North America

Casey, Kevin A. & Patrick J.

Published February 21, 2019

Kevin A. & Patrick J. Casey are the American authors of a series of papers currently available on the academia.edu website^(a), which are concerned with a globally catastrophic event that occurred 13,000 years ago. providing them with a title of ’13K Theory’. The kernel of their theory is that originally the Earth had two moons that at some later point collided, producing our current Moon, while the remnant of the second one eventually exploded over North America kick-starting what we refer to as the cooler Younger Dryas period.

They claim that this event wiped out the megafauna, altered the Earth’s axis and created our mountains, the Earth being generally flat before the dramatic episode! They are adamant that it was not a comet or asteroid that caused the devastation, and so clash with the conclusions of Richard Firestone and his colleagues.

Their final paper is entitled Atlantis Revisited^(b), in which they nominate Rockall as being ‘by far’ the most likely location of Atlantis. They also claim that the war between the Atlanteans and the Greeks took place before the 13K Event! Enjoy.

^(a) (99+) (PDF) 13k Theory, Children of the Book | Kevin A Casey – Academia.edu * (six parts)

^(b) https://www.academia.edu/38380799/13k_Theory_Atlantis_Revisited.pdf

Tagged 13K Theory, Kevin A. Casey, moon, North America, Patrick J. Casey, Richard Firestone, Rockall, Younger Dryas

Koutlis, Manolis *

Published February 13, 2019

Manolis Koutlis is a computer engineer and the author of In the Shadow: The Greek Colonies of North America and the Atlantic 1500 BC -1500 AD^[1617], in which he seeks to demonstrate that the Greeks had settlements in North America. Using the classical texts of Plutarch, Homer, Hesiod and Plato as well as the traditions of the Native Americans of the North East, he offers evidence to support his thesis.

The idea of ancient Greeks in Canada has been around for some time with Henriette Mertz in the 1960’s suggesting that Odysseus’ wanderings took place in the Atlantic and that he was the first European to visit America.

Koutlis has concluded that Ogygia was located on St. Paul Island in the Cabot Strait and goes further, locating Atlantis in the Gulf of St. Lawrence northeast of the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island, not far from Quebec’s Magdalen Islands.

A few years earlier, Emilio Spedicato, also proposed that the region around the Mouth of the St. Lawrence River, in Canada, had been visited by ancient Greeks. His comments were addressed to the 2005 Atlantis Conference ^[629.411]. He did not, however, suggest a Canadian location for Atlantis as he had already claimed Hispaniola as its home.

The first 37 pages of his book can be read online^(a)(b)*.

Also See: Minas Tsikritsis, Lucio Russo

^(a) https://enskia.com/pdf/In-the-Shadow-sample-1.0.pdf (link broken) *

^(b) https://www.academia.edu/42060296/Troy_In_the_Shadow *

Tagged Cabot Strait, Canada, Gulf of St. Lawrence, Henriette Mertz, Hesiod, Homer, North America, Odysseus, Ogygia, Plato, Plutarch

Tsikritsis, Minas

Published August 1, 2017

Minas Tsikritsis, a native of Crete, is a Professor of Computer Science and noted Researcher of Aegean Scripts. Included in his work is his claim to have deciphered Linear A and the Phaistos Disk, one side of which appears to be a form of sea shanty. Gavin Menzies quotes^[^780.319] Tsikritsis’ belief that the Minoans had mathematical knowledge equal, if not superior, to that of the Babylonians and Egyptians.

However, this claim has been seriously challenged by a recent study of a 3,700-year-old Babylonian tablet known as Plimpton 322. The tablet was discovered around a century ago in what is now southern Iraq. Australian scientists from the University of New South Wales, Sydney have now demonstrated that the tablet is the world’s oldest and most accurate trigonometric table, predating the Greek astronomer Hipparchus by over a millennium^(b). These claims have generated some considerable debate ^(c).

