This example should be enough to prove that we don’t have the skill and technology our ancestors had.
But the belief that our ancestors were more primitive, barbaric, backwards, uncivilized, undeveloped, hapless, technologically simple than us is so persistent and pervasive, I’ll have to present more evidence. Once you see it, you’ll know that everything they told us about our ancestors is a lie.
The belief that we have progressed to a higher stage of evolution is easy to debunk. We’ve been unable to match or replicate thousands of things our ancestors could do, despite “modern engineering”.
Stained Glass Windows
Modern glass-makers can’t match the optical properties, translucency and durability of medieval stained glass windows. An ancient stained glass window:
Now look up modern ones.
Crystal Lenses
Polished rock crystal lenses from 11th-century Viking graves exhibit aspheric optical quality superior to anything that can be done alleged medieval tools. Even modern replicas, using advanced grinding techniques, struggle to match their elliptical curvature.
The technology to replicate this hasn’t even been invented yet.
Medieval Enamel
Medieval Champlevé and Cloisonné Enamels achieve a depth and durability that moderan enamellers can’t match without cracking or loss of color.
Medieval Engravings
Niello Inlay Work from the 9th to 15th Century involved engraving designs into metal, filling with a black sulfide mixture (niello), and firing/polishing for high-contrast. Medieval formulas and firing controls produced unmatched depth and permanence. Modern niello often cracks or fades due to lost alloy ratios and techniques.
Ancient Swords
Damascus Steel Swords. Famous for their wavy patterns, exceptional strength, and sharpness, these blades were made from wootz steel ingots imported from India. The exact forging process, involving specific impurities (like vanadium) and controlled heating/cooling cycles that created carbon nanotubes, was lost by the 18th century. Modern replicas can’t match the authentic micro-structure or pattern.
Guilloche Enamel
Guilloche Enamel Patterns. Intricate geometric designs under translucent enamel, seen in medieval jewelry, created mesmerizing depth and light play. Modern guilloche work does not match this subtlety in scale and optical effects without visible flaws.
Carved Ivory
Carved Ivory Oliphants. 11th–12th-century Byzantine elephant ivory horns, richly relief-carved. The seamless turning, deep undercutting, and acoustic tuning on massive tusks reflect unparalleled ivory-working skill; modern carvers (even with tools) can’t match the fluidity, scale, or sound quality of originals.
Gothic Miniature
Gothic Boxwood Altarpiece. It is unknown which tools were used to carve in such small detail.
Antique Mechanical Clocks
Automatic mechanical clocks confound even modern swiss clock makers with their high-tech precision tools.
Armillary Spheres
Armillary Spheres are ancient astronomical instruments composed of interlocking metal rings representing celestial circles, said to be thousands of years old. It is unknown how they were made.
Another anomalous one to look up:
High-Precision Medieval Astrolabes
Antique Instruments
The sound and timbre of Stradivarius Violins remains unmatched by modern violins.
Two other anomalous instruments un-matched today that you can look up:
Medieval Portative Organs
Plucked or Bowed Psalteries
Ancient Colors
Tyrian Purple Dye. According to official sources “With the fall of the Roman and after it the Byzantine Empire, the European understanding of purple dyeing fell away and by the 14th century the secrets of Tyrian purple were lost”.
Some other anomalous colors un-matched by modern tech that you can look up:
True Naples Yellow Pigment
Egyptian Blue
Verdigris Pigment in Panel Paintings
An article titled “The Lost Painting Techniques of the old Masters” published to the website webartacademy.com has this to say:
Sometime around the end of the seventeenth century, the painting methods so beloved of the old masters were mysteriously lost—how exactly, no one is really sure. Ever since then, artists have tried and fail to rediscover these techniques, which yielded the masterpieces of Titian, Rubens, Rembrandt and Velasquez. The origins of these techniques can be seen as well in the artists that came before them (Jan Van Eyck, Memling, Giovanni Bellini and others) in a more rudimentary form and always on a much smaller scale, being limited by a lack of proper canvas and materials.
How can painting techniques “go lost”? The techniques used in old paintings cannot be replicated by modern artists. Some “renaissance” paintings look so realistic that it’s almost as if we are dealing with photography.
“Paul Delaroche’s 1836 “Saint Cecilia and the Angels” is celebrated for its precise, luminous, and smooth finish”.
