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The problem is that if the Yonaguni Monument is
indeed man made, it implies that an unknown culture had developed a
high degree of organization thousands of years before any known ancient
civilization thus far. Do undersea relics near Okinawa offer proof of a
sophisticated civilization during the last ice age? Archaeologists have
long believed that civilization as we define it -- intelligent,
tool-making, monument building, social humans -- began about 5,000
years ago. Some geologists and archaeologists conclude that the
Yonaguni "pyramid" sank into the ocean at the end of the last ice age
around ten thousand years ago. Orthodox prehistory claims the most
advanced culture in Japan at that time was small groups of
hunter-gatherers. Many believe that the structures are either a fully
natural phenomenon, pointing to the fact that above the sea surface
examples of erosion can be seen causing the rocks to form right angles,
or that if indeed it was manipulated by human hands, it may have risen
from the sea in
more recent times and been carved then. However, there have been
discoveries of other similar structures beneath the sea of Japan. If
these prove to be similar to the Yonaguni site, they may rewrite the
history of early man. Various structures surround the main building,
and they seem to stretch out into a road spanning approximately 311
miles leading to Okinawa and its neighboring islands. There are eight
anomalous underwater sites found to date. This, along with the
discovery of walls and ancient roads in the Straits of Taiwan, is
causing many scholars to propose that advanced societies may have
existed around 8,000 B.C.
There are a variety of different explanations for
these structures.
One, which is not widely believed, is that these are some of the
remains of Atlantis, Mu and/or Lemuria. Also, in Okinawan folklore,
there are tales of traditional gods and a land of the gods called
Nirai-Kanai. An unknown faraway land from where happiness is brought.
Dr. Kimura said that the Yonaguni Monument may have been built to
serve a similar deity. After the dramatic series of raising sea-levels
that ended the last Ice Age, it is 'inevitable' that more and more
evidence of ancient civilization will be discovered on the continental
shelves and shallow seas everywhere around the world. Civilization
flourished on what were then the coastal areas of the many parts of the
world which, despite glaciations further north, still enjoyed a very
pleasant temperate climate. These ancient settlements are proving to
have been much more advanced urban cities than current models of
prehistory are prepared to acknowledge. But their existence is just as
real as the fact that they were obviously flooded during the abrupt end
of the last Ice Age.
Perhaps the most reasonable theory however, is that the Yonaguni
Monument is fundamentally a natural structure that was enhanced and
modified by humans in ancient times. This type of activity known as
terra-forming, seems to have been widely used in these times all over
the archaic world. Terra-forming basically means that nature suggests a
shape and human hands go to work to modify it as they want or need.
This theory adequately explains the lack of an entrance into the
monuments, and the apparent post holes and etchings made in the rock.
There have been a number of discoveries recently that add a great deal
of weight to the theory that this is the case. Marks have been
documented on the stones that indicate that they were hewn, possible
carvings have been discovered, and a small stairway carved into the
rocks appears to render the theory that this is a natural formation,
implausible. Researchers have not yet found conclusive evidence
implicating either erosion or humanity as the source of these shapes,
so the investigation and debate continues. Make sure to look at some of the pictures below to help make up your opinion.
 
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