“I've read a lot of academic books during getting my degrees, they pale into insignificance when compared with these books. But then I'm an Aboriginal woman Elder and I am biased. However, when you say that many in academia and the Australian government find it hard to digest that Ab/Original ancient peoples are the oldest living people on this planet and their culture was intellectually supreme to all others, it is no wonder that there is a deafening silence regarding your research. . . . Nothing much positive is accepted in Australia about Aboriginal people and you and your father's books are exceptional in content re: Aboriginal Australia. Thank you for bringing our ancient culture and the people to world attention.”
—Associate Professor Rosemary Van Den Berg
“I enjoyed reading your book and was sorry to read the tale of persecution of the indigenous people of Australia. It is the same tragic story among indigenous people in North, South and Central America, Africa and India as well. Your information about the origin of humanity being from Australia is interesting. Geneticists will no doubt determine the truth of it over time. If the Dogon did come from Australia originally then they likely brought their beliefs from there. My research points to the Dogon religion as being as close to the first religion that we are likely to find on the Earth. This is because they were isolated and virtually untouched by the Europeans until the 1930s. Unfortunately once contamination takes place, the original mythology begins to change. If the elders in Australia were able to maintain their original beliefs, it would be nice to learn more about their teachings. Thanks. Shannon”
—Shannon Dorey, author and researcher
“This book makes an admirable attempt to establish that the original stock of modern humans evolved ‘out of Australia’ and not ‘out of Africa’ as Establishment science presently insists. Being an author and 40+ year researcher on evolution, human history and related subjects, I rated this book 5–star for the following reasons: 1) The story of human evolution presently taught in the schools of advanced nations is deeply flawed . . . the proof is abundant for any honest person with an open mind to consider. 2) This book does a fine job of adding fascinating evidence which adds to the open debate. While my personal investigation has led me to a somewhat different conclusion from those arrived at in this book, I fully concede the authors have made some startling analysis which is difficult to refute. Thanks to the courage and original thinking of the authors mankind is getting closer to understanding the true story of human history.”
—Robert Steven Thomas, author and researcher
Copyright © 2017
by Steven and Evan Strong
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC. Reviewers may quote brief passages. Previously published in 2013 as Shunned: The Hidden History of the Original Australians by Possible Press, ISBN: 978–0–9808135–8–6.
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Cover design by Jim Warner
Cover photograph: Grateful acknowledgment to Suzanne Wilson for permission to adapt Little Man's Business
Interior by Deborah Dutton
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ISBN: 978–1–57174–781–5
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Warning to peoples of Australian Original and Torres Strait Island descent: this book contains the names of deceased original Australian elders (surnames withheld)*
It is our privilege to be able to share some ancient Original Australian truths and paradigms that run contrary to the accepted version of Original pre-history. The Original Australians were the great philosophers and spiritual mystics of much earlier times, and it was from these people and their culture that the nobler traits of modern human civilization arose. They were the first Homo sapiens and their genes played a vital role in the evolution of modern humans. And it is from the continent of Australia and its Original people that a new world history and legacy will be remembered and reinstated. Our role is to relay and validate their ancient account of times long ago, as told by representatives of the oldest continuous culture on this planet.
“The aboriginal race of Australia is the only race which, in my opinion, could serve as the common ancestor for all modern races.”1 (Sir Arthur Keith: Adam in Ochre: Inside Aboriginal Australia, 1956)
* Australian Original = Australian Aboriginal
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER 1: THE “FIRST RACE”
The First Americans
The First Boat
CHAPTER 2: AN EXTENDED FAMILY
The Little Originals
The Robust Originals
Esoteric Science
The Volcanic Vacancy
CHAPTER 3: ANCIENT ORIGINAL AUSTRALIANS IN AMERICA (A CLOSER LOOK)
CHAPTER 4: THE TOSS OF A COIN
Nine Sites (plus one)
The First Boat
The Final Word
CHAPTER 5: THE FIRST RELIGION
The Feminine First
“Same As Me”
Pre-Genesis
CHAPTER 6: PYRAMIDS ACROSS THE WATERS
The Pilgrimages
Pyramids in the Bush
A Pyramid in the Road
CHAPTER 7: DOGON DREAMING
The “Great Black Shapes”
Serpent Dreaming
“Our Alien Creators”
CHAPTER 8: THE FIRST RELIGION (PART 2)
The Returning Brief
The Sacred Serpent
The Sacred Path
Going ‘Walkabout’
CHAPTER 9: A NATION OF ADAMS AND EVES
CHAPTER 10: MYSTICS OR MORONS?
