The Sumerian cuneiform deciphering skills of Zecharia Sitchin, a linguist in command of many ancient languages who has set the scientific world on its ear with his astounding interpretations of ancient writings. In 1976, Sitchin's first book, The Twelfth Planet, began an odyssey that has literally transformed the field of ancient history; in 1993 came the sixth book in his Earth Chronicle series, When Time Began. Among other mindboggling assertions, this book links the complex calendar of Stonehenge and the puzzling ruins of Tiahuanacu in Peru to the ancient culture of the Sumerians, and by extension, to the Annunaki. These are the beings Sitchin insists not only created the Sumerian culture, but who also genetically created human beings as we know them. And yes, they live on this mysterious 12th planet, Nibiru.

To date, Sitchin has deciphered more then 2,000 clay cylinders from that ancient land on the Persian Gulf that existed some 6,000 years ago. Some of these fragments, which date to 4,000 B.C., are in museums around the world. One fragment in particular, presently in Germany, indicates that Earth is the seventh planet, counting in from Pluto. The time frame here is four millennia before modern astronomy confirmed the existence of Pluto as an actual planet in our solar system. So how did an ancient race of people know this fact? Sitchin says it is because these ancient people did not come from Earth, but from Nibiru. Profound family squabbles eventually caused the Annunaki to abandon planet Earth, leaving human beings to fend for themselves. These early humans would never possess the ability to travel among the stars like their creators, nor would they possess the immortality of their creators. Eons later, however, we humans finally have sent an intelligently designed satellite probe beyond the confines of our solar system. Are we repeating our past? This is but one of the perplexing questions Sitchin investigates in the Earth Chronicles. Not only an eminent archeologist, Sitchin is also a formidable analyst of ancient cultures, in fact, perhaps the best ever.

His explicative comparisons of similar but disparate mythologies provide a fuller understanding of world religions. Among other things, Sitchin's investigations indicate that there may be an outpost in orbit around Mars preventing current humans from getting there (a fact verified by both U.S. and Russian space probe problems in that neighborhood). But the primary focus of this impressive research is ancient Sumer. The decipherment of that culture's clay tablets, buried for millennia, reveals roots that stretch all the way back to 450,000 B.C. The reason Sitchin was motivated to learn to read cuneiform tablets was his initial curiosity as a
 

boy concerning the meaning of "Nefilim", an enigmatic group mentioned in the Old Testament. Translated, "Nefilim" means "those who came down." "Came down from where" is the starting point that makes the Earth Chronicles better reading than any Sherlock Holmes mystery. In order to unlock the mystery, Sitchin takes on a journey all around the world to ancient cities and former civilizations.

It would be impossible to do justice to his research in such a brief review as this one; however, there are some very significant findings on the existence of this other race of people. Perhaps the most compelling is the "face on Mars," the structure in the area called Cydonia on the Red Planet. What is it? If the relationship of the face on Mars is analyzed for its distance to other pyramidal structures also discovered on Mars, the geometric relationship is found to be identical to the distances of the Egyptian Sphinx and the pyramids in the surrounding areas of Egypt. Sitchin concluded the placement of these pyramids indicates that they served as landing markers for the Annunaki after they entered the Earth's atmosphere from outer space. Sitchin also has asserted that the early pyramids were not designed by the Egyptians. NBC-TV aired a program on Nov.10, 1993 entitled "The Mystery of the Sphinx", indicating that the Sphinx is 2,000 years older than previously thought. This corroborates Sitchin's findings that someone other than the Egyptians designed the pyramids.

One astounding assertion after another has made Sitchin the most controversial writer of our time because he challenges everything we thought we knew about human civilization. It's easy to dismiss Sitchin's research in the same way that other people dismiss UFO's, Eric Von Daniken and countless other researchers who claimed to have found evidence for extraterrestrial visitors to this planet. But Sitchin is well aware of this devil's advocacy, and vaporizes the arguments of skeptics with solid scholarship, including the most rigorous translations of Sumerian text, Vedic tales and excerpts from the original Greek and Hebrew versions of the Bible. This ability to translate many languages is no small achievement. Those of us who will never possess the ability to decipher 6,000-year-old clay tablets must trust that Sitchin has done his job accurately. But his sources reveal an utter integrity, including the finest, most respected citations and references imaginable.

