Handbags of the Gods Hold SHOCKING Secrets

Summary

The video script explores the ubiquitous ancient handbag carvings across civilizations, suggesting they symbolize a lost advanced civilization's knowledge bearers. It delves into various theories, from mundane depictions to time travelers, and advanced technology. The narrative pivots on Graham Hancock's hypothesis of a global brotherhood of sages who taught humanity, possibly linked to the Younger Dryas comet impact, marking a significant leap in human progress.

Takeaways

• 🌏 The handbag symbol is ubiquitous, appearing in ancient cultures worldwide, including Mesopotamia, Mesoamerica, Asia, Africa, Europe, and North America.
• 🤔 The prevalence of the handbag symbol in various cultures, which were isolated from each other, has puzzled archaeologists for generations.
• 📜 The script suggests that these handbags are not just mundane objects but are depicted in significant roles, often in the hands of deities or in mythical scenes, indicating a deeper meaning.
• 👜 The handbags in carvings have a striking similarity across cultures, often portrayed in the same way, which challenges the mundane explanation and hints at a shared origin or meaning.
• 🌌 Some theories propose that the handbags represent ancient cosmological concepts, such as the hemisphere of the sky and the Earth, symbolizing the union of material and non-material elements.
• 🕰 The idea of time travelers bringing modern designer handbags to ancient civilizations has been suggested, based on the recurring depiction of the handbags in a similar fashion.
• 🔋 Another theory links the handbags to advanced ancient technology, like Tesla Coils, proposing that they might have been tools or power sources for ancient civilizations.
• 🌲 The script points to the Assyrian relief, where handbags are associated with the Tree of Life and figures holding pinecones, which are symbols of enlightenment and spiritual consciousness.
• 🙏 The handbags are consistently linked to figures representing knowledge, enlightenment, and the foundation of civilization, like Shiva in Hinduism and Quetzalcoatl in Mesoamerican myths.
• 🧬 Graham Hancock's research suggests that the handbags could symbolize an ancient brotherhood of sages who spread advanced knowledge and civilization across the world.
• 📚 The script concludes by hypothesizing that the handbags may represent 'tablets of knowledge' buried and later recovered after a global cataclysm, such as the Younger Dryas event, which led to a resurgence of civilization.

Q & A

What is the mystery surrounding the handbag carvings found in ancient cultures worldwide?

The mystery lies in the fact that these handbag symbols appear in carvings from cultures separated by centuries and thousands of miles, which were not in contact with each other, suggesting a shared or interconnected history that is not accounted for in mainstream historical narratives.

Why do the handbags in the carvings seem to be more than just mundane objects?

The handbags are often depicted in the hands of deities or as parts of mythical scenes, suggesting they may have held a deeper significance or symbolic meaning beyond their everyday use.

What is the theory that the handbags represent an ancient depiction of the cosmos?

This theory suggests that the semi-circle of the bag's handle symbolizes the sky's hemisphere, while the solid square base represents the Earth, signifying the unification of material and non-material elements of existence.

Why might the theory of the handbags as cosmic representations be considered insufficient?

The theory does not align with the detailed and nuanced cosmological understanding and religious traditions of the cultures where the carvings appear, nor does it explain the consistent depiction of the same handbag across cultures.

What is the theory that the handbags might be modern designer handbags held by time travelers?

This theory, while speculative, suggests that the handbags appear the same because they are modern items brought back in time by visitors from the future, explaining their consistent appearance in ancient carvings.

What alternative explanation is given for the handbags, involving Tesla Coil technology?

Some believe that the handbags might represent a tool to tap into wirelessly transmitted electricity from a Tesla Coil, suggesting the handbags could have been a power source for advanced ancient technology.

What is the significance of the figures holding handbags in the Assyrian relief around the Tree of Life?

The figures holding handbags, which also hold pinecones symbolizing enlightenment, are thought to represent knowledge bearers or sages, suggesting a theme of knowledge and enlightenment associated with the handbags.

What theory does Graham Hancock propose regarding the handbags and their connection to ancient sages?

Hancock proposes that the handbags might have been an identifier for an ancient brotherhood of sages who traveled the world, teaching primitive humans and stimulating their evolution, with the handbags symbolizing their role as knowledge bearers.

