History Channel Aired The Show “Apocalypse Island” On Sunday
January 4th, 2010 - 8:38 pm ICT by GD ( 68 comments )By Gina Gomez
Jan 4, (THAINDIAN NEWS) The History Channel aired a show about a remote island on Sunday night, which evaluated whether the island which is situated in the middle of the Pacific Ocean has any relation to the Mayan’s apocalyptic predictions about the year 2012. The show turned out to be all the more interesting as an explorer emphasized that he has found the answers to the questions that the humans have had for centuries- about the Mayan predictions. The show which was titled ‘Apocalypse Island’ searched for possible links between the island and the apocalyptic predictions of the Mayan Calender.
Explorer Jim Turner found some remote artifacts about ten years ago and since then has been thoroughly studying the artifact. At the same time, the explorer has been making preparations for a journey to find out if the island located in the Pacific Ocean has any clue to the predictions about the end of the time in 2012 by the Mayan Calender. The explorer also attempts to validate his findings that the island in question situated in the Pacific Ocean is actually the Apocalypse Island in the Mayan predictions.
The Mayan Calender is a 5,125 year-old calender that was prepared by ancient Mayans. The calender abruptly comes to an end on December 21, 2012 which according to the ancient prophecies is referred to as the ‘the end of time’. Many believe that this marks the juncture where the world would come to an end. The event that would act as the catalyst to bring the world to an end is widely speculated with the current global economic meltdown and financial crisis presumed to be just the precursors.
- Track record of ancient apocalyptic prophecies quashes gravity of 2012 prediction - Nov 07, 2009
- Mayan doomsday prophecy not true: British expert - Dec 02, 2011
- 'Mayan texts doesn't predict end of world in 2012' - Jul 08, 2010
- Mayans did not predict end of world in 2012: expert - Apr 12, 2010
- World's expiry date: 21 December 2012? - Sep 25, 2009
- "2012" Review: Deadly Predictions In Epic Proportions - Nov 13, 2009
- "Extreme Survival" Features On Sci-fi - Nov 09, 2009
- Mexico's Mayan region begin their apocalypse countdown - Dec 21, 2011
- 10 failed doomsday prophecies - Nov 09, 2009
- New book questions the veracity of Apocalypse Calendar - Oct 08, 2010
- Scientists debunk six 2012 end-of-the-world myths - Nov 07, 2009
- 2012 doomsday prophecy false, says Canadian archeologist - Nov 17, 2009
- Nobel laureate trashes 2012 Doomsday prediction - Jan 04, 2010
- Doomsday? Prophesies wither away - May 21, 2011
- 2012 doomsday prediction nothing but a hoax, says NASA scientist - Oct 15, 2009
Tags: ancient mayans, ancient prophecies, answers to the questions, apocalypse, apocalyptic predictions, artifact, artifacts, catalyst, clue, december 21 2012, financial crisis, gina gomez, global economic meltdown, history channel, jim turner, juncture, mayan calender, pacific ocean, precursors, year 2012
January 4th, 2010 at 10:15 pm
You do a disservice to the many Mayan scholars who have dedicated their lives to the study of the Mayan civilization. The calendar does not “abruptly” end. The Mayan people saw time as cyclical and the 2012 date is the end of a long cycle and the beginning of another. Next time spend at least an hour researching the facts.
January 5th, 2010 at 6:05 am
The History Channel TV show “Apocalypse Island” is at best sheer fantasy and utter nonsense and at worst, a malicious hoax perpetrated by this so-called “archaeologist adventurer”. The History Channel got hood-winked into spending a whole lot of money to essentially watch two guys scale a natural rock formation.
January 5th, 2010 at 7:19 am
Wow JB, calm down - I don’t think that this is, by any means, a scholarly thesis on the island and its significance in Mayan culture.
That said, Gina, for having used the word “calendar” so many times in one article, it is pretty important that you spell it correctly.
