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The End of Eden: The Comet That Changed Civilization
Presents compelling evidence that civilizations worldwide became warlike and monotheistic after Earth passed through the tail of a comet in 1500 B.C.
• Explores the violent effect of debris from comet 12P/Pons-Brooks on peaceful cultures such as the Olmec of Mexico and the Megalithic people who built Stonehenge
• Shows how this comet’s appearance was taken as a significant religious event that still has repercussions today
In the year 2024, the comet 12P/Pons-Brooks is due to pass near Earth again for the first time in 3,500 years. In 1500 B.C., Earth passed through this comet’s tail, and in the decade following, cultures the world over began to exhibit significant aggressive tendencies. Civilizations in India, the Middle East, China, Japan, Europe, and Central America suddenly abandoned their peaceful ways and devoted themselves with uncharacteristic fervor to making war on their neighbors and fighting among themselves.
But this was not the only effect that is linked to this celestial event. Sudden outbreaks of monotheism--the worship of a single god, and a new idea at the time--occurred simultaneously in locales spread widely throughout the world. Most of these monotheistic religions represented their god symbolically as a circle with a series of lines extending below--resembling a simple drawing of a comet.
In The End of Eden , Graham Phillips chronicles the sudden shifts in social demeanor and religious philosophy that swept the world in the wake of 12P/Pons-Brooks. He argues that there is no other explanation for these changes other than the presence of this massive comet in the skies above Earth. He contends that debris in the comet’s tail contaminated the atmosphere with a chemical known to cause aggressive behavior, and that after little more than a decade, worldwide hostility abruptly abated. He also explores how the appearance of a celestial body that outshone the moon would have been interpreted as a significant religious event--the premier appearance of a powerful new god to supplant the deities previously worshipped around the world.
• Explores the violent effect of debris from comet 12P/Pons-Brooks on peaceful cultures such as the Olmec of Mexico and the Megalithic people who built Stonehenge
• Shows how this comet’s appearance was taken as a significant religious event that still has repercussions today
In the year 2024, the comet 12P/Pons-Brooks is due to pass near Earth again for the first time in 3,500 years. In 1500 B.C., Earth passed through this comet’s tail, and in the decade following, cultures the world over began to exhibit significant aggressive tendencies. Civilizations in India, the Middle East, China, Japan, Europe, and Central America suddenly abandoned their peaceful ways and devoted themselves with uncharacteristic fervor to making war on their neighbors and fighting among themselves.
But this was not the only effect that is linked to this celestial event. Sudden outbreaks of monotheism--the worship of a single god, and a new idea at the time--occurred simultaneously in locales spread widely throughout the world. Most of these monotheistic religions represented their god symbolically as a circle with a series of lines extending below--resembling a simple drawing of a comet.
In The End of Eden , Graham Phillips chronicles the sudden shifts in social demeanor and religious philosophy that swept the world in the wake of 12P/Pons-Brooks. He argues that there is no other explanation for these changes other than the presence of this massive comet in the skies above Earth. He contends that debris in the comet’s tail contaminated the atmosphere with a chemical known to cause aggressive behavior, and that after little more than a decade, worldwide hostility abruptly abated. He also explores how the appearance of a celestial body that outshone the moon would have been interpreted as a significant religious event--the premier appearance of a powerful new god to supplant the deities previously worshipped around the world.
- GenresHistoryNonfictionScience
256 pages, Paperback
First published May 29, 2007
About the author
Graham Phillips
32 books75 followersGraham Phillips is a British author.
Phillips has a background working as a reporter for BBC radio and as a magazine editor.
Wikipedia - Graham Phillips
Phillips has a background working as a reporter for BBC radio and as a magazine editor.
Wikipedia - Graham Phillips
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
February 16, 2022
So....
Let's talk about cheerful madness. Let's talk about monomania. Let's talk about reasoning built upon a platform of unique events and phrases like " surely", "certainly", and "it follows" used to guide us way far past the safety zone and onto the thinnest ice. Let us talk long and carefully about what is fact and what is just the wishful invention of someone who wants a thing to be true so much that they create a gravitational field that pulls you in, like a black hole, towards annihilation.
