Atlantis & Lemuria

The SCIFI Channel has become well known and respected for their in depth and educational 'Declassified' specials. In these specials, they examine some of the most controversially topics of our time in an effort to separate science fact from science fiction.This Friday night starting at 9PM EST, in partnership with NBC news and hosted by NBC's Natalie Morales, the SCIFI 'Declassified' special, 'Quest for Atlantis: Startling New Secrets' will join myth and legend with the findings of respected archaeologists and explorers in effort to find the truth behind the mysteries and myths of the lost city of Atlantis.From the writings of the philosopher Plato in 350 BC to modern day researchers, the mystery, thelegends and the myths of the lost city of Atlantis has intrigued archaeologist, scientist and historians for centuries.

Books, movies and television shows, including The SCIFI Channel's highly successful original series, 'Stargate: Atlantis, have been written and created around this most celebrated of lost civilizations and it's disappearance. The mythic island empire of Atlantis was purportedly the most vibrant and advanced culture of people on earth, until it disappeared beneath the ocean waves nearly 12,000 years ago. Although gone for some many thousands of years, the mythical city of Atlantis and what the historical significance of its possible existence might mean to mankind is not forgotten. Finding proof of its existence has long been considered to be the 'holy grail' of archaeologist. In 'Quest for Atlantis: Startling Secrets', Morales andSCIFI will take a look at three different expeditions in three different locations associated with the legends and stories of the lost city of Atlantis. Each location holds fascinating and amazing artifacts and seeming geological evidence that it may just be the final resting place of the lost city of Atlantis. Dr. Greg Little leads the team of researchers on a dive to recover what he believes are Atlantean-era objects at the famed 'Bimini Road' off the coast of Bimini Island. American explorer Robert Sarmast, who in 2002 discovered an underwater formation fifty miles off the coast of Cyprus while using side scan sonar, continues his search for Atlantis near the Straits of Gibraltar. Finally in Antarctica, Argentine explorer Alex Chionetti sets forth and follows through on his theories that Antarctica was once located closer to the equator. 'Questfo......

Legend has it that hidden under the waves of the Atlantic Ocean was a once highly civilized state called Atlantis. On the other side of the world, a similar tale persists that an ancient city is buried deep in a lake in Yunnan, a border province in Southwest China.But unlike the mythical tale of Atlantis, the submerged secret in Fuxian Lake near Kunming, capital city of Yunnan, may be a reality, as divers continue finding proof of its existence. Eight years ago, a local diver named Geng Wei saw a slew of large flat rocks scattered under the water 300 metres away from the eastern bank of Fuxian Lake."These boulders have regular shape, each with more than1.4 square metres.

Many of them are broken into half, with clear clefts," said the swarthy man, who led a large exploration into the lake recently. The seven-day underwater expedition that started last Friday and ends today is a second one at the lake in the past five years. The first exploration in 2001 was prompted after Geng submitted his discoveries to the local government. That venture was broadcast live by China Central Television (CCTV), and divers found a stone wall and a shard of pottery. The shard was later proved to date back to the Han Dynasty (BC 206BC-AD220), leading local archaeologists to believe the underwater relics were at least 1,800 years old. Some of them even assumed that what was actually beneath the water was Yuyuan, an ancient city that disappeared mysteriouslyfrom historical documents. Old books have shown that there was once a city called Yuyuan to the north of Fuxian Lake, which was never mentioned after the Northern and Southern Dynasties (AD420-581). These affirmations have led to great challenges upon new contradictory findings in the recent exploration.

Interesting signs and patterns Last Friday, divers used an underwater camera to show experts their latest discovery: Three notches, each 1.2 metres long and 45 centimetres wide, on a moss-covered square rock, which made up a shape that looked like "IY." The notches are not natural, therefore supporting the hypothesis that the stone relics were once part of man-made buildings, according to Li Kunsheng, director of the Archaeology Research Centre ofYun......