I found the show to be highly interesting and am surprised there isn’t more talk about it on the web
January 5th, 2010 at 9:15 pm
Drew. There is talk. Almost exclusively negative. This show, like Gina’s article above, was a farce. About the only thing I liked about it was the font they used for title graphics.
http://www.islandcrisis.net/2010/01/apocalypse-island-jim-turner/
http://boards.history.com/topic/History-Of-Christianity/Apocalypse-Island-On/520087011&start=0
January 12th, 2010 at 1:05 am
It is amazing that everyone seems to know a lot about a little. We have no actual facts on what is goin to happen or what will come. It does show that at every cycle, something does happen, and history does repeat itself. Only time will tell.
January 21st, 2010 at 6:38 am
I found it to be interesting and credible. It was not a natural rock formation, particularly the large panther carving. The carvings lined up with calculated astronomical events. It was a fascinating work. Travel to Yucatan if you have any doubts about Maya beliefs.
January 31st, 2010 at 4:59 am
I visited Yucatan so I found this show very informative and I enjoyed it. I think they did a fantastic job.
January 31st, 2010 at 8:30 am
If THC was excited by That “Discovery”, imagine how ecstatic they will be when I soon reveal to them, for a nominal fee, my recent findings that a string of monuments to the gods, over 1000 miles long and rising to over 22000 feet high, was carved by The Inca people from the existing, Himalayan sized mountains, with aerial assistance from the beings of The Pleiades, in a project lasting 5000 years. I cannot give the exact location except that the monuments are on an uninhabited continent somewhere south of Mexico and north of Tierra Del Fuego!
February 1st, 2010 at 3:16 am
I watched this show and I agree it was a complete farce. After watching the whole show it is announced that the ‘explorers’ discovered extensive evidence of the site being a key Mayan ritual location however they do not tell us what any of the so-called evidence is. The lump of rock looks natural. The side-kick, labeled as a ‘Professional Adventurer’ and ‘Experienced Mountaineer’, seemed to have trouble just walking a few hundred yards uphill to the site. What a waste of an hour. I was waiting for balloon boy to come floating by…
March 9th, 2010 at 10:06 am
Look, I´m chilean and I have been in Juan Fernandez island, the THC presented an inhabitied island, tha fact is that is a population of 650 and an airport on the western side of the island. In the hole history of chilean archaeologist have found a Maya site in the pacific. very poor program
March 10th, 2010 at 10:39 am
The end could come, or it could be a cycle, which is more likely than the end. But I argue this: the majority of people think when they die, they will go to heaven and be with ‘god’, correct? so why be SO against the world coming to an end (apocalypse/rapture)?
personally, I’m not religious, and since the original Mayans who worked out their calendar are not around to tell us EXACTLY what December 21, 2012 holds in store, perhaps everyone should just get over it and LIVE!
If live as we know it ends on said date, so be it! If its just a cycling of the earth to cleanse itself, well it sure needs it, and its something only nature can do, not humans. Humans make natures problems worse, it takes nature to fix them.
March 29th, 2010 at 9:52 am
I find it absolutely amazing that it is possible to convince many people to believe anything. This program is complete nonsense.
March 29th, 2010 at 9:52 am
This show is the most ridiculous documentary I’ve seen in my life. A pile of rocks that looks suspiciously like a natural formation is trying to be passed off as a Mayan monument, by an “eminent explorer” who must have been on acid to think that “monument” looked like a warrior and a jaguar. If the island in question here is really Juan Fernandez Island, Chile, then the island is inhabited with a sizable population and even has an airport.
March 29th, 2010 at 10:06 am
The program was a waste of time. Nothing was presented to suggest that the rock formation was built by man. It appeared to be a natural rock formation. I’ve seen formations like that just hiking around the Pacific Northwest. Maybe the Chinook Indians were Mayan.
March 29th, 2010 at 1:49 pm
There are people who want to be something - to learn and do what it takes to be a doctor, a boatbuilder, or an archaeologist. Then there are people who are perfectly happy to pretend to be something. People like this who want to wear a khaki shirt with epaulets and get a History Channel film crew to look at them - to get idiots to listen to them. These two guys are the absolute epitome of posers; of wankers - and this program is the antithesis of history. If you want to watch an entertaining overly dramatic archaeological fiction, rent an Indiana Jones movie - if you want to learn something about the ancient Maya (their language is Mayan, everything else - including the peoples themselves - are Maya) visit “The Fiery Pool” exhibit at the Peabody-Essex Museum in Salem, MA. Don’t encourage people to make crap like this.
