Pre-Dynastic Origins of the Great Sphinx and Other Egyptian Structures, and the Influence of Astronomical Factors (For Example, Comets and Precession) on Ancient Civilizations. Robert M. Schoch is well-known for his research on the Great Sphinx as well as his studies of the underwater structure off the coast of Yonaguni Island, Japan. Currently a tenured faculty member at Boston Universitys College of General Studies, Schoch completed his graduate work at Yale University, earning a Ph.D. (1983) in geology and geophysics. Since 1990 Robert Schoch has been researching the age of the Great Sphinx, in conjunction with John Anthony West, and based on his geological studies, he has determined that the Sphinxs origins go back to pre-dynastic times. Schoch discusses the Sphinx and other topics in his book Voices of the Rocks. Dr. Schoch has also published two new books, Voyages of the Pyramid Builders: The True Origins of the Pyramids from Lost Egypt to Ancient America (Tarcher/Putnam, 2003) and Pyramid Quest: Secrets of the Great Pyramid and the Dawn of Civilization (Tarcher/Penguin, 2005). Schoch has lectured widely on paleontology, stratigraphy and the age of the Great Sphinx. He is the author of numerous papers, reviews, abstracts and several books besides the two mentioned above (including the textbook Environmental Science: Systems and Solutions). In recognition of Schochs paleontological contributions, in 1993 the new genus Schochia, an extinct group of fossil mammals, was named in his honor.

He will explore the very ancient beginnings of Egyptian civilization (going back much further in the past than has been generally acknowledged), and the high knowledge of those early people. He will also discuss the more general concept of cycles among ancient peoples, and the interplay between large-scale cycles (for instance, precession) and smaller-scale cycles (for instance, caused by periodic encounters with comets). Such cyclical phenomena had a profound effect on the very fabric of ancient civilizations, and continue to have meaning today.

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