The Mystery of Handbag Carvings Across Ancient Cultures

The mysterious handbag carvings across ancient cultures may symbolize knowledge bearers who shaped civilization after a cataclysmic event.

### The Ancient Handbag Mystery: A Global Symbol of Advanced Knowledge and Civilization
* 👜 The handbag symbol appears in ancient carvings from Mesopotamia to Mesoamerica, Asia, Africa, Europe, and North America, in cultures separated by **centuries and thousands of miles**.
* 🌍 Theories about the handbags range from **mundane objects** to representations of the **cosmos, time travel, or advanced ancient technology**.
* 🌐 Graham Hancock's theory suggests that the handbags symbolize a **brotherhood of knowledge bearers** who spread advanced knowledge and founded civilizations around the world.
* 🏛 The Seven Sages of Mesopotamian myth, depicted with handbags, are linked to the **founding of civilization** in the region.
* 🌊 The flood myths of Mesopotamia and other cultures may be connected to the **destruction of an ancient civilization**, with survivors spreading knowledge to **restart civilization**.
* 🪐 Gobekli Tepe's Pillar 43, possibly depicting a comet strike during the Younger Dryas, may provide a **time stamp for these events**.
* 🔍 The handbags may symbolize the tablets of knowledge buried before the flood, which survivors were instructed to **retrieve and use to rebuild civilization**.
* The handbags may represent the **tools or symbols** of this ancient brotherhood of knowledge bearers who traveled the world, founding civilizations and spreading **advanced knowledge**.

At first glance, it may seem ordinary enough – a simple handbag symbol appearing in the carving of an ancient culture. And yet, take a step back, and realize that this symbol appears in works from Mesopotamia to Mesoamerica, Asia and Africa, Europe and North America, even on islands in the middle of the ocean. What are these handbags, and why are they depicted again and again in cultures separated by centuries and thousands of miles, cultures which never came in contact with each other, and in most cases, were not even aware of each other's existence? The question has puzzled archaeologists for generations. Recently, an answer has emerged, one which not only explains what the handbags are and why they appear across cultures, but which changes everything we thought we knew about human history. Settle in; in this video, we'll lay it all out, and perhaps, finally solve the mystery once and for all.

The first thing to understand when talking about the mysterious handbag carvings is that they don't appear in just a handful of places or in just one region, but literally all over the world. Start in Mesopotamia, where the handbags appear in the works of the Sumerians, Assyrians, and Babylonians, the Mitanni and the Phoenician Empires, and the ancient Armenians. Head across the ocean, and the handbags appear in Mesoamerican works which predate the Aztecs, Mayans, and Incas, including the Olmec and Toltec Empires, and the ancient tribes of Veracruz. They appear in Asia, in the works of Indian Hindus and the ancient tribes of Indonesia. They were depicted by the Etruscans in Italy, the Hittite Empire in Turkey, and the ancient Bosnians. They even appear in the Coso petroglyphs.

created by indigenous North Americans, and at the mysterious 12,000-year-old site known as Gobekli Tepe. We could go on, but the point is clear – the handbags are everywhere. The question is, why? Why are all of these ancient cultures depicting the same thing? Of course, the simplest of explanations, and the one usually proposed by the most unimaginative of mainstream scientists, is that there is no mystery at all – the handbag carvings are exactly that, mundane carvings of simple handbags, not anything special or mysterious. In some ways, this explanation makes sense, if you don't think about it too deeply. Of course, broadly speaking, bags are a simple object that every culture had, so surely it is possible that every culture depicted them, as they might depict the use of a bowl, a shovel, or a chair. And yet, the handbags found in carvings around the world

do not simply appear as mundane objects in everyday use. Again and again, they appear in the hands of deities and as parts of mythical scenes. It's not as though these mythical scenes are filled with other everyday items, so if the handbags are merely handbags, why depict them there in the first place? Do they not seem out of place amongst gods and myths? Moreover, it's not just that handbags appear in carvings across cultures, but that they almost always seem to be a specific handbag. Think about it: if every culture used bags, then certainly these bags appeared in a near-infinite number of shapes, sizes, and designs. And yet, across cultures, the handbags found in these carvings look almost identical. Often, they're even held the same way, in the palm with the fingers upturned. Think about other things which near every culture created, and how differently they can appear –