March 29th, 2010 at 2:50 pm
Can’t find anything on Archeologist Jim Turner.
Why didn’t they just fly to the airport in the town of Bustista on the Island? It looked to me like they did use a helicopeter for some of the shots like when they landed on the “treacherous beach” and in some of the climbing shots. If he need that rock climber guy I wonder how the camera crew made it to the top before they did.
March 29th, 2010 at 8:10 pm
So many haters in cyberspace. R u all just jealous of Jim Turner & his pot smoking buddy because they got an all expenses paid trip2 an island off the coast of South America? Must admit that ‘monument’ did make me think of ‘Crouching Lion’ volcanic rock formation on Oahu. Anyway, Let’s c a bit more research b4 forming an educated opinion of this ‘monuments’ significance.
March 30th, 2010 at 1:52 am
All matters aside regarding the validity of the rock formations, I am interested in knowing more about Mayan maritime history/capability. It has been shown that mesoamerican maize appeared in Florida as early as 800 B.C., and the sea route from Yucatan-to-Cuba-to-Florida seems very doable. Is there really a Mayan ball court on Puerto Rico? To think that maize arrived on the isthmus of Florida overland makes no sense. Columbus chronicler claimed encounters with large ocean going canoes manned by what the Caribs called “southerners (Mayans fit the bill).” Original claims of 90′ lengths for these crafts have been revised downward by modern scholars to maybe around 40.’ Meanwhile DeSoto seems to have encountered similar large canoes used by native Mississippian peoples along the Mississippi River (Quigwilquam(?))in 1542. Anybody out there have any knowledge of sources for further study? I noticed the graphic on the History Channel showed Mayan exploration contacting the entire gulf coast and much of the east coast of North America!
March 30th, 2010 at 3:01 am
I remained somewhat neutral on the subject. Its very hard not knowing the history. I cannot say for sure this is ficticious.
What bothered me was what Turner said about raising money for another visit. hmmm
March 30th, 2010 at 4:07 am
George:
I was looking up the same info regarding to the Mayan ball court in Puerto Rico and how would it have been possible?
When I was watching the show last night I was very excited but reading all the negative press from the bloggers, I’m pretty much sadden that all of this could have been made up.
I did wonder why there was a camera crew on top of the monument prior to the two men getting up there, but that is classic tv for you. For example when either THC, NatGeo, or Disc have a presentation about Egyptian tombs, they claim, “this is the first time ever to capture it on film,” however, there is a camera crew all ready on the other side filming out from the tomb…..
Also, if Turner discovered this 10 years ago, why are we just now hearing about it? There was no exacavation to be done, or any translations needed prior to showing it off to the world…
March 30th, 2010 at 4:56 am
The History Channel has outdone itself with this one. It’s second rate science fiction and not even as amusing as all of the Skunk Ape, Bigfoot, and Sasquatch blarney I’ve seen. Neither of the two gentlemen exhibited any credibility and once they showed the “jaguar” and “king” rock formations it became obvious that they have both lost touch with reality. The author of the review should use the spell check feature on her computer.
March 30th, 2010 at 12:39 pm
Who was that king or god the show depicted with one arm? That was weird.
April 1st, 2010 at 1:03 am
What bothers me the most is the fact that some people say, “What a waste of one hour!” The show was two hours long when I watched it. It was a waste of two hours, not one. How did some people got lucky and only watch one hour?
April 8th, 2010 at 11:31 pm
I am not a scholar of Mayan culture but I have seen a rock formation that looks exactly like the one shown in the film. It is located at the Pinnacles National Monument in Monterey County in California. Anyone who thinks they see a carving has the greatest imagination in existence. Add to that the idea of the dangerous landing when all they had to do was to fly there plus the camera man getting up there with no apparent climbing equipment it loses all credibility.
April 9th, 2010 at 3:05 am
to all this kind of coments “I did wonder why there was a camera crew on top of the monument prior to the two men getting up there” it’s called editing he shows are not filmed as they apear on tv
April 9th, 2010 at 3:43 am
Editing is understandable, but why report that this is the first time and the concerns about making it? Was the climb made up a sheer cliff without use of any tools? The camera seems to show that. I was also wondering where the image came from that showed the art work as it was supposed to have been originally? Was it hand made by our adventurer to convince the viewer? Also, why not show at least one small example of where Maya tools had been used on the structure?
