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Human origins remain unclear given studies of known fossils, concludes a new Science review. Today, our last common ancestor with the apes remains unknown as debate rages on for paleoanthropologists.

“The evolutionary history of apes and humans is largely incomplete,” states the review.

The study’s lead author, Sergio Almécija, a senior research scientist in the American Museum of Natural History’s Division of Anthropology, says there’s no agreement.

“When you look at the narrative for hominin origins, it’s just a big mess—there’s no consensus whatsoever,” said Almécija. “People are working under completely different paradigms, and that’s something that I don’t see happening in other fields of science.”

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The Core of the Human Origins Problem

Between about 9.3 million and 6.5 million years ago, it is believed humans diverged from the chimpanzee lineage. Today, chimpanzees and bonobos are our closest living relatives, sharing 99% of our DNA. That’s absolutely fact, although humans still seem intent to destroy our close relative’s natural environments.

Some scientists think there is a missing chimp-like knuckle-walking ancestor that led to hominins. Others suspect it’s more likely an ancestor evolved from a species resembling Miocene apes.

Top-Down versus Bottom-Up 

Taking a “top-down” approach, some scientists study chimpanzees to attempt to reconstruct hominin origins. Others use a “bottom-up” approach, focusing on the fossil record of mostly extinct apes. Now, reconciling these two approaches “remains at the core of the human origins problem,” the study states.

After the review, the scientists believe it’s “likely that the last shared ape ancestor had its own set of traits, different from those of modern humans and modern apes.” 

Therefore, an essential part of the picture remains missing.

Missing Part of the Picture

Study co-author Ashley Hammond says studying living apes isn’t likely to resolve the questions of human origins.

“Living ape species are specialized species, relicts of a much larger group of now extinct apes. When we consider all evidence—that is, both living and fossil apes and hominins—it is clear that a human evolutionary story based on the few ape species currently alive is missing much of the bigger picture,” said Hammond.

In order to unite disparate theories, the study suggests including everything known about hominins, living apes, and Miocene apes in the equation. Importantly, it’s necessary to look at everything to complete the picture.

“Early hominins likely originated in Africa from a Miocene LCA that does not match any living ape (e.g., it might not have been adapted specifically for suspension or knuckle-walking). Despite phylogenetic uncertainties, fossil apes remain essential to reconstruct the ‘starting point’ from which humans and chimpanzees evolved,” states the study.

Darwin’s Theory 150 Years Later

Some 150 years ago, Darwin introduced “In The Descent of Man,” suggesting our origins came from an unknown ancestor in Africa. Today, Darwin’s speculation has been backed up with many discoveries of extinct hominin fossils, but so far, none have proven to be the indisputable missing link. 

Darwin’s evolution studies once led to him being dubbed “the most dangerous man in England,” for upsetting religious ideas. However, he almost became religious clergy himself and at one time believed in the “strict and literal truth of every word in the Bible.” 

Then, an 1831 trip on the HMS Beagle to South America changed his life. After he arrived at the Galapagos, his studies of flora and fauna eventually led to the theory of evolution by natural selection. He presented overwhelming evidence in 1859 in The Origin of Species, criticized by clergy and even some of his own family but supported by important scientists.

Gradually, Darwin’s theory became widely accepted.

See more from Biographics

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Zecharia Sitchin and the Missing Link

Like Darwin, author Zecharia Sitchin is highly controversial but remains so after his death. Unlike Darwin, Stichin focused on translations of ancient Sumerian and Akkadian clay tablets, with no scientific evidence.

In seven books known as The Earth Chronicles, Sitchin suggested a radical human origins story. Humans were genetically engineered by extraterrestrials called the Anunnaki, who arrived on Earth 450,000 years ago.

“According to Sitchin, an advanced race of human-like extraterrestrials called the Anunnaki live on Nibiru and are the missing link in Homo sapiens evolution,” writes a critical review by Ohio State University.

Like today’s scientists, Sitchin believed human origins began in Africa, where the Anunnaki mined gold. Once they arrived, they genetically altered early humans, creating a suitable slave race for mining operations.

As outrageous as the ideas sound, it’s one idea why the missing link in human evolution remains as of yet undiscovered. If true, our ancestors got a jumpstart, a boost in intelligence by rather unnatural ET selection. However, it would not disprove Darwinian evolution but suggest that human intelligence got an evolutionary boost.

Before his death in 2010, Sitchin urged scientific DNA testing to confirm if his ideas could be true. He was willing to stake his life’s work to determine if extraterrestrials had indeed once lived among humans. However, the testing, thus far, has either not been done or has not been reported. Nevertheless, Sitchin’s work remains fascinating to ancient astronaut theorists.

Until we conclusively discover a missing link, human origins will remain a fascinating mystery. For some, religion and spirituality fill in the gaps, for others, science is the only acceptable method. Perhaps, as the scientists in the recent study believe, solving the mystery will require being open to everything in the picture.

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 Featured image: Image by jplenio via Pixabay, Pixabay License

Viracocha, the sun god, and supreme creator was sacred to the Inca Empire, as was gold. However, gold had no material value but represented Viracocha’s blood and the sweat of the sun.

For the Inca and pre-Inca cultures, Viracocha was a supreme creator who was non-binary, neither male nor female. Believers rarely used Viracocha’s name because of the sacred nature. Instead, the god could be referred to as Ilya (light), Ticci (beginning), and Wiraqocha Pacayacaciq (instructor).