CHAPTER 11: THE SHIP'S CARGO
The First Cut
The First Dentist
“There Should Not Be Any Diseases”
The First Boat
CHAPTER 12: THE ORIGINS OF THE FOUR R'S (READIN', ‘RITIN’, 'RITHMETIC, AND 'RT)
The Engraved Word
The Painted Word
The Spoken Word
The Final Countdown
CHAPTER 13: THE MYTH OF TERRA NULLIUS
CONCLUSION
NOTES
BIBLIOGRAPHY
INDEX
First and foremost we wish to thank Dellene, wife to Steven and Evan's mother, for her support, patience, and just being there.
Very Special Thanks to Elders: Auntie Bev and Karno for their guidance and help in Original matters and Lore.
Thanks to John McGrath for forcing us to investigate the Dogon.
A special thank you to those who helped us on and off site, all volunteers and at their own expense: Sean, Nina, Lavinia, Binnah, Adam, Jim, David, Paul and Phoebe, Fiona and Mark, Sarah and Richard, Erik, and Gavin.
Deepest respects and appreciation to Original Elders and Custodians: Auntie Minnie Mace, David, Jarmbi'je, Iris, Darren, Scott, Rob, Kevin, Gloria, and Mark.
Last and by no means least, we want to thank Jan Scherpenhuizen, our editor, publisher, and cover illustrator and designer. Words literally fail us in trying to express how integral Jan has been in editing, guiding, supporting, and for all intents and purposes, being so much a part of how we write and our future improvement. If we had our way his name would be alongside ours, as co-writer. Without Jan as part of our team none of this would have occurred. Our eternal thanks and deepest gratitude.
We cannot claim that this book was conceived as a single project with a unified plan. Rather it grew organically, as a series of articles. Only after completing the last chapter, originally fashioned as a magazine article with a 3,500 word limit, did we begin to recognize a common thread and the potential for something more ambitious. This encouraged us to dip into our files of unused material and flesh the work out further, strengthening the theme we had begun to discern and adding to its internal coherency. Whatever changes were brought about in the development of this volume, they were informed by the touchstone that governs our every written word. Whether examining archaeology, historical accounts, or ancient religious teachings, the spirit of the Dreaming remains our yardstick.
Though often referred to as a religion, the Dreaming is much more than a collection of metaphysical concepts and moral prohibitions. It is the spiritual beacon which provides the societal and personal guiding light to every Original soul and tribe.
The Dreaming's genesis is a time before time began when the earth was soft. In this eternity dwell the Creation Spirits who gave form to this unformed reality. But the Original understanding of chronology is not that of naïve Western science, and the Dreaming is not a period of formation that is now over but one that is infinite. Indeed, one term for the Dreamtime, Alcheringa, has been translated as—to see things eternal. It is obvious that, in trying to come to grips with the ineffable, words can only get us so far. However, to some extent we can say that the Dreamtime is a place, a time, and a vision; one which is all places and all times; a dimension of reality which creates and sustains, and provides purpose and meaning.
Yet, in the Original paradigm, this highly mystical concept is thoroughly grounded, for the Creation Spirits manifest through the land which shares this eternal reality. Every person and place in the continent is embraced by these beings (or we might say, this Being). The Creation Spirits determined all personal and tribal identity, relationships of respect and the ways of communicating with them. They defined the relationship with non-human species and the land, initiation ceremonies, cosmological tales, and every other aspect of life (and death) imbued with deep meaning. These form an eternal circle whose source is the Dreaming.
The integrity of the Original spiritual paradigm is guaranteed in perpetuity because of its comprehensive nature; one which is untainted by the materialist and competitive influences of the degenerate societies which have replaced a similar vision. That vision was, doubtless, once worldwide and, as we shall see, was probably initially exported from Australia. Whatever true spirituality exists in the world only does so insofar as it retains some essence of this original teaching and taps into the vision behind it.