from weapons to vehicles, to pottery, to gods, to music, and so on. Suggesting that the handbag carvings found in cultures across the world are simply handbags seems to raise more questions than answers… There are some who believe that there is a deeper meaning behind the handbag carvings, that in fact they represent an ancient depiction of the cosmos. In this theory, the semi-circle which appears as the bag's handle represents the hemisphere of the sky, while the solid square base underneath, the body of the bag, represents the Earth. It has been proposed that there is even a spiritual connotation to this, the meeting of earth and sky representing the unification of the material and non-material elements of existence, the connection between the divine and the earthly. And yet, most of the cultures where handbag carvings appear are known to have possessed nuanced cosmological understanding.

and well-developed religious traditions, both of which they depicted in incredibly detailed works of art and construction. To suggest that these cultures would depict the cosmos, or mythical concepts as a semi-circle and a square, simply doesn't match up with how they represented these things. On top of that, it again does not explain why essentially the same handbag appears again and again. Surely these cultures all had different conceptions of the cosmos, different conceptions about the material and non-material. Why then would they all have the same simplistic depiction? It seems that surely an explanation must go further. And indeed, there are those who have gone much further. For some, the handbags do not look like any old bag, but like modern designer handbags you see today. This has led to the emergence of the theory that they look like modern designer handbags because, well, they are... held in the hands of time travelers who visited ancient civilizations.

At very least, this would solve the problem of the handbag being depicted the same way again and again. Admittedly, this is a theory which may trend towards the more unbelievable of conspiracies. Although, based on some of the things which have been found depicted at ancient sites, you can hardly blame people for suggesting the hypothesis. Again and again, carvings have been found at ancient sites which appear to depict things the ancients simply hadn't invented yet. For example, does this ancient Greek carving show a woman using a laptop, complete with cable ports? Does this carving at an ancient Hindu temple show a woman using a cellphone, and another using a tablet with a touchscreen stylus pen? And what of this carving from the Cathedral of Salamanca, constructed centuries ago, which appears to show an astronaut? Or the so-called 'Helicopter Hieroglyphs' at the ancient Abydos Temple of Seti,

which appear to show a helicopter, submarine, and spaceship. Perhaps those explanations which claim time travel should not be written off so easily. But that's a story for another day. For now, let's return to the handbag carvings. Time travel is not the only wild explanation… Some believe they have solved the mystery of the handbags by looking closer at this Assyrian relief. Notice how the figures holding handbags stand around the Tree of Life. Some have suggested that this Tree of Life looks suspiciously like an operational Tesla Coil, a device invented in the late 1800s by Nikola Tesla designed to wirelessly transmit electricity. And if we go to Egypt, ancient depictions of Tesla coils can be found time and time again, always at the most important temples. In fact, many believe that one of the most well-known symbols in ancient Egypt, the ankh symbol, is an actual depiction of a Tesla coil technology.

Could this be possible? And if so, might the handbags the figures hold represent some sort of tool to tap into this energy supply, like a rechargeable battery which uses the electricity the Tesla Coil is creating to power an advanced ancient civilization? Following this theory, one might look closer at this Olmec carving of the god Quetzalcoatl. Note how Quetzalcoatl, which means Feathered Serpent, cradles a man holding a mysterious handbag. Does this man not appear to be sitting inside some sort of machine, perhaps at the controls of a flying device? Given the prominent placement of the handbag, is it possible that this was the energy source powering this machine? The question becomes even more interesting when you examine this carving from Veracruz, Mexico, created at about the same time. Does this not look eerily similar to a modern astronaut carrying a personal life support system?

Here, we begin to go further and further down a rabbit hole. Could the handbags carved by cultures across the world really hold the secrets of some sort of advanced ancient power source or technology? Of course, this theory, like the other explanations for the handbags already mentioned, sits in the realm of speculation. There is, however, another theory, one rooted not in speculation, but in the records of the ancients, an explanation which ties everything together and offers a new history of humanity. To understand this theory, we must begin by looking closer at some of the individual handbag carvings found in diverse cultures around the world, and looking not at the handbags, but who is holding them… We can start with the two depictions we've already mentioned. First, Quetzalcoatl, the ancient Olmec god who was taken up by the Mayans, Aztecs, and Incas, and many other cultures in Central and South America.

