Was the telescope, a tool we attribute to Galileo in the 17th century, actually an innovation conceived millions of years ago?

The inception of human life on Earth is a topic cloaked in age-old questions and the responses vary based on individual beliefs. Most educational resources suggest that modern humans first evolved in Africa approximately 250,000 years ago. Mesopotamia bears evidence of relatively advanced political and social structures dating back to 4700 BC. However, most post-Neolithic societies, which we consider as civilizations, date back to around 3000 BC.

We've all seen film portrayals of Neanderthals residing in caves, manipulating stone tools, consuming raw meat, and harboring fear of fire. Even when civilizations began to emerge, people led relatively simple lives, largely devoid of advanced technology. For instance, toilet paper, as we know it today, was not introduced until the 6th century in China. Prior to this invention, people used various materials for personal hygiene.

Take, for example, the Romans who utilized a communal sponge affixed to a stick. The concept of sharing a sponge-on-a-stick in a communal setting seems rather strange to us today. Another example is the Greeks, who utilized stones and clay for this purpose. Early Americans, on the other hand, thought stones and clay were too rudimentary, so they opted for corn cobs. The evolution of human society and technology certainly paints an intriguing picture of our past.

I must apologize for the detour from Stone Age Neanderthals to the history of toilet habits. However, my original intention was to highlight how we seldom associate early civilizations, especially those dating back thousands of years, with significant advancements. What if I were to suggest that there's evidence of prehistoric civilizations exhibiting a level of advancement comparable to, or perhaps even surpassing, our modern societies? Such proof could potentially upend our scientific convictions. Paradigm shifts usually stir considerable debate, and the following discoveries, although contested, have been upheld by some scientists as undeniable evidence of human civilizations, tens of thousands or even millions of years ago, with a comparable or superior level of knowledge and culture to today's society. Hence, all I'm asking is for an open-minded approach.

In the Lascaux caves of West-Central France, there exist depictions over 14,000 years old, illustrating individuals with short hair, trimmed beards, tailored clothing, riding horseback, and attired in modern-style clothing. These images counter the stereotypical portrayal of prehistoric individuals clad in animal skins and resorting to clubs for defense. In 2002, these cave paintings were authenticated. Researchers, such as Michael Rappenglück of the University of Munich, argue that these significant artefacts are largely overlooked by contemporary science. Some of these cave stones are on display at Paris's Museum of Man, yet those clearly showcasing prehistoric people with a sophisticated culture and thought process are conspicuously absent.

When we discuss telescopes, Galileo's name often springs to mind, as he is recognized for inventing the telescope in 1609. However, a stone discovered in Peru, which some believe dates back as far as 65 million years, portrays a human figure holding a telescope and observing the stars. Around 10,000 stones exhibited in the Cabrera Museum in Ica, Peru, illustrate prehistoric humans donning headdresses, garments, and footwear. The stones depict scenes resembling organ transplants, cesarean sections, and blood transfusions, with some even illustrating encounters with dinosaurs.

While some individuals dismiss these stones as forgeries, Dr. Dennis Swift, an archaeology scholar from the University of New Mexico, presents in his book "Secrets of the Ica Stones and Nazca Lines," evidence supporting the stones' origins tracing back to pre-Columbian times. Swift asserts that one reason the stones were labeled as fraudulent in the 1960s was due to the prevailing belief that dinosaurs dragged their tails while walking. The stones, however, portrayed dinosaurs with elevated tails, leading to the conclusion that they were inaccurate. Subsequent research, however, suggests that dinosaurs likely carried their tails high, as represented on the stones. Thus, it is conceivable that advanced civilizations could have existed on Earth 65 million years ago, equipped with something as sophisticated as a telescope. While a telescope might not seem overly advanced by today's standards, we must remember that we have the benefit of contemporary knowledge and technology.

Here's an intriguing tale for you. In 1972, a French factory imported uranium ore from the Gabon Republic in Africa, only to make a startling discovery: the uranium had already been mined. The original site was identified as a massive, technologically advanced nuclear reactor, which astonishingly, was formed around 1.8 billion years ago and operated for a staggering 500,000 years.

Scientists from various fields convened to scrutinize this phenomenal finding. Many credited it as a miraculous yet natural occurrence. However, Dr. Glenn T. Seaborg, former head of the United States Atomic Energy Commission and a Nobel laureate, challenged this interpretation. He proposed that it was not a natural phenomenon, and hence, must be a man-made nuclear reactor.

He stated that for uranium to incite a reaction, incredibly specific conditions must be in place. The water required for this process must be of exceptional purity, far surpassing anything found naturally anywhere on the planet. Moreover, both the moderator and the fuel must be extremely pure. Even a minute level of contaminants, such as boron, can disrupt the reaction, bringing it to a halt. Furthermore, the element U-235, an isotope naturally found in uranium, is vital for nuclear fission to take place.

Numerous experts in reactor engineering have expressed skepticism about the uranium at the site being naturally rich enough in U-235 for a reaction to occur spontaneously. Adding to the mystery, it appears that this reactor was far more advanced than anything we're capable of constructing today. It spanned several miles, yet its thermal impact was constrained to about 131 feet (40 meters) in all directions. Remarkably, the radioactive waste is still encapsulated by the surrounding geological formations and hasn't dispersed beyond the mine site.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this matter. Could some of these stories be hoaxes, or perhaps scientifically explainable phenomena? Or do you entertain the idea that hundreds of thousands, millions, or even billions of years ago, civilizations might have existed on Earth that were far more advanced than ours?