What is the Younger Dryas event, and how does it relate to the handbag carvings at Gobekli Tepe?

The Younger Dryas was a 1,300-year event that caused a sudden return to ice age conditions worldwide. Some researchers believe that the handbag carvings at Gobekli Tepe represent the survivors of this event, who then spread out to reestablish civilization with their advanced knowledge.

How do the flood stories from various cultures potentially support Hancock's theory of an ancient brotherhood of sages?

The flood stories, including the biblical account of Noah's Ark, often involve survivors who re-establish civilization after a cataclysmic flood. These stories could be records of ancient peoples encountering the survivors of an older civilization who taught them advanced knowledge, as suggested by the consistent depiction of the handbag symbol.

Outlines

00:00

🌏 Global Ubiquity of Ancient Handbag Symbols

The script opens with a perplexing observation: the prevalence of a handbag symbol in ancient carvings across the globe, from Mesopotamia to the Americas. The handbags appear in various cultures that were geographically and temporally isolated from each other, raising questions about their significance and the possibility of a shared, yet unknown, history. The video promises to delve into this mystery, suggesting that the handbags may be more than mere mundane objects, possibly holding keys to a profound understanding of human history.

05:02

👜 The Enigmatic Handbags: Mundane or Mystical?

This paragraph explores the widespread presence of handbag carvings in ancient cultures, challenging the simplistic explanation that they are merely depictions of everyday bags. The handbags are noted for their recurring presence in religious and mythological scenes, suggesting a deeper meaning. The paragraph also addresses the uniformity of the handbags' design across cultures, which contradicts the expected diversity in such objects. It introduces alternative theories, such as the handbags representing the cosmos or being linked to time travel or advanced ancient technology, alluding to the complexity of the mystery.

10:04

🕵️‍♂️ Unraveling the Mystery: The Role of Ancient Sages

The script transitions to a theory that the handbags are associated with figures of knowledge and enlightenment in various cultures, such as Quetzalcoatl and the Assyrian Seven Sages. It discusses the idea that these figures may have been part of an ancient brotherhood that disseminated advanced knowledge, leading to the development of civilization. The handbags could symbolize their status or function as 'knowledge bearers,' possibly even representing a form of identification among an initiatic brotherhood.

15:06

🛸 Speculations of Advanced Technology and Time Travel

This paragraph delves into more speculative theories, including the possibility of time travel and advanced ancient technology, as explanations for the uniformity of the handbags. It references carvings that appear to depict modern technology, such as laptops and astronauts, suggesting that ancient people may have been influenced by future visitors or had access to advanced knowledge. While these theories are considered fringe, the paragraph acknowledges their influence on the ongoing discourse surrounding the handbag symbols.

20:09

📜 The Legacy of the Seven Sages and Civilization's Foundation

The script focuses on the narrative of the Seven Sages from Mesopotamian mythology, who are said to have imparted civilization's foundational knowledge to early humans. It discusses the work of Graham Hancock, who links the handbags to these sages and their role in the development of various civilizations. Hancock's research suggests that the handbags might be symbolic of an ancient brotherhood's mission to educate and guide humanity towards a more civilized state.

25:10

🌌 The Comet, The Flood, and the Rebirth of Civilization

The final paragraph ties the handbag mystery to the cataclysmic event known as the Younger Dryas, a time when the world experienced sudden climate change and natural disasters. It presents a theory that the handbags symbolize the knowledge preserved by survivors of this event, who then spread civilization globally. The script references Gobekli Tepe and its Pillar 43, suggesting that the site and its carvings memorialize this ancient civilization and its rebirth after the disaster.

Keywords

💡Handbag Carvings

Handbag carvings refer to the recurring depiction of a specific handbag symbol in ancient art across various cultures worldwide. This is central to the video's theme, as it explores the mystery behind these carvings' ubiquity and their potential significance. The script mentions their presence from Mesopotamia to Mesoamerica, suggesting a common thread in ancient civilizations.

💡Ancient Civilizations

The term 'ancient civilizations' encompasses the cultures of the past, such as the Sumerians, Mayans, and Incas, which are highlighted in the script for their handbag carvings. These civilizations are significant as they are believed to have been influenced by or have had contact with a mysterious, advanced civilization that imparted knowledge, as per the video's narrative.

