Basic HTML Version
P
ROM EARL!EST
times, as fa r
back as ma n's recorded his–
tory and beyo nd, human
beings have been vitally concerned
about death and a poss ible hereaf–
ter.
Archaeological discoveries reveal
that Neanderthal man must have
pondered the nether world a nd a
possible Life a fter death. He dug
burial pits for his dead . He also pro–
vided his deceased with tools, weap–
ons a nd food - undoubtedly an
attempt to give th e departed, or the
departed's soul. necess ities for an
imagined afterlife.
But Neanderthal's burials were
simpl e compared to burials of later
a ncients. Burial extravaganzas un–
surpassed in scope and magnitud e
are recorded in the his tories of sorne
of the world 's pa s t great ci v–
il iza tions. Enormous treasures of
go ld and jeweled objects, riches of
al l kind s, some times se rvan ts,
horses, wagons a nd even ships, were
o ften e ntombed with kings a nd
queens to h elp them continue a la–
vishly high sta nda rd of living in a
fa ncied afterlife continued by their
souls.
One roya l tomb. cxcavated at the
site of the ancient Sumerian city of
Ur, revealed the remains of five
men, ten well-d ressed women. an
entire chariot, th e remai ns of two
asses a nd their grooms, a number of
o th er bodies, a large treasure, a nd
sorne weapons and tools. After a ll of
this were fo und soldi e rs, whole
wagons, and more grooms and court
ladies - sixty-two bodies in all. Fi–
na lly, furt her excavation uncovered
th e king in his burial chamber,
a long with three more servants.
In more recent times people have
been just as concerned about death
as the ancients but less concerned
about the hereafter.
The Fountain of Youth
Throughout the ages men have
spent long hours seeking to discover
a way to prolong huma n life and
maybe even to obtain eterna! life.
T he keys to longevity have been
thought lo be everything from
16
witches' incantations, mystica l herbs
a nd spices to certain food s and min–
erals, or sorne kind of regimented
diet. Ponce de Leon and o thers were
convinced there was a n actual foun–
tain of youth somewhere.
Ponce de Leon began his search
for this legendary fountain after be–
coming intoxica ted on new world
lndian stories about a wonderful
fountain of youth that rejuvenated
the old and streng th ened the weary,
supposedly hidden somewher e on
the isla nd of Bimi in the Ba hamas.
He helped orga ni ze a priva tely
s po nso red expediti o n, and on
Ma rch 3, 151 2. set out with his
group to find that founta in .
Sophisticated moderas, of course,
don' t believe in Ponce de Leon's
fountain of youth , but in a sense.
they are s til l sea rching for it.
They' re trying to find it in a differ–
ent way - through science, tech–
nology and medicine.
Aging movie stars go to plasti c
surgeons, spending large sums of
money fo r face Lifts, to erase the tell–
ing wrinkles of agc.
Those who dislike the knife turn
to beauty techni c ians who are
skilled in the art of skin stretching
or in the a bility to crea te a new
image by the use of makeup. Sorne
ingest or inj ect hormones. Others try
special baths or special diets.
Scientists and med ica! resea rch–
~rs,
on the other hand. a re trying lo
discover the exact ca uses of aging
and thereby learn how to cure it,
maybe even stop it.
Freeze Now, Live Later
A growing numbcr of people are
putting their hope in future medi–
cine, knowing full well tha t today's
medica! scientists a re still nowhere
near eradicating disease or find ing
the solution to aging. They' re sub–
mitting their bodies to Cryon ic sus–
pe nsion, a sort of mummifi.cation by
freez ing. Severa! Cryonics societies
now exist.
A Cryonics socie ty member's
body, instead of going through the
normal burial or cremation proce–
dures,
is
prepared for storage by
f
,
ARE
YOUR
AFFAIRS
O
ROER?
"To every thing there is a
sea–
son, and a time to every pur–
pose under the heaven: a time
to be born, and a time to
die ..
.. " -
Solomon.
by
Patrick
A.
Parnell
PLAIN TRUTH December 1974