Graham Hancock (born Aug 2, 1950) is a British writer and journalist. His books include Lords of Poverty, The Sign and the Seal, Fingerprints of the Gods, Keeper of Genesis (US name: The Message of the Sphinx), The Mars Mystery, Heaven’s Mirror (with wife Santha Faiia), Underworld: The Mysterious Origins of Civilization, and Talisman: Sacred Cities, Secret Faith (with co-author Robert Bauval). He also wrote and presented the Channel 4 documentaries Underworld: Flooded Kingdoms of the Ice Age and Quest for the Lost Civilisation.
His most recent book, Supernatural: Meetings With the Ancient Teachers of Mankind, was released in the UK in October, 2005 and in the US in 2006. In it, Hancock examines paleolithic cave art in the light of David Lewis-Williams’ neuropsychological model, exploring its relation to the development of the fully-modern human mind.

Hancock’s chief areas of interest are ancient mysteries, stone monuments or megaliths, ancient myths and astronomical/astrological data from the past. One of the main themes running through many of his books is the possible global connection with a ‘mother culture’ from which he believes all ancient historical civilizations sprang. Although his books have sold more than five million copies worldwide and have been translated into twenty-seven languages, his methods and conclusions have found little support among academics. Often criticised for being a pseudoarchaeologist, Hancock, who freely admits he has no formal training in archaeology, sees himself as providing a counterbalance to what he perceives as the ‘unquestioned’ acceptance and support given to orthodox views by the education system, the media, and by society at large.

Basing his argument on the 1958 book The Earth’s Shifting Crust by Prof. Charles Hapgood, Hancock argues that sections of the earth’s crust are capable of suddenly shifting their location relative to the underlying mantle. He points to evidence of temperate plants and animals that were apparently “flash-frozen” in areas that are now frigid but were once much warmer. In approximately 11,600 BC, according to Hancock, a sudden cataclysm shifted Antarctica to the south by about 2000 miles. Hancock feels that prior to this event Antarctica may have supported a human civilization whose habitations, including cities, are now buried in Antarctic ice. Citing similarities in the lore of the world’s ancient civilizations, Hancock argues that mariners representing this ancient civilization then travelled the world to found the world’s ancient civilizations.