An A-Z Guide To The Search For Plato's Atlantis

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  • NEWS DECEMBER 2022

    NEWS DECEMBER 2022

    Atlantipedia will be wound down in 2023. After nearly twenty years compiling Atlantipedia on my own, and as I am now approaching my 80th birthday, I have decided to cut back on the time I dedicate to developing this website. An orderly conclusion rather than an enforced one is always preferable before the Grim Reaper […]Read More »
  • Joining The Dots

    Joining The Dots

    I have now published my new book, Joining The Dots, which offers a fresh look at the Atlantis mystery. I have addressed the critical questions of when, where and who, using Plato’s own words, tempered with some critical thinking and a modicum of common sense.Read More »
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Bradshaw Foundation

Out of Africa

The Out of Africa theory is the dominant model of the geographic origin and early migration of anatomically modern humans (Homo sapiens)(a). It arose from discoveries in East Africa less than a century ago. Previously, a more popular idea prevailed which claimed that modern humans arose from different populations of earlier hominids in various regions of the world. This regional development still has some advocates(h)(c).

A 2007 report deviated somewhat from the OoA concept, and suggested that the first Europeans had arrived from Asia, rather than directly from Africa!(f)

While details of the OoA theory are continually being modified in the light of new discoveries, genetic studies have only strengthened support for the theory. The most recent genetic studies suggest that “a vast inland oasis in present-day northern Botswana was once home to the founder population of all modern humans.” (b)

New studies suggest that the early development of homo sapiens may have been more complex than previously thought(e). Chris Stringer, of the Natural History Museum, London, is quoted by The Guardian as saying that “the immediate predecessors of modern humans probably arose in Africa about 500,000 years ago and evolved into separate populations”.

It is still uncertain whether humans left Africa in two or more waves and when did they do so. Stephen Oppenheimer, who has written extensively on the subject, maintains that a single group of migrants were involved, around 80,000 years ago. He offers several papers on the Bradshaw Foundation website(d).>Current opinion favours Bab-el-Mandeb at the south of the Red Sea and the Sinai Peninsula at the northern end, as the most likely exit routes.<

In the September 2021 issue of Nature, evidence was presented that hominins had migrated out of Africa to what was a much greener Arabia, in a series of movements starting approximately 400,000 years ago and later around  300,000, 200,000, 100,000 and 55,000 years ago, coinciding with successive periods of more benign climate on the peninsula(i). Later in the year, another report endorsed the importance of Arabia, describing it as the “cornerstone in early human migrations out of Africa.” This was the conclusion arrived at following the largest-ever study of Arab genomes(j).

As I see it, dating the spread of humans remains unclear to a layman such as myself. Of particular interest is determining more accurately when man first crossed the Bering Strait from Asia into America.

Not directly related to this subject but nevertheless interesting is a recent research report published in the Journal of Mediterranean Archaeology(g) (2021 DOI: 10.1558/jma.18784), which deals with Mediterranean migration trends over 8,000 years. It found that, within the region from about 7,500 BC to AD 500, migration rates ranged from about 6% to 9% of the population within the dataset. These rates seem to have decreased over time and “that despite evidence of cultural connections, there’s little evidence of massive migration across the region.”

A 2021 article in the Smithsonian Magazine reviews recent theories regarding much earlier migrations of hominins, particularly Homo erectus(k).

(a) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recent_African_origin_of_modern_humans

(b) https://cosmosmagazine.com/biology/likely-human-homeland-identified

(c) It’s Official: Timeline For Human Migration Gets A Rewrite | Discover Magazine (archive.org)

(d) https://www.bradshawfoundation.com/stephenoppenheimer/index.php

(e) https://www.ancient-origins.net/news-evolution-human-origins/human-origins-0013103

(f) http://africascience.blogspot.com/2007/08/first-europeans-came-from-asia-not.html

(g) Deep dive into bioarchaeological data reveals Mediterranean migration trends over 8,000 years — ScienceDaily 

(h) No single birthplace of mankind, say scientists | Science | The Guardian

(i) Research reveals humans ventured out of Africa repeatedly as early as 400,000 years ago, to visit the rolling grasslands of Arabia (theconversation.com)

(j) Arabia was ‘cornerstone’ in early human migrations out of Africa, study suggests | Live Science 

(k) What Drove Homo Erectus Out of Africa? | Science| Smithsonian Magazine *

 

Oppenheimer, Stephen

Stephen Oppenheimer (1947- ) qualified in Medicine from Oxford University in 1971. He moved to the orient where he specialised in tropical paediatrics. He was Professor of Paediatrics at the Chinese University of Hong Kong from 1990 to 1994. Much oppenheimerof his research focused on malaria and the unique genetic mutations that protect against it. Since these mutations act as markers Oppenheimer found that they held strong evidence for the migrations caused by the extensive flooding following the last Ice Age. This led him to investigate the cultural origins of the peoples of South East Asia.

Oppenheimer wrote a book[004], which identified the South China Sea as the original location of the Garden of Eden. Although he makes little reference to Atlantis, the book is of great interest to those that favour an oriental rather than a western location as the inspiration for Plato’s legendary land.

R. Cedric Leonard has drawn attention to an article by Oppenheimer in a 2006 edition of Prospect magazine(d) with a follow up contribution in the June 2007 edition(e). In them, he proposes that the early immigrants into the British Isles were more likely to have been Basques rather than Celts. Leonard speculates(f) that the Bretons (Britons) were Basques, who in turn were Atlantean refugees!

A critical review of Oppenheimer’s volume by Koenraad Elst(c), the  Belgian orientalist, as well as the more recent supportive views of Dale Drinnon can be found on the Internet(a).

Oppenheimer has also written a further book[005] that looks at the origins of modern mankind in Africa and its spread throughout the rest of the world.

In February 2012 it was reported(b) that the president of Indonesia was encouraging a search for an ancient civilisation in Indonesian waters. This apparently followed meetings with local researchers and Stephen Oppenheimer. President Yudhoyono has also given his support to the extensive research being carried out at Gunung Padang(g).

Oppenheimer in conjunction with the Bradshaw Foundation(h) has produced a valuable interactive genetic map showing how the world was peopled(i).

In 2014, Oppenheimer endorsed(j) the conclusions of Stanford and Bradley who propose that the Clovis people were related to the Solutrean people of western Europe who had crossed the Atlantic during the last Ice Age.

See also Sundaland.

(a) See Archive 3581

(b) See Archive 2976

(c) https://web.archive.org/web/20190311153957/https://koenraadelst.bharatvani.org/reviews/atlantis.html*

(d) https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/magazine/mythsofbritishancestry/

(e) https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/magazine/mythsofbritishancestryrevisited/

*(f)  https://web.archive.org/web/20170113172907/https://www.atlantisquest.com/Bretons.html*

(g) https://www.smh.com.au/world/digging-for-the-truth-at-controversial-megalithic-site-20130726-2qphb.html

(h) https://www.bradshawfoundation.com/index.php

(i) https://www.bradshawfoundation.com/journey/

(j) https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00438243.2014.966273?journalCode=rwar20 
Also see: Sundaland