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Extracts from 'Fingerprints of The Gods', by Graham Hancock, Mandarin Paperbacks, 1996

'Surely the most impressive and scholarly piece of work on the subject ever produced ... I suspect this book will come to be regarded as one of the intellectual landmarks of this decade.' - Literary Review

Note, Graham Hancock quotes many sources in this book. In the extracts below, Hancock quotes from: 'South American Mythology', by H. Osborne, and, 'An Introduction to the Study of Maya Hieroglyphs', by S. G. Morley.

VIRACOCHA - Description
Page 51 ....
A bearded man of medium height, dressed in a rather long cloak ... He was past his prime, with grey hair, and lean. He walked with a staff, and addressed the natives with love, calling them his sons and daughters. As he traversed all the land, he worked miracles. He healed the sick by touch. He spoke every tongue even better than the natives. They called him Thunupa or Tarpaca, Viracocha-ripacha, or Pachaccan ...
-- Graham Hancock

QUETZALCOATL - Description
Page 109 ....
'... the bearded, white-skinned deity named Quetzalcoatl, who was believed to have sailed to Mexico from across the seas in remote antiquity. Quetzalcoatl was credited with the invention of the advanced mathematical and calendrical formulae that the Maya were later to use to calculate the date of doomsday. He also bore a striking resemblance to Viracocha, the pale god of the Andes, who came to Tiahuanaco 'in the time of darkness' bearing the gifts of light and civilization.'
-- South American Mythology, H. Osborne, Hamlyn, 1968, page 74

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QUETZALCOATL - His Return
Pages 111/112 ....

'The great god Kukulkan, or Feathered Serpent, was the Mayan counterpart of the Aztec Quetzalcoatl, the Mexican god of light, learning and culture. In the Maya pantheon he was regarded as having been the great organiser, the founder of cities, the former of laws and the teacher of the calendar. Indeed his attributes and life history are so human that it is not improbable that he may have been an actual historical character, some great lawgiver and organizer, the memory of whose benefactions lasted long after death, and whose personality was eventually deified.'
-- An Introduction to the Study of Maya Hieroglyphs, S. G. Morley, Dover, 175

All the legends stated unambiguously that Quetzalcoatl / Kukulkan / Gucumatz / Votan / Izamana had arrived in Central America from somewhere very far away (across the 'Eastern Sea') and that amid great sadness he had eventually sailed off again in the direction whence he had come.

The legends added that he had promised solemnly that HE WOULD RETURN ONE DAY - a clear echo of Viracocha it would be almost perverse to ascribe to coincidence.

-- Graham Hancock

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