The integrity of Original spirituality has proven itself by being maintained over many millennia. There is no room for change when one sees things eternal. There is no motivation to modify a lifestyle and societal structure which has manifestly demonstrated its efficiency and stability.
It has often been asserted that truth is the first casualty of war. In their self-serving efforts to justify the multitude of crimes perpetrated against Australia's Indigenous people, the invaders have whitewashed their own actions and created a tissue of lies. In rationalizing the slaughter of the Original people, the theft of their land, and their attempts at cultural genocide, Europeans have characterized them as the most primitive and “miserablest people on earth.”1
In some cases the invaders actually thought that the people they found in the new land were indeed inferior. Although there were those with eyes to see, too many were blinded by the lack of what they perceived as civilization—something resembling the products of Ancient Babylon or modern Paris—to recognize true civilization when they saw it. They forgot, or chose to ignore the fact, that there would have been no Babylon without war, thievery, and slavery, just as there would have been no European grandeur without the slaves of Greece and Rome, the feudal system, the plunder of crusades and pogroms, and the rape of the rest of the world in the “Great Period of Colonial Expansion.” Spirituality, in such a world, whatever core of true guidance and vision it retained, was thoroughly compromised by the power elites who infiltrated (and in some cases established) its institutions. “The Great Religions” (or at least those “of the Book”) have been distorted and transformed into tools of control and repression.
In contrast to this, the Dreaming has been able to maintain its integrity because Indigenous Australian society is not molded by these exploitative, violent, acquisitive aims and therefore has no motivation to distort the truth. Untainted by the separatist consciousness of “Modern Man” the Original Australians realize that to betray the Dreaming is to betray themselves. To rent the truth is to rent their own flesh. To destroy the land is to destroy themselves. To exploit or suppress another human being is to do violence to one's self and repress one's own finer nature.
When one really lives in the spirit, eternally, and sees it in the land and all things, then there is no chance of becoming disconnected from it and truth and morality—for at base all of these are one. This is why Australia, in the years before Cook, is the only continent where there were no wars of conquest, there was no slavery and no confiscation of chattels (not that the Original people are attached to acquiring and holding onto material goods). For all of these reasons we are convinced of the absolute and unchanging nature of ancient Australian truth and that it forms an important source of knowledge to be considered alongside that gleaned from Western science and history.
Accordingly, there are two complementary roads we choose to travel upon: the empirical and mystical. In the most general terms, each chapter of this book focuses on one theme, and is drawn from information found in our three previous books,2 on our website forgottenorigin.com, and from our most recent research and discoveries.
Close to half of the content addresses the archaeological and historical evidence in support of our contention that the people of ancient Australia played a key role in the development of spirituality and culture throughout the ancient world. We, along with every custodian of Original Australian lore we have made contact with, are adamant in our shared belief that the Original people “don't come from African people, we are not related to them at all.”3
In Chapter One we will be looking at how, despite the absolute accord amongst custodians of ancient lore and their resolute defense of a separate ancestry, the generally agreed upon conventions of science and academic history place the origins of Homo sapiens sapiens not in Australia, but Africa. The widely held belief that Africa was the first location from which modern human beings evolved then spread across the lands, as established by some of the most recent advances in science and mitochondrial comparisons, is assumed to be a done deal. However, there is no possible way any form of genetic study will give up a specific location. That is to say, all we can determine is where the oldest remains of a specific racial type is found, not where its ancestors ultimately came from. Yet, on the current evidence, according to many researchers and scholars, the oldest Homo sapiens sapiens remains are found in Australia.
We will see how two of the seminal researchers in the field, Alan Wilson and Rebecca Cann, were forced to back away from their original statement that Eve's place of birth was “probably in Africa”4 solely due to compelling new evidence made available through advances in the scientific unraveling of DNA.
A second group of Homo sapiens sapiens did not emerge in Africa until about 40,000 years ago, long after their Australian predecessors were well established. There is a substantial amount of empirical evidence directly supporting the idea that there was a migration of ancient Australians in large boats voyaging from their homeland to a variety of locations throughout the Indian-Pacific Ocean Rim. All manner of proof was discovered with apparent ease, which was both a surprise and cause of some despair to the old guard; photos of Ainu Elders and Indian children of today; the morphology of ancient pre-Clovis skulls found throughout America, so similar to that of the Original Australians; the bounty of Egyptian relics littered throughout Australia, along with many more discoveries, all pointed to the need for a radical review of accepted ideas and the prevailing academic inertia.
In Chapter two we look more deeply into the evidence of ancient Australian mariner's having reached the far reaches of the globe. We consider the fascinating find of the “Hobbits”5 of Flores Island and the documented existence of a race of little people native to Australia. We will see how the term “Original Australian” is misconceived, for it is used to cover a subject far more diverse than most would suspect. In ancient times there were no less than three distinct original types of Homo sapiens sapiens sharing the continent. Alongside the original type most Australians are familiar with, the “gracile type,”6 and the little people, there was a “robust”7 type with highly distinctive features of its own. The presence of three such distinct strains, given current theories of the length of time it takes for dramatic mutations to develop, in accord with established evolutionary theory, gives further weight to the antiquity of the Original race. An examination of the extensive evidence drawn from the analysis of the blood of Original people only adds confirmation to the case. Finally we will be looking at how the explosion of Mount Toba 74,000 years ago would have left ancient Australians with a large advantage over any other races present in the world at that time, creating an opportunity for their expansion and exploration of the world.
In Chapter Three we consider the wealth of information coming out of the Americas testifying to an extremely long history of contact which stands in open contradiction to any Out-of-Africa theories. Dates of 40,000 years have been attached to unmistakable evidence of modern human activity occurring at Topper (South Carolina) and Lake Valsequillo (Mexico). These were the subject of heated debate and derision no less than a decade ago. In what only compounded this fairly recent inconvenience, it has now been stated, by well-credentialed experts, that all skulls of the more ancient type of American display a “look most similar to . . . more like that of Australian Aborigines.”8
We will be making the case that there is so much evidence in support of our theories that the laws of probability themselves would seem to mitigate against our thesis proving incorrect. We examine the academic and political machinations that seem to play a much bigger role in obstructing the acceptance of the Out-of-Australia Theory (OAusT) than genuine scientific objections.
Chapter Four focuses on the evidence for an ancient Homo sapiens sapiens presence found within Australia itself and some of the little known technical accomplishments of these people, including seafaring and astronomy. We consider the vital testimony of the Elders of the Original people and what light the Dreaming stories have to shed upon the history of the land.
In Chapter Five we will commence our look at the massive spiritual influence the original perspective has bequeathed to the world. Given the endemic ignorance and prejudice with which Australia's original inhabitants are viewed by many Westerners, we can anticipate that it will be asked: so what if ancient Australians had ventured beyond the shores of the Great Southern Land? What could the impact possibly be of this ancient migration of naked hunter/gatherers who bore stones, bones, and sticks and an aversion towards farming, mining, and banking? However, as we will have shown and will demonstrate further in later chapters, Original culture was nowhere near as lacking in technological sophistication as those who have sought to destroy it have either assumed or pretended. But beyond the knowledge and skills relevant to the mundane world that Original Australians possessed, what they had to offer of a spiritual nature is, if anything, even more significant.
We are of the opinion that until about 8,000 years ago, the Dreaming was the global inspiration behind all religions and the first attempts by modern humans to grapple with the complexities of life and death. Flourishing for millennia before the advent of glyph and letter, this ancient oral mythology, along with many ceremonies and traditions, was rapidly forgotten as the forging of the plow and changes in lifestyle marked a parting of the ways. Unlike the rise of cities and farming in the new world, which was dutifully recorded, the culture of the original peoples was obliterated or ignored, leaving only traces of their inspiration to be detected or surmised solely by those willing to exercise perception free of prejudice. There is no religious tradition anywhere that acknowledges any such influence, yet the authors of this book aim to show that, despite the obvious additions to and redefining of the original paradigm by subsequent authors, there is more than ample remaining that bears the unmistakable insignia of the Dreaming and can still be found within all religions, past and present.
We will outline nine basic principles which can be detected within the paradigm informed by the Dreaming and examine how these can be found in Egypt and the Middle East, implying the influence of Original Australian thinking and perception. Dreaming concepts and values can be detected in Pantheism and Gnosticism, the concept of the sacred feminine and the figure of Mary Magdalene. A comparison of Genesis and Dreamtime creation myths is also instructive in this regard.
