Thesis
The book pivots on "fingerprints" of these civilizations, evidence of which Hancock finds in the descriptions of Godmen like Osiris, Thoth, Quetzalcoatl, and Viracocha. These creation myths predate history, and Hancock suggests that in 10,450 BC, a major pole shift took place, before which Antarctica was further from the South Pole than it is today, and after which it was moved to its present location. This civilization was supposedly centered around Antarctica, and later survivors initiated the Olmec, Aztec, Maya and Egyptian cultures.
The book was influenced by Rose and Rand Flem-Ath's When the Sky Fell: in Search of Atlantis (1995/2009) in which they expand the evidence for Charles Hapgood's theory of earth crust displacement and propose Antarctica as the site of Atlantis.
The pole shift hypothesis hinges on Charles Hapgood's theory of Earth Crustal Displacement. Hapgood was also fascinated with the story of Atlantis and suggested that crustal displacement may have caused its destruction. His theories have few supporters in the geological community compared to the more widely accepted model of plate tectonics.
The title of the book seems to play off of Erich von Däniken's earlier book, Chariots of the Gods?, which examines much of the same archaeological, geological and historical evidence as Hancock whilst reaching a far different conclusion as to the origin and significance of such evidence.
Read more about this topic: Fingerprints Of The Gods
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