DALLAS, February 5, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- In The Foundings (available from 1stBooks Library), Dallas resident William E. McCommons uses his knowledge of ancient history to write a fictional account that sheds light on the distant past of both Africa and South America.
McCommons' tale begins at the dawn of written history in Uruk, the capital of Sumer. Ur-man-co, the second son of King Gilgamesh, and his servant, Micah, from Ethiopia, join the army. After traveling to unknown areas by land and sea and winning many skirmishes, the need for tin sends them around Africa where their ship gets blown off course and finally lands at the mouth of the Amazon River. They follow the river to its headwaters, where they ultimately reach what is now Peru and Bolivia to establish the beginnings of a new culture.
In The Foundings, McCommons addresses many puzzling questions: Why have ancient porcelain pot-shards been found along the Amazon? Why are there ancient tiles on Marajo Island? How did the city, and now Republic, of Djibouti get its name? Why has a drinking font, known as the "Fuente Magna," with cuneiform instructions for planting grain been found near Lake Titicaca? And, why was a delicate silver spoon with a sharp pointed end found in the burial possessions of an Incan princess?
McCommons was an avid amateur archaeologist who visited many ancient sites. He graduated from the University of Illinois in 1947. He was a decorated World War II veteran who served in the South Pacific and a member of the elite Alamo Scouts. He also founded and ran a successful oil exploration company.
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