{"id":25725,"date":"2022-06-10T21:55:15","date_gmt":"2022-06-10T13:55:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stuif.com\/blog\/?p=25725"},"modified":"2022-06-17T17:47:24","modified_gmt":"2022-06-17T09:47:24","slug":"kumari-kandam-lemuria","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stuif.com\/blog\/?p=25725","title":{"rendered":"Kumari Kandam &#038; Lemuria"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Recently I came across an article <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ancient-origins.net\/myths-legends\/lost-continent-kumari-kandam-001941\">The Lost Continent of Kumari Kandam<\/a> in which I found this map:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/stuif.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Lost-Continent-of-Kumari-Kandam-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"389\" data-attachment-id=\"25726\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/stuif.com\/blog\/?attachment_id=25726\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/stuif.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Lost-Continent-of-Kumari-Kandam-1.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"600,389\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Lost-Continent-of-Kumari-Kandam-1\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/stuif.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Lost-Continent-of-Kumari-Kandam-1-300x195.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/stuif.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Lost-Continent-of-Kumari-Kandam-1.jpg\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\" data-id=\"25726\" src=\"https:\/\/stuif.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Lost-Continent-of-Kumari-Kandam-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-25726\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stuif.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Lost-Continent-of-Kumari-Kandam-1.jpg 600w, https:\/\/stuif.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Lost-Continent-of-Kumari-Kandam-1-300x195.jpg 300w, https:\/\/stuif.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Lost-Continent-of-Kumari-Kandam-1-463x300.jpg 463w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I had never heard about Kumari Kandam and had to check Wikipedia:<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Kumari_Kandam\">  Kumari Kandam<\/a>, &#8220;<em>a mythical continent, believed to be lost with an ancient Tamil civilization<\/em>&#8221; The Wikipedia article is interesting and worth reading.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Kumari Kandam never existed. The concept of a lost continent with a Tamil civilisation is the result of <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Tamil_nationalism\">Tamil Nationalism<\/a> . As I want to avoid this sensitive topic, I will give in this blog only some background information, starting with Lemuria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In 1864 the English zoologist Philip Sclater explained the presence of lemur fossils in Madagascar and India, but not in Africa and Arabia by assuming that in the past Madagascar  and India were connected by a landmass , which later was submerged by the ocean., He named this lost continent Lemuria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A couple of years later  this  idea of a lost continent was picked up  by the German scientist Ernst Haeckel, a staunch defender of Darwinian evolution. He suggested that this lost continent could have been the cradle of human evolution. Here is a map drawn by Haeckel. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-2 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/stuif.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/lemuria-map.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"900\" height=\"571\" data-attachment-id=\"25728\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/stuif.com\/blog\/?attachment_id=25728\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/stuif.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/lemuria-map.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"900,571\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"lemuria-map\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/stuif.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/lemuria-map-300x190.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/stuif.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/lemuria-map.jpg\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\" data-id=\"25728\" src=\"https:\/\/stuif.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/lemuria-map.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-25728\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stuif.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/lemuria-map.jpg 900w, https:\/\/stuif.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/lemuria-map-300x190.jpg 300w, https:\/\/stuif.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/lemuria-map-768x487.jpg 768w, https:\/\/stuif.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/lemuria-map-473x300.jpg 473w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Here is a detail. Notice the alternate name Paradise for Lemuria!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-3 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/stuif.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Heackel-001.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"455\" data-attachment-id=\"25730\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/stuif.com\/blog\/?attachment_id=25730\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/stuif.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Heackel-001.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"800,455\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;Jan Stuivenberg&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1654881020&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Heackel-001\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/stuif.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Heackel-001-300x171.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/stuif.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Heackel-001.jpg\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\" data-id=\"25730\" src=\"https:\/\/stuif.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Heackel-001.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-25730\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stuif.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Heackel-001.jpg 800w, https:\/\/stuif.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Heackel-001-300x171.jpg 300w, https:\/\/stuif.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Heackel-001-768x437.jpg 768w, https:\/\/stuif.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Heackel-001-500x284.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The &#8220;Out of Asia&#8221;&#8221; theory of human evolution was quite popular in those days. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We know now that Lemuria never existed and have a much more fascinating explanation: <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Continental_drift\">continental drift.<\/a> I will write a separate blog about this topic.  Continents (tectonic plates) have not a fixed location ,but move slowly. Here is a video of the continental drift the last 100 million years.  India was still connected to Madagascar, but moved north until it collided with Asia (the collision caused the Himalayas).  Also notice how at the start of the video Australia is still connected to Antarctica.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"584\" height=\"329\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/UkDzSZfWFAQ?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;start=95&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The classical Tamil literature (<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Sangam_literature\">Sangam<\/a>) mentions  the occurrence of flooding, resulting in the loss of land. At the end of the 19th century Tamil scholars and nationalists suggested that Lemuria was the center of Tamil civilisation and named it Kumari Kandam. After its submersion Tamils had to migrate to other parts of the world, bringing there civilisation and language. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The submersion is often explained by the rise in sea levels after the last Ice Age. More than 100 meter. In itself that makes sense, as you can see in the Google image below where I have roughly indicated a contour line  120 m below sea level. Considerable amounts  of land were lost to the sea during the past ~ 20.000 years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-4 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/stuif.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/sea-levels.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"604\" data-attachment-id=\"25736\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/stuif.com\/blog\/?attachment_id=25736\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/stuif.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/sea-levels.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"1403,827\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;Jan Stuivenberg&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1654896689&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"sea-levels\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/stuif.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/sea-levels-300x177.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/stuif.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/sea-levels-1024x604.jpg\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\" data-id=\"25736\" src=\"https:\/\/stuif.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/sea-levels-1024x604.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-25736\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stuif.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/sea-levels-1024x604.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/stuif.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/sea-levels-300x177.jpg 300w, https:\/\/stuif.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/sea-levels-768x453.jpg 768w, https:\/\/stuif.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/sea-levels-500x295.jpg 500w, https:\/\/stuif.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/sea-levels.jpg 1403w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But not a continent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-5 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/stuif.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Kumari-Landan.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"540\" data-attachment-id=\"25738\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/stuif.com\/blog\/?attachment_id=25738\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/stuif.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Kumari-Landan.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"1552,818\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;Jan Stuivenberg&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1654897617&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Kumari-Landan\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/stuif.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Kumari-Landan-300x158.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/stuif.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Kumari-Landan-1024x540.jpg\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\" data-id=\"25738\" src=\"https:\/\/stuif.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Kumari-Landan-1024x540.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-25738\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stuif.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Kumari-Landan-1024x540.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/stuif.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Kumari-Landan-300x158.jpg 300w, https:\/\/stuif.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Kumari-Landan-768x405.jpg 768w, https:\/\/stuif.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Kumari-Landan-1536x810.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/stuif.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Kumari-Landan-500x264.jpg 500w, https:\/\/stuif.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Kumari-Landan.jpg 1552w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Recently I came across an article The Lost Continent of Kumari Kandam in which I found this map: I had never heard about Kumari Kandam and had to check Wikipedia: Kumari Kandam, &#8220;a mythical continent, believed to be lost with &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/stuif.com\/blog\/?p=25725\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[18,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25725","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-culture","category-science"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2LqIR-6GV","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stuif.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25725","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stuif.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stuif.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stuif.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stuif.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=25725"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/stuif.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25725\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25740,"href":"https:\/\/stuif.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25725\/revisions\/25740"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stuif.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=25725"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stuif.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=25725"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stuif.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=25725"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}