Additionally, based on an analysis of Plutarch’s “On the Apparent Face in the Orb of the Moon,” Tsikritsis believes that the Greeks had contact with North America, at least as far back as 86 AD!^(a)*Some time later he expanded on the idea in a paper published on the Researchgate website^(d).*

^(a) https://canada.greekreporter.com/2012/04/21/researcher-claims-ancient-greeks-made-it-to-america-before-columbus/

^(b) https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/29/science/trigonometry-babylonian-tablet.html

^(c) https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/roots-of-unity/dont-fall-for-babylonian-trigonometry-hype/

*^(d) https://www.researchgate.net/publication/321319687/download*

Tagged Babylonians, Crete, Gavin Menzies, Hipparchus, Linear A, Minas Tsikritsis, Minoans, North America, Phaistos Disk, Plimpton 322, Plutarch, trigonometry

Hancock, Graham

Published June 8, 2010

Graham Hancock the well-known investigator of prehistoric mysteries has never discussed the Atlantis enigma in depth. In fact, he once remarked on BBC Television that he avoids using the word ‘Atlantis’ in his books “because most people when they hear the word Atlantis immediately think that they’re dealing with the lunatic fringe”.

Furthermore, he emphasises the potential value of myths as transmitters of historical facts, albeit distorted.

In his 1995 tome on civilisations submerged at the end of the last Ice Age, Fingerprints of the Gods ^[275.462] he briefly discusses the subject of Atlantis. He accepted that the Atlantic was not harbouring any lost continent, although he was seeking a continental-sized home for his vanished civilisation. Paul Heinrich has posted a review^(v) of ‘Fingerprints’.

Similarly, in his earlier work, The Sign and the Seal ^[678.319], Hancock had clearly discounted the Atlantic as the home of Atlantis. At this point, he appeared to be considering the Antarctic location proposed by the Flem-Aths.

His book, Underworld ^[274] was published in 2002 and was followed by a TV programme, Flooded Kingdoms of the Ice Age, which was based on it. The latter evoked a highly critical review^(s) from N.C. Flemming, who has written widely on maritime matters including sea-level changes and sunken cities ^[1682]. Hancock wrote an equally strong response^(r) to this.

Hancock maintains an interesting website⁽^a⁾that is regularly updated with contributions from a wide range of contributors. His bestselling Fingerprints of the Gods is now available online^(b).

The other side of the coin is that Hancock’s evidence supporting his theories has been heavily criticised as flawed^(g) and misleadingly presented^(h).

Hancock “ regularly draws attention to what he considers mystical relationships between the Great Pyramid of Giza and the radius, circumference, and axial precession of the earth…….. Proponents of these “mystical” relationships contend, in addition to existing in the first place, that the relationships must be purposeful and therefore provide direct evidence of advanced capabilities in technology, mathematics, and precise astronomical observing techniques that scholars have long asserted were not available to humans when the pyramids were constructed.” These are among the opening remarks by Thomas W. Schroeder, who published two papers in 2019 criticising Hancock’s scholarship.^(y-z)

E.J. de Meester who proposed an English location for Atlantis, before his website went offline, was critical of Graham Hancock’s hyperdiffusionist concept of Atlantis commenting that “In 1999 Discovery Channel broadcast a three-part series called ‘Quest for the lost Civilisation’.In it, Graham Hancock stated that the pyramids, Angkor Vat, Stonehenge, the stones of Carnac, the Nazca lines, temples in Mexico and the statues of Easter Island were all part of an ancient global civilisation of seafarers who were apparently obsessed by astrology. The temples of Angkor Vat (in Cambodia) were said to be built in the shape of the zodiac sign Draco, the pyramids of Gizeh in the shape of Sirius; the Sphinx is supposed to be looking at the sign of Leo. It’s all rather vague. Hard to say whether it’s nonsense or not. More information can be found in Hancock’s books, like ‘Fingerprints of the Gods’^[0275] and ‘Heaven’s Mirror’ ^[0855] .” De Meester’s comments are still (2023) available on the archive.org website^(ar).

For my part, I consider this hodgepodge of locations presented by Hancock as parts of his global civilisation to be utter nonsense. The sites listed above have little in common; Carnac and Stonehenge are probably the only two that might be considered to be related. Perhaps the most obvious weakness in his claim is the fact that some of the sites are separated by millennia. Easter Island, Angor Wat and Nazca were developed long after Atlantis was submerged.

