Ancient astronaut theories propose that extraterrestrial beings visited Earth in the ancient past and influenced the development of human civilizations. These theories often suggest that these ancient aliens provided humans with technological and spiritual knowledge, and some even propose that they played a role in the creation of human life itself.
Proponents of ancient astronaut theories point to various pieces of artifacts to support their claims. These may include ancient texts and artwork that depict strange, otherworldly beings or advanced technological devices. Some have also pointed to unexplained physical artifacts, such as the pyramids of Egypt or the Nazca Lines in Peru, as possible evidence of ancient alien visitation.
While there is sufficient evidence to support this theory, readers of Erich Von Daniken’s book Chariot of the Gods? are the most convinced of the notion that alien travelers instigated Mankind’s traditions. In his book, he claims that the first UFOs to visit the Earth landed during the prehistoric era, and those beings that descended from the sky were really the ones liable for the intelligence of our ancient ancestors. The legends of Atlantis, and have aspects that influence intergalactic relationships, and Daniken’s bold insinuations have stimulated many similar theories which link our history with visits from ancient astronauts.
Throughout his early life, Daniken had always been fascinated by ancient holy writings and artifacts, but it was during his time managing a business in Switzerland that he wrote his initial and most famous book, Chariots of the Gods?. The book looked at concrete evidence which supported a theory that prehistoric Man did not possess the ability to create their own civilizations. He stated that ancient astronauts had arrived on the planet and instituted our ancient ancestors’ culture, knowledge, and traditions. By precisely choosing data from scientific, biological, religious, historical, mythical, and even some fictional sources, Daniken constructed a captivating argument. Inevitably, there are many experts who dispute his contentious statements.
Daniken also claimed that the Ark of the Covenant was made as a large electric capacitator, when in all actuality, its design is totally unsuitable. Interestingly, he stated that the famous Nazca Lines were runways for alien spacecraft but failed to consider the possibility that they might have some affiliation to the native Nazca culture. One example of Daniken’s evidence was pottery said to date back to the Biblical times. These ancient pots contained pictures of UFOs painted on their sides. Although there are those who continually insist on refuting his argument, Daniken believes these individuals will irrationally refuse to believe anything unless tangible evidence is presented.
Since the publication of Daniken’s book, challenging and corresponding theories about similar subjects have emerged. In his 1976 book, The Sirius Mystery, Robert Temple argues that the Dogon people of northwestern Mali preserve a tradition of contact with extraterrestrial visitors from the Sirius-star system which dates to over 5,000 years ago. The alien beings are said to have taught the arts of civilization to humans and are claimed to have originated from the same star systems that the Egyptian Pharaohs, the mythology of Greek civilization, and the Epic of Gilgamesh came from. The book centers around the mystery of how the Dogon acquired knowledge of Sirius B, the white dwarf companion star to Sirius A, which is invisible to the naked eye. Carl Sagan noted discrepancies in Robert Temple’s hypothesis, as the Dogon people seem to have no knowledge of another planet beyond Saturn, as he insisted that their knowledge came from European sources, instead of extraterrestrial.
A further controversial theory was written in 1994 by Robert Bauval and Adrian Gilbert in their book The Orion Mystery. From this book sprang ‘The Orion Theory’ which is the belief that the Ancient Egyptians are descendants from an alien race. The authors noticed that the three pyramids of Giza correlate precisely with the three stars on the belt of the constellation of Orion.
The Orion Theory suggests that alien visitors emerged from a planet within the Orion star system. The Egyptians worshipped the god Osiris, who had ‘Sha’ as its cosmic likeness. Orion is the modern term for the Sha constellation. Bauval and Gilbert also considered the strange shafts found in the pyramids which they stated were directed towards the right area of the heavens for the dead pharaohs’ souls to ascend back from where they came. Modern academics have noted that the position of the Earth and view of the heavens would have been exceedingly different during the ancient era. While manipulation of the time periods has been suspected to ensure some of the theories are seen as credible, this has weakened the integrity of the whole subject.
As Daniken himself is the forefather of all these ideas, more authors are starting to open about their attempts to account for the mysterious evidence left on the Earth. As it’s easy to negate an idea without tangible evidence, what’s to say the statues on Easter Island, the Piri Reis map, Pyramids of Giza, Stonehenge, and Nazca lines, are not bits of unconcealed evidence left during a visitation from an intelligent race of beings during the prehