Lucy's Bones, Sacred Stones, & Einstein's Brain

by Harvey Rachlin

  Because the selections were meant to represent all the people of Earth, the compilers were judicious in their choices to avoid limiting the record’s content to any particular human society. Overall, the final selections are characterized by their generic quality.

  The pictorial portion of the record attempts to present the kinds of animal and plant life of the planet, the varieties of human life, man-made structures, technology, and the planet itself. Images showing humans fighting, suffering from illness, or living in squalor were avoided, as were any with political implications. The visual images were converted by sophisticated equipment into analog audio signals that were cut into the record.

  Among the 118 images including some labeled diagrams and silhouettes collected by artist and writer Jon Lomberg were a DNA molecule, cell division, human sex organs, human fertilization and birth, a mother and her baby, a father and his son, and a family; people from around the world, a schoolroom, a person looking through a microscope, people consuming food, and a barn-building scene; different kinds of houses, the Great Wall of China, the United Nations, and an observatory; a highway, a bridge, an airplane, a train, and a rocket; a sheet of music, a book page, and an abbreviated mathematical dictionary; a diagram of continental drift, a valley, a seashore, sand dunes, a river, and a harbor; a forest, a sequoia tree, a leaf, and a daffodil; an insect, a family of chimpanzees, a crocodile, a toad, a fish, and a school of dolphins.

  The goal in gathering the music was to find inspiring selections that reflected the various cultures on Earth. The diverse musical menu of twenty-seven pieces amassed by writer Timothy Ferris and his collaborators included: the “Queen of the Night” aria from Mozart’s opera The Magic Flute; Bach’s “Gavotte en rondeaux” and the first movement of the Bach Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 in F; “El Cascabel,” a Mexican mariachi tune; “Cranes in the Nest,” a Japanese tune played on a bamboo flute; “Melancholy Blues,” played by Louis Armstrong; “Sacrificial Dance,” from Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring; a puberty rite song of female Mbuti pygmies from Zaire; “Kinds of Flowers,” a piece performed by a Javanese orchestra and singers; Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode”; the first movement of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony; a Peruvian wedding song; and a Navajo Indian chant.

  The spectrum of natural Earth sounds compiled by Ferris and novelist Ann Druyan included a volcano, thunder, rain, wind, and surf, the clip-clop of a horse, a dog barking, a chimpanzee shrieking, a bird singing, and a cricket chirping; footsteps, heartbeats, laughter, an infant crying, and a kiss; a car, bus, train whistle, trucks, jet, rocket liftoff, and a tonal sequence mathematically representing planetary motion.

  The “greetings” portion of the Voyagers’ record, compiled by Linda Salzman, demonstrated the friendly nature of humans and the variety of spoken languages on Earth. This portion was also intended as an invitation to extraterrestrials to communicate with Earthlings.

  Among the greetings—in fifty-five languages and ranging from a single word to a few sentences—were the following: Luganda, “Greetings to the inhabitants of the universe from the third planet Earth of the star the sun”; Serbian, “We wish you everything good from our planet”; Welsh, “Good health to you now and forever”; French, “Good day to the entire world”; Persian, “Hello to the residents of far skies”; Nguni, “We greet you, great ones. We wish you longevity”; Greek, “Greetings to you, whoever you are. We come in friendship to those who are friends”; English, “Hello from the children of planet Earth”; Hungarian, “We are sending greetings in the Hungarian language to all peace-loving beings in the universe”; Latin, “Greetings to you, whoever you are. We have goodwill toward you and bring peace across space”; Amoy, “Friends of space, how are you all? Have you eaten yet? Come visit us if you have the time”; Hebrew, “Peace.”

  Engraved on the aluminum cover protecting each record are instructions in the form of scientific drawings that explain how the record may be played with the stylus and cartridge. The aluminum covers should protect the records in interstellar space, which is an almost perfect vacuum, for at least a billion years.

  The chance of either Voyager spacecraft being met by extraterrestrials is remote, at least in the near future. With their set flight paths, it may be billions of years before they enter another planetary system. At present, they are both racing out of our solar system at a speed of about 38,000 miles per hour. They are expected sometime after the year 2000 to pass the edge of the solar system, which according to many scientists lies not at the outermost planet but far beyond, in what is called the heliopause (this is where the sun’s influence in space ends, and may be thought of as an invisible line between the end of the sun’s magnetic field and interstellar space). Both Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 will eventually plunge into the darkness of outer space and cruise endlessly in the heavens. In interstellar space, since the stars move much faster than the Voyager spacecraft, the stars will move past the Voyagers rather than the other way around.