Further criticism of Hancock’s scholarship has come from>>the late Garrett Fagan (1963-2017)<<, particularly in relation to his comments regarding Antarctica.^(aa)

Jason Colavito has written^(c) a critical review of Hancock’s work and his recent advocacy “for ayahuasca, a South American hallucinogen. Since taking the drug for his 2005 book Supernatural, Hancock has supported the concept that mind-altering substances give their users access to a spirit world where one can commune directly with the ‘gods’.”

In April 2015, Hancock was due to engage in a debate with Zahi Hawass on the subject of their conflicting views of ancient history. However, when Hawass saw that Hancock included an image of Robert Bauval in his presentation, he refused to continue with the arranged format^(d)(t).

In September 2015, Hancock published his, Magicians of the Gods ^[¹¹¹⁹^], which worryingly sounds like a von Däniken book title! Already, he is trailing this publication with teasers, such as a claim that he has finally identified the ‘smoking gun’ that demonstrates that a cometary impact destroyed an advanced civilisation in the Antarctic 12,800 years ago^(e)Shortly after the initial report was published, Hancock had to correct errors in it^(f), the principal one being that the impact site was the North American ice cap NOT Antarctica. An interview with Hancock shortly before the publication of ‘Magicians’⁽ⁿ⁾is online as is also a review of the book itself^(o). A full-length video lecture based on the book is available online^(x).

Hancock also climbed aboard the Gobekli Tepe bandwagon, incorporating it along with Noah’s Ark and Atlantis into one narrative^(p).

Hancock’s book also engages in scaremongering, with a sales-boosting prediction that an asteroid impact is possible in 2030 when the Earth once again enters the orbit of the remains of Encke’s Comet!

Jason Colavito’s critical review of ‘Magicians‘ is now online^(j). A more favourable evaluation of his book is now available from Dr Jon Epstein of Greensboro College, who expresses some interesting views on the closed-mindedness of many academics^(k). Epstein’s review prompted further comments from Colavito^(l). Following correspondence between Epstein and Colavito, additional claims of academic conspiracy to block Hancock have emerged.

Michael Shermer, a professional sceptic, attacked Hancock’s ‘Magicians’ in a Scientific American article arguing first of all that, “no matter how devastating an extraterrestrial impact might be, are we to believe that after centuries of flourishing, every last tool, potsherd, article of clothing, and, presumably from an advanced civilization, writing, metallurgy and other technologies—not to mention trash—was erased? Inconceivable.” ^(ab)

Hancock recently received the endorsement of the South African Professor of Philosophy, Bert Olivier, which swiftly produced a response from Colavito^(q).

Hancock’s next book, America Before, published in April 2019, proposes that North America was inhabited 130,000 years ago and was home to an advanced civilisation that was destroyed by a cometary impact at the end of the Younger Dryas period, around 10,000 BC. The fact that this is contradicted by Plato does not seem to bother him. Hancock proposed cometary impact damage as the cause of Atlantis’ demise, Plato says flooding. I would prefer Plato’s account as he was nearly two and a half millennia nearer the event. Hancock claims that Atlantean survivors spread their alleged high-tech civilisation around the world. Plato does not describe Atlantis as any more advanced than any other culture. Hancock offers no tangible evidence for his claim.

When asked what he meant by ‘advanced’ Hancock revealed^(u) that “I think we’re talking about a civilization – more than 12,000 years ago – which was as advanced as our civilization was, say in the late 18th century or early 19th century. In other words, they could navigate the world, they could explore the world, they could measure the world accurately, they had precise astronomy, they could create beautiful maps that were accurate in terms of latitude and longitude. That kind of level of civilization.”

In late 2022, Hancock had a TV series entitled Ancient Apocalypse transmitted on Netflix. It was, of course, joyously greeted by his fans, but received more muted reviews in other quarters^(ad). Not unexpectedly Jason Colavito^(af) and Thorwald C. Franke (Newsletter 206)^(ae). Murdoch’s The Sun tabloids offered a voice^(ac) for the cries of protest from academics. It appears that the series has been used as a multi-episode aggressive rant against conventional archaeology. Perhaps it was just the ayahuasca speaking.

In response, this week (Dec.2, 2022), the Society for American Archaeology published an open letter^(ah) to Netflix and the television production house ITN requesting that they re-classify its new series Ancient Apocalypse as a work of fiction rather than a docuseries^(ag). Eventually, Hancock responded with a lengthy article^(al) described by Jason Colavito as ‘hysterical’^(am), but in my view, it contains many interesting points.

The uproar over the Hancock-Netflix series continues unabated with Colavito offering the following addition to his website^(ai) and a longer piece on The New Republic website^(aj); “It has also sparked unparalleled outrage from archaeologists and journalists, resulting in dozens of think pieces decrying the show’s many false claims and illogical arguments, analyzing its racist implications, and declaring the series everything from “fishy” to the “most dangerous” show on Netflix. “Why has this been allowed?” asked Britain’s The Guardian. The answer to that seemed pretty obvious: Hancock’s son, Sean Hancock, is Netflix’s senior manager for unscripted originals.”

The Guardian newspaper (UK) took another perceived aspect of the series to accuse “Hancock – who describes himself as a journalist presumably to avoid being called a pseudo-scientist” – of taking “the story to a new controversial level in suggesting that survivors of such a deluge were the instigators of the great works of other civilisations, from Egypt to Mexico and Turkey to Indonesia. As (Flint) Dibble states, such claims reinforce white supremacist ideas. ‘They strip indigenous people of their rich heritage and instead give credit to aliens or white people.’ In short, the series promotes ideas of ‘race science’ that are outdated and long since debunked.”^(ak).

On April 2023, Jason Colavito reported^(an) “In a surprise move, Graham Hancock pulled out of June’s Cosmic Summit, a meeting of catastrophists in support of the theory that a comet hit the Earth at the end of the last Ice Age and destroyed a high-tech lost civilization. Atlantis speculator Jimmy Corsetti, who was also scheduled to speak, also said he would not be attending. Corsetti claimed he had been ‘removed’ against his will from the list of speakers, leaving the conference in chaos.” There is some suggestion that problems arose over a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA). Hancock offered the following explanation on his website^(ao) “Serious concerns have been brought to my attention that has caused me to lose confidence in the fundamental philosophy and direction of this conference.”

In June 2023, Michael Shermer published an article in Skeptic magazine that attacked Hancock’s theories generally and the 2022 Netflix series in particular^(ap).

The Netflix episode dealing with the Maltese megaliths has drawn criticism from archaeologists in Malta, one of whom appeared briefly in the episode and later implied that her appearance was “manipulated to suit the narrative that the series is trying to push.” ^(aq)

Archaeologist Flint Dibble agreed to go head-to-head with Graham Hancock on the popular Joe Rogan Experience in April 2024^(as). This lengthy encounter is available on YouTube^(at). Because the discussion lasted over four hours, Jason Colavito could only see and review parts of the show^(au). I get the impression that the debate did not produce the fireworks anticipated by some. I also wonder why Dibble had to wear a now clichéd Indiana Jones fedora hat.

^(a)https://www.grahamhancock.com

^(b) https://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/egipto/fingerprintgods/fingerprintgods.htm#contents

^(c) https://www.jasoncolavito.com/1/post/2012/09/graham-hancock-maya-knew-about-5000-year-cycle-of-bureaucratic-civilization.html

^(d) https://www.grahamhancock.com/forum/HancockG15.php

^(e) https://metro.co.uk/2015/05/18/comet-which-hit-antarctica-13000-years-ago-wiped-out-advanced-civilisation-5202576/

^(f) https://m.facebook.com/Author.GrahamHancock/photos/a.10151524582402354.1073741825.31260747353/10153324831577354/?type=1&theatre

^(g) https://web.archive.org/web/20200225173834/http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/mom/atlantis.html

^(h) https://www.luckymojo.com/hancocklecture.html

⁽ⁱ⁾ https://web.archive.org/web/20200804080428/http://csglobe.com/exclusive-comet-three-times-bigger-than-dinosaur-killer-could-soon-destroy-earth/

^(j) Magicians of the Gods Review – JASON COLAVITO (archive.org) *

^(k) “But then, just for the hell of it, you decide to up the ante”- Review- Graham Hancock’s Magicians of the Gods – Camel City Dispatch (archive.org)

^(l) https://www.jasoncolavito.com/blog/greensboro-college-professor-graham-hancock-is-showing-archaeologists-how-to-ask-real-questions

^(m) https://www.jasoncolavito.com/blog/sociologist-claims-hubris-of-archaeology-resulted-in-conspiracy-to-silence-graham-hancock

⁽ⁿ⁾ https://andrewgough.co.uk/interviews_hancock_2015/

^(o) Archive 2904

^(p) Gobekli Tepe, Noah’s Ark & Lost Atlantis – Collective Evolution (archive.org)

^(q) https://www.jasoncolavito.com/blog/south-african-philosophy-professor-endorses-graham-hancocks-lost-civilization-demands-paradigm-shift-in-archaeology

^(r) https://grahamhancock.com/archive-underworld2/

^(s) https://www.scribd.com/document/335992579/Nick-Flemming-Review-of-Flooded-Kingdoms-of-the-Ice-Age

^(t) https://www.dailygrail.com/2015/04/game-of-groans-egyptologist-zahi-hawass-goes-into-meltdown-during-debate-with-graham-hancock/

^(u) https://www.dailygrail.com/2019/04/watch-graham-hancock-discuss-his-new-book-america-before/

^(v) The Cuicuilco Pyramid and Fingerprints of the Gods (archive.org)

^(w) An Analysis of the Quality of Graham Hancock’s Science (hallofmaat.com)

^(x) Magicians of the Gods Lecture by Graham Hancock at Göbekli Tepe in Turkey – YouTube

^(y) https://www.hallofmaat.com/numerology/a-critique-of-graham-hancocks-forced-numerical-relationship-between-the-great-pyramid-of-giza-and-earths-dimensions-1/

^(z) https://www.hallofmaat.com/numerology/a-critique-of-graham-hancocks-forced-numerical-relationship-between-the-great-pyramid-of-giza-and-earths-dimensions-2/

^(aa) https://www.hallofmaat.com/meh/antarctic-farce/

^(ab)https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/no-there-wasnt-an-advanced-civilization-12-000-years-ago/

^(ac) https://www.thesun.ie/news/9782110/wild-atlantis-theory-netlfix-documentary/

^(ad) Lost city of Atlantis rises again to fuel a dangerous myth | Archaeology | The Guardian

^(ae) https://www.atlantis-scout.de/atlantis_newsl_archive.htm

^(af)https://www.jasoncolavito.com/blog/review-of-netflixs-ancient-apocalypse

^(ag) Archaeologists Ask Netflix to Reclassify Graham Hancock’s ‘Unfounded’ Netflix Docuseries ‘Ancient Apocalypse’ as Fiction | Artnet News

^(ah) saa-letter-ancient-apocalypse.pdf

^(ai) Read My New Piece on “Ancient Apocalypse” in “The New Republic” (substack.com)

^(aj)The Strange and Dangerous Right-Wing Freakout Over Ancient Apocalypse | The New Republic

^(ak) https://www.theguardian.com/science/2022/nov/27/atlantis-lost-civilisation-fake-news-netflix-ancient-apocalypse

^(al) Response by Graham Hancock (GH) to the open letter to Netflix dated 30th November 2022 from the Society for American Archaeology (SAA) concerning the eight-part docuseries Ancient Apocalypse presented by Graham Hancock – Graham Hancock Official Website

^(am) Graham Hancock Issues Response to Archaeology Association’s Open Letter – JASON COLAVITO

^(an) Graham Hancock Pulls Out of Cosmic Summit, Replaced by Scott Wolter – JASON COLAVITO

^(ao) https://grahamhancock.com/events/

^(ap)Skeptic » Reading Room » Alternative Civilization and Its Discontents: An Analysis of the Alternative Archaeologist Graham Hancock’s Claim That an Ancient Apocalypse Erased the Lost Civilization of Atlantis

^(aq)https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/maltese-archaeologists-push-back-netflix-show-s-temple-claims.995910

^(ar) https://web.archive.org/web/20090614050055/http://home-3.tiscali.nl/~meester7/engatlantis.html

^(as) Why I Went on Rogan With Pseudoarchaeologist Graham Hancock (sapiens.org)