The two most recent individuals to pay attention to Sitchin were Colin Powell and Norman Schwarzkopf, the American Generals who were key figures in the recent Gulf War. The landing place of the Annunaki was in an area once called Eridu, now called Southern Iraq. The main reason Saddam Hussein was not captured was because he was holding out in an ancient step pyramid constructed by one of those early civilizations mentioned by Sitchin, and which the Americans were loathe to bomb, because of their inestimable historical value. Once the gloss of the media is removed from concensus reality, an entirely new picture emerges as to who knows what concerning what Sitchin has uncovered. This writer may never know who knows what, but the circumstantial evidence in the Earth Chronicles concerning the Annunaki is absolutely compelling.

Answer: In the Southern skies. The fact becomes incontrovertible once you study Sitchin. He points out that NASA has located a massive black object in the Southern skies, and the recent reactivation of the telescopes in Argentina and Chile seems to indicate a renewed interest in that portion of the heavens. Assimilating all the findings is really beyond the ability of any single person; however, a dedicated team could assemble all the relevant information. Though the information would necessarily be classified top secret, Sitchin has in fact laid out all the secrets in the Earth Chronicles. It is now up to us to revamp our own understanding of who we are as a species called humans so we can, as Sitchin says, "be more prepared when the Anunnaki arrive."

Many of us will never travel all over the world to visit the ancient observatories. However, Sitchin has, and what he has found concerning the placement of these observatories on the surface of the Earth also is startling. All the observatories are inclined to the Southern hemisphere. They also are on the same Earth latitude. In his latest book, we learn that many of these observatories measure exact lunar and solar risings and settings with an accuracy unmatched by any modern measuring equipment. The field of astronomy and astrology are made completely understandable by Sitchin, who shows that the concept of "Divine Time" was something these ancient astronomer priests created to predict the arrival of their creators. Farfetched, to be sure, but when logic and patience are afforded to Sitchin's conclusions, one comes away with the realization that humanity has been misled in regards to our actual origins.

The biochemical research is especially haunting. Our entire DNA structure is like a Contact time-release capsule. When we were originally programmed, our basic DNA structure was limited to a double-helix strand. The triggering mechanism that enables us to function as we do is affected by stellar radiation. We are now at a place in the orbit around our central galaxy where the radio frequencies of the center of the galaxy, as well as many other star systems, are communicating new information to us. The release of this information, according to Sitchin, coincides with the next arrival of the 12th planet. The government's attempt to construct a Freedom Space Lab will be aimed to ascertain the whereabouts of Nibiru.

The big question, of course, is what will these beings whom we have confused with gods think of us now? In the past we were not granted the same powers they had, but as a result of thousands of years of genetic selection, we have in some ways become like gods. Most all of the ancient languages have now been deciphered, and the 22 Hebrew letters have been found to contain information based on light-generating systems. Our understanding of torodial force fields, fibonacci series, fractals and open topological vector spaces have been expressed in the language of mathematics. Star fields begin to look more like computer-generated printouts than random points of light in the night sky. If there is one thing Sitchin has definitely accomplished, it has been to expand the human imagination. The legendary cultures of Atlantis and Lemuria no longer apear fantastic, but as efforts of other races to survive on planet Earth. The SETI project, the goverment's official Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence has been canceled, and then reactivated by a private consortium of companies. The most recent Mars probe completely disappeared. The answer given to these enigmas are unsatisfactory, when weighted against the evidence that another race of people is about to visit our planet, as they apparently have many times in the past. Remember, it takes Earth one year to orbit the sun. It takes Nibiru 3,600 years, according to Sitchin. Therefore, one year for the Annunaki is equal to 3,600 Earth years. He has completed all this research, he says, to prepare us, the human race, for the return of our creators.

The work of Zecharia Sitchin is without question the most mind-stretching cosmology available to date. Furthermore, it appears unchallengeable academically.

I personally recommend everyone to begin reading Zecharia Sitchin immediately.