Other books, such as “L’ Art de Faire et d’Employer le Vernls ou l’Art du Vernisseur,” by Le Sieur Watin, edited in 1772, covered rather lacklustre periods and provided only rudimentary practical knowledge. Likewise, the treatises of Bouvier and Paillot de Montabert (released in 1830 and 1832, respectively) provided only the same information as Watin had. At least we have the work of J.L.F. Merimee (author of “De la Peinture a l’Huile,” published in 1830), who was more detailed and original in his study of old paintings, and who has left us with some knowledge of actual value.
Modern treatises on the formulas of the old masters tend to be mere compilations of isolated, ancient texts, scattered information lumped together and blended with copious (often contradictory) theories created by the authors. Ergo, these texts tend to be insufficient for actually teaching an artist anything about how to paint like one of the old masters, and focus more on pointing out what should be avoided when painting rather than what should be implemented. However, in some of these treatises, there are at least revealing quotations and detailed.
In other words, not only are the techniques mysteriously “lost” but descriptions and commentary on them is also “lost”. How did all this knowledge become lost? I’d like to offer an alternate explanation: History is fake!
Bayeux Tapestry
This is an 11th century tapestry which they tried to replicate. After 9 years of work, the replica still looks nothing like the original.
Plique-à-Jour Enamel
Gothic Mortar and Lime Binders
From official sources (AI):
“The extraordinary durability of Gothic mortar and lime binders—which have allowed cathedrals and structures to stand for over 1,000 years—is not a single mystery, but rather a combination of specific materials, chemical processes, and skilled, traditional techniques that differ significantly from modern, rigid cement. Medieval builders created structures that “breathed,” allowing moisture to pass through rather than trapping it, which prevents damage”
In other words: They are far superior to ours, but we don’t use them anymore because we just don’t know how they were made.
AI also says this:
“Self-Healing Abilities: When cracks develop due to movement or weathering, lime mortar can heal itself. Rainwater dissolves free lime within the cracks, which then re-deposits and turns into hard calcium carbonate, sealing the breach”.
Buildings that can heal themselves? Extraordinary.
Organic Additives: Historic recipes often included additives like animal blood, egg whites, or milk. These acted as plasticizers, improved adhesion, and enhanced water resistance.
The strange idea that cement was mixed with blood used to be a conspiracy theory.
Flexibility & Porosity: Unlike modern Portland cement, which is rigid and can cause stones to crack, lime mortar is soft and flexible, allowing the structure to settle without suffering damage.
Why this knowledge was lost: With the industrial-scale introduction of Portland cement in the 19th century, the use of lime mortar declined because Portland cement sets much faster and has higher early compressive strength. However, this strength makes it brittle and non-porous, leading to failure when used in repairs on older buildings, which is why modern conservation now focuses on replicating the original, softer lime mixes.
This doesn’t explain why the knowledge was lost. Fact is that we haven’t replicated this since at least the 1800s because we don’t know how.
Zwischgold
Mercury Gilding
According to scholars:
“Mercury gilding (or fire gilding) is a historic, highly toxic, yet durable technique where a gold-mercury amalgam is applied to metal and heated, vaporizing the mercury to leave a solid, vibrant gold layer. Known for causing deadly “gilder’s palsy,” it was largely replaced by electroplating but remains a mystery in how early artisans survived, often leaving 5-25% residual mercury in the finish”.
In other words, we couldn’t make these without getting sick or dying.
Other interesting ones to look up:
Griffin’s Claw Reliquaries
High-Quality Bobbin Lace
Large-Scale Choir Books
Gothic Ivory Carvings
Rock Crystal Carvings (Fatimid-Style Ewers and Reliquaries)
Medieval Silk Samite Textiles
Bronze Aquamanilie
True Woad and Madder Dyes for Textiles
and much, much more.
Many of the techniques our ancestors used are claimed to be “lost” or unknown due to “trade secrets”.
The suppressed truth is this: We are not the pinnacle of civilization. We did not “evolve” as time passed, we’re currently in a devolved state. And we’re lying about it to ourselves and others.
Other fields in which you can see this: Compare new English to old English. Modern English is a dumbed-down version of the way it used to be written. Compare new Arabic to old Arabic, modern Chinese to ancient Chinese, etc. You’ll see the same patterns of decline in any part of the world. Go to any American Mall and look at the state-of-health and body weight of the average person. Then compare to old postcards from the 1800s. Compare fashion styles. Compare foods. Compare the skills the average person had just a hundred years ago to the skills a person has today. Compare new buildings to old buildings.
What was shown in this article is really high-tech. Such a civilization most certainly also had the ability to fly, advanced weaponry, advanced energy distribution and other things we can only dream of.