^(at) Joe Rogan Experience #2136 – Graham Hancock & Flint Dibble – YouTube

^(au) https://www.jasoncolavito.com/blog/graham-hancock-and-flint-dibble-offer-few-fireworks-in-joe-rogan-debate

Tagged Angor Wat, Antarctica, Atlantic, ayahuasca, Bert Olivier, Carnac, Draco, E. J. de Meester, Easter Island, Encke's Comet, Erich von Daniken, Flint Dibble, Gobekli Tepe, Graham Hancock, Jason Colavito, Joe Rogan, Jon Epstein, Lunatic Fringe, Michael Shermer, N.C. Flemming, Nazca, Netflix, Noah's Ark, North America, pyramids, racism, Robert Bauval, Sirius, Sohinx, The Guardian, Younger Dryas, Zahi Hawass

Brooks, Dennis

Published June 6, 2010

Dennis Brooks is a U.S. Army retiree now living in Hawaii, who has produced a number of works^[²⁰¹^][²⁰²^] on the Atlantis mystery. The first is more a booklet, which designates Tampa, Florida as the location of Plato’s sunken civilisation. The second offering claims the entire continents of both North and South America as the extent of the Atlantis Empire.>He later expanded on this, explaining that North America was the continent of Atlantis, while South America was the continent of Lemuria^(e)!<

Brooks attempts to spice up his more recent ‘pot-boiler’ with the suggestion that the treasure of Atlantis is to be found on Oak Island⁽^a⁾, off Nova Scotia, a hunting ground of treasure hunters for the past two hundred years. The Oak Island mystery and the suggested link with treasure from Atlantis is dealt with in greater detail in Atlantis and the Oak Island Treasure^[0964], an ebook by Benson, Howard and Tyson.

2012 saw the publication of Atlantis:Ten Tribes of the Americas^[953]in which Brooks expanded further on his theory. While there is no doubt that pre-Columbian America was home to many sophisticated societies, Brooks fails to demonstrate that any of them were Plato’s Atlantis.

His latest offering is Atlantis, Pyramids Floods^[⁰⁹⁹⁶^] in which endeavours to link Noah’s Flood with water damage to the Giza pyramids and the destruction of Atlantis. Jason Colavito has also published a useful critique of Brook’s book^(c). One of Brook’s many incorrect claims in this slim volume is that Plato told us that Egypt was the oldest colony of Atlantis! This Kindle book is also relatively short, being equivalent to just over 90 pages. More recently, Brooks returned to the question of the Deluge in a short paper on the Ancient Origins website^(d), which contains his usual quota of misinformation.

Brooks sent me a copy of his book, but when I subsequently challenged him on just two errors in his offering, he did not address my specific objections, but offered the following ‘excuses’ – “There are no credible sources when it comes to Atlantis. Therefore, all we have are speculation, dubious sources and assumptions. I see that you take this subject seriously, to me it is only a hobby”.

I would advise Mr Brooks to take up a new hobby.

⁽^a⁾https://web.archive.org/web/20071211211047/https://www.atlantiskingdom.com/index.html

^(c) https://www.jasoncolavito.com/blog/ancient-origins-author-claims-a-comet-caused-noahs-flood-which-ripped-the-casing-stones-from-the-giza-pyramids

^(d) https://www.ancient-origins.net/history-important-events/comet-sparked-worldwide-flood-myth-009168?nopaging=1

>^(e⁾ Atlantis has been found and explained! | Ancient Origins (ancient-origins.net)<

Tagged Atlantis, Benson Howard & Tyson, Dennis Brooks, Florida, Lemuria, Noah's Flood, North America, Oak Island, Plato, pyramids, South America

Copper *

Published May 25, 2010

Copper was obviously a vital commodity for the Bronze Age Atlantis described by Plato. The source of this copper has led to frequent speculation among Atlantologists. Frank Joseph proposed that copper was the foundation for the wealth of Atlantis. He is convinced that there is evidence of enormous copper mining activities in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula around 1000 BC. He refers to these miners as Atlanteans ^[⁰¹⁰²^] and maintains that the extracted copper was brought to the Mediterranean, claiming that there is no trace of it in North America!

