May one prove that Egypt had advanced technology or knowledge?

[rakovsky]

The pyramids of Egypt are fascinating mind puzzles. The claim that Egypt had technology or knowledge that would be advanced even by modern standards is interesting and curious. The theory seems to rely on ideas that the pyramids and other Egyptian objects show signs of manufacture with advanced equipment and engineering. But, not being an engineering specialist, this is not clear to me. I know Egypt had the workforce at Giza to accomplish the pyramids in their scale, but the design, intent, engineering of the pyramids is unclear to me in its nature.

Adding to this difficulty is the fact that those who propose theories of ancient astronauts, supernatural technology or other advanced knowledge or equipment rarely seem to have their work published in serious publications. I understand that the scientific establishment is very very skeptical of such theories, but it seems nonetheless that there should still be occasional publications on this among the many journals available in the last 30 years or so if the proposition of ancient advanced engineering technology were true and real.

With that in mind I wish to ask:

1. What is the best evidence of such advanced technology in Egypt?

2. Can you recommend scholarly articles within a few pages that are persuasive on the topic, the kind that you could actually use in a real research paper?

3. What is the best evidence, if any, that the pyramid was used as something other than a tomb?

4. Do you think potential excavations could reveal new amazing finds like we had with the Rosetta stones and pyramid texts, or like Edgar Cayce imagined/claimed with the Hall of Records?

 

[rakovsky]

The pyramids are a puzzle, which is why they are so interesting.

When I turn to scholarly sources that could actually be used to write a paper on the ancient advanced technology theory, they strongly tend to be debunking ones like:

Cazeau, Charles, Ancient Astronauts, Response

A very detailed response was published in 1976: The Space-Gods Revealed, by Ronald Story. Ironically, Story is not a scientist. Nonetheless, his book is an admirable piece of thoughtful research. In this book, Thor Heyerdahl, at Story’s invitation, comments (p. 46):
. . . no scientist takes people like von Däniken seriously, and none of them cares to climb down from the academic pedestal to start discussing sheer nonsense merely to enlighten the man in the street.

http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-4684-3533-7_5

Regrettably, what Heyerdahl says is true, and von Däniken’s challenge largely falls on deaf scientific ears.

Colavito, Jason, Origin of Space Gods
http://www.jasoncolavito.com/uploads/3/7/5/9/3759274/the_origins_of_the_space_gods.pdf

Fritze, R. H. "On the Perils and Pleasures of Confronting Pseudohistory." Historically Speaking 10.5 (2009): 2-5. Project MUSE. Web. 14 Aug. 2016.

What Does God Need with a Starship?: UFOs and Extraterrestrials in the Contemporary Religious Landscape
Erik A. W. Östling
The Oxford Handbook of New Religious Movements: Volume II

Chariots of the Gods? And All That: Pseudo-History in the Classroom, H. E. Legrand and Wayne E. Boese
The History Teacher, Vol. 8, No. 3 (May, 1975), pp. 359-370

Velarde, Robert, DID ANCIENT EXTRATERRESTRIALS VISIT EARTH? (below)

One early response to von Daniken, published in 1972, is amusingly titledCrash Go theChariots. The author, Dr. Clifford Wilson, interviewed a physics professor about vonDaniken’s ideas. The professor’s comments remain astute and relevant: “[Von Daniken]takes conjectures, accepts them as fact, builds on to them way-out theories, and presentshis ‘many small coincidences’ according to his own preconceived notions. Hedeliberately chooses the unconnected, weaves a semblance of connection around it, andputs his theories out as foregone conclusions...it may make exciting reading, butonedare not acceptit as substantially credible.”9Theseremarks remain quite applicable tosimilar sorts of arguments and reasoning presented by contemporary proponents ofancient aliens. In sum, the opposing evidence results in “game over” for these modernspace invaders, offering no compelling reasons to abandon existing viewpoints.

http://www.equip.org/PDF/JAF9376.pdf

A few don't seem to be debunking ones.

This looks interesting:

Alternative Archaeology: Many Pasts in Our Present
Author: Pia Andersson1
Source: Numen, Volume 59, Issue 2-3, pages 125 – 137 Publication Year : 2012

This article introduces the field of alternative archaeology. After a short presentation of how the field has been received by professional archaeologists, different ways of defining it are discussed, and potential demarcations are examined. A survey of the most frequently discussed topics follows, together with a discussion of the methodologies employed and the theoretical presuppositions accepted by writers in the alternative archaeology genre, and how these differ from the methods and theories of conventional academic archaeology. A brief section on the relevance of alternative archaeology to the study of religion concludes the article.

 

[sculptor]

Looking for an extraterrestrial answer for construction successes of our forebears is imho really stupid, biased, and ill informed.
Whatever drove the ancients to punch above their weight from gobekli tepe to stonehenge to the pyramids seems to have abated. Or has it?

 

[rakovsky]

With practically zero scholarly academic scientific published literature supporting Advanced Lost technology theories, they feel very very hard for me to affirm as an educated person.

Yeah Gobekli Tepe is amazing and 10,000 years old, and yeah the pyramids are puzzles, but this does not mean the answer to the puzzle is Advanced Technology now lost, even though it feels cool to theorize it.

 

[Fraggle Rocker]

Harry Potter's family took a holiday to Egypt and were very impressed by the magic spells that were still operative after three thousand years.