The first thing you notice about this book is that it is a pastiche, most of it having nothing to do with comets. Phillips has a theory based on the premise that neolithic and early Bronze Age cultures existed in a kind, egalitarian, and pacifistic society that rhymes with the entirely debunked matriarchal fantasy of The Chalice and the Blade: Our History, Our Future. This age of peace and stacking of stones is Phillips' Eden. It is impossible to overstate the degree to which Phillips' theory of a peaceful prehistory hangs on proving that warfare was simply unthinkable in a society that piled as many stones as did the Megalith cultures of Northwest Europe. A full quarter of this book is devoted to elaborating upon the complexity and scope of stone circles, avenues, standing stones, and cairns. Who could even dream of war when you have dedicated your life to dragging a 650 ton lump of blue stone across most of Britain? BLISS!
Unfortunately for Phillips, his ideal of a prewar age and a culture without weapons or fortifications simply isn't supported by facts. Indeed there is the fine volume Warfare in Neolithic Europe: An Archaeological and Anthropological Analysis that just makes a hash out of this large slice of his book. There are similar volumes contradicting his claims about Egypt, Assyria, and the Hittite Kingdoms, including the very fine Warfare in the Ancient Near East to 1600 BC: Holy Warriors at the Dawn of History. Of course there is also Ancient Indian Warfare: With Special Reference to the Vedic Period standing by to push down his claims about the pre-Vedic cultures of the Indus Valley. And all of this makes much more sense than what Phillips is asking us to believe. Is it really believable that humanity as a species suddenly discovered aggression? That a comet swept by the earth and it ruined our innate capacity for peace? That the rise of monotheism was a corruption of a perfect state unworried about gods? Furthermore it isn't exactly clear exactly what changed. Was it culture or human biology? First, it appears that Phillips believes that a change of culture was to blame for the outbreak of globalized war, but that is a silly claim. Why would so many cultures all react the same when all the global events prior to this one where taken in stride? Think about the scenario that Phillips sets out for the book of Exodus. A monster comet swings by very close to earth, sparks a wave of monotheistic fanaticism, in particular inspiring the worship of Yahweh among the Hebrew slaves of Egypt through emulation of the Egyptian cult of Aten. There is global war that includes the Egyptians and destroys many of the old empires, creating massive regional instability, fundamentally changes human nature globally, and leaves a lasting memory of comets as evil portents. Got that? Okay, compare that to the largest explosion in human history happening relatively close to Egypt, close enough that the noise would be deafening. There are plagues in Egypt and shifts to global weather. Furthermore, an entire island vaporizes into the air, an entire culture with whom the Egyptians traded and communicated with is destroyed in a moment. Because there are no records in Egypt or the many Empires of the Middle East (who would have been just as effected by the explosion at Santorini as Egypt) of the plagues and tsunamis Phillips needs to prove the story true, disasters which are far more catastrophic and lasting than the passing of a comet, he simply reads history through the Book of Exodus and finds his proof of the disaster.
Which would be fine if it wasn't terribly out of scale with what he was claiming just a few pages earlier; no wars, no god emerges from that island destroying eruption that killed lots of people directly. So pay attention to what Phillips is arguing that we believe in here. Because he thinks it is the comet that is really important everything changes, he's not claiming an impact or anything; only that it appeared large and bright in the sky. But when it comes to exploding civilizations, raining fire, insects, and boils upon a radius of several hundred miles while blacking out the sun, changing the seasons, creating years of famine... well only the Jews remember that because it helped them escape slavery. The smart money is on the bright thing in the sky, that's what's godlike.
Then there is the final reveal that exposes just how loosely connected to facts Phillips really is. He has assembled a couple of ideas, theories about the origins of life on earth and their connections to comet impacts, into a theory of how a comet could help invent a global culture of war. How does that happen? Comet Rendered Access to Pharmaceuticals; or as I call it, CRAP.
So here is where it gets really nuts.
Apparently Phillips read that there are the basic constituents of amino acids out there riding about on space matter and so extrapolated in a manner characteristic of his other theories. So in his view, all you need to do is find an amino acid that triggers aggression in humans and there is the mystery solved of how a comet could cause mass slaughter.