Joseph’s wild claim runs counter to the evidence offered by one of the leading mining engineers of his day, T.A. Rickard (1864-1953)^(m). In 1934, Rickard published an extensive paper in The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland entitled The Use of Native Copper by the Indigenes of North America⁽ⁿ⁾. Rickard notes how early European colonists observed the native Americans using copper for tools and ornaments. A more recent entry^(o) in Wikipedia offers further details reinforcing Rickard’s contention. Similarly, a March 2021 article in Archaeology offers evidence that native Americans were producing artefacts from copper as early as the 7th millennium BC and were probably the world’s first coppersmiths^(r)(s).

In another article in Atlantis Rising magazine, Joseph proposed that the exploitation of the Michigan copper began in the sixth millennium BC with the arrival of the Red Paint People from Europe!⁽ⁱ⁾

Frank Joseph and Gavin Menzies are late with their claims regarding the exploitation of the Michigan copper by Atlanteans. In 1928, it was Giacinto Perrone in his book L’Atlantide ^[809] who was an early promoter of the idea of Atlantean involvement in the ancient Michigan copper mining^(t).

J.S. Wakefield has written an extensive article^(j)linking the Michigan mines with Poverty Point in Louisiana, where, he contends that the copper was cast into oxhide ingots. In the same article, he identified the Sea Peoples as the Atlanteans and their allies. In another paper^(q) he presents a case for identifying the copper oxhide ingots discovered in the Late Bronze Age Uluburun shipwreck found off Turkey as originating in Michigan. He bases his claim on the unusual 99.5% purity of these copper ingots, which he claims is only to be found in the Great Lakes mines. Wakefield is a co-author with Reinoud de Jonge of Rocks & Rows: Sailing Routes Across the Atlantic and the Copper Trade ^[⁰⁷⁶⁰^].

Roger Jewell has written an important book ^[0243] on this same historical mystery but dates the early mining to 2500 BC and estimates the quantity of copper mined at 20 million pounds. Jewell offers a range of evidence that points to Minoan traders, an idea taken up recently by Gavin Menzies, who quotes estimates of between three and five hundred million pounds, while others have suggested as much as 1.5 billion pounds have been extracted. These wild speculations have been derided by commentators such as Jason Colavito^(b).

Dale Drinnon has an extensive entry on the Michigan copper mines on his wide-ranging website^(c).

Philip Coppens also wrote a speculative article on the possible part that Michigan’s copper plated in global trade around 3000 BC^(g). Commenting on the possible market for the Michigan copper, he wrote that it is remarkable, “that Bronze Age Europe ended in 1200 BC, which coincides with the end of the mining activities in America. Coincidence? The mining technique in America is also identical to those used on the British Isles, where the other component, tin, originated from.”

The America Unearthed TV series, presented by Scott Wolter, also examined the idea of Minoans mining in Michigan (S1 E3). Jason Colavito wrote a highly critical review of the episode^(k), while an even more extensive critique can be found on the Archyfantasies.com website^(l).

Ilias D. Mariolakos is a Professor Emeritus of Geology and Paleontology at the University of Athens. In 2010 he presented a paper to the 12th International Congress of the Geological Society of Greece stating that the prehistoric Greeks were familiar with the Atlantic Ocean and its Gulf Stream. He also claims that they exploited the Michigan copper mines to meet the needs of their bronze industry.

David Hatcher Childress, who is consistently generous with his speculations has proposed that the Hittites were responsible for the Michigan copper mining ^[620.65].

Peter Marsh has suggested^(u) that the Michigan copper mining was the work of Berbers and Phoenicians!

Additionally, the late Bernhard Beier published two articles^(v)(w) on the debate surrounding the astounding quantity of copper apparently mined in Michigan. It is clear that he, like Peter Marsh and others, was sympathetic to the idea that Old World miners were involved, who were possibly Phoenicians, Berbers or Egyptians.