💡Mesopotamia

Mesopotamia, often called the 'cradle of civilization,' is a historical region in Western Asia and is mentioned in the script as one of the areas where handbag carvings appear. It is relevant to the video's theme as it is part of the broader discussion on the origins and spread of civilization and the potential influence of an advanced, ancient knowledge-bearing group.

💡Graham Hancock

Graham Hancock is a British author and historian who is known for his theories on ancient civilizations and advanced knowledge. In the script, Hancock is credited with piecing together the theory of an ancient brotherhood of sages, which is central to the video's exploration of the handbag carvings and their potential meaning.

💡Quetzalcoatl

Quetzalcoatl is a deity from Mesoamerican mythology who is associated with the wind and the dawn. The script mentions Quetzalcoatl as a figure who brought advanced knowledge to ancient civilizations, which ties into the video's theme of a global brotherhood of sages imparting knowledge to early humans.

💡Seven Sages

The 'Seven Sages' are a group of beings from Mesopotamian mythology who are said to have imparted advanced knowledge to early humans. In the script, they are depicted as holding the handbag symbol, suggesting they might be the 'knowledge bearers' responsible for the spread of civilization, a key concept in the video.

💡Gobekli Tepe

Gobekli Tepe is an archaeological site in Turkey that is considered one of the oldest known human-made religious structures. The script discusses Gobekli Tepe as a potential starting point for the dramatic evolution of human civilization and as a site where handbag carvings appear, linking it to the theme of advanced ancient knowledge.

💡Younger Dryas

The Younger Dryas was a period of abrupt climate change that occurred around 12,900 to 11,700 BCE. In the script, it is mentioned in the context of a comet strike and subsequent cataclysm that may have led to the end of an advanced ancient civilization. The Younger Dryas event is integral to the video's narrative about the re-establishment of civilization post-disaster.

💡Underground Civilization

The concept of an 'underground civilization' is hinted at in the script as a possible survivor of the Younger Dryas event. This idea is related to the video's theme of a lost, advanced civilization that could have influenced the development of human society through the spread of knowledge, potentially represented by the handbag carvings.

💡Knowledge Bearers

In the script, 'knowledge bearers' refers to the figures like the Seven Sages and Quetzalcoatl, who are believed to have brought advanced knowledge to early humans, thus influencing the development of civilization. This concept is central to the video's exploration of the handbag carvings and the theory of an ancient, global brotherhood of sages.

💡Cataclysm

A 'cataclysm' is a sudden and violent event causing great destruction. In the script, it is used to describe the potential end of an advanced ancient civilization due to a comet strike and subsequent climate event. The cataclysm is a key element in the video's narrative about the survival and re-emergence of civilization.

Highlights

Ancient handbag symbols appear globally across various cultures, suggesting a common origin or meaning.

The handbag carvings are found in the art of Sumerians, Assyrians, Babylonians, and other ancient civilizations.

Mesoamerican, Asian, European, and North American cultures all depict handbags in their ancient works.

Handbags in carvings are often associated with deities and mythical scenes rather than mundane use.

The handbags' consistent appearance across cultures suggests a deeper meaning beyond simple bags.

Some propose the handbags represent the cosmos, with the semi-circle as the sky and the square as the Earth.

An alternative theory suggests that the handbags are modern designer handbags held by time travelers.

Ancient carvings sometimes depict objects that resemble modern technology, like laptops and cellphones.

A theory links handbags to Tesla Coil technology, suggesting they might be power sources for ancient devices.

Graham Hancock's research indicates that handbags may symbolize an ancient brotherhood of knowledge bearers.

Hancock connects handbags to figures like Quetzalcoatl and the Seven Sages, who brought civilization to early humans.

The handbags might represent tablets of knowledge buried before a great flood and later rediscovered.

Gobekli Tepe's Pillar 43 may record a comet strike and the beginning of the Younger Dryas period.

Survivors of the Younger Dryas may have been the knowledge bearers who spread civilization after the cataclysm.

The handbags could symbolize the reestablishment of civilization by these ancient survivors.

