Book SummaryAmerica Before, by Graham Hancock

1-Page Summary1-Page Book Summary of America Before

The book offers substantiation indicating that advanced civilizations may have thrived in the Americas, thereby challenging conventional historical narratives.

Hancock challenges the commonly held belief that the settlement of humans in the Americas happened not so long ago, presenting compelling proof that people have inhabited these lands for a significantly extended duration, which includes sophisticated societies that could have thrived prior to the arrival of Europeans.

The findings at the Cerutti Mastodon Site suggest that the history of human presence in North America extends back to 130,000 years ago, which calls into question the traditional belief that the Clovis culture represents the earliest inhabitants, thereby revealing that the continent's human past is significantly older and more enigmatic than once believed.

The Cerutti Mastodon Site, meticulously excavated by Tom Deméré and his team, offers convincing evidence that humans inhabited North America 130,000 years ago, which is a timeline that extends the previously accepted initial human settlement by over 100,000 years. Hancock highlights the persuasive nature of the data that led the respected journal Nature to publish an article on the site. The uncovering of this evidence compels us to reconsider the chronology of human history in the Americas, hinting at a long and largely untapped lineage.

The state of the mastodon remains suggested they had been broken while still recent, hinting at human activity as opposed to natural events or the impact of modern equipment.

The remains of mastodons at the Cerutti Mastodon Site exhibit distinctive patterns of spiral fractures. Hancock highlights the thorough analysis Deméré performed on these fractures. The state of the bones indicates they had not fully hardened at the time they fractured. Furthermore, the distinctive spiral fractures that Steve Holen, a colleague of Deméré, observed on elephant bones intentionally broken with stones, were unlike the usual marks left by predatory animals or the effects of modern construction machinery. The logical conclusion is that human beings who existed 130,000 years ago purposefully broke the bones discovered at Cerutti using stones.

The vertical embedding of a mastodon tusk in the ground suggests it was deliberately placed there by people.

Hancock's interest is piqued by the positioning of a mastodon tusk at Cerutti, which he interprets as an indication of human activity. Deméré firmly believed that the artifact's upright orientation within the earth could not have occurred through natural means. Humans seem to have intentionally positioned the tusk upright. Hancock proposes that the site might have functioned as a landmark to assist ancient foragers in easily relocating this specific location amidst the featureless landscape.

The prevailing belief is that the site served as a location for extracting bone marrow or crafting tools from bone, as evidenced by the absence of typical stone tools and the presence of hammerstones and anvils.

Hancock emphasized the difficulties encountered by the researchers at the Cerutti site, stemming from the lack of typical stone tools. Skeptics argue that the absence of proof reinforces their belief that the site was not created by human hands. He then underscores that the team led by Deméré responded to the criticism by proposing a credible explanation for the absence of conventional tools. Evidence from the assortment of bones and stones at the location indicates that marrow was likely harvested, and it is possible that implements crafted from bone were produced, negating the need for sophisticated stone instruments.

The unearthing of complex geometric structures within the Amazon suggests that the region was once home to highly structured communities, which contradicts the long-held belief that it was sparsely inhabited by primitive cultures.

Graham Hancock argues that the sophisticated geoglyphs found in the Amazon serve as compelling proof of the region's transformation by advanced societies, rather than it being a pristine wilderness. Graham Hancock offers persuasive arguments that transform our perception of the historical inheritance and the existence of ancient inhabitants in the Amazon during periods previously disregarded by archaeologists. Hancock suggests that the intricate and carefully structured geoglyphs demonstrate a level of sophistication that surpasses the commonly held beliefs regarding the capabilities of ancient Amazonian societies.

The meticulous construction of the geoglyphs, characterized by shapes like circles, squares, and rectangles, as well as intricate patterns, is apparent in the systematic excavation of trenches and the piling up of earth.

Hancock offers evidence that suggests the geoglyphs in the Amazon originate from an ancient era. The region features an assortment of geometric figures, including circles and rectangles, which vary greatly in dimensions and layout. The creation of the geoglyphs showcases intricate and skilled workmanship. Hancock emphasizes the grand scale of these edifices, indicating that their creation necessitated a substantial and organized workforce, and he also draws attention to their intricate and precise architecture, as seen in the carefully...

America Before Summary Astronomical alignments, cosmological beliefs, and advanced knowledge in ancient American sites

Hancock demonstrates how the careful choice of sites and their precise synchronization with astronomical events indicate a sophisticated grasp of cosmic cycles, emphasizing a deliberate effort to synchronize terrestrial structures with the rhythms of the heavens, which contradicts the conventional perception of Native American civilizations as primitive and simple.

Poverty Point: Over 3,500 years ago, communities of hunter-gatherers constructed a complex system of mounds and earthworks that demonstrated their sophisticated knowledge of astronomical patterns prior to the development of agricultural methods.

The Poverty Point structure in northeast Louisiana, which dates back 3,500 years, was built by hunter-gatherer communities rather than by agricultural settlers. Graham Hancock notes that this discovery challenges the conventional archaeological views on what nomadic foraging societies could achieve in terms of societal organization and sophistication. The layout of the site, with its six terraces arranged in concentric circles, multiple mounds, and a prominent central square, was clearly conceived to mirror the connection between heaven and earth, with the walkways...

America Before Summary The history of human settlement in the Americas is intricate and multifaceted, as disclosed by archaeological and genetic research.

Graham Hancock argues that the history of human habitation in the Americas is intricate and dates back further than is widely acknowledged, proposing that diverse groups of people with distinct genetic signatures from various parts of the world migrated there in several waves.

Findings at multiple sites such as Monte Verde, Meadowcroft, Topper, and Cactus Hill suggest that human habitation in the Americas extends well beyond the age of the Clovis culture, by thousands of years.

Hancock assembles substantial evidence regarding sites predating the Clovis culture, maintaining that while the authenticity of certain locations can be contested, there are unquestionably age-old sites with precise dating, confirming the existence of humans on the American continent much sooner than once recognized. He thoroughly investigates the details of three significant sites: Monte Verde in southern Chile, Meadowcroft in Pennsylvania, and the Bluefish Caves in the Yukon. Graham Hancock investigates numerous sites across the Americas and uncovers artifacts that suggest human presence from 14,000 to potentially 50,000 years ago, which disputes the prevalent belief that the Clovis culture...

America Before Summary Indigenous communities in the Americas stood out for their sophisticated agricultural practices, remarkable architectural achievements, and firmly established ceremonial and spiritual traditions.

Graham Hancock advocates for the recognition of the deep environmental insight and deliberate alteration of their habitat, as well as the advanced spiritual and technological abilities that were intrinsic to Native American cultures long before Europeans arrived on their territory.

For more than eight thousand years, native populations have cultivated a rich and diverse "garden" in the Amazon, teeming with a variety of tree species that are both useful and productive.

Hancock notes that the first Europeans to explore the Amazon rainforest nearly five hundred years ago saw it as a pristine wilderness sparsely inhabited by indigenous people they dismissively referred to as "savages." New research, however, reveals that the jungle is a garden - that its appearance, and the abundance and distribution of some of its species, are a result of more than 8,000 years of intelligent and very purposeful management and cultivation by ancient inhabitants.

The diversity of tree species in the rainforest suggests that they were deliberately cultivated, indicating human involvement in their selection, cultivation, and care.

Hancock disputes the idea that the Amazon remains an...