Chapter Six continues our examination of the Original spiritual legacy. We dive deeper into the well of evidence of contact with Egypt, considering the practice of mummification within Australia, similarities between Egyptian and Original words and hieroglyphics and pyramids found in the bush. A comparison of the mystical traditions of the Isiac and Dogon religions with their source, the Dreaming, is instructive. It makes evident that reference to the oral mythology and ancient lore of Africa confirms what is already strongly indicated by our examination of the evidence drawn from studies of mtDNA, Y chromosomes, and the physiognomy of skulls found in other locations.
We will maintain that, however many similarities between ancient metaphysical systems and the dreaming may be found, the purity of the application of the message is determined by one overriding aspect: the management of the resources of the land.
The spirits of the Dreaming are in and of the land. Ancient Australia and the lifestyle which reigned there are quite literally the source from which all legends relating to the Garden of Eden originated. Yet it is with the fall that the two traditions part company.
Clothed and ashamed, Adam and Eve were banished from paradise, and proceeded to till the land. The previous state of harmony was lost to be replaced by one in which mankind were pitted against nature, prey to wild beasts, and forced to eek out a living by the sweat of their brows. Meanwhile, naked and proud, they remained within the Edenic tribal estate upon which they are destined to reincarnate life after life.
The extensive reforming of the landscape, the building of roads and dams and cities, all of what developed civilizations see as the hallmarks of their advancement and superiority, are, in terms of the Dreaming, the signposts of the fall.
Chapter Eight expands upon those principles among the nine principles of the Dreaming mentioned in chapter five that remain unexamined so far. We consider the Original concept of reincarnation and their metaphysics of time. For them, time is circular with no beginning or end. Life repeats in an endless return and one lifetime is merely a staging point and opportunity to prepare for the next incarnation. Death is no more than the last ceremony before discarding the flesh. The eternal cycle is all that ties the individual to the universe. Original Elder, David Gulpilill, summing up this endless connection with the Spirits and the Dreaming, expressed it like this:
To the Aboriginal, death is not the end of life. Death is the last ceremony in this present life. Then the soul is reborn, thus all living people are reincarnations of the dead. The soul lives on and finds a new body to inhabit. This belief in reincarnation provides a direct link back to the ancestors of the Dreamtime.9
We look at the prominence of serpent worship around the globe and how it relates to the Australian Original people's Rainbow Serpent, “the longest continuing religious belief documented in the world,”10 according to Josephine Flood. We consider commonalities in shamanic practices of initiation and trauma and the relationship Walkabout has to meditation as a vehicle for solitude and contemplation.
Chapter Nine records the magnificent yet tragic tale of the Original people of Tasmania. Perhaps more than any other, this shows how incapable Westerners have been of understanding and appreciating the value and nature of a mindset foreign to their own. The Tasmanians were misunderstood as the most primitive of all people due to their austere lifestyle and lack of material goods. However, their asceticism demonstrated their spiritual richness rather than their material poverty. To consider them poor would be the same as to consider sahdus—the naked holy men of India—as primitives because they chose a similar lifestyle. It is to be blind to what an achievement it is to live in a harsh environment without clothes and on a limited food supply and thrive as these people did, in tune with nature, themselves and the cosmos.
We will see how their technology was misinterpreted and how the fierce resistance they offered the invaders shows they were far from a dispirited, disorganized primitive rabble. If an ability to deceive and betray is the mark of civilization then, indeed, in this the white man showed his superiority as we chronicle the eventual demise of this proud and wonderful nation.
Sadly leaving the nation of sahdus behind, in Chapter Ten we round out our examination of original spirituality with a further exploration of Original shamanic practices and the Original people's attitude to death.
In Chapter Eleven we pick up the story of the Original people's technical and cultural achievements which are so little known. Among the many things ancient Australians had knowledge of were brain surgery, amputation, penicillin, the construction of axes and bows and arrows, sailing, navigation by the stars, burial, and communication with dolphins. Chapter Twelve looks at Original cultural accomplishment in art, language, and the calculating sciences.
Chapter Thirteen considers the whitewash of the white invasion. The greatest tragedy in relation to restoring the truth of Ancient Australian history is that there is no end to the distortion and paternalism which began when the British hoisted the Union Jack on the soil of the Great Southern Land. The lies have continued since, unabated. They had to as the act of proclaiming the land a British colony was founded upon a flagrant abuse of the International Law of the times, and in direct defiance to the orders Cook was expected to obey. The only way the myth of terra nullius could be justified was through an institutionalized vilification of the land's inhabitants and a pernicious cultural genocide, to say nothing of the horrors inflicted upon the inhabitants of Tasmania.
