Was There Advanced Technology in Past Civilizations?

"Popular culture has led us to believe that ancient man was primitive - originating from primates and steadily improving through a process of time and chance. But does that agree with reality? What does the evidence left behind from past cultures tell us? Was ancient man simple and primitive as we have been taught, or did the level of science and technology existing thousands of years ago rival, or even surpass, the level of ours today in the 20th century? ~Donald E. Chittick in The Puzzle of Ancient Man

The above book has really strengthened my faith. I began reading it a couple of weeks ago as my history curriculum, and I've really enjoyed it.

One of the main points that Dr. Chittick makes is that men did not begin living in caves and beating on their chests. Our race began with God. He formed and made us and Adam learned from Him. A little ways down the line: "His brother's name was Jubal: he was the father of all who play the harp and flute. Zillah also had a son, Tubal-Cain, who forged all kinds of tools out of bronze and iron." Genesis 4:21 and 22.

Hmmm... if a couple of men in only the fourth chapter in the beginning are creating things from brass and iron, as well as writing music and inventing musical instruments, people had to have had a high form of intellect. We know that we were created the way we are we did not evolve to the level we are at today. In The Puzzle of Ancient Man, the author gives a very convincing argument toward this end. He sites many different ancient civilizations.

When describing several wonders of the world, things that have stumped people for centuries, he has a whole different view of how they came about. He quotes respected and knowledgeable authors, professionals in those fields of study, Christian and secular. When referring to the huge, mile upon mile sketches drawn on the Nazca desert, he quotes an author,

"Regarding the methods employed, the designs of Nazca prove that their creators possessed a highly developed degree of abstract thought. The task of transferring to a desert the figure of a bird, or any other animal, is one that cannot be carried out by a mere enthusiast. It demands rather complicated geometric methods which alone can explain the extraordinary regularity and symmetry of the drawings as well as the proper proportions among their elements. It is quiet certain that the figures of Nazca were not the result of simple visual ad-hoc method."

This is one of many places that others have seen the anomaly of ancient man exhibiting technology that we never thought possible coming from those times. The tower of Babel, Stonehenge, The Incas and Mayans, the great pyramids and many other things are explained in this book.

We think we have come so far. And, really, the internet alone is an amazing thing. But, who is to say that people before us did not do equally amazing things? We have little of what was here before the flood. Imagine if today the flood happened. Everything was wiped away. Nothing was left but one family to go out and repopulate, reinvent and rebuilt. Yes, someone could have brought their lap top and ipod on board, but what if they weren't computer experts (Noah's family were carpenters, after all they spent their whole lives building an ark) and couldn't replicate them? These things would be lost. What they did have, they'd pass on to their children and their children's children, but each society would become experts at different things. "What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun." Ecclesiastes 1:9

It's so easy to go with the flow and say, "Sure, I believe in Creationism." But, you need to able to defend why you believe what you do. This book is a surefire way to build your knowledge and understanding as well as increase your ability to back your stance. It's a good read.