According to ancient Mesoamerican myth, Quetzalcoatl was a figure who appeared sometime deep in the ancient past and taught the primitive inhabitants of the region advanced knowledge and skills like agriculture, engineering, laws, and religion, in effect, becoming the founder of all ancient Central and South American civilizations. Meanwhile, look again at the figures in the Assyrian relief who stand around the Tree of Life holding handbags. Note first that the Tree of Life itself is one of the most important motifs in ancient Assyrian art, and indeed in many of the world's mythological, religious, and philosophical traditions, seen as a source of creation, a symbol connecting the divine and the earthly, a source of knowledge. But look closer, and notice what else the figures are holding in their hands – pinecones. For the Assyrians, and indeed across many cultures, the pinecone serves as a symbolic representation of human enlightenment and spiritual consciousness.

connected to fertility and eternal life. In fact, the pineal gland, that small pea-shaped gland in the center of our brains, which has long been seen by numerous cultures as our biological Third Eye and the seat of the soul, was named after the pinecone. Taken together, these two reliefs present a theme of knowledge and enlightenment, of creation and a connection to the divine. But we can go beyond just these two depictions. Jump over to India, and note the handbag carving at the Hindu Brihadeeswarar Temple. Who is seated in front of the handbag? That would be Shiva, considered the supreme god in Hinduism. According to Hindu tradition, Shiva was the first deity to arrive on Earth, the god who creates, protects, and transforms the universe, the creator of all things. Or, look to Indonesia and the island of Sumba, where the handbag appears as a depiction of Panji.

In Indonesian tradition, Panji is the hero of a series of stories collectively known as the Panji Tales, a significant influencer of Indonesian culture for centuries. Within the stories, Panji completes deeds which are traditionally ascribed to mythical ancestors. The stories are said to represent aspects of creation and life, while some see symbolic meaning referencing the way to reach communication with the gods. We can even return to the work of the Assyrians, and note that the figures depicted around the Tree of Life are not the only place where handbags appear. Often, they are seen being held by the fish-god Oannes, a seminal figure who exists under different names across Mesopotamian cultures and traditions. According to myth, Oannes was a figure who appeared sometime deep in the ancient past and taught primitive Mesopotamians advanced knowledge, constructing the earliest foundations of civilization. By now, you may be sensing a trend.

It's not just that handbags appear across cultures; it's that again and again, they appear alongside figures associated with knowledge and enlightenment, with creation and the foundation of civilization, with the relationship between gods and humans. Surely, this consistent connection cannot be by chance. There are some who say it isn't, and indeed, that the connection goes further than anybody imagined. In fact, the pieces of the puzzle were put together by none other than the enigmatic author and historian Graham Hancock. For Graham Hancock, it started the same way it did for all of us, with the realization that the same handbag symbol kept appearing in cultures around the world. Almost by accident, his research took him from the ancient site at Gobekli Tepe and its famous Pillar 43, to the Olmec carving of Quetzalcoatl, to the Mesopotamian depictions of the fish-god Oannes.

It was when he began to look more closely into the ancient story of Oannes that an incredible explanation started to reveal itself, and the mystery began unravelling. According to Mesopotamian myth, Oannes was not just any god, but the leader of a group of beings known as the Seven Apkallu, or Seven Sages. In short order, Hancock realized that these Seven Sages had almost always been depicted holding the infamous handbag. Luckily, a detailed description of the Seven Sages existed in the work of 3rd-century Babylonian priest Berossos, and it was to this work which Hancock turned. According to Berossos, the Seven Sages had come to Mesopotamia at a time when the early humans who existed in the region lived in a lawless manner, like beasts of the field. They brought these primitive humans advanced knowledge. As Berossos wrote,