In spite of the piecemeal nature of this book's compilation, there is a common thread that was revealed with hindsight and is consistent with what Elders and custodians of ancient lore have said since the Dreaming and Creation first began. These chapters are all essentially part of the same story; the scenes may vary but the theme remains the same: the Original Australians were the first modern human beings.
Undeniably, some of what follows sits well outside what is assumed to be fact, and there have been occasions where some of what was discovered or revealed has caused us to raise our eyebrows. Curbing our reflex urge to omit or rephrase, we remain ever-alert to preserve an eternal truth, the source of which we rely upon being of the highest order: the authentic oral accounts and ancient Dreaming stories that come directly out of the mouths of the people who witnessed these events. Passed on, generation after generation, the sacred nature of these teachings plus the absence of any incentive to tamper with tradition, seems to us to be as close to a guarantee of pure truth as one is likely to get. It was such an honor to hear of these tribal treasures that the mere thought of desecrating the narrative and, therefore, the wisdom of the Elders and their Spirits was impossible to conceive. There is no higher source.
To those stuck in the Western scientific materialist mindset, in which spiritual ideas are mere fancy at best and cynical concoctions designed to manipulate and control at worst, this is impossible to understand. But for those to whom the Dreaming is a felt reality, it is just as hard to understand how it can remain unperceived. The materialist sees a dancer but cannot hear the music to which she dances and therefore thinks her a fool. To the dancer the materialist is simply, in some bewildering way, tone deaf.
The Dreaming is the binding principle that enshrines the rejection of conquest and insists upon equality between all the “products of nature.”11 Thus, it forges a link between the ethereal and the earthly. It was the principles of the Dreaming that ensured that the history of an entire continent was unmarred by episodes where one group stole another's country or resources, until the white invader introduced a new set of values. The Original people most assuredly squabbled over petty issues and behaved poorly at times. That is the human condition, irrespective of geography, but in spite of the imperfections inherent in Homo sapiens sapiens, all lived the same lifestyle, used the same technology, went naked without shame, eschewed personal wealth, and never took possession of or moved onto another tribe's land.
We are convinced that, while we must appreciate all we have today, comparing it to what was originally offered by the First Australians is of vital importance in deciding upon which path to travel tomorrow. Some may argue that all of this is ancient history, but any such judgment is solely dependent on perspective and ignores the sacred understanding of the world. If time, and life itself, runs along a straight line with a finite start and finish, then our contribution to the understanding of the world is, at best, destined to occupy a small strand in the curriculum of some senior history courses. However, if time is circular, as Indigenous Elders maintain, and merely different expressions of cycles in repetition, then the custodians of ancient lore may well be correct in insisting their ancient ways will come again.
This book represents an attempt to broaden the range of colors on the palette of history. While scholars and students alike seem to have an insatiable appetite for regurgitating the “wonders of the classical world” and the exploits of European kings and conquerors, a shameful vacuum persists when it comes to acknowledging the ancient legacy of the Original Australians.
It is a conventional maxim that one must study history to avoid repeating its mistakes. And yet the study of those who instituted the colosseum, the inquisition, holocausts and gulags doesn't seem to have led to the building of a world without war, pillage, and greed. In fact, the same policies of relentless expansionism and motives of acquisitiveness have seen the sovereignty of other nations continually ignored under the guise of a war against terror and nations raped by banks (who will as happily prey on their own people as other nationals). So endemic is this culture of greed and crime that while these outrages are generally acknowledged, there is no expectation that the guilty will be punished as they own the government, the military, and the courts. To say nothing of the environmental threats that could see an end to life on this planet if a different course is not taken.
Psychology has, until recently, mainly concentrated on the ill, reasoning that, by understanding the sick mind we will find ways to cure it. However, there is a growing interest in studying those who exhibit exceptional mental health in order to discover their secrets and how others can benefit from adopting the attitudes and practices that lead to peace of mind. By the same token, what better way to work toward a harmonious lifestyle than by studying those people who, in their natural state, have been recognized as the happiest in the world? A people who lived in harmony within themselves and among one another, without war, slavery, and exploitation and in harmony with the environment and all the creatures of the land.
