Was There a Civilization On Earth Before Humans? (The Atlantic magazine)

[Binkie The Clown]

It only took five minutes for Gavin Schmidt to out-speculate me.

Schmidt is the director of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (a.k.a. GISS) a world-class climate-science facility. One day last year, I came to GISS with a far-out proposal. In my work as an astrophysicist, I’d begun researching global warming from an “astrobiological perspective.” That meant asking whether any industrial civilization that rises on any planet will, through their own activity, trigger their own version of a climate shift. I was visiting GISS that day hoping to gain some climate science insights and, perhaps, collaborators. That’s how I ended up in Gavin’s office.

Just as I was revving up my pitch, Gavin stopped me in my tracks.

“Wait a second,” he said. “How do you know we’re the only time there’s been a civilization on our own planet?”

Continued at The Atlantic

[gordianot]

1. Given the current state of human affairs I am not sure humans qualify.

[RandomAccess]

2. There are many esoteric accounts of prior civilizations

Atlantis, Lemuria or Mu, and even others.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

6. Those accounts are not based on anything factual.

[Xipe Totec]

3. Scariest shit I've read in a long time.

In addition, our work also opened up the speculative possibility that some planets might have fossil-fuel-driven cycles of civilization building and collapse. If a civilization uses fossil fuels, the climate change they trigger can lead to a large decrease in ocean oxygen levels. These low oxygen levels (called ocean anoxia) help trigger the conditions needed for making fossil fuels like oil and coal in the first place. In this way, a civilization and its demise might sow the seed for new civilizations in the future.

[RandomAccess]

4. What a FASCINATING article

thanks for posting it

[Salviati]

5. If there were such a civilization, we'd probably find evidence of their mines.

Those will leave telltale remains even over geologic time scales...

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/will-mines-tunnels-and-drilling-scar-earth-permanently/

[zipplewrath]

11. Yeah, they don't address that

Also, some of the signs we're seeing left behind could be misinterpreted. I'm thinking of plastic, that in 50+ million years might be seen as the result of some "natural" process.

What does seem a bit more likely though was that there was a species, or even class of species, that swarmed the earth at some time in the past and caused major shifts. Not necessarily "advanced", but so overwhelming, to a planet that may have been "out of balance" anyway, so as to trigger major changes. Such an event might not leave any obvious traces of their existence, or their affect.

[rampartc]

13. if a ufo landed on earth today and asked a member of the dominant civilization

"take me to your leader" would he want to talk to trump?

or maybe the queen of the argentine ants ..........

http://sciencenordic.com/ants-supercolonies-defy-evolution

[rampartc]

12. hammer found embedded in 500 million year old rock ........

https://www.ntd.tv/inspiring/life/ancient-texas-hammer-found-embedded-in-rock-said-to-be-500-million-years-old.html

[eppur_se_muova]

7. Hmmmm ... an H. P. Lovecraft fan, perhaps ? nt

[Binkie The Clown]

8. I wish I could bring myself to believe this. It would be fun to believe.

[Crutchez_CuiBono]

9. I believe so.

I think the Mayan/Incan stone effigies w helmets on look like Haz-mat suits on aliens, and I think it portends that the earlier civilization was infected w something and died off...after witnessing the haz-mat aliens.

[Separation]

10. My father believes

That it's possible that earth was populated with a civilization prior to the dinosaurs etc. Then a massive earth wide catastrophe happened, wiping out all traces of them. Then, over millions of years later the earth tried again.

Of course, this would not be possible without outside help, i.e. aliens.

I always ask him why haven't we heard back from these aliens and he asks me what is more believable. God sending Angel's down to talk to early man, directing them through early life, helping out indirectly, or speaking through burning bushes. Or an advanced alien civilization making sure man doesnt snuff itself out again.

I always reply that it's possible that neither of those 2 stories happened. That it's possible that man just likes to make up stories, its ingrained into our makeup. It's why man gets to go see a movie premiere, and chimps like to play with pop.

I do tell him though, out of the 2 choices. The alien route is my favorite. 😁

[OxQQme]

14. Genesis 6:4

"In those days were the giants on the earth, and also afterwards, when the sons of God had come in to the daughters of men, and they had borne children to them; these were the heroes, who of old were men of renown."

"The Nephilim were in the earth in those days, and also after that, when God's sons came in to men's daughters. They bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown."

Taken from the previous description of beginnings on earth from the clay tablets called 'Enuma Elish'
written by scribes in cuneiform. Scribes had to be taught the story by some source, and had to have been
given writing instructions to chronicle events.

Or we could look into Gilgamesh's genealogical relation to 'the gods/Nephilim' who were here before The Flood, co-mingling with 'the daughters'.

Or is all the recorded ancient history just too much flat earth woo? I think not.

Star maps showing planets not visible to the naked eye, earth's wobble on it's axis, delineating the globe, advanced mathematics, the wheel and plow, music written for and played on exotic instruments, the recipe for bronze (which is a many step process from mining to smelter) all point to an advanced civilization pre-Flood.