Human Devolution
by Michael Cremo

The Man Behind the Book
In the mid 199o’s, author and researcher Michael Cremo published Forbidden Archaeology, a hefty tome that documents archaeological evidence for extreme human antiquity.

“The evidence shows,” writes Cremo, on page 17 of Human Devolution, “that anatomically modern humans existed millions of years ago.”

The evidence to which Cremo refers is documented in his 900+ page book, Forbidden Archaeology. Human Devolution is the follow-up book. Forbidden Archaeology documents, in a scientific manner, case after case in which archaeological discoveries have shattered mainstream archaeological theories. However, these discoveries are then neatly swept under the carpet to prevent our accepted theories from becoming messy.

But Cremo documents – extensively – that the truth is messy when scientists attempt to stuff inaccurate theories into a box that is then presented to us as truth. The truth, as any esoteric reader will affirm, is not what is presented by the mainstream.

Following the publication of Forbidden Archaeology, many chided Cremo for only presenting the evidence. Cremo offered no explanation, at the time, as to what it all means. What exactly is the true story of ancient humanity if archaeology is showing that human history potentially spans millions of years? Human Devolution is where Cremo offers his interpretation.

The Vedas
The sub-head of Human Devolution reads “A Vedic Alternative to Darwin’s Theory.” Cremo is referring to ancient Hindu writings called the Vedas.

“Evidence for extreme human antiquity is consistent with the ancient Vedic literature of India. This literature includes a group of writings called the Puranas, or histories. The Puranas inform us that humans have existed for vast periods of cyclical time. The basic unit of this cyclical time is the day of Brahma. The day of Brahma lasts for 4,320,000,000 years.

Cremo uses the ancient Hindu writings as a basis for his interpretation of archaeological findings that don’t mesh with the currently accepted norms of theory. Cremo suggests that humanity did not evolve (or ascend) from apes. We devolved (or descended) from spirit.

Fallen Angels
Cremo’s idea that we are angels ourselves, in no way substantially different than the angels that might surround us on the etheric planes (except that we are having physical experiences in 3-D reality), is consistent with the esoteric belief that humanity is the result of ancient angelic beings merging their spirit forms into the lower vibrational material world – pushing their spirit into matter. This idea is consistent with a book previously reviewed on this blog, The Lemurian Scrolls.

Cremo, however, approaches the subject from a scientific and cross-cultural standpoint. His target readers are generally from the scientific world, so we get page after page of one example after another in support of his general thesis. This makes the book a very dry read. Nevertheless, Cremo’s exhaustive research into mind, matter and consciousness, into hidden corners of archaeological discoveries, into the worlds of apparitions, angels and aliens, and through a cross-cultural examination of the cosmic hierarchy makes Human Devolution a read that’s heavy with information.