April 13th, 2010 at 5:36 am
i have been in that Island, is it called Robinson Crusoe Island, it is a civilized island (even when it was recently attacked by a tsunami)
and the whole thing of mayan sculptures and things is just a complete bad story.
just a bluff.
these guys are trying to make us look as stupid
April 13th, 2010 at 9:38 am
Like someone said, there´s a lot of Mayan scholars and they are probably still laughing.
Turner doesn´t have a clue. In the show, he´s mistakenly mixing prehispanic cultures, habits, geography, time, everything. Even the picture of the T-Shirt in tis article is wrong. It´s an Aztec calendar, not mayan.
May 3rd, 2010 at 2:37 am
This is the height of the term “stretching”…both in terms of historical information AND thestory telling…SO MUCH REPETITION. This is a 20 minute show stretched into 2 hours! Talk about the “End of Time!”
May 3rd, 2010 at 2:42 am
The skeptics make very good points, I’m throwing in with them. Well, we just love to be entertained. The “monument” just looked like rocks to me too. Hey, if 2012 is the end, we’ll all go at one time and no one will suffer grief. That’s the worst part of “ends” anyway. I’m good.
May 3rd, 2010 at 9:15 pm
HaHa i watched the whole show. well looks like the joke was on me. when they showed the “monument” i was shocked. i was expecting one of those cool temples they kept showing. i couldnt believe that it all lead up to a pile of @%#@in rocks lol.
these guys had been smokin some good stuff to make that look like a dude and his panther. well it was interesting but an ancient monument i dont think so.
May 4th, 2010 at 4:40 am
What a crock !! Did any one but me see the disappointment on the explorers friend when they made it over the crest of the hill ? LOL
May 13th, 2010 at 9:30 am
Aside from everything else that has been said, there was no real evidence presented of carving marks or discarded or broken tools in the area of the “monuments”. The two individuals in the film are also questionable. Jeff Salz supposedly has a Ph.D in Anthropology and appears to work as some sort of adventure guide and speaker. His exact creditials are uncertain and there is no info regarding where he obtained his degrees or where he has taught or what scholarly writing he has done. Jim Turner is a person whose main existence seems to be associated with the so called “Apocalypse Island.” There is a claim that he is some sort of archeaologist but again there is no indication of where he went to school, where he has taught or what he has written. Bottom line is that this should be seen only as a commercial endeavor to make an entertaining film.
May 13th, 2010 at 12:15 pm
Just saw this turkey, May 12, and couldn’t believe it when they got to the “monument”, i.e. Pile of Rocks. Glad to see so many of you weren’t taken in.
Only thing to add is that, if there had been any “carving” on the rock formation, it would have left marks - groves from the chisels. No mention of chisel marks reinforces the pile of rocks interpretation.
May 14th, 2010 at 12:45 am
I say “shame on you History Channel”. Watching this program will make me question anything you produce. Too bad.
June 26th, 2010 at 9:05 am
I just saw a cloud that looked like a Mayan god. I think this means Venus is going to pass over the sun and the world will end in 2012……LOL
June 26th, 2010 at 9:11 am
I just watched this show and my respect for people responsible for the content of the History Channel has been shaken…did Geraldo Rivera join your staff…he is one of the only people I know that can take a 10 min. piece and stretch it for two hours with countless rehashing…
June 26th, 2010 at 11:29 am
Does anyone think Jim Turner actually believes any of this bunk or is he just lonely? Why has History Channel lowered its standards for credible scholarly work? The Da Vinci Code really has done a great disservice to educational documentary films
June 26th, 2010 at 1:13 pm
Add me to the list of suckers.
2 hours wasted.
I should have stopped once it got past the 1 hour mark.
Keep this in mind next time you watch a show like this:
Real scholars can’t wait to specifically tell you what credentials they have, where they went to school, where they teach, where they’ve been published etc…
There’s no way this guy wouldn’t have taken a photo of this thing 10 years ago. And the producers/directors would have shown the photo (even a poorly taken one) more than once early in the show.