the Seven Sages gave them an insight into letters and sciences, and every kind of art […] taught them to construct houses, to found temples, to compile laws, and explained to them the principles of geometrical knowledge […] made them distinguish the seeds of the earth, and showed them how to collect fruits; in short, [the Seven Sages] instructed them in everything which could tend to soften manners and humanize mankind. In other words, the Seven Sages were no less than the earliest founders of early Mesopotamian culture, the builders of the cradle of civilization which would found the modern world. With this in mind, Hancock began to wonder if perhaps the handbags these Seven Sages were consistently portrayed holding might be some sort of identifier, like a badge, for these knowledge bearers. As he wrote, could these containers be the symbols of office of an initiatic brotherhood — far traveled and deeply ancient,

with roots reaching back into the remotest prehistory? Might these not have served the same sort of function as Masonic handshakes today – providing an instant means of identifying who is an 'insider' and who is not? More importantly, Hancock questioned, what might have been the purpose of such a brotherhood? The idea of an ancient brotherhood began to develop further when Hancock turned to ancient Mesoamerican texts on the god Quetzalcoatl, who, remember, was said to have brought advanced knowledge and skills to the primitive inhabitants of Mesoamerica sometime deep in the past, in effect, founding the great Central and South American civilizations. Looking deeper into the myth, however, Hancock realized that there was more than that. During the 16th century, a Spanish missionary named Bernardino de Sahagun recorded the traditions of the Aztecs during his journeys to the New World.

His work gives a first-hand insight into the Aztec culture, which had developed from the much older traditions that had first spoken of Quetzalcoatl. Incredibly, de Sahagun's records show that like Oannes and his Seven Sages, Quetzalcoatl did not arrive alone, but at the head of a brotherhood of sages who, together, brought knowledge and skills to the unsettled and uncivilized. For Hancock, this made things clear and answered his questions about his mysterious 'brotherhood.' In his words, in both Mexico and Mesopotamia where myths and traditions have survived in connection with the imagery and symbolism, we are left in no doubt as to what the purpose was. Stated simply it was to teach, to guide and to spread the benefits of civilization. In both the stories of Oannes and Quetzalcoatl, the implication is the same –

that early humans were primitive and nomadic hunter-gatherers before a group of sages arrived and founded an evolution to modern agricultural civilization. It is interesting that the oldest site where handbag carvings have been found is also the site where scientists say this evolution from nomadic hunter-gatherer to settled agricultural civilization was first taking place. Gobekli Tepe, in modern Turkey, with its huge megaliths and intricate carvings, has been carbon dated between 9,600-8,200 BCE, right around the time scientists say the first forms of agriculture were arising. In fact, this was right at the time humanity began to take a sudden and massive leap forward. Consider, before Gobekli Tepe, modern humans had been around for about 190,000 years, making only slow, incremental progress. Then, suddenly, in rapid succession, humans invented agriculture, metal work, writing, trade, the wheel.

Because Gobekli Tepe has been shown to have been a year-round settlement, meaning it was not simply a monument built by nomadic hunter-gatherers in the middle of nowhere, but the heart of an established civilization, it can be seen as one of the earliest starting points of this dramatic evolution. As Hancock looked at Gobekli Tepe's most famous carving, Pillar 43, he began to wonder if the handbags carved at the top represented the arrival of the same knowledge bearers in the stories of Oannes and Quetzalcoatl. Is it possible that humanity's unexplained leap forward was the result of a group of sages bringing advanced knowledge around the world, teaching primitive humans and stimulating their evolution? Of course, as Hancock put together this theory, he realized its implications were immense. In his words, At the very least it would mean that some as yet unknown

and unidentified people somewhere in the world had already mastered all the arts and attributes of a high civilization more than twelve thousand years ago in the depths of the last Ice Age and had sent out emissaries around the world to spread the benefits of their knowledge. Could this be possible? Could an advanced ancient civilization older than any on record have spread out around the world bringing knowledge to primitive peoples and founding the modern civilizations we read about in the history books today? And if so, larger questions arise – who was this civilization, and where did they go? To look for answers to these questions, Hancock again returned to the ancient story of Oannes and the Seven Sages. For thousands of years, the Seven Sages tutored humanity, founding great cities and a thriving civilization, until, eventually, humanity fell out of harmony with the universe and gods, leading to the god Enlil, the king, supreme lord, father and creator,

