I think it would be useful to discuss the issues surrounding the possibility of a previous civilization on earth, however ridiculous that might be. How easy is it for erosion and tectonic processes to erase evidence of a civilization? Human civilization has created such large physical impressions on this planet that many instances would remain as fossils, even in hundreds of millions of years from now. An intelligent civilization makes such a large physical impression on a planet so early in its existence (as we have) that surely evidence of humans will exist for an incredibly long time to come.

This is the issue I explore in my new novel Tigerworld (sorry for the plug), in which humans become extinct in biological war, and after a longish arbitrary gap of 130 million years tigers become the next civilization. But when they discover the fossilized remains of intelligent apes and their artefacts, this causes great upset to their society. Please wander over to www.tigerworld.tv if you have a spare minute and mull the issues.

Thanks,

Dominic :-)

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I think it would be useful to discuss the issues surrounding the possibility of a previous civilization on earth, however ridiculous that might be. How easy is it for erosion and tectonic processes to erase evidence of a civilization? Human civilization has created such large physical impressions on this planet that many instances would remain as fossils, even in hundreds of millions of years from now. An intelligent civilization makes such a large physical impression on a planet so early in its existence (as we have) that surely evidence of humans will exist for an incredibly long time to come.

This is the issue I explore in my new novel Tigerworld (sorry for the plug), in which humans become extinct in biological war, and after a longish arbitrary gap of 130 million years tigers become the next civilization. But when they discover the fossilized remains of intelligent apes and their artefacts, this causes great upset to their society. Please wander over to www.tigerworld.tv if you have a spare minute and mull the issues.

Thanks,

Dominic :-)

In David Brin's "Uplift" series of novels, the normal history of an intelligent species is to be selected by an older race for Uplift, spend many generations undergoing genetic manipulation while being the servants of this older race, emerging as a race in its own right (with the legal power to Uplift other species), and finally "retiring" as the species gets too intellectual and mushy to survive a determined enemy (they either mysteriously disappear on their own or get wiped out).

An unlatered species that escapes the notice long enough to become intelligent on its own is called a Wolfling race, and they are scorned as mal-adjusted to galatic society and incapable of contributing to "real" understanding. In this saga, Humans are a wolfling race... not only did they become sentient but they even got into space on their own. The discovery of aliens is traumatic for Humans, but it is also traumatic for the established order.

Many of the established aliens presume that some unidentified race must have been Upligting Humans in secret. Conservation traditions would have encouraged these aliens to build their cities near tectonic subduction zones so that the ruins would be utterly destroyed when they left. This belief helps the aliens cope with Humans' intellect, since then it wouldn't be completely natural.

Various scenes within the book identify several Earth species as "pre-sentient:" chimpanzees, dogs, dolphins, and gorillas. I particularly like the parts of The Uplift War when several chimpanzees were looking up to a brightest-mind-of-her-generation chimp who aspired to average Human intelligence (a narrative from someone who doesn't understand what's going on makes the reader think).

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No animals were harmed in the making of the above post... much.