We have made it our mission in the course of the following chapters to raise general awareness of the variety of skills and depth of knowledge present in this continent well before the British invasion. Most importantly we desire to impress upon our audience the richness of Original spirituality that the world has had as a precious resource since the dawn of the awakening of real consciousness. A richness which is available to them still. We wish to awaken in our readers an understanding of the true history of this land, and indeed, the world, and share, as directed by custodians of lore throughout the country, what really happened, what should have been, and most importantly, what still could be.
Over the last decade, all manner of unexpected archaeological discoveries have led to many experts questioning much of what was assumed to be fact. A large variety of unexpected findings have called into question many elemental assumptions held about the past. These include the discovery of little “hobbits” on Flores Island; Siberian hominids with mtDNA connections to the people of Papua New Guinea (PNG); and the purity of our distinct genetic Homo sapiens code being compromised by a Neanderthal component of 4%.
Professor Clive Gamble of Southampton University succinctly summarized the current impasse and polarization this has caused, when declaring we have to construct “a completely new map of the world and how we peopled it.”2 Granted, our response to Gamble's call may seem radical; however, these discoveries, found not only in America but throughout the entire Indo-Pacific Region, all point to the same ancient southern location as the key to the new cartography.
After extensive consultation and research, we are of the opinion that at some time in the distant past, no less than 50,000 years ago and possibly much earlier, Original men and women set sail from Australia and began exploring foreign lands. They were the bearers of new insights and options, and bequeathed humanity their genes and the cornerstones of a genuinely civilized civilization: religion, culture, gender equality, art, sailing, democracy, astronomy, and surgery.
Australian Original guardians of traditional Lore and Law have made it clear to us that they are indeed the “First Race.”3 Over the millennia the First Australians watched as other nations and lifestyles emerged and squabbled, but they always kept themselves apart, rejecting all societies focused upon the individual or the material. They were not, as assumed by some of the general public, ignorant savages stagnating in a state of primitive inertia. As highly respected Dhungutti Elder, Rueben Kelly, stated, their role was to maintain an esoteric presence in a world increasingly blinded by bright lights and all manner of material temptations. “Centuries ago you white people chose the path of science and technology. That path will destroy the planet. Our role is to protect the planet. We are hoping you will discover that before it's too late.”4
Unlike others out in the field or laboratory, the authors of this book have “discovered” nothing: our role is to act as scribes and faithfully present the history of the Original Elders. The rest is easy: find white-fella proof to substantiate black-fella truth.
Before we can begin to paint the canvas depicting ancient Australia's true heritage, it would be best for us to try to tear down the screen of the Out-of-Africa theory (OAT) which has kept it hidden from sight for so many years. According to academics and archaeological texts, Africa is the place where modern humans evolved before spreading their genes throughout the continents. OAT has, over the years since it was first proposed, been transformed from a hypothesis into a fact. One of the original papers that lay claim to charting our ancient ancestor's movements and origin “The Recent African Genesis of Humans” was written by Professors Alan Wilson and Rebecca Cann and was widely acknowledged as the closing chapter in this mystery. However, as we noted in our introduction, amongst the absolutes proclaimed was one qualifier that has been conveniently and repeatedly overlooked. The authors stated Homo sapiens sapiens “probably”5 evolved in Africa, and now, with the benefit of hindsight, we can see that the qualification was a wise one.
Wilson and Cann proposed all modern humans shared the same ancient mother, who they named Eve. According to their calculations she lived in Africa sometime between 150,000 and 200,000 years ago. Of crucial importance are two of the three assumptions that underpin their mathematics. “The aboriginal [sic] populations of New Guinea and Australia are estimated to have been founded less than 50,000 to 60,000 years ago. The amount of evolution that has since occurred in each of those places seems about one third of that shown by the whole human species. Accordingly, we can infer that Eve lived three times 50,000 to 60,000 years ago, or roughly 150,000 to 180,000 years ago.”6 This declaration was regarded as the final word, and the resolution of “15 years of disagreement”7 between two branches of science. Wilson and Cann triumphantly proclaimed victory on behalf of the molecular geneticists declaring that “we won the argument, when the palaeontologists admitted we had been right and they had been wrong.”8
With the case closed and bragging rights secured in perpetuity, science had once again provided certainty in regard to an African ancestry. Or so it seemed, but not long after their paper was published, Rebecca Cann realized they were mistaken.
