Name: ____________________________ Period: ________ Date: __________________
Recent Indian Archeological Find Could Rewrite History
By Lori Erbs
WARANGAL, INDIA, Feb 12, 2002 - Mysterious Sunken City Found Near Surat in the
Bay of Khambhat. Michael Cremo recently attended a meeting of ranking Indian
governmental officials at which Murli Monohar Joshi, Minister for Science and
Technology, confirmed the archeological find by an Indian oceanographic survey team.
Could the recent discovery of a sunken city off the Northwest Coast of India near Surat
revolutionize our concept of history?
Michael A. Cremo, historian of archeology and author of "Forbidden Archeology",
claims that all the history textbooks would have to be rewritten if this ancient find proves
to be of Vedic origin. Radiocarbon testing of a piece of wood from the underwater site
yielded an age of 9,500 years, making it four thousand years older than earliest cities now
recognized. According to Cremo, "The ancient Sanskrit writings of India speak of cities
existing on the Indian subcontinent in very primeval times. Although historians tend to
dismiss such accounts as mythological, these new discoveries promise to confirm the old
literary accounts." A leading authority on anomalous archeological evidence, Michael
Cremo is currently touring Indian universities and cultural institutions to promote the
release of "The Hidden History of the Human Race", the abridged Indian edition of
"Forbidden Archeology" (Torchlight Publishing 1993).
The underwater archaeological site that could be more than 9,000 years old
is about 30 miles west of Surat in the Gulf of Khambhat (Cambay) in northwestern India.
Asserting the recent find may be just the first step, he says, "It is likely that even older
discoveries will follow." The cultural identity of the people who inhabited the underwater
city is as yet unknown. Most historians believe that Sanskrit-speaking people entered the
Indian subcontinent about 3,500 years ago, from Central Asia. Other historians accept
India itself as the original home of Sanskrit-speaking people, whose lifestyle is termed
Vedic culture because their lives were regulated by a body of literature called the Vedas.
Until the recent Bay of Khambaht discovery, one of the oldest, advanced urban centers in
India investigated by archaeologists is Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro in present day
Pakistan along the Indus River. Will anything in the Bay of Khambaht discovery
resemble the structures of the very ancient and mysterious Harappan Civilization?
Harappa archaeology dig in Indus River valley showing heights and depths of structures,
many built on mounds 3500 years ago. Source: North Park University, Chicago, Illinois.
Directions: Respond to the following questions.
1. Where was the sunken city found? _____________________________________
2. What did the archaeologists use to determine the age of the city? _____________
__________________________________________________________________
3. How old is the city? _________________________________________________
4. Most historians believe that the first people entered the Indian subcontinent
_____________ years ago from _______________________________________.
5. What language did the people of ancient India speak? ______________________
6. BONUS: According to the article, approximately how old were the earliest cities
recognized prior to this discovery? _____________________________________