  It will take both Voyagers about 20,300 years to travel one light-year. In the year A.D. 8751, Voyager 2 will be 4.03 light-years (one light-year is approximately six trillion miles) from Barnard’s Star. Its next encounter will be in the year 20,319, when it will pass 3.21 light-years from Proxima Centauri, the star nearest to Earth after the sun (it is 4.28 light-years from our planet). Its next stellar flyby, within 3.47 light-years of Alpha Centauri, will take place in 20,269. In 23,274, it will be 4.6 light-years from the Star of Lalande; in 40,176, it will be 1.65 light-years from Ross 248, a star in the constellation Andromeda; and in the year 957,963, Voyager 2 will zoom by the star DM+27 1311 at a distance of 6.62 light-years.

  In 40,000 years Voyager 1 will be 1.6 light-years from star AC+79 3888, which is in the constellation Camelopardalis. This will be about the same time that Voyager 2 is approximately 1.65 light-years from Ross 248.

  Even if the records, titled The Sounds of Earth, are never found by intelligent alien beings, one cannot help but wonder whether, millions of years in the future, some child of humankind on an intergalactic cruise will spot Voyager 1 or Voyager 2 moving silently along in its orbit of the Milky Way and be curious enough to retrieve the record. At that point in the future, Earth will most likely be a lifeless ball of molten rock, burned out by the expansion of the dying sun. Of all that humans have ever created, of all the manifestations and symbols of freedom, technology, culture, and creativity, this ancient record bearing sounds, pictures, music, and greetings may be one of the very few remaining artifacts of Earth history.

  LOCATION: Outer space.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  Grateful acknowledgment is made to all those who kindly shared their special expertise in history or in a particular artifact or object with me. These people are listed below, with expanded acknowledgments for those whose assistance was thoroughly invaluable.

  INTRODUCTION:

  Dr. James F. Strange, University of South Florida; Terence C. Charman, Imperial War Museum; Marjorie L. Caygill, British Museum; Dr. B. C. Benedikz, University of Birmingham; David Meschutt, West Point Museum; Folger Shakespeare Library; Dr. John Langellier, Gene Autry Western Heritage Museum; Magen Broshi, Israel Museum; Dawn Whitman, Welcome Museum of the History of Medicine, Science Museum; George Tselos, Edison National Historic Site; Gail DeBuse Potter, Nebraska State Historical Society; Mark J. Meister, Archaeological Institute of America; Dr. Eva Hanebutt-Benz, Gutenberg-Museum; Joe Pinkston, John Dillinger Museum; Thomas Sworenzer, University of Kansas; Bernard S. Finn and Harry Hunter, National Museum of American History.

  BLACK STONE OF THE KA‘BAH:

  Islamic Center, Washington, D.C.; Mohammed Magid; Imam Dr. Mohammed Shamsher Ali; Dr. Abdel-Rahman Osman.

  LUCY THE HOMINID:

  Dr. Eric Meikle, Institute of Human Origins, Berkeley, California.

  CODE OF HAMMURABI:

  Annie Caubet, Musée du Louvre, Paris.

  BLACK OBELISK:

  Dr. Irving Finkel, British Museum, London.

  ROSETTA STON
E:

  Dr. Robert Brier, Long Island University (C. W. Post campus, Brookville, New York); Col. Armand J. Gelinas, M.D.; Society of Antiquaries, London; Carol A. R. Andrews, assistant keeper, British Museum.

  VEIL OF THE VIRGIN:

  Abbé Joseph Hercouet, Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Chartres, Chartres, France; Dr. Chuck Talar; Paul C. Maloney; Ken Cavanagh.

  CROWN OF THORNS:

  Dr. Chuck Talar; Paul C. Maloney.

  HOLY LANCE:

  Rene M. Querido, Rudolf Steiner College, Fair Oaks, California; Dr. Peter Knotz; Paul C. Maloney; Arch. Pierluigi Silvan, Fabrica di S. Pietro in the Vatican; Ken Cavanagh.

  SHROUD OF TURIN:

  For this chapter I am very much indebted to Paul C. Maloney, general projects director for the Association of Scientists and Scholars International for the Shroud of Turin, Ltd. (ASSIST), Garnerville, New York, and author/editor of The Shroud of Turin: A Case Study in Document Authentication (Binghamton, N.Y.: Haworth Press, in preparation). He provided much valuable information, proofread the manuscript, and suggested rewrites at numerous points, many of which were incorporated in the body of the text. Mr. Maloney was a constant source of information for many other chapters, continually answering questions and providing a wealth of facts. I cannot overstate my gratitude for his kind and generous help.