The global distribution of handbag carvings may reflect the spread of an advanced ancient civilization.

The mystery of the handbags challenges our understanding of human history and the origins of civilization.

Transcripts

At first glance, it may seem ordinary enough –

a simple handbag symbol appearing in the carving of an ancient culture.

And yet, take a step back,

and realize that this symbol appears in works

from Mesopotamia to Mesoamerica,

Asia and Africa,

Europe and North America,

even on islands in the middle of the ocean.

What are these handbags,

and why are they depicted again and again

in cultures separated by centuries

and thousands of miles,

cultures which never came in contact with each other,

and in most cases,

were not even aware of each other's existence?

The question has puzzled archaeologists for generations.

Recently, an answer has emerged,

one which not only explains what the handbags are

and why they appear across cultures,

but which changes everything

we thought we knew about human history.

Settle in;

in this video, we'll lay it all out,

and perhaps,

finally solve the mystery once and for all.

The first thing to understand

when talking about the mysterious handbag carvings is that

they don't appear in just a handful of places,

or in just one region,

but literally all over the world.

Start in Mesopotamia,

where the handbags appear in the works of the Sumerians,

Assyrians, and Babylonians,

the Mitanni and the Phoenician Empires,

and the ancient Armenians.

Head across the ocean,

and the handbags appear in Mesoamerican works

which predate the Aztecs,

Mayans, and Incas,

including the Olmec and Toltec Empires,

and the ancient tribes of Veracruz.

They appear in Asia,

in the works of Indian Hindus

and the ancient tribes of Indonesia.

They were depicted by the Etruscans in Italy,

the Hittite Empire in Turkey,

and the ancient Bosnians.

They even appear in the Coso petroglyphs

created by indigenous North Americans,

and at the mysterious 12,000-year-old site

known as Gobekli Tepe.

We could go on, but the point is clear –

the handbags are everywhere.

The question is, why?

Why are all of these ancient cultures depicting the same thing?

Of course, the simplest of explanations,

and the one usually proposed by the most unimaginative

of mainstream scientists,

is that there is no mystery at all –

the handbag carvings are exactly that,

mundane carvings of simple handbags,

not anything special or mysterious.

In some ways, this explanation makes sense,

if you don't think about it too deeply.

Of course, broadly speaking,

bags are a simple object that every culture had,

so surely it is possible that every culture depicted them,

as they might depict the use of a bowl, a shovel, or a chair.

And yet, the handbags found in carvings around the world

do not simply appear as mundane objects in everyday use.

Again and again,

they appear in the hands of deities and as parts of mythical scenes.

It's not as though these mythical scenes

are filled with other everyday items,

so if the handbags are merely handbags,

why depict them there in the first place?

Do they not seem out of place amongst gods and myths?

Moreover, it's not just that handbags appear in carvings across cultures,

but that they almost always seem to be a specific handbag.

Think about it: if every culture used bags,

then certainly these bags appeared

in a near infinite number of shapes, sizes, and designs.

And yet, across cultures,

the handbags found in these carvings look almost identical.

Often, they're even held the same way,

in the palm with the fingers upturned.

Think about other things which near every culture created,

and how differently they can appear –

from weapons to vehicles,

to pottery, to gods,

to music, and so on.

Suggesting that the handbag carvings found in cultures across the world

are simply handbags

seems to raise more questions than answers…

There are some who believe that there is a deeper meaning

behind the handbag carvings,

that in fact they represent an ancient depiction of the cosmos.

In this theory,

the semi-circle which appears as the bag's handle

represents the hemisphere of the sky,

while the solid square base underneath,

the body of the bag,

represents the Earth.

It has been proposed that

there is even a spiritual connotation to this,

the meeting of earth and sky

representing the unification of the material

and non-material elements of existence,

the connection between the divine and the earthly.

And yet, most of the cultures where handbag carvings appear

are known to have possessed nuanced cosmological understanding

and well-developed religious traditions,

both of which they depicted in incredibly detailed works

of art and construction.

To suggest that these cultures would depict the cosmos,

or mythical concepts as a semi-circle and a square,

simply doesn't match up with how they represented these things.

On top of that,

it again does not explain why

essentially the same handbag appears again and again.

