de su supuesta investigación antropología. Creo que esto carece de valor científico y sí desacredita al autor.