Cann and Wilson's analysis focuses on the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) present in bone and blood samples. These genes are passed on from mother to daughter and are the most reliable evidence to draw on when determining the age of a particular race. MtDNA is far more reliable than the nearest male equivalent, the Y chromosome, and more predictable in its progression. Each new strand resulting from mutation appears at a set rate and the more variations apparent in a sample of DNA the older the race.
However, Cann and Wilson's paper was based on observing evolutionary markers they assumed were apparent which were not actually based on examination of the DNA itself. In 1982 Cann actually examined the mitochondrial DNA of 112 Indigenous people, including twelve full-descent Originals, and the results were in total opposition to what they assumed was fully resolved. Cann was obliged to contradict the basic conclusion of their first paper, by stating that “mitochondrial DNA puts the origin of Homo sapiens much further back and indicates that the Australian Aboriginals arose 400,000 years ago from two distinct lineages, far earlier than any other racial type.”9 Cann not only asserted that the emergence of Original Homo sapiens was “far earlier”10 than any Africans, she suggested a new point of origin of the species and a revised chronology of racial evolution. “The Australian racial group has a much higher number of mutations than any other racial group, which suggests that the Australians split off from a common ancestor about 400,000 years ago. By the same theory, the Mongoloid race originated about 100,000 years ago, and the Negroid and Caucasian groups about 40,000 years ago.”11
The realignment and reversals were of immediate concern to Alan Wilson. If Cann was correct in detecting a “much higher number of mutations”12 they might as well tear up their original paper. Determined to resolve the obvious inconsistencies, Wilson made two visits to Australia. In 1987, Wilson sampled the mtDNA of twenty-one full-descent Australian Originals and identified fifteen different strands. This equates to a 70% mutation rate, well above that of any race.
A second visit in 1989 gave up even more data that forced Wilson to abandon his belief that Africa was where Homo sapiens originated. A second sampling of the DNA of ten full blood Originals found a similar percentage (70%) of mutation present. Upon receiving the results of his second mtDNA sampling, Wilson immediately conceded that the OAT was wrong.
The math wasn't complicated: the agreed rate of mtDNA mutation for every new strand is 3,500 years; therefore 22 × 3,500 = 77,000 years. Wilson realized if he returned to Australia and increased the population surveyed, the likelihood was that he would find more mutations and the date was likely to be pushed back even further.
“It seems too far out to admit, but while Homo erectus was muddling along in the rest of the world, a few erectus had got to Australia and did something dramatically different—not even with stone tools—but it is there that Homo sapiens have emerged and evolved . . . Homo sapiens would have evolved free from competition out of a small band of Homo erectus 400,000 years ago.”13
Sadly, and somewhat puzzlingly, these findings were mostly ignored. In fact, opposition to OAT lost momentum. Perhaps this conservative climate goes some way towards explaining the reactions to Alan Thorne's research into the genetics and antiquity of Lake Mungo Man (WLH3). Re-dated to be over 60,000 years old and the oldest Homo sapiens yet found, this discovery in itself raises serious doubts about the validity of any theory claiming the first mariners reached the northern parts of Australia 60,000 years ago. This date, coupled with the discovery that WLH3 had an “extinct DNA”14 which does not resemble that of any other population, surely calls into question the reality of an African migration.
Referring back to Wilson and Cann's original calculations, their proposed timing of between 50,000 and 60,000 years ago for the settlement of Australia stands on no less shaky ground than their genetic miscalculation. There are at least nine Australian sites claimed to be older than 60,000 years (see the table below for a quick summary). Granted every date is challenged by conservative critics, but even so, all those proposed are the result of work by respected academics. What needs to be accepted is that if just one date proves to be correct, irrespective of whatever judgment is passed on the other nine, it can be confidently declared as a fact that Australia was not settled by African Homo sapiens 60,000 years ago.
The recent discoveries of “hundreds of skeletal remains”15 in America that “look like Australian Aborigines”16 indicate that early immigrations were more likely from Australia than to it. In the October/November 2011 edition of Cosmos1718