The problem is that the molecules found on comets look like this:
and this:
and have only been detected in trace amounts.
What Phillips is betting his whole thesis upon is that this,
arrived on a comet in significant enough quantities to give thousands of people across the earth a massive panic attack, and inspire them to throw away millennia of habitual peace and prosperity, to beat their plowshares into swords, and abandon home to participate in suicidal assaults, killing babies and burning cities. You couldn't ask for a better metaphor of Phillips' worldview.
Aside from this theory's inherent impossibility, the vesopressin molecule is a complicated combination of amino acids that has a limited shelf life at room temperatures (implying that the extreme cold of space and the intense heat of entry into the atmosphere might indicate that this is a less than optimal method of delivery). It is also a commonly prescribed active medical agent, so we know a lot of things about it. After decades of clinical trials and experience the observed side effects during treatment with vasopressin include dizziness, angina, chest pain, abdominal cramps, heartburn, nausea, vomiting, trembling, fever, water intoxication, pounding sensation in the head, diarrhea, sweating, paleness, and flatulence. More sensitive persons have experienced myocardial infarction or hypersensitivity.
You will notice that none of those side effects include rallying an army to burn out the Harrapans under the influence of medically administered vasopressin. It may be the dosage. Some few may have thought about it while trembling and farting, but none has ever overthrown a civilization or founded a global faith.
This is disappointing for Phillips' theory.
Anyway. I truly enjoyed this march though Phillips' little anthology of impossibilities and madness. It is harmless madness. It is a castle made of pies and unicorn dung that looks kind of interesting, striking even in the right light, but really ask yourself, how do people live in there?
Let's talk about cheerful madness. Let's talk about monomania. Let's talk about reasoning built upon a platform of unique events and phrases like " surely", "certainly", and "it follows" used to guide us way far past the safety zone and onto the thinnest ice. Let us talk long and carefully about what is fact and what is just the wishful invention of someone who wants a thing to be true so much that they create a gravitational field that pulls you in, like a black hole, towards annihilation.
The first thing you notice about this book is that it is a pastiche, most of it having nothing to do with comets. Phillips has a theory based on the premise that neolithic and early Bronze Age cultures existed in a kind, egalitarian, and pacifistic society that rhymes with the entirely debunked matriarchal fantasy of The Chalice and the Blade: Our History, Our Future. This age of peace and stacking of stones is Phillips' Eden. It is impossible to overstate the degree to which Phillips' theory of a peaceful prehistory hangs on proving that warfare was simply unthinkable in a society that piled as many stones as did the Megalith cultures of Northwest Europe. A full quarter of this book is devoted to elaborating upon the complexity and scope of stone circles, avenues, standing stones, and cairns. Who could even dream of war when you have dedicated your life to dragging a 650 ton lump of blue stone across most of Britain? BLISS!
Unfortunately for Phillips, his ideal of a prewar age and a culture without weapons or fortifications simply isn't supported by facts. Indeed there is the fine volume Warfare in Neolithic Europe: An Archaeological and Anthropological Analysis that just makes a hash out of this large slice of his book. There are similar volumes contradicting his claims about Egypt, Assyria, and the Hittite Kingdoms, including the very fine Warfare in the Ancient Near East to 1600 BC: Holy Warriors at the Dawn of History. Of course there is also Ancient Indian Warfare: With Special Reference to the Vedic Period standing by to push down his claims about the pre-Vedic cultures of the Indus Valley. And all of this makes much more sense than what Phillips is asking us to believe. Is it really believable that humanity as a species suddenly discovered aggression? That a comet swept by the earth and it ruined our innate capacity for peace? That the rise of monotheism was a corruption of a perfect state unworried about gods? Furthermore it isn't exactly clear exactly what changed. Was it culture or human biology? First, it appears that Phillips believes that a change of culture was to blame for the outbreak of globalized war, but that is a silly claim. Why would so many cultures all react the same when all the global events prior to this one where taken in stride? Think about the scenario that Phillips sets out for the book of Exodus. A monster comet swings by very close to earth, sparks a wave of monotheistic fanaticism, in particular inspiring the worship of Yahweh among the Hebrew slaves of Egypt through emulation of the Egyptian cult of Aten. There is global war that includes the Egyptians and destroys many of the old empires, creating massive regional instability, fundamentally changes human nature globally, and leaves a lasting memory of comets as evil portents. Got that? Okay, compare that to the largest explosion in human history happening relatively close to Egypt, close enough that the noise would be deafening. There are plagues in Egypt and shifts to global weather. Furthermore, an entire island vaporizes into the air, an entire culture with whom the Egyptians traded and communicated with is destroyed in a moment. Because there are no records in Egypt or the many Empires of the Middle East (who would have been just as effected by the explosion at Santorini as Egypt) of the plagues and tsunamis Phillips needs to prove the story true, disasters which are far more catastrophic and lasting than the passing of a comet, he simply reads history through the Book of Exodus and finds his proof of the disaster.