If there’s not photo and not even an artists rendering under the FINAL moments of the show, something’s fishy!
We live in the internet age! Google Maps link or it didn’t happen! T.V. people. Listen to me. If it takes place on planet earth and there’s even a chance of there being sattelite imagery of it, at least give us the Latitude/Longitude!
It was either this island or the one to the west of it
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Archipi%C3%A9lago+Juan+Fern%C3%A1ndez&ie=UTF8&ei=WpMlTKXHEsT_lgewh6XPAw&ved=0CAwQ_AU&hl=en&cd=2&geocode=FcB1CP4dAEw7-w&split=0&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=23.875,57.630033&hq=&hnear=Archipi%C3%A9lago+Juan+Fern%C3%A1ndez&ll=-33.637489,-78.826904&spn=0.080034,0.154324&t=h&z=13
and this island has an airstrip (zoom in) no need for a boat.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robinson_Crusoe_Island
June 26th, 2010 at 1:15 pm
The main thing I’d like to know is if there is any truth behind the statements that the 2 celestial events will
1: actually happen
2: only be visible in the western hemisphere from that island
June 26th, 2010 at 1:17 pm
and who were the guys giving commentary and describing mayan history in the studio shots? Were their names and credentials even mentioned?
June 28th, 2010 at 8:32 pm
I concur with the nay-sayers…
SAY,I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE A COPY OF THE INDIAN WITH THE 3 FEATHERS ON HIS HEAD BACKED BY A SILHOETTE OF THE MOON TO USE ON MY REPORT OF THIS “APOCALYSE ISLAND”. KNOW WHERE I CAN FIND COPY? JeffreyLear@SBCGlobal.net
July 6th, 2010 at 12:33 am
The airport is only an hour by boat from the town of San Juan Bautista, seven hours trek.
http://www.trekkingchile.com/EN/trekking-robinson-crusoe.htm
Do go to Jim Turners own site,
http://www.apocalypseisland.com/
and click on photo gallery.
“Isla Robinson Crusoe” has a photo of the airport, the public dock in San Juan Bautista and the expedition’s camp at Refugio Villagra just above where they came ashore on Villagra Bay.
“Monument alignments” has a nice map showing the location of the rock formation just inland from the bay, just across from the town.
Map of island: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Rob-cru.png
July 8th, 2010 at 3:16 pm
They never predicted the end of time. Just the start of a new cycle. A better one actually. Sheesh where are you doing your research?
July 18th, 2010 at 11:49 pm
Such utter nonsense, the History Channel should be ashamed of itself for broadcasting this hogwash.
The island is Juan Fernandez Island. A very well known place with an airport, a town, tourists, a road bisecting the island and scheduled flights and ferry service. Google Earth links to numerous tourist photos from all over the island.
How remote and mysterious is it then? Well, it was the inspiration for the “Robinson Crusoe” novel. It is a popular destination for shipwreck divers as the German battleship “Dresden” sank there. Hundreds of people live there making money off of fishing and the tourist trade. Aircraft and ferries arrive their on regular schedules.
The rock formations the story focuses upon are common to all volcanic regions. You can see similar “monuments” anywhere volcanic remnants are found, all over the world.
The entire presentation is a shameful con job. The journey across the ocean in a small boat instead of simply booking a flight or ferry ride is only the beginning of the foolishness. All they had to do is fly in like any other tourist, hire a ride across the island and get dropped off where they wanted their hike to begin!
James Turner is either a self-deluded fool or a con artist out to make a buck.
July 26th, 2010 at 10:26 pm
i agree with the one response…they are acting like its hard to climb but the camera guy is already there…and also wondering about it being the only place in the western hemisphere to see it…….and any place that you have to chop off private parts im NOT a fan of!!!
August 1st, 2010 at 12:18 am
Haha. I can’t believe I got sucked in. 2 hours what a stretch. It all sounded so plausible - until you see the stupid “monuments”! Just rocks!!! Looked like one of the three sisters in Australia!
