Supernatural: Meetings with the Ancient Teachers of Mankind

Description

Less than fifty thousand 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. In Supernatural 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 detective journey from the stunningly beautiful painted caves of prehistoric France, Spain, and Italy to rock shelters in the mountains of South Africa, where he finds extraordinary Stone Age art. He uncovers clues that lead him to the depths of the Amazon rainforest to drink the powerful hallucinogen Ayahuasca with shamans, whose paintings contain images of ''supernatural beings'' identical to the animal-human hybrids depicted in prehistoric caves. Hallucinogens such as mescaline also produce visionary encounters with exactly the same beings. Scientists at the cutting edge of consciousness research have begun to consider the possibility that such hallucinations may be real perceptions of other ''dimensions.'' Could the ''supernaturals'' first depicted in the painted caves be the ancient teachers of mankind? Could it be that human evolution is not just the ''meaningless'' process that Darwin identified, but something more purposive and intelligent that we have barely begun to understand? Table des matières PREMIÈRE PARTIE : Les Visions......................................... 7 I. La plante qui permet aux hommes de voir les morts.....................9 IL La plus grande énigme de l'archéologie.............................23 III. La liane des esprits............................................ 51 DEUXIÈME PARTIE :Les Grottes..........................................97 IV. La thérianthropie................................................ 99 V. Les énigmes des grottes.......................................... 133 VI. L’université miteuse........................................... 185 VII.À la recherche d’une pierre de Rosette............................222 VIII. Un code dans le cerveau........................................269 IX. Les serpents du Drakensberg......................................318 X. Le guérisseur blessé..............................................363 TROISIÈME PARTIE : Les Êtres.........................................397 XI. Voyage dans le surnaturel........................................399 XII. Des chamans dans le ciel........................................424 XIII. Un amour chez les esprits..................................... 463 XIV. La Fédération secrète...........................................487 XV. Voilà quelque chose qui va me transporter........................505 XVI. Des danseurs entre les mondes...................................536 QUATRIÈME PARTIE: Les Codes..........................................563 XVII. Trouver la fréquence de la chaîne D M T .......................567 XVIII. Chez les elfes-machines.......................................586 XIX. Des anciens enseignements dans notre A D N ?............... 625 XX. Un ouragan dans l'entrepôt d’un chiffonnier-ferrailleur 647 CINQUIÈME PARTIE : Les Religions......................................673 XXI. Les chamans cachés................................................. 675 XXII. La chair des Dieux.................................................722 SIXIÈME PARTIE : Les Mystères............................................759 XXIII. Des portes s’ouvrant sur un autre monde........................761 Remerciements...................................................................................797 APPENDICES................................................................................801 Appendice I ............................................................................... 802 Appendice II................................................................................832 Appendice III...............................................................................838