Something happened in 1500 BCE. 1486 BCE to be exact. At the time, the existing civilisations all over the world were living in relative peace and harmony.
      That was until the 12P/Pons-Brooks comet came. It changed everything.
      In this book, author Graham Phillips sets out to prove that the advent of the comet caused a drastic change in human behaviour, social demeanour and religious beliefs. It created more aggressive, defensive and monotheistic societies.
      Phillips is the bestselling author of The Templars and the Ark of the Covenant and Atlantis and the Ten Plagues of Egypt.
      The rather startling thesis of this book is the result of close examination and research across many disciplines and existing records.
      An immediate question for the reader is, “Why hasn’t anyone come to this conclusion before?” A simple answer is that as experts gain knowledge in their specialities, their focus tends to be more convergent. Phillips shows how a determined, open-minded divergent view can produce such results. This is an example of the legendary ‘big picture’ in action.
      Throughout the ages, signs and wonders in the sky have always foreshadowed changes. Many consider comets to be a very negative sign of disruptive times ahead.
      For cults and interest groups, comets may even indicate the end times. We saw this most recently with the mass suicide of the Heaven’s Gate cult in the late 1990s during the close pass of the Hale-Bopp comet.
      Many ordinarily rational, clear thinking people were convinced to simply lie down and die so their souls could meet the comet which would transport them to their gated version of Heaven. This was quite tragic to us on the outside of the cult but clearly different to those who believed. Only they know if their chariot arrived for them.
      The material in this work is well-organised. The author’s style is very readable and accessible to non-experts. For those wishing to delve deeper into source materials, there are excellent endnotes and a full bibliography. Relevant colour and black and white plates provide illustrative support.
        Among the civilisations that are examined are the well-known megalithic cultures of England, France and Northern Europe, the pre-Olmec and Olmecs, the Mehgarh, Harappan, Sumerian, Egyptian, and China’s Erlitou cultures.
      The megalithic societies were loosely organised and lived in scattered villages and settlements. From the evidence they appear to have cooperated on their monument building. Surprisingly, there is no evidence from megalithic cultures of weapons of war. Knives, axes and such were for cultivation and building, as well as ritual purposes. This evidence holds for what is known of the other early cultures.
      The author is not stating that there were never skirmishes or outbursts of aggression anywhere, but simply that aggression and warfare were not a common and usual part of the cultures.
      In pictorial and written records there was an astronomical phenomenon around 1500 BCE that coincides with the extremely close pass of the 12P/Pons-Brookscomet. Phillips gathers his evidence to show that at that time societies began to fortify themselves in towns, cities and forts. They also started making serious weapons. Many invasions and massacres occurred.
      There was also a change in religious beliefs. This period saw the rise of many monotheistic religious systems. Over many cultures an emblem of a winged disk appeared in writings and pictures. The author shows by careful analysis that this winged disk could only represent a huge comet that was larger than anything ever seen before (apart from the Sun, of course).
      From Phillips’ researches, it is clear that once human societies became more aggressive there was no going back; we have stayed that way apart from some sporadic outbreaks of peace. Could a single comet do that?
      One of the most fascinating sections in the book is that on the nature of comets. 12P/Pons-Brooksis due to return to our skies in 2024. Astronomers are uncertain how close it may pass to the inner solar system as it has an erratic and unpredictable orbit. It appears that it is becoming unstable and could possibly break up.
      I found this book to be an alarming and quite scary read. I certainly did not have time or the means to track the evidence as did Graham Phillips. But I have to acknowledge his work and be aware that changes do happen on earth when there are changes in the sky. When large events happen in our galactic neighbourhood, how can we remain unaffected?
      In recorded history, John Smith, suitor of the American Indian princess Pocahontas, was spared by an eclipse, which he knew was calculated to appear near noon on the day he was to be executed. Using this sky borne event, he demonstrated a power beyond what the tribe knew to be humanly possible.
      Do these kinds of things affect entire civilisations? I’d be more than happy to add my affirmative to those who believe they do.