Surely these cultures all had different conceptions of the cosmos,

different conceptions about the material and non-material.

Why then would they all have the same simplistic depiction?

It seems that surely an explanation must go further.

And indeed, there are those who have gone much further.

For some, the handbags do not look like any old bag,

but like modern designer handbags you see today.

This has led to the emergence of the theory that

they look like modern designer handbags because,

well, they are...

held in the hands of time travelers who visited ancient civilizations.

At very least, this would solve the problem

of the handbag being depicted the same way again and again.

Admittedly, this is a theory which may trend

towards the more unbelievable of conspiracies.

Although, based on some of the things which have been found

depicted at ancient sites,

you can hardly blame people for suggesting the hypothesis.

Again and again,

carvings have been found at ancient sites

which appear to depict things

the ancients simply hadn't invented yet.

For example,

does this ancient Greek carving show a woman using a laptop,

complete with cable ports?

Does this carving at an ancient Hindu temple

show a woman using a cellphone,

and another using a tablet with a touchscreen stylus pen?

And what of this carving from the Cathedral of Salamanca,

constructed centuries ago,

which appears to show an astronaut?

Or the so-called 'Helicopter Hieroglyphs'

at the ancient Abydos Temple of Seti,

which appear to show a helicopter, submarine, and spaceship.

Perhaps those explanations which claim time travel

should not be written off so easily.

But that's a story for another day.

For now, let's return to the handbag carvings.

Time travel is not the only wild explanation…

Some believe they have solved the mystery of the handbags

by looking closer at this Assyrian relief.

Notice how the figures holding handbags

stand around the Tree of Life.

Some have suggested that this Tree of Life looks suspiciously

like an operational Tesla Coil,

a device invented in the late 1800s by Nikola Tesla

designed to wirelessly transmit electricity.

And if we go to Egypt,

ancient depictions of Tesla coils can be found time and time again,

always at the most important temples.

In fact,

many believe that one of the most well-known symbols in ancient Egypt,

the ankh symbol,

is an actual depiction of a Tesla coil technology.

Could this be possible?

And if so,

might the handbags the figures hold represent some sort of tool

to tap into this energy supply,

like a rechargeable battery

which uses the electricity the Tesla Coil is creating

to power an advanced ancient civilization?

Following this theory,

one might look closer at this Olmec carving of the god Quetzalcoatl.

Note how Quetzalcoatl, which means "Feathered Serpent,"

cradles a man holding a mysterious handbag.

Does this man not appear to be sitting inside some sort of machine,

perhaps at the controls of a flying device?

Given the prominent placement of the handbag,

is it possible that this was the energy source

powering this machine?

The question becomes even more interesting

when you examine this carving from Veracruz, Mexico,

created at about the same time.

Does this not look eerily similar to a modern astronaut

carrying a personal life support system?

Here, we begin to go further and further down a rabbit hole.

Could the handbags carved by cultures across the world

really hold the secrets

of some sort of advanced ancient power source or technology?

Of course, this theory,

like the other explanations for the handbags already mentioned,

sits in the realm of speculation.

There is, however, another theory,

one rooted not in speculation, but in the records of the ancients,

an explanation which ties everything together

and offers a new history of humanity.

To understand this theory,

we must begin by looking closer

at some of the individual handbag carvings

found in diverse cultures around the world,

and looking not at the handbags,

but who is holding them…

We can start with the two depictions we've already mentioned.

First, Quetzalcoatl, the ancient Olmec god

who was taken up by the Mayans, Aztecs, and Incas,

and many other cultures in Central and South America.

According to ancient Mesoamerican myth,

Quetzalcoatl was a figure

who appeared sometime deep in the ancient past

and taught the primitive inhabitants of the region

advanced knowledge and skills like agriculture,

engineering, laws, and religion,

in effect, becoming the founder

of all ancient Central and South American civilizations.

Meanwhile, look again at the figures in the Assyrian relief

who stand around the Tree of Life holding handbags.

Note first that the Tree of Life itself

is one of the most important motifs in ancient Assyrian art,

and indeed in many of the world's

mythological, religious, and philosophical traditions,

seen as a source of creation,

a symbol connecting the divine and the earthly,

a source of knowledge.

