We have been led to believe that the early humans were primitive. The worldview we pick up from school comes from the evolutionary theory of graded, incremental change from Primitive Man to Modern Man. From an anthropological point of view the Neanderthals were a primitive species of mankind who were found across Europe and Asia in the period of the Ice Age, supposedly 120,000 to 36,000 years ago. The term Neanderthal comes from German and describes the cave dwellers of the Neander Valley. The images of them depict a primitive looking group of people between human and ape. We even use the word neanderthal as an adjective to describe someone who is unintelligent, uncivilised and slow witted. This image is heavily biased toward evolutionary theory.
The Bible tells a very different story.
Lamech’s other wife, Zillah, gave birth to a son named Tubal-cain. He became an expert in forging tools of bronze and iron. . .
Genesis 4:22
Lamech and his wives gave birth to another son after Noah was born to them. That was just the 9th generation after Adam and around 1,000 years after Adam. Did you catch what was recorded? Tubal-cain made tools from iron and bronze. Excuse me, I was taught in school that the transition from Stone Age to Iron Age to Bronze Age took eons of time, spread over these three prime archaeological periods in human history.
Run that by me again!
Lamech and his wife have a son after Noah who became an expert in working with bronze and iron tools. Not iron tools and then his descendants developed their skills in working with alloys. No, Tubal-cain, nine generations from Adam, worked with iron and bronze within the first thousand years. I think we need to rethink our understanding of human history.
Recalibrating . . . recalibrating . . .
Now let me give you the essence of what I want to share in this Nugget.
The Discovery of the Antikythera Mechanism
A Roman trading vessel sunk off the small Greek Island called Antikythera between 70 – 50 BC. On board was a Mechanism which over the intervening years had been reduced to a green, corroded lump of metal. This green corroded, lump of metal is known as the world’s oldest analogue computer. It is housed in the National Archaeological Museum in Athens in a wing called the Museum of Ancient Greek Technology. The Antikythera Mechanism is being studied by an impressive team of six international experts from a range of areas of expertise. They have spent years studying The Mechanism in order to replicate it to reveal its secrets. This device has already revealed the ingenuity and advanced understanding of the early Greeks. It has also turned on its head the evolutionary teaching of the development of humans from brainless to brilliant over long millennia. The wisdom and understanding of the ancient Greeks and Babylonians among others is astounding.
What was Discovered
In essence the device was a sophisticated instrument for calculating accurately the movements of the planetary bodies and recording their phases and cycles. It was made up of indicators, scales, calibrated increments and at least 35 gear wheels representing the movements of different astronomical bodies in interrelationship. It had graded calibrated disks corresponding to the Egyptian, Babylonian and Greek calendars with marked positions on the disks of the phases of the sun and the moon. By using this device the ancient Greeks could calculate the phases of the full moon, eclipses and the zodiac phases along with many more astronomical features of the cosmos which were important to them in the ancient world. Even the apparent speed differential of the moon with its acceleration during the perigee and its deceleration during its apogee was simulated. The original creators of this instrument have combined the genius of Babylonian astronomy, mathematics from Plato’s Academy and ancient Greek astronomical theories.
What is even more remarkable is the extent to which the modern team of experts have gone to in order to recreate “a working model” of the Antikythera Mechanism. They estimate the Mechanism was likely manufactured around 120 BC in a workshop on Rhodes or somewhere in Asia Minor and developed on the basis of Archimedes tradition of sphere making with likely help from Hipparchus or Posidonius. Many others have added their insights since the discovery of the Mechanism in 1901 by sponge divers. The team of international experts used Microfocus X-ray Computed Tomography in 2005 to decode the structure of the rear of the machine but the front remains largely unresolved. (Tomography is a technique for displaying a representation of a cross section through a human body or other solid object using X-rays or ultrasound.) The X-ray CT revealed detailed inscriptions with text characters and fine minute details of mechanical components calibrated on the edges to describe the motions of the sun, moon and all five planets known in antiquity. This ancient device discovered by accident around a shipwreck which happened several millennia ago has brought to light a model of the ancient Greek Cosmos. Oh the Antikythera Mechanism is not a working model of the ancient Greek Cosmos yet. The team have only been able to reconstruct the back portion of the instrument. This team are focus on replicating the instrument in some form of working order to work out how the ancient Greeks and others viewed the cosmos.
What has been Recreated
I will continue to focus on the work done to replicate the Antikythera Mechanism in the following Nugget. I was surprised to say the least when in reading up the background to this object, which I have known about before, I found references to the use of this device to keep track of the cycles of the Panhellenic Games. Astounding, once again I find the Gems and Nuggets are moving in sync. Well almost.
There is more to come . . .