Voyages of the Pyramid Builders by Robert Schoch

If you've followed this blog for a while, you know I have a thing for the "Unexplained".  I'm eagerly awaiting the return of The Curse of Oak Island on History and I never miss a new Ancient Aliens.  I've really been fascinated lately by cross-cultural similarites between ancient civilizations.  These are peoples separated by vast expanses of land and sea (and time periods), but bear remarkable similarities, more than can be discounted as just coincidence.  One such example is the building of pyramidal structures.

The author is a contributor to Ancient Aliens, although there are no mentions of ancient astronaut theory in the book.  He is also a Yale educated geophysicist and professor at Boston University.  More than likely, if you've ever watched anything to do with the Great Sphinx, you've seen him on TV.

Schoch takes the reader through time, examining ancient cultures from Egypt, the Middle East, Asia, Europe, North, and South America.  Yes, of course he talks about the pharaohs and the Mayans, but there are many other ancient cultures who built pyramids and pyramid-like structures throughout the world.  Schoch argues there are too many coincidences among these ancient cultures to believe they existed in complete isolation from each other.

He theorizes, and backs up with evidence from various fields of science and expertise, that cross-oceanic travel existed long before Columbus (more on that in a minute!) and the plethora of "explorers" (we know money was the real driving force behind exploration and the subsequent exploitation of Native cultures) who came to the New World.  Human DNA, plant and animal species, structures (like pyramids and towers), oral/pictorial/written myths and legends, and methods that resemble others from around the globe at a time that conventional textbooks tell us was impossible.  It was an in depth and thorough argument that, despite dates and names galore, holds the reader's interest.

Alright, how did I come across this book, since it's from 2003 and not in our library (school or public)?  Well, going back to Oak Island and Ancient Aliens for a second, we know that the Micmac, a branch of the Algonquin, bear a symbol that strongly resembles the Knights Templar flag.  We also know their oral legend talks about the white gods who arrive by sea, predating Columbus.  This alludes to the Vikings having long before had charted their way into North America (hello, football team and Leif Erickson day).  We still don't know who built the Money Pit on Oak Island or why.  Inscribed stones in Nova Scotia and Minnesota have very similar writing (read about this further in anything by Scott Wolter or watch his show on History America Unearthed).  My family once owned land not too far from Oak Island.  I have Penobscot, another Algonquin tribe, heritage.  You could call me obsessed.  I'm okay with it.

I think I've rambled enough on this review (really, it's hard to review non-fiction when you really like the topic and agree with the findings; it's much easier when it's bad or wrong).  The thing is, now I've got a bunch of other books to track down that Schoch mentions.  I do hope there are updated versions with new information.             

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