But look closer,

and notice what else the figures are holding in their hands –

pinecones.

For the Assyrians,

and indeed across many cultures,

the pinecone serves as a symbolic representation

of human enlightenment and spiritual consciousness,

connected to fertility and eternal life.

In fact, the pineal gland,

that small pea-shaped gland in the center of our brains

which has long been seen by numerous cultures

as our biological Third Eye and the seat of the soul,

was named after the pinecone.

Taken together,

these two reliefs present a theme of knowledge and enlightenment,

of creation and a connection to the divine.

But we can go beyond just these two depictions.

Jump over to India,

and note the handbag carving at the Hindu Brihadeeswarar Temple.

Who is seated in front of the handbag?

That would be Shiva,

considered the supreme god in Hinduism.

According to Hindu tradition,

Shiva was the first deity to arrive on Earth,

the god who creates, protects, and transforms the universe,

the creator of all things.

Or, look to Indonesia and the island of Sumba,

where the handbag appears as a depiction of Panji.

In Indonesian tradition,

Panji is the hero of a series of stories collectively known as

the Panji Tales,

a significant influencer of Indonesian culture for centuries.

Within the stories,

Panji completes deeds

which are traditionally ascribed to mythical ancestors.

The stories are said to represent aspects of creation and life,

while some see symbolic meaning

referencing the way to reach communication with the gods.

We can even return to the work of the Assyrians,

and note that the figures depicted around the Tree of Life

are not the only place where handbags appear.

Often, they are seen being held by the fish-god Oannes,

a seminal figure who exists under different names

across Mesopotamian cultures and traditions.

According to myth,

Oannes was a figure who appeared sometime deep in the ancient past

and taught primitive Mesopotamians advanced knowledge,

constructing the earliest foundations of civilization.

By now, you may be sensing a trend.

It's not just that handbags appear across cultures,

it's that again and again,

they appear alongside figures associated

with knowledge and enlightenment,

with creation and the foundation of civilization,

with the relationship between gods and humans.

Surely this consistent connection cannot be by chance.

There are some who say it isn't,

and indeed, that the connection goes further than anybody imagined.

In fact, the pieces of the puzzle were put together

by none other than the enigmatic author and historian

Graham Hancock.

For Graham Hancock, it started the same way it did for all of us,

with the realization that the same handbag symbol

kept appearing in cultures around the world.

Almost by accident,

his research took him from the ancient site

at Gobekli Tepe and its famous Pillar 43,

to the Olmec carving of Quetzalcoatl,

to the Mesopotamian depictions of the fish-god Oannes.

It was when he began to look more closely

into the ancient story of Oannes

that an incredible explanation started to reveal itself

and the mystery began unravelling.

According to Mesopotamian myth,

Oannes was not just any god,

but the leader of a group of beings known as the Seven Apkallu,

or "Seven Sages."

In short order,

Hancock realized that these Seven Sages

had almost always been depicted holding the infamous handbag.

Luckily, a detailed description of the Seven Sages

existed in the work of 3rd century Babylonian priest Berossos,

and it was to this work which Hancock turned.

According to Berossos,

the Seven Sages had come to Mesopotamia

at a time when the early humans who existed in the region

"lived in a lawless manner, like beasts of the field."

They brought these primitive humans advanced knowledge.

As Berossos wrote,

the Seven Sages,

"gave them an insight into letters and sciences,

and every kind of art […]

taught them to construct houses, to found temples,

to compile laws,

and explained to them the principles of geometrical knowledge […]

made them distinguish the seeds of the earth,

and showed them how to collect fruits;

in short, [the Seven Sages] instructed them

in everything which could tend to soften manners

and humanize mankind."

In other words, the Seven Sages were no less than

the earliest founders of early Mesopotamian culture,

the builders of the cradle of civilization

which would found the modern world.

With this in mind,

Hancock began to wonder if perhaps the handbags

these Seven Sages were consistently portrayed holding

might be some sort of identifier, like a badge,

for these knowledge bearers.

As he wrote,

"could these containers be the symbols of office of an initiatic brotherhood —

far traveled and deeply ancient,

with roots reaching back into the remotest prehistory?