Which would be fine if it wasn't terribly out of scale with what he was claiming just a few pages earlier; no wars, no god emerges from that island destroying eruption that killed lots of people directly. So pay attention to what Phillips is arguing that we believe in here. Because he thinks it is the comet that is really important everything changes, he's not claiming an impact or anything; only that it appeared large and bright in the sky. But when it comes to exploding civilizations, raining fire, insects, and boils upon a radius of several hundred miles while blacking out the sun, changing the seasons, creating years of famine... well only the Jews remember that because it helped them escape slavery. The smart money is on the bright thing in the sky, that's what's godlike.
Then there is the final reveal that exposes just how loosely connected to facts Phillips really is. He has assembled a couple of ideas, theories about the origins of life on earth and their connections to comet impacts, into a theory of how a comet could help invent a global culture of war. How does that happen? Comet Rendered Access to Pharmaceuticals; or as I call it, CRAP.
So here is where it gets really nuts.
Apparently Phillips read that there are the basic constituents of amino acids out there riding about on space matter and so extrapolated in a manner characteristic of his other theories. So in his view, all you need to do is find an amino acid that triggers aggression in humans and there is the mystery solved of how a comet could cause mass slaughter.
The problem is that the molecules found on comets look like this:
and this:
and have only been detected in trace amounts.
What Phillips is betting his whole thesis upon is that this,
arrived on a comet in significant enough quantities to give thousands of people across the earth a massive panic attack, and inspire them to throw away millennia of habitual peace and prosperity, to beat their plowshares into swords, and abandon home to participate in suicidal assaults, killing babies and burning cities. You couldn't ask for a better metaphor of Phillips' worldview.
Aside from this theory's inherent impossibility, the vesopressin molecule is a complicated combination of amino acids that has a limited shelf life at room temperatures (implying that the extreme cold of space and the intense heat of entry into the atmosphere might indicate that this is a less than optimal method of delivery). It is also a commonly prescribed active medical agent, so we know a lot of things about it. After decades of clinical trials and experience the observed side effects during treatment with vasopressin include dizziness, angina, chest pain, abdominal cramps, heartburn, nausea, vomiting, trembling, fever, water intoxication, pounding sensation in the head, diarrhea, sweating, paleness, and flatulence. More sensitive persons have experienced myocardial infarction or hypersensitivity.
You will notice that none of those side effects include rallying an army to burn out the Harrapans under the influence of medically administered vasopressin. It may be the dosage. Some few may have thought about it while trembling and farting, but none has ever overthrown a civilization or founded a global faith.
This is disappointing for Phillips' theory.
Anyway. I truly enjoyed this march though Phillips' little anthology of impossibilities and madness. It is harmless madness. It is a castle made of pies and unicorn dung that looks kind of interesting, striking even in the right light, but really ask yourself, how do people live in there?
April 24, 2023
Some interesting ideas but an absolute mess. Verbose, overlong, repetitious and over simplistic. Basic history, science and theology explained in laborious detail, only to quickly skirt over the critical points. Would have made an interesting 40 page essay, not a full length book.
October 4, 2012
The author argues that a huge comet that passed by Earth 3,500 years ago caused civilizations around the world to become aggressive, possibly due to chemicals that were dispersed into the atmosphere. Interesting book; a ‘light’ non-fiction, but informative.
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