  RUBENS VASE:

  Dr. Gary Vikan, Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore.

  ANTIOCH CHALICE:

  Dr. Marlia Mundell Mango; Dr. Gary Vikan; Thomas Hoving.

  BOOK OF KELLS:

  I am most grateful to the late Archbishop George Simms of Dublin, Ireland, one of the most eminent modern authorities on this work. Also Daithi O’Ceallaigh, consulate general of Ireland in New York City, and Bernard Meehan and the Trinity College Library, Dublin, Ireland.

  BAYEUX TAPESTRY:

  Sylvette Lemagnen, conservateur de la Bibliothèque municipale et de la Tapisserie de Bayeux, Bayeux, France.

  HOLY CHILD OF ARACOELI:

  Father Bernardino Di Prospero, Convento S. Maria in Aracoeli, Rome, Italy.

  COLUMBUS’S BOOKS OF PRIVILEGES:

  Rosemary Fry Plakas, the Library of Congress’s American history specialist in its Rare Book and Special Collections Division, made me aware of these volumes and told me the story of the volume in the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. An authority on Columbus’s Books of Privileges, she proofread the chapter and filled in gaps; I am very grateful to her. Also Rosario Parra Cala and María Antonia Colomar of Archivo General de Indias in Seville, Spain; Dr. Flavia Sartore, director of the Comune di Genova in Italy; Monique Constant, chief conservator in the History Division at the Ministeère des Affaires Étrangères, Paris; Juan Guillén Torralba, director of the Biblioteca Columbina y Capitular, Seville.

  CANTINO MAP:

  I am grateful to Dr. Ernesto Milano, director of the Estense Library, Modena, Italy, who provided much valuable information in his letters to me.

  HOPE DIAMOND:

  Generous assistance for this chapter came from Mary Winters, formerly a research assistant at the National Museum of Natural History, Washington, D.C, and one of the great experts on the Hope Diamond; Russell C. Feather, Department of Mineral Sciences, National Museum of Natural History; Elise B. Misiorowski and the Gemological Institute of America, Santa Monica, California.

  EDMOND HALLEY’S ASTRONOMICAL OBSERVATION NOTEBOOKS:

  I was fortunate to have the kind assistance of Adam J. Perkins, the Royal Greenwich Observatory archivist, Department of Manuscripts and University Archives, Cambridge University Library, Cambridge, England. Not only did Mr. Perkins provide the relevant information, he always responded to my letters promptly and comprehensively. Also Professor A. Boksenberg, Royal Greenwich Observatory, Cambridge.

  DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE:

  Dr. Gerard Gawalt, Library of Congress (Manuscript Division); Elissa O’Loughlin and Milton O. Gustafson, National Archives, Washington, D.C.

  GEORGE WASHINGTON’S FALSE TEETH:

  I am especially indebted to Dr. H. Berton McCauley, 1991 president, American Academy of the History of Dentistry, Baltimore, Maryland. Valuable assistance also came from Dr. Andrew Christopher; Dr. Gardner Patrick Henry Foley, who sent me a box full of old notes, newspaper clippings, pictures, and other materials relating to Washington’s dentures from his collection; Christine Meadows, Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association; Barbara Easton, National Museum of Dentistry, Baltimore; Jonathan Evans, Royal London Trust.

  CRYPT OF JOHN PAUL JONES:

  James W Cheevers, United States Naval Academy Museum, Annapolis, Maryland.

  HMS VICTORY:

  Colin S. White, chief curator, Royal Naval Museum, Portsmouth, Hampshire, England.

  VICE ADMIRAL LORD NELSONS UNIFORM COAT:

  P. M. Blackett Barber, curator of uniforms, medals and weapons, National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London.

  STAR-SPANGLED BANNER:

  Dr. Harold D. Langley, curator of naval history, National Museum of American History, Washington, D.C.; Scott S. Sheads, Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine, Baltimore; Francis O’Neill, Maryland Historical Society, Baltimore. Dr. Langley noted that scholars such as Walter Lord, Scott Sheads, P. W. Filby, and Edward G. Howard have greatly advanced our understanding of the Fort McHenry battle, the flag known as the Star-Spangled Banner, and Francis Scott Key’s lyric poem of the same name.