Might these not have served the same sort of function

as Masonic handshakes today –

providing an instant means of identifying

who is an 'insider' and who is not?"

More importantly, Hancock questioned,

"what might have been the purpose of such a brotherhood?"

The idea of an ancient brotherhood began to develop further

when Hancock turned to ancient Mesoamerican texts

on the god Quetzalcoatl, who, remember,

was said to have brought advanced knowledge and skills

to the primitive inhabitants of Mesoamerica

sometime deep in the past,

in effect, founding the great Central and South American civilizations.

Looking deeper into the myth, however,

Hancock realized that there was more than that.

During the 16th century,

a Spanish missionary named Bernardino de Sahagun

recorded the traditions of the Aztecs during his journeys to the New World.

His work gives a first-hand insight into the Aztec culture,

which had developed from the much older traditions

that had first spoken of Quetzalcoatl.

Incredibly, de Sahagun's records show that like Oannes and his Seven Sages,

Quetzalcoatl did not arrive alone,

but at the head of a brotherhood of sages who, together,

brought knowledge and skills to the unsettled and uncivilized.

For Hancock, this made things clear,

and answered his questions about his mysterious 'brotherhood.'

In his words,

"in both Mexico and Mesopotamia

where myths and traditions have survived

in connection with the imagery and symbolism,

we are left in no doubt as to what the purpose was.

Stated simply it was to teach,

to guide and to spread the benefits of civilization."

In both the stories of Oannes and Quetzalcoatl,

the implication is the same –

that early humans were primitive and nomadic hunter-gatherers

before a group of sages arrived

and founded an evolution to modern agricultural civilization.

It is interesting that the oldest site

where handbag carvings have been found

is also the site where scientists say

this evolution from nomadic hunter-gatherer

to settled agricultural civilization was first taking place.

Gobekli Tepe, in modern Turkey,

with its huge megaliths and intricate carvings,

has been carbon dated between 9,600-8,200 BCE,

right around the time scientists say

the first forms of agriculture were arising.

In fact, this was right at the time

humanity began to take a sudden and massive leap forward.

Consider, before Gobekli Tepe,

modern humans had been around for about 190,000 years,

making only slow, incremental progress.

Then, suddenly, in rapid succession,

humans invented agriculture,

metal work, writing, trade, the wheel.

Because Gobekli Tepe has been shown to have been

a year-round settlement,

meaning it was not simply a monument

built by nomadic hunter-gatherers in the middle of nowhere,

but the heart of an established civilization,

it can be seen as one of the earliest starting points

of this dramatic evolution.

As Hancock looked at Gobekli Tepe's most famous carving, Pillar 43,

he began to wonder if the handbags carved at the top

represented the arrival of the same knowledge bearers

in the stories of Oannes and Quetzalcoatl.

Is it possible that humanity's unexplained leap forward

was the result of a group of sages

bringing advanced knowledge around the world,

teaching primitive humans and stimulating their evolution?

Of course, as Hancock put together this theory,

he realized its implications were immense.

In his words,

"At the very least it would mean that some as yet unknown

and unidentified people somewhere in the world

had already mastered all the arts and attributes of a high civilization

more than twelve thousand years ago

in the depths of the last Ice Age

and had sent out emissaries around the world

to spread the benefits of their knowledge."

Could this be possible?

Could an advanced ancient civilization

older than any on record have spread out around the world

bringing knowledge to primitive peoples

and founding the modern civilizations we read about

in the history books today?

And if so, larger questions arise –

who was this civilization,

and where did they go?

To look for answers to these questions,

Hancock again returned to the ancient story of

Oannes and the Seven Sages.

For thousands of years, the Seven Sages tutored humanity,

founding great cities and a thriving civilization,

until, eventually,

humanity fell out of harmony with the universe and gods,

leading to the god Enlil,

the "king, supreme lord, father and creator,"

deciding to wipe humans out with a flood.

As Berossos records,

"In those days the world teemed,

the people multiplied, the world bellowed like a wild bull,

and the great god was aroused by the clamor.

Enlil heard the clamor and he said to the gods in council,

'The uproar of mankind is intolerable

and sleep is no longer possible by reason of the babel.'

So the gods agreed to exterminate mankind."