In recent years, genetic research has produced unexpected results that have opened the doors to many historical mysteries. The surprising outcomes have also provoked unintended controversy.The reasons that these DNA investigations have sparked intense debates in the fields of anthropology, history and even cultural evolution will become clear as our story unfolds. The genetic probes began innocently enough with geneticists wanting to see what secrets human genes might reveal about our complex, mysterious and often disputed history.Anthropologists and historians had long thought that the America's had been populated by Asians crossing a land bridge that connected Asia and North Americaduring the last Ice Age.

This was referred to as the 'Bering Strait Crossing' theory and was believed to have occurred about 12,000 years ago. Genetic analysis on Native American DNA samples began in the 1980s. However, the research effort greatly accelerated in the 1990s due to rapid technological progress in the field. In fact, the early results confirmed the generally accepted theory showing a clear link between Native Americans and DNA samples collected from native peoples in Siberian-Asia. Nevertheless, as the studies both deepened and broadened to include Asians across the continent, the increasing data revealed that the migration pattern had been more complex than anthropologist's had envisioned. The early results showed that Native American tribes were comprised of four distinct mtDNA haplogroups, A, B, C, and D. The haplogroupdesignations represent four different (maternal) lineages. These four lineages are found throughout North, Central and South America. However, only three of them A, C, and D were discovered in the Siberian-Asian populations. The B haplogroup was traced to aboriginal population groups in Southeast Asia, China, Japan, Melanesia, and Polynesia. Before proceeding we should briefly clarify what mtDNA is. There are two types of genetic material used for analysis, cellular and mtDNA, the latter is found in human mitochondia outside the nucleus of cells and is only transferred down generations through females, hence mtDNA stands for maternal DNA. This type is simpler than the cellular DNA and it evolves faster,so it is used to distinguish human groups that evolved in separate geographic areas. In historical terms, what the genetic evidence obtained from mtDNAsam......

© 2002 Mark R. Williams

THE LOST PACIFIC CONTINENT OF LEMURIA is a place that history has nearly forgotten. Yet it survives in the mythology of Hindus and Australian aborigines, Polynesians and Native Americans. Its place is likewise secure among occult pioneers Madame Blavatsky and Edgar Cayce, as well as many New Age channelers and mediums. But did Lemuria really exist? And if so, when and where was it located? Given the amount of time elapsed - many centuries before the first Egyptian pyramids - there is scant archaeological evidence. Even the myths and creation stories from the Pacific area are the faintest of glimmers. Yet enough has surfaced to make a case for Lemuria, even though most geologists vehemently deny its existence. But geologists have been wrong before.

Where was it? Theories abound about the exact location of Lemuria (also called Mu, Pacifica, etc.) The consensus favors Polynesia, somewhere between the Hawaiian chain and Easter Island far to the south. However, H.P. Blavatsky, the founder of Theosophy, placed her "Third Continent of the Third Root Race" in the Indian Ocean between Madagascar and Malaysia (in her book The Secret Doctrine). Surprisingly, many scientists of her day concurred and even came up with the name, derived from lemur, the ghostlike primates who supposedly lived there. (It's interesting that the Indian government is currently searching coastal waters off Kanyakumari for ruins of a lost civilization.) The myths and traditions of India abound with references. The Rig Veda in particular speaks of "the three continents that were"; the third was home to a race called the Danavas. A land called Rutas was an immense continent far to the east of India and home to a race of sun-worshippers. But Rutas was torn asunder by a volcanic upheaval and sent to the ocean depths. Fragments remained as Indonesia and the Pacific islands, and a few survivors reached India, where they became the elite Brahman caste.

The Austrian mystic Rudolf Steiner claimed that during the sixth and seventh subraces (of the Third Root Race) colonies were established as far away as Easter Island. The continent girdled much of the Pacific near the Equator, and thousands of island peaks remain to mark its former glory. Edgar Cayce made a distinction between Mu, which floated off the coast of Baja California, and Lemuria, whose location is confusing to say the least. According to Cayce: "The Andean, or the Pacific coast of South America, occupied then the extreme western portion of Lemuria." Either he meant eastern or Earth"s land masses have changed a lot, perhaps due to a pole shift or crustal slippage. The channeled entity Seth spoke of a civilization called Lumania on the island of Maskara, whose mountain peaks today form Indonesia...