03-02-2008, 08:37 AM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Eden in the East: The Drowned Continent of Southeast Asia. Stephen Oppenheimer
Dominic Kirkham
Before reading further, recite all you know about the culture of the S.E. Asian archipelago! did I hear you mumble something about the head-hunters of Borneo? Anything else about this third most densely populated and historic area of the globe?
Precisely! Our ignorance is not only shocking when we move out of familiar European terrain, it is also shockingly Eurocentric. Basically, our cultural view (and this includes all our belief systems) stops short at the Zagros mountains, at the feet of which lay the biblical Eden â the fertile crescent where civilization began, didnât it?
The short answer to this question is, No! Ah, ha! â another revisionist. I hear you say, challenging the cumulative effect of centuries of education and scholarship? Well, er, Yes! Indeed, the revision of the Aryan myth â well established long before Hitler became obsessed with it, that all the really important things in the world originated among a people who now happen to inhabit Europe â the revision of this myth becomes inevitable with the growth of knowledge. Stephen Oppenheimerâs book, by enlarging our view of the world, helps us to understand why.
Oppenheimer is a medical doctor who has worked in a variety of professional capacities among the people of S.E. Asia for the last 30 years. Extensive contact with aboriginal peoples prompted him to ask questions about their cultural origins, in particular their myths of origin, which seemed to focus on the idea of a great flood â sounds familiar?
Think again! What is not so familiar is that the origin of this myth now seems closely linked to the sudden ending of the Ice Age some 14,000 years ago. The consequent rapid rise of sea level caused flooding of catastrophic proportions, in S.E. Asia covering an area the size of N. America (the so-called Sunda shelf).
Oppenheimer first attempts to clarify these events through a detailed study of geology, oceanography and archaeology. He then goes on to focus on the human effect which was the widespread dispersal of the original human population. This is where the boat begins to rock, so to speak.
The received opinion of scholars is that this area was colonised from China and India as a secondary effect of mainland civilisation. Oppenheimerâs careful sifting of the genetic and linguistic evidence reverses this picture to reveal the opposite truth of "the peoples of a lost continent who fertilised the great cultures not only of the Far East, but the Middle and Near East as well, over 7,000 years ago and provided Eurasia with its library of folklore."
Challenging stuff! It is to substantiating these claims that this large and detailed work is devoted. What is impressive is the scope of learning embraced here â an indication of how complex any critique of a âworld viewâ must be. The results do seem to substantiate the titleâs claim of an "Eden in the East".
At this point I can hear people chaffing that this is just another of those âlost civilizationâ books, a plethora of which now pack the shelves of book stores, such as Graham Hancockâs widely read "Fingerprints of the Gods" (subject of a recent TV series). This genre of âcult-archaeologyâ seems to become ever more fantastic. It is important to note, therefore, that Oppenheimer has written a totally different sort of book, which goes for multi-disciplinary scientific evidence and testable hypotheses.
If nothing else, this book will open your eyes to a world you probably knew nothing about and in doing so change your view of the world you thought you knew something about. But be warned, you may find this account of the flood washing away some of the foundations of your cultural and religious convictions â or should I say prejudices?<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Dominic Kirkham
Before reading further, recite all you know about the culture of the S.E. Asian archipelago! did I hear you mumble something about the head-hunters of Borneo? Anything else about this third most densely populated and historic area of the globe?
Precisely! Our ignorance is not only shocking when we move out of familiar European terrain, it is also shockingly Eurocentric. Basically, our cultural view (and this includes all our belief systems) stops short at the Zagros mountains, at the feet of which lay the biblical Eden â the fertile crescent where civilization began, didnât it?
The short answer to this question is, No! Ah, ha! â another revisionist. I hear you say, challenging the cumulative effect of centuries of education and scholarship? Well, er, Yes! Indeed, the revision of the Aryan myth â well established long before Hitler became obsessed with it, that all the really important things in the world originated among a people who now happen to inhabit Europe â the revision of this myth becomes inevitable with the growth of knowledge. Stephen Oppenheimerâs book, by enlarging our view of the world, helps us to understand why.
Oppenheimer is a medical doctor who has worked in a variety of professional capacities among the people of S.E. Asia for the last 30 years. Extensive contact with aboriginal peoples prompted him to ask questions about their cultural origins, in particular their myths of origin, which seemed to focus on the idea of a great flood â sounds familiar?
Think again! What is not so familiar is that the origin of this myth now seems closely linked to the sudden ending of the Ice Age some 14,000 years ago. The consequent rapid rise of sea level caused flooding of catastrophic proportions, in S.E. Asia covering an area the size of N. America (the so-called Sunda shelf).
Oppenheimer first attempts to clarify these events through a detailed study of geology, oceanography and archaeology. He then goes on to focus on the human effect which was the widespread dispersal of the original human population. This is where the boat begins to rock, so to speak.
The received opinion of scholars is that this area was colonised from China and India as a secondary effect of mainland civilisation. Oppenheimerâs careful sifting of the genetic and linguistic evidence reverses this picture to reveal the opposite truth of "the peoples of a lost continent who fertilised the great cultures not only of the Far East, but the Middle and Near East as well, over 7,000 years ago and provided Eurasia with its library of folklore."
Challenging stuff! It is to substantiating these claims that this large and detailed work is devoted. What is impressive is the scope of learning embraced here â an indication of how complex any critique of a âworld viewâ must be. The results do seem to substantiate the titleâs claim of an "Eden in the East".
At this point I can hear people chaffing that this is just another of those âlost civilizationâ books, a plethora of which now pack the shelves of book stores, such as Graham Hancockâs widely read "Fingerprints of the Gods" (subject of a recent TV series). This genre of âcult-archaeologyâ seems to become ever more fantastic. It is important to note, therefore, that Oppenheimer has written a totally different sort of book, which goes for multi-disciplinary scientific evidence and testable hypotheses.
If nothing else, this book will open your eyes to a world you probably knew nothing about and in doing so change your view of the world you thought you knew something about. But be warned, you may find this account of the flood washing away some of the foundations of your cultural and religious convictions â or should I say prejudices?<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->