Every day scientists learn more and more about humanity and our past, often turning up new evidence that challenges the accepted views and received wisdom of long-established orthodoxy. Graham Hancock is widely recognised as an unconventional thinker who raises controversial questions about humanity and its history, and his public lectures and television appearances, including Quest For The Lost Civilisation, have promoted his ideas before audiences of tens of millions. Tonight Graham will talk about revelations from his book Supernatural: Meeting the Ancient Teachers of Mankind. In his talk he will outline how less than 50,000 years ago mankind had no art, no religion, no sophisticated symbolism, no innovative thinking. Then, in a dramatic and electrifying change - described by scientists as 'the greatest riddle in human history' - all the skills and qualities that we value most highly in ourselves appeared already fully formed, as though bestowed on us by hidden powers. Graham will discuss this mysterious before-and-after moment in a bid to discover the truth about the influences that gave birth to the modern human mind. Graham’s talk will take us on a journey from the stunningly beautiful painted caves of prehistoric France, Spain and Italy, to rock shelters in the mountains of South Africa, where he finds extraordinary stone age art. He will uncover clues that lead us to the depths of the Amazon rainforest where shamans drink the powerful hallucinogen ayahuasca, and whose paintings contain images of supernatural beings identical to the animal-human hybrids depicted in prehistoric caves. Scientists at the forefront of consciousness research have begun to consider the possibility that such hallucinations may be real perceptions of other dimensions. Could the supernaturals first depicted in the painted caves be the ancient teachers of mankind? Could it be that human evolution is not just the meaningless process that Darwin identified, but something more purposive and intelligent that we have barely begun to understand?