August 18th, 2010 at 12:02 pm
Well I have to agree that this was 2 hours of my life that I will never get back, Jim Turner owes me 2 hours of life. The big rock looked like a big rock, doesnt even begin to compare to anything the Egyptians built despite Turners claims that this was more monumental than the sphinx, what a slap in the face of the Egyptians that is. Don Ray, visit this yahoos website, he has a degree from the University of Toronto. A bachelors in philosophy not archaeology.
August 20th, 2010 at 12:54 am
No one has said anything about the green screen ocean at the end. The last five minutes of the show the waves of the ocean never moved. Or is that a sign of the end of the world too?
August 24th, 2010 at 3:08 pm
The distance shot of the overall “monument” looks suspiciously like a silhouette of Dr. Dolittles (60’s version with Rex Harrison) Great Pink Sea Snail. Perhaps it’s not Mayan at all but a Giant Sea Snail burial ground.
August 24th, 2010 at 3:09 pm
I was pretty sure that Jim Turner was crazy when he told the story of first seeing the ‘monument’. There was something in his eyes. Something desperate. Lost. Like he’d spent his entire life in his mother’s basement and he just wanted a friend. And then there was the convoluted relationship between Jim and his hippie buddy, with the awkward dinner chatter at the beginning, and when the hippie said Jim was ‘like his uncle’. What? You’ve got ten years on him, hippie. Don’t sell yourself short. If anything, YOU’RE the creepy uncle in this relationship. And my favorite, when the hippie was climbing the ‘monument’ for the first time, he stopped and turned to Jim. ‘I’m doing this for you’, or something to that affect… Jeez, guys. Get a room at the Motel 6 on the other side of that mountain. You know, the one where your camera guy is staying. Another thing… Jim claims the ‘monument’ was 150 feet tall? That piece of crap rock was about thirty feet tall. And one last thing. Jim claimed that the celestial events in question would only be visible from that island. Is that even possible? Is there any celestial event that is only visible from a single point on Earth? AHHH!!!! WHY DID I WATCH THAT?!?! This show made Ancient Aliens look like a Ken Burns film.
November 18th, 2010 at 6:59 pm
after watching this, I now view the history channel in the same light as “MTV” and the “E!” channel
November 27th, 2010 at 3:59 am
Well, first off, taking a POS boat 400 miles across the ocean is bogus. ESPECIALLY, when you check Google maps you see that island has a landing strip. Who was taking the photos of them on the island? What started out as what I thought was a very interesting “documentary” became nothing short of rubbish. But, I’ll give him credit for having the guts to TRY to pull this off. Absolute crap. P.S. there is an abandoned warehouse off Hwy 375 (The ET Hwy) 6 miles west of Rachael, Nevada that is rumored to have alien remains brought there from Area 51. Maybe he could check into this for us?
November 27th, 2010 at 4:03 am
Chris is right. The History channel should be ashamed of broadcasting this sort of garbage. They would be better off broadcasting an old NASCAR race or football game.
November 27th, 2010 at 3:49 pm
I thought this was an elaborate scheme the archaeologist concocted to get the moiuntain climber to go camping with him. I wanted to see a “Brokeback Mountain” on that broke back mountain. This was the worst soft-core porn I’ve ever seen.
February 23rd, 2011 at 10:49 am
He’s no Archaeologists they did no excavation at all. There was no evidence found at all of carving no relics …nothing. All they did was climb to the top wooooow. Thats real science! WTF History channel what crap the CGI 3D model of what it was supposed to like was nothing like it at all. That is an obvious natural rock formation. He said he’s waited years to return and he doesn’t even take a look around the monument of bullshittt to look for the tomb of more bullshittt …….these guys are fakes.