Bronze Age Cypriot Copper Ingot

John Jensen has noted^(x) that “curiously, North American Indian mounds have been found to contain copper sheets made in the shape of animal hides. Called “reels,” their function, if any, is unknown. The reels do, however, resemble oddly shaped copper ingots common in European Bronze Age commerce. Their peculiar shape earned these ingots the name “oxhides” and has been found in Bronze Age shipwrecks, and are even said to be portrayed on wall paintings in Egyptian tombs. The standardized hide-like shape, with its four convenient handles, was useful in carrying and stacking heavy ingots. Could the reels from the North American mounds have been copied from the oxhides? It is tempting to speculate that the Copper Culture miners were actually an Atlantic rim colony.“

A further word of caution regarding North American copper oxhide ingots is offered by a report from Andy White outlining his attempts to verify their existence^(y).

So far, we have on offer, Native Americans, Red Paint People, Sea Peoples, Greeks, Minoans, Hittites, Atlanteans, Berbers and Phoenicians all allegedly involved in the ancient exploitation of the Michigan copper. Take your pick, but base your choice on evidence, if any, rather than speculation.

It is claimed that the local Indians have folk memories of the mines being worked by ‘light-skinned’ men, suggesting a possible European or Mediterranean connection. Frank Joseph implies that these natives had little interest in copper although one of the cultures in the Great Lakes region was known as the Old Copper Indian because of their extensive use of copper for weapons, tools and ornaments^(h). Furthermore as early as 1585 British settlers on Roanoke Island noted that the indigenous people there put a high value on copper.

A more conventional analysis of the Michigan copper mining mystery is presented by local archaeologists. They point out that the views of commentators such as Frank Joseph are very generous with speculation but somewhat mean with evidence. Dr Susan R. Martin of Michigan Technological University has published a point-by-point refutation^(a) of the many wild claims that have been made about the Michigan mines in The Michigan Archaeologist [41 (2-3) p119-138. June-September 1995].

Even more extreme was the suggestion made by Reinoud M. de Jonge in a 2009 paper^(e) where he boldly claimed “that during the whole period of the (Michigan) copper trade, America was part of the Egyptian Empire” and during the Old Kingdom “this huge empire was known as Atlantis”! De Jonge expanded on this in a 2012 paper, justifying his claims with an incredibly detailed interpretation of the Phaistos Disk, which appears to be highly speculative^(p).

In the eastern Mediterranean, Cyprus, taking its name from copper, provided much of that metal, which enabled the development of the Bronze Age there. In the central and Western Mediterranean ancient copper mines have been identified in Iberia, Morocco and Sardinia as well as sources of tin. However, a 1982 paper^(f) claimed that Laurion in Attica, Greece was equally as important as Cyprus as a source of Bronze Age copper.

The earliest known metal mine in the British Isles was on Ross Island, near Killarney in Ireland. Copper was mined there from 2400 BC until 1900 BC^(d) and the site is thought to have been the principal source of the metal for the two islands at that time.

Supporters of an earlier date for Atlantis can point to evidence of worked metal around 9000 BC discovered in Anatolia, Turkey. More recently there were metal beads discovered in Bulgaria tentatively dated to 6000 BC.

^(a) See Archive 2547

^(b) https://www.jasoncolavito.com/1/post/2013/01/review-of-america-unearthed-s01e03-great-lakes-copper-heist.html

^(c) See: Archive 3597

^(d) https://web.archive.org/web/20181007004331/https://www.culturalheritageireland.ie/index.php/irelands-top-100-heritage-discoveries/81-irelands-top-100-heritage-discoveries/151-heritage-discoveries-the-copper-mines-at-ross-island-co-Kerry

^(e)https://megalithicresearch.blogspot.com/2009/12/copper-trade-with-old-world-poverty.html

^(f) https://www.academia.edu/954316/Bronze_Age_copper_sources_in_the_Mediterranean_a_new_approach

^(g) See Archive 2724

^(h) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Copper_Complex

⁽ⁱ⁾ See Archive 3389

^(j)https://web.archive.org/web/20200528040507/https://ancientamerica.com/poverty-point-the-manufacturing-of-copper-oxhides-for-the-atlantic-copper-trade/

^(k) https://www.jasoncolavito.com/blog/review-of-America-unearthed-s01e03-great-lakes-copper-heist

^(l) https://archyfantasies.com/mysterious-minoan-miners-and-the-missing-michigan-minerals-america-unearthed-s-1-ep-3/