deciding to wipe humans out with a flood. As Berossos records, In those days the world teemed, the people multiplied, the world bellowed like a wild bull, and the great god was aroused by the clamor. Enlil heard the clamor and he said to the gods in council, 'The uproar of mankind is intolerable and sleep is no longer possible by reason of the babel.' So the gods agreed to exterminate mankind. Before the flood can take place, Enlil's brother Enki warns one man, Zisudra, instructing him to build a boat to weather the flood and take upon it his friends and family. Critically, before taking refuge on his boat, Zisudra is instructed to bury tablets containing all human knowledge in Sippar, the city of the sun. The terrors of the flood are recorded in the words of Zisudra,

For six days and nights, the wind blew, torrent and tempest, and flood overwhelmed the world. Tempest and flood raged together like warring hosts. When the seventh day dawned, the storm from the south subsided, the sea grew calm, the flood was stilled. I looked at the face of the world, and there was silence. The surface of the sea stretched as flat as a rooftop. All mankind had returned to clay. Exiting the boat as floodwaters recede, the survivors are then instructed by the gods, to return to the city of Sippar, to dig up the tablets that were buried there, and to turn them over to mankind. And so, the survivors of this ancient civilization founded by the Seven Sages and destroyed by flood spread out across the world with these tablets of knowledge to help civilization rise again, the disciples of the Seven Sages becoming, in effect,

a new generation of sages of human descent. Step back and note that the Assyrian flood story is not only similar to that of the biblical Noah's ark, but of countless flood stories told around the world, where the survivors of a great flood effectively re-found civilization. Is it possible that these stories are a record from ancient peoples about the survivors of an even older civilization showing up and teaching them? Is this why figures across the world who are said to have brought knowledge and civilization to primitive peoples are consistently depicted with the same handbag, because they all came from the same place? Could these handbags have represented the tablets of knowledge spoken about in the Assyrian texts? With this in mind, there is one more step to fully put the pieces of the puzzle together. We must return to Gobekli Tepe, the oldest place yet discovered where handbag carvings appear, and the place where humanity's transition from hunter-gatherers

to settled civilization was first beginning. Since its discovery in the 1990s, a debate has existed over Gobekli Tepe's purpose. Some have proposed that it was a religious site, while others believe it to have astronomical implications. However, the most compelling explanation was presented in 2017 by two scientists, Martin Sweatman and Dimitrios Tsikritsis. They believed that in its famous Pillar 43, Gobekli Tepe was providing a time stamp for a terrifying event in human history. The event? A comet strike, the fragments of the comet falling to Earth represented in the carving's squiggly lines and squares, and the headless man at the bottom signifying the disaster which ensued. More importantly, for Sweatman and Tsikritsis, the animals depicted on the carving were zodiacal representations of the ancient constellations as they appeared in the night sky.

at the time of this comet strike. Shockingly, when Sweatman and Tsikritsis looked for a time in history when the constellations would have appeared as they were arranged on Pillar 43, they came up with the year 10,950 BCE – exactly when the Younger Dryas event was taking place. For those unaware, Younger Dryas was a 1,300-year event which plunged much of the world into ice age conditions, a time of super-tsunamis and massive floods all around the world. While the existence of Younger Dryas is not in dispute, scientists have never been quite sure what caused it. According to Sweatman and Tsikritsis, Gobekli Tepe provided the answer. They believed that after Younger Dryas had ended, the survivors of the event had memorialized their survival, and the reestablishment of civilization, at Gobekli Tepe,

even recording the date that the cataclysm had begun, and what had caused it, on the famous Pillar 43. But if this is true, what other answers might Pillar 43 provide? If the creators of Gobekli Tepe were memorializing their survival of Younger Dryas with detailed carvings and precise astronomical measurements at a massive megalithic site, then this means there was an ancient civilization which existed before Younger Dryas capable of doing these things. Look again at the handbags at the top of the Pillar 43 carving. Could these represent the survivors of Younger Dryas, those members of an older race beginning civilization again after a cataclysm, before spreading out with their advanced ancient knowledge and reestablishing civilization all over the world? And could Graham Hancock be correct, that the evidence of these ancient knowledge bearers is contained within the handbag carvings?

found across cultures? If you want to know more, a good place to start is with our video on the underground civilization that survived Younger Dryas…

Handbags of the Gods Hold SHOCKING Secrets

Universe Inside You

Handbag symbols are found in ancient carvings across diverse cultures, from Mesopotamia to Mesoamerica, Asia, Africa, Europe, and North America.