In pre-Incan times, highly developed civilizations in South America were expert goldsmiths. To them, it was part of religious rituals. Unfortunately, this interest in gold led to their downfall after the Spanish conquistadors arrived. To the conquistadors, belief in Viracocha or other gods was heresy to be destroyed.

By 1533,  Francisco Pizarro executed the last Incan emperor, Atahualpa, strangling him after forcing him to melt down Inca gold and convert to Christianity. 

Long after the Incas disappeared, the sacred nature of gold has been all but forgotten. Instead, international Blood Gold (like blood diamond) smuggling operations devastate local communities where gold was once godlike.

An Extraterrestrial with Gold Blood 

To ancient astronaut theorists, Viracocha was an extraterrestrial with gold in their blood. As such, it sounds familiar to stories about the Anunnaki, the highest gods in the Mesopotamian pantheon.

According to interpretations of ancient tablets, extraterrestrials called the Anunnaki arrived on Earth to mine for gold. The pure element could help them save their home planet’s atmosphere. 

“On their planet Nibiru, the Anunnaki were facing a situation we on Earth may also soon face – ecological deterioration was making life increasingly impossible. There was a need to protect their dwindling atmosphere, and the only solution seemed to suspend gold particles above it, as a shield,” Sitchin stated.

Also, theorists believe monoatomic gold unlocked a means to immortality. For example, the ancient Egyptians ingested gold, believing it was the skin and flesh of the gods, quite similar to the Incas.

Thus, the idea of Virachocha’s gold blood is a connection to ancient beliefs across the globe. 

Since ancient times, gold was used as medicine for thousands of years. Today, people pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to eat dishes adorned with edible 23-karat gold. Even so, it has no taste or nutritional value. However, it’s not known what, if any, value ingesting gold or nanoparticles of gold would have. 

See more ideas about why extraterrestrials mined gold below from Igor Kryan:

Viracocha and the Anunnaki

Where did Viracocha come from? The god was sometimes described as wearing a beard, although generally the god’s face remained hidden behind the mask.

In some cases, Viracocha is referred to as an old bearded man with a long robe and staff. Thus, the depiction is wizard-like. Notably, the beard could also be seen as a symbol of water gods. Indeed, Viracocha translates to “Sea foam.”

According to some accounts, the god emerged from Lake Titicaca near the ancient site of Tiwanaku, home of the portal-like Gateway of the Sun.

There, a monolithic sculpture that may be Viracocha resembles a bearded Anunnaki. Its appearance draws connections to similar sculptures found across the world, such as Turkey and Easter Island.

However, the Gateway of the Sun depicts Viracocha standing powerfully with a rod in each hand, surrounded by 48 winged chasquis, or “god messengers.” Certainly, they draw a comparison to biblical angels and watchers from the Book of Enoch.

What do these staffs represent? Perhaps, it’s some kind of technology used to move the massive stones?

See the Gateway of the Sun from KuriaTV:

Nearby, below the Gateway, a series of alien-like stone heads adorn an enormous wall. Possibly, each head represents a different alien or human race. Indeed, one looks remarkably like modern depictions of a gray alien.

You can see the sculpture of Viracocha below from Brien Foerster:

Viracocha and Akhenaten 

To the Incas, the official religion was a sun cult, as in Egypt when Pharaoh Akhenaten created the first monotheistic state religion. 

For Akhenaten, the Aten sun disk was the creator of all nature, and he was the earthly representation. Meanwhile, the Inca worshipped the Inti Sun deity, second only to Viracocha, the creator of all nature and mankind. 

The alien-looking Akhenaten ruled for 17 years between 1353 B.C. and 1335 B.C. by conventional timelines.  Like Viracocha, Akenaten’s gender appears non-binary in many ancient depictions. Again, the similarities are noteworthy.

When the Chanca attacked, emperor Viracocha fled with his eldest son. Then, younger brother Pachacuti, with help from a mirrored sun disk, called on the god Viracocha to help him make a stand. 

In comparison, Viracocha may have entered the Inca pantheon under emperor Viracocha, who took the god’s name. 

According to legend, Viracocha responded to Pachacuti, creating an army of levitating stone soldiers called Pururaucas to defeat the Chanca invaders. Nearby, at the Puerta de Hayu Marca, legend holds that Incan priest-king Aramu Muru used a sun disk to open a portal and disappear.

A Flood and Promise to Return One Day

Believers said that Viracocha created the land and sky at Lake Titicaca. In some versions of the story, Viracocha created a race of people who were giants. However, they displeased the god, and they flooded the world to destroy the giants. Thus, we have a familiar flood story similar to the Epic of Gilgamesh and the Nephilim in the Bible.

After creating the Sun, Moon, and stars, Viracocha wandered the world to teach humans how to build civilization. Certainly, if Viracocha could roam around the world, it could explain why there are similar stories in places like Egypt and ancient Sumeria.

Finally, Viracocha departed across the Pacific but promised to return one day. In the meantime, the sun, Inti, and moon, Quilla would keep watch.

Perhaps one day, Viracocha will reappear, and the mysteries of the god’s powers will be revealed. If so, will we finally know why so many creation stories around the world are so similar?

Featured image: Wiracocha via Wikimedia Commons by Voir les informations sur l’auteur. Domaine public with Représentation du dieu Huiracocha à la Porte du Soleil de Tiahuanaco by Arthur Posnansky via Wikimedia Commons, Domaine public with screenshot via YouTube