 

[sculptor]

What do we know about the pyramid builders?

 

[rakovsky]

We have some art of themselves from c.2160 BC:

Model of a Carpenter's Workshop, from the Tomb of Chancellor Meketre

 

[origin]

1. What is the best evidence of such advanced technology in Egypt?

I do not see any evidence of advanced technology in the construction of the pyramids, just human ingenuity.

2. Can you recommend scholarly articles within a few pages that are persuasive on the topic, the kind that you could actually use in a real research paper?

Unfortunately, no. I have never seen a scholarly peer reviewed article that implies that the pyramid builders had advanced technology. I have only seen those types of claims from nuts, such as Edgar Cayce.

3. What is the best evidence, if any, that the pyramid was used as something other than a tomb?

Well, I think it is clear it was to be a monument to the pharaoh not just a tomb.

4. Do you think potential excavations could reveal new amazing finds like we had with the Rosetta stones and pyramid texts, or like Edgar Cayce imagined/claimed with the Hall of Records?

I think there are more amazing findings to be discovered which will help us to further understand the fascinating world of ancient Egypt. I do not think there is anything to discover beyond the normal technology of that time however.

 

[rakovsky]

I think there are more amazing findings to be discovered which will help us to further understand the fascinating world of ancient Egypt. I do not think there is anything to discover beyond the normal technology of that time however.

Where would you recommend digging, ORIGIN?
I think there are more rooms to be discovered in the great pyramid. Ancient ETs or not, it's a giant puzzle.

http://english.alarabiya.net/en/var...ts-of-Egypt-s-pyramids-gets-French-boost.html

The telescope was developed by the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) and uses muon particles, which are similar to cosmic rays. The scientists hope it will help them verify and visualize hidden chambers and unknown structures in the pyramid.

 

[timojin]

Where would you recommend digging, ORIGIN?
I think there are more rooms to be discovered in the great pyramid. Ancient ETs or not, it's a giant puzzle.

http://english.alarabiya.net/en/var...ts-of-Egypt-s-pyramids-gets-French-boost.html

Perhaps you should check out the Hindu technology ( Harappan culture )

 

[exchemist]

I do not see any evidence of advanced technology in the construction of the pyramids, just human ingenuity.

Unfortunately, no. I have never seen a scholarly peer reviewed article that implies that the pyramid builders had advanced technology. I have only seen those types of claims from nuts, such as Edgar Cayce.

Well, I think it is clear it was to be a monument to the pharaoh not just a tomb.

I think there are more amazing findings to be discovered which will help us to further understand the fascinating world of ancient Egypt. I do not think there is anything to discover beyond the normal technology of that time however.

Agreed. It is a common fallacy to presume that ancient people were idiots or technically incompetent, when they were just as intelligent as ourselves and had considerable manpower and time at their disposal. We seem to see the same sort of error even on modern timescales: There are young people today who find it almost inconceivable that we put men on the moon without on-board computers, or that people of my generation went through university with no more than a slide rule to aid calculation.

There is considerable evidence that the ancient Egyptians had a sophisticated civilisation, so there is no reason to jump to exotic conclusions about how the pyramids were built.

 

[timojin]

The pyramids of Egypt are fascinating mind puzzles. The claim that Egypt had technology or knowledge that would be advanced even by modern standards is interesting and curious. The theory seems to rely on ideas that the pyramids and other Egyptian objects show signs of manufacture with advanced equipment and engineering. But, not being an engineering specialist, this is not clear to me. I know Egypt had the workforce at Giza to accomplish the pyramids in their scale, but the design, intent, engineering of the pyramids is unclear to me in its nature.

Adding to this difficulty is the fact that those who propose theories of ancient astronauts, supernatural technology or other advanced knowledge or equipment rarely seem to have their work published in serious publications. I understand that the scientific establishment is very very skeptical of such theories, but it seems nonetheless that there should still be occasional publications on this among the many journals available in the last 30 years or so if the proposition of ancient advanced engineering technology were true and real.

With that in mind I wish to ask:

1. What is the best evidence of such advanced technology in Egypt?

2. Can you recommend scholarly articles within a few pages that are persuasive on the topic, the kind that you could actually use in a real research paper?

3. What is the best evidence, if any, that the pyramid was used as something other than a tomb?

4. Do you think potential excavations could reveal new amazing finds like we had with the Rosetta stones and pyramid texts, or like Edgar Cayce imagined/claimed with the Hall of Records?

Some vaguely I remember reading In the past stone was cut with copper wire and then into the groove was poured vinegar repeatedly

 

[rakovsky]

Perhaps you should check out the Hindu technology ( Harappan culture )

I meant where to physically dig in Egypt to find amazing discoveries?

But for that matter, is there direct evidence of lost advanced technology by the Indus? I know there are stories about ancient god battles and vimanas, but vimanas I've heard could be a reference to temples. And anyway, myths aren't necessarily literally true.

 

[timojin]

I meant where to physically dig in Egypt to find amazing discoveries?

But for that matter, is there direct evidence of lost advanced technology by the Indus? I know there are stories about ancient god battles and vimanas, but vimanas I've heard could be a reference to temples. And anyway, myths aren't necessarily literally true.

Technology is technology ,myths is different . I believe backed bricks stated in india. they have a very advance water system. Even if you want yo explore their technology ,just look on the craftsmanship of their tempels.