These carvings often depict handbags in the hands of deities and mythical scenes, suggesting a deeper significance beyond their mundane use.

The striking similarity in the design and depiction of these handbags across cultures has puzzled archaeologists and challenges the notion that they are simply ordinary objects.

Handbag carvings found in various cultures are believed to have a deeper meaning, possibly representing an ancient depiction of the cosmos.

The theory of time travelers holding modern designer handbags has emerged as an explanation for the repeated depiction.

Additionally, some suggest a connection between the handbag figures and the Tree of Life, with ancient depictions of Tesla coil technology found in important Egyptian temples.

Handbags as Symbols of Ancient Power and Knowledge

The handbags held by figures in ancient carvings may represent a tool for tapping into an energy supply, potentially powering advanced civilizations.

The prominent placement of these handbags in various cultures, including the Olmec and Assyrian reliefs, suggests a connection to knowledge, enlightenment, and divine creation.

The theory posits that these carvings, along with the figures holding them, could hold the secrets to an advanced ancient power source or technology, challenging our understanding of human history.

The Symbolic Power of Handbags in Ancient Cultures

The Panji Tales in Indonesian tradition feature a hero whose deeds reflect mythical ancestors and aspects of creation.

Handbags appear consistently across cultures, often held by figures like the fish-god Oannes, who is associated with knowledge and the foundation of civilization.

Graham Hancock's research links the recurring handbag symbol to the Seven Sages of Mesopotamian myth, who are depicted as the early founders of civilization and bearers of advanced knowledge.

The Role of Ancient Brotherhoods in Civilization

Ancient brotherhoods may have served as a means of identifying insiders and guiding the transition from primitive to settled life.

Quetzalcoatl, the Mesoamerican god, is associated with bringing advanced knowledge and skills, leading a brotherhood of sages who aimed to teach and spread the benefits of civilization.

The site of Gobekli Tepe, with its megaliths and carvings, is linked to the sudden evolution of humanity from hunter-gatherers to agricultural civilization around 9,600-8,200 BCE.

Gobekli Tepe and the Origins of Civilization

Gobekli Tepe was a year-round settlement, challenging the notion of nomadic hunter-gatherers and suggesting it was the heart of an established civilization.

Hancock theorizes that the carving of handbags on Pillar 43 may represent knowledge bearers like Oannes and Quetzalcoatl, potentially indicating a group of sages spreading advanced knowledge to primitive humans.

This theory raises questions about the existence of an unknown advanced civilization over 12,000 years ago, its role in founding modern civilizations, and the subsequent downfall of humanity, leading to a divine decision to wipe out mankind with a flood.

The Ancient Flood and the Birth of Civilization

A great flood overwhelmed the world for six days, but on the seventh day, the storm subsided and the survivors were instructed by the gods to return to Sippar for buried tablets of knowledge.

These survivors, linked to the Seven Sages, spread out to re-found civilization, raising the question of a common origin for figures bringing knowledge to primitive peoples.

Gobekli Tepe, with its handbag carvings and Pillar 43, is proposed as a site marking a comet strike and providing a time stamp for a significant disaster in human history.

The Significance of Pillar 43 at Gobekli Tepe

Pillar 43's constellation arrangement corresponds to 10,950 BCE, during the Younger Dryas event.

Sweatman and Tsikritsis propose that Gobekli Tepe's creators memorialized their survival and the cataclysm's cause through detailed carvings and astronomical measurements.

The handbag carvings on Pillar 43 may represent the survivors of Younger Dryas, suggesting the existence of an advanced ancient civilization that reestablished itself after the cataclysm.