February 24th, 2011 at 4:57 am
I’m not sure when this farce of a TV show first aired, but I watched it for the first time last night on the HI channel. Even before I did some “web research” today, I noticed several things that bothered me. First off, Turner points to a nearby mountain range which was obviously north-westerly of him (to his right), while he was situated on the western edge of the island, and was looking at the westerly setting sun. He then says that at any other time of the year, not the predicted 40 days before the summer soltice on 12/21/2012 (yes, it’s summer in the southern hemisphere), the view of the 11/13/2012 total eclipse (note 38 days before Jim, not 40!) the sun would be blocked by these mountains. Hogwash! Even though he’s far into the southern hemisphere there, he’s not far enough south (about S 33^ 40′) for the sun to ever appear that far north in the northern celestial hemisphere! Not even at noon on December 21 !! It would only be about 6 degrees north of the zenith point (overhead) at local apparent noon there. In fact, at or near sunset that day, the sun would traverse an arc that would put it quite a few degrees south of due west, thus it still would NOT be blocked by these mountains, maybe the ones out on those smaller islands, but not the ones on the main part of the island. Secondly, Turner leads us to believe that this so-called “Apocalypse Island”, which he has named himself by the way, is deserted. In fact on “Robinson Crusoe Island”, there’s about 600 Chileans who live in a small town of San Juan Bautista which is located on the eastern side of the island. They mostly make a living by lobster fishing. There’s even a public dock and an airport on the island. It is also a rather popular place for eco-tourism from the mainland city of Valparaiso, Chile. Thirdly, if you watch carefully while Jimbo and his co-hort hike up towards this “incredibly wild and remote site”, in places they walk along portions of a well worn hiking trail! Fourth, there are two seemingly distinctly different sets of paired rock formations. I missed this at first, but I noticed them upon reviewing the video over and over again. But I will give these guys the benefit of the doubt and admit that my perception may have been somewhat distorted by the different camera perspectives and lighting. Fifth, using either of the two sets of formations, it is a real stretch to even remotely see in them the remains of a crouching jaguar and a standing Mayan King! These interesting rock formations are simply the result of millions of years of natural erosion from wind, salt air, and rain. As they pointed out, the igneous rock is very soft and porous. It would not take even that long to make these natural features. Lastly, the November 13, 2012 “total eclipse” will be at best only a partial eclipse there, because the far eastern end of the total eclipse path swings over a hundred or so miles to the north of the island. Sorry Jimbo!! There could be some pissed off tourists out there if he (or others) build up this rediculous hoax!!
February 25th, 2011 at 3:18 am
http://apocalypseisland.webs.com/apps/profile/65521824/
Hi Guys,
I’m flattered that you have all taken it upon yourself to band together against the History Channel movie. I myself think it was a big piece of crap and I’m a little tired of catching all the flack for it. The post-production was done in less than two months without any input from me. I argued vehemently against the pointless boat ride and the short time we spent on the island, almost none of which was spent filming the monument. But let’s at least get the facts straight. I never claimed 2012 is the end of the world. I never said the island was uninhabited. I never said we had a short window of weather to get to the island. All these were done by the scary voice-over of Robert Davi, who did a one-day script read for $5,000. As for the authoritative voice of Simon Haberle, his own work doesn’t support his conclusions. He excavated 7 square meters on an island of 88 square kilometers (or 88,000,000 square meters). His sample size was not even 1 in 10 million. To take that and say “The archaeological evidence is very clear” is an unwarranted extrapolation of data. That’s like me looking out my back door and concluding that no Native Americans ever lived in New York. Haberle even admits in his report that erosion has deposited an overburden of 1.5-3 meters in some areas but he doesn’t bother to excavate beyond that. Near the base of the Spanish Fort, arguably the best real estate on the island, his team discovered charcoal dating to the 7th Century, the time of Chan Bahlum at Palenque, but since there were no associated artifacts within the single square meter, it is dismissed as the remains of a naturally-occurring forest fire. I’m just as angry as many of you about the 2012 hype, perhaps more so since I have to defend myself against the errors of others attributed to me. But before you go on ranting and spouting off about stuff you learned on the Internet, at least try to get your facts straight. Then maybe an intelligent conversation can be had instead of the vitriolic name-calling that seems to characterize this witch-hunt.
Cheers,
Jim Turner
February 25th, 2011 at 9:07 am
Jim - Interesting details on the lack of production values and addition of hyperbole by the voice-overs but the main criticism remains - there is no monument or any evidence that Mayans ever set foot on the island. Just a natural rock formation.
So, what’s the story about how Apocalypse Island became Apocalypse island? Are we going to see a new story about how the folks in Tillamook Valley invented cheese with the help of goat-like aliens?
Not being facetious; both stories are equally credulous (incredulous).