  NAPOLEON’S PENIS:

  I am especially grateful to the distinguished Napoleon authority Col. J. Armand Gelinas, M.D., retired; Gayle L. Petty, Library Company of Philadelphia; Leslie Morris, Rosenbach Library, Philadelphia; Bruce Gimelson; Dr. John K. Lattimer; Robert M. Snibbe and the Napoleonic Society of America, Clearwater, Florida.

  LONDON BRIDGE:

  Elrose M. Dussault, former historian of Lake Havasu City.

  JEREMY BENTHAM:

  I am most grateful to Philip Schofield of University College London, who kindly provided information and answers to my many questions and suggested revisions to the chapter. He is part of a team of scholars working on the Bentham Project, a research program dedicated to bringing out scholarly editions of the works of Jeremy Bentham. There will be about sixty-five volumes in total, based in part on the approximately seventy thousand sheets of Bentham’s manuscripts that are deposited at the library at University College London; Tarique Shakir-Khalil of the University of London Union.

  ONE-CENT MAGENTA:

  Irwin Weinberg.

  JOHN BROWN’S BIBLE:

  Ralph A. Pugh and Olivia Mahoney, Chicago Historical Society; Bruce Noble, Harpers Ferry National Historic Park. It should be noted that the park owns a John Brown family Bible, in which the abolitionist also made notations.

  CAPTAIN DANJOU’S WOODEN HAND:

  Adjutant-chef Glaziou, conservateur du Musée de la Legion étrangère, Aubagne, France.

  MAJOR GENERAL DANIEL E. SICKLES’S LEG:

  Robert Montgomery, National Museum of Health and Medicine, Washington, D.C.; John Heiser, Gettysburg National Military Park, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

  GETTYSBURG ADDRESS:

  Dr. John R. Sellers, specialist, Civil War and Reconstruction, Library of Congress, kindly explained to me the issues at hand in the controversy over Lincoln’s reading copy of the Gettysburg Address and was indispensable to me in my writing of this chapter. He also helped graciously with many other chapters.

  APPOMATTOX SURRENDER TABLES:

  Ronald G. Wilson, supervisory park ranger, Appomattox Court House National Historical Park, Appomattox, Virginia; Dr. John Y. Simon, Ulysses S. Grant Association, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Illinois; Olivia Mahoney, Chicago Historical Society; James Hutchins, National Museum of American History.

  BED LINCOLN DIED IN:

  I would like to express my utmost appreciation to Michael Maione, historian at Ford’s Theatre National Historic Site, Washington, D.C. Maione possesses an encyclopedic knowledge of the Lincoln assassination, and he always courteously, comp
rehensively, and zealously shared that with me.

  Michael Maione reviewed my various drafts of this chapter and asked that I avoid using the famous quote attributed to Lincoln’s secretary of war, Edwin M. Stanton, after Lincoln expired: “Now he belongs to the ages.” Because, as Maione astutely pointed out, although the quote has been reproduced in many books and articles, it did not appear in print until 1890, twenty-five years after the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, so if Stanton had said those exact words, they would have invariably been printed earlier and reprinted often and attributed to Stanton. The quote first appeared in the ten-volume work Abraham Lincoln; A History by John Nicolay and John Hay. Stanton did not write his memoirs, so there is no direct evidence that he said this when Lincoln died.

  I would also like to thank Frank Hebblethwaite, former acting curator at Ford’s Theatre; Olivia Mahoney, Chicago Historical Society; the Lincoln Museum in Fort Wayne, Indiana, especially Ruth Cook; John Sellers; Herbert Collins, formerly of the National Philatelic Collection; Alan Hawk and Dick Levinson, National Museum of Health and Medicine; Tom Swarz, curator, Lincoln Collection of the State of Illinois; Studebaker National Museum, South Bend, Indiana, especially Edna Kaeppler; Lincoln’s Tomb Historic Site, Oak Ridge Cemetery, especially Linda Bee; and Marilyn Higgins, National Museum of American History.

  LITTLE SORREL:

  Lt. Col. Keith Gibson, Virginia Military Institute Museum, Lexington.

  ROBERT BROWNINGS RELIQUARY:

  Philip Kelley is a renowned authority on the Brownings, and I was fortunate to have his generous assistance. I also appreciate the help of Sir Joseph Cheyne, formerly of the Keats-Shelley Memorial House, Rome, Italy; Bathsheba Abse, Keats-Shelley Memorial House; Keats-Shelley Association of America, particularly Dr. Donald Reiman and Doucet Fisher; Carl and Lily Pforzheimer Foundation, Inc., New York City; Gayle L. Petty, Library Company, Philadelphia; Dr. Dallas Pratt.