Graham Bruce Hancock is a British writer known for his promotion of pseudoscientific ideas about ancient civilizations and hypothetical lost lands. Hancock suggests that an advanced civilization with spiritual technology existed during the last Ice Age until it was destroyed by comet impacts around 12,900 years ago, at the onset of the Younger Dryas. He speculates that survivors of this cataclysm passed on their knowledge to primitive hunter-gatherers around the world, leading to the rise of early civilizations such as ancient Egypt, Sumeria, and Mesoamerica.

Biography
Born in Edinburgh, Hancock studied sociology at Durham University before working as a journalist. He wrote for various British newspapers and magazines. His first three books addressed international development, with Lords of Poverty (1989) being a notable critique of corruption in the aid system. From 1992, starting with The Sign and the Seal, he shifted his focus to speculative accounts of human prehistory and ancient civilizations, authoring numerous books like Fingerprints of the Gods and Magicians of the Gods.

Criticism
Experts often describe Hancock's work as pseudoarchaeology and pseudohistory, criticizing it for lacking accuracy, consistency, and impartiality. Anthropologist Jeb Card has noted that Hancock's writings have a paranormal nature, portraying an Ice age civilization as a modern mythological narrative, incompatible with the scientific archaeological method. Despite this, Hancock portrays himself as a culture hero fighting against academic "dogmatism" and presents his work as a valid alternative to professional archaeology. His ideas have not been peer-reviewed or published in academic journals.

Other Works
Hancock has also ventured into fiction with two fantasy novels and in 2013 delivered a controversial TEDx talk advocating for the use of the psychoactive drink ayahuasca. His works have inspired several films and the Netflix series Ancient Apocalypse (2022). He frequently appears on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast to discuss his theories.