February 25th, 2011 at 8:29 pm
http://chatforum.apocalypseisland.com/user/Discussion.aspx?id=214343
On January 10, 2010 12:40 AM, in the above forum, James Turner wrote:
The eclipse as witnessed on the island is about 90% total. The path of totality passes slightly north of the island. However, from the NASA map you can see that it is not visible to continental South America or anywhere else in the Western Hemisphere. A large area of the earth will witness the Transit of Venus. My claim was that the island was the only place to see BOTH the transit and final eclipse of 2012. Those are my words in the film but it was later misquoted by the voice-over narration. I’m glad to see that people are engaging the subject and searching for their own answers.
Good night!
James Turner
August 7th, 2011 at 6:10 am
I must admit that all the people on here seem to “Claim” to know the show was BOGUS! But Heck, with the U.S. heading in the Direction it is, we will all be screwed, a few months Prior to the “Predictions” so “Who Cares?”
August 7th, 2011 at 5:14 pm
Bruce - the only people “claiming” anything are the folks promoting Apocalypse Island and the wonder is that they keep re-running it. It’s a fraud and a fake; there is absolutely nothing on that island that relates to the Maya. Turner himself admits that the only thing they found was some 7th century charcoal; A Campfire.
Does that prove that Sixties Surfers traveled back in time so they could have a weenie roast and listen to Jan and Dean?
Both claims have equal validity.
The world is always going to hell; that’s kinda what history’s about. What does that fact have to do with this thread? Question is, did the Maya visit the island, did they erect any kind of monument and, if they did, did that monument have any anything to do with the cycle that ends in 2012?
No, no and no.
October 21st, 2011 at 9:13 am
Mr. Jim, I enjoyed your show. I watched with an open mind. I hope you have more for us. I wish I was there digging and exploring with you, I have a current passport… I believe there is much to learn and we don’t have much time to learn it. I believe much information is just around the corner, waiting to be exposed. Keep up the great work.
November 8th, 2011 at 4:50 pm
Spent two hours on this show, at the second half, I decided to give a search on phone on this Apocalypse Island. I ended up found this remote island “Robinson Crusoe Island” has a population of 890 and even with an airstrip. This show should goes to Sci Fi channel, not history channel.
November 9th, 2011 at 6:56 am
Don’t let what the History Channel decided to do minimize the important archaeological evidence that is there. Dr turner’s work either.
December 30th, 2011 at 4:59 pm
Ya i gotta agree with the majority here, i was less than impressed with this show and dont see anything carved by man in those rock formations. They mentioned how the statue had weathered and decayed to look so rough as it does now - yet all the surrounding rock surfaces on the hillside were in the same condition. THC usually has great and credible stuff on it, this was a bit of a surprising stretch. As for the few people who commented in support of this and said things like who are we all to say what the Maya really intended, etc, wake up - we’re not discrediting anything about the Mayans or saying that we have all the answers - but simply that this show made an extremely poor and non-credible case. Jim its too bad if the editors cut and twisted your show - and alot of us probably believe you on that part, as that kinda happens all too often. But i cant help but think had your reseach and theories been more plausible, with any shred evidence that wasnt completely abstract and imaginitive, the editors would certainly not have left those parts on the cutting room floor.
MSM
January 1st, 2012 at 12:09 am
I can’t believe the “History” Channel is still broadcasting this tripe. Very disappointing!!!!
January 19th, 2012 at 2:06 pm
Mr. Turner, you are full of it.
I watched that POS homo-erotic “documentary” last week. Luckily I only saw the last 30 minutes or so.
It doesn’t matter how much you complain that the production and post-production was bad, it still doesn’t change the fact that you were talking complete rubbish.
You looked like a fool.
How can you claim that those obviously natural rock formations are Mayan artefacts???
Also, the show only showed fleeting glimpses of the actual rock formations, because it’s obvious that they weren’t what you were claiming. You showed more than double the amount of the awful CGI of the thing.
Robert Davi’s $5000 voice over was the best thing about it.
Everybody, except idiots like the kind of people who listen to Alex Jones and believe him, are laughing at you. I hope some real archaeologist or whatever makes an example of you and your stupid ideas.
I can’t wait until it turns 2013, so all the idiots will have to shut up about this stupid 2012 end-of-world rubbish!