Before the flood can take place,

Enlil's brother Enki warns one man, Zisudra,

instructing him to build a boat to weather the flood

and take upon it his friends and family.

Critically, before taking refuge on his boat,

Zisudra is instructed to bury tablets containing all human knowledge

in "Sippar, the city of the sun."

The terrors of the flood are recorded in the words of Zisudra,

"For six days and nights the wind blew,

torrent and tempest and flood overwhelmed the world,

tempest and flood raged together like warring hosts.

When the seventh day dawned

the storm from the south subsided,

the sea grew calm, the flood was stilled.

I looked at the face of the world and there was silence.

The surface of the sea stretched as flat as a rooftop.

All mankind had returned to clay."

Exiting the boat as floodwaters recede,

the survivors are then instructed by the gods,

"to return to the city of Sippar,

to dig up the tablets that were buried there

and to turn them over to mankind."

And so, the survivors of this ancient civilization

founded by the Seven Sages and destroyed by flood

spread out across the world with these tablets of knowledge

to help civilization rise again,

the disciples of the Seven Sages becoming, in effect,

a new generation of sages "of human descent."

Step back and note

that the Assyrian flood story is not only similar to that

of the biblical Noah's ark,

but of countless flood stories told around the world,

where the survivors of a great flood effectively re-found civilization.

Is it possible that these stories are a record from ancient peoples

about the survivors of an even older civilization

showing up and teaching them?

Is this why figures across the world who are said to have brought

knowledge and civilization to primitive peoples

are consistently depicted with the same handbag,

because they all came from the same place?

Could these handbags have represented

the tablets of knowledge

spoken about in the Assyrian texts?

With this in mind, there is one more step

to fully put the pieces of the puzzle together.

We must return to Gobekli Tepe,

the oldest place yet discovered where handbag carvings appear,

and the place where humanity's transition from hunter-gatherers

to settled civilization was first beginning.

Since its discovery in the 1990s,

a debate has existed over Gobekli Tepe's purpose.

Some have proposed that it was a religious site,

while others believe it to have astronomical implications.

However,

the most compelling explanation was presented in 2017

by two scientists,

Martin Sweatman and Dimitrios Tsikritsis.

They believed that in its famous Pillar 43,

Gobekli Tepe was providing a time stamp

for a terrifying event in human history.

The event?

A comet strike,

the fragments of the comet falling to Earth

represented in the carving's squiggly lines and squares,

and the headless man at the bottom signifying the disaster which ensued.

More importantly, for Sweatman and Tsikritsis,

the animals depicted on the carving were zodiacal representations

of the ancient constellations as they appeared in the night sky

at the time of this comet strike.

Shockingly, when Sweatman and Tsikritsis

looked for a time in history

when the constellations would have appeared

as they were arranged on Pillar 43,

they came up with the year 10,950 BCE –

exactly when the Younger Dryas event was taking place.

For those unaware, Younger Dryas was a 1,300-year event

which plunged much of the world into ice age conditions,

a time of super-tsunamis and massive floods

all around the world.

While the existence of Younger Dryas is not in dispute,

scientists have never been quite sure what caused it.

According to Sweatman and Tsikritsis,

Gobekli Tepe provided the answer.

They believed that after Younger Dryas had ended,

the survivors of the event had memorialized their survival,

and the reestablishment of civilization,

at Gobekli Tepe,

even recording the date that the cataclysm had begun,

and what had caused it,

on the famous Pillar 43.

But if this is true,

what other answers might Pillar 43 provide?

If the creators of Gobekli Tepe

were memorializing their survival of Younger Dryas

with detailed carvings and precise astronomical measurements

at a massive megalithic site,

then this means there was an ancient civilization

which existed before Younger Dryas

capable of doing these things.

Look again at the handbags at the top of the Pillar 43 carving.

Could these represent the survivors of Younger Dryas,

those members of an older race beginning civilization again

after a cataclysm,

before spreading out with their advanced ancient knowledge

and reestablishing civilization all over the world?

And could Graham Hancock be correct,

that the evidence of these ancient knowledge bearers

is contained within the handbag carvings

found across cultures?

If you want to know more,

a good place to start is with our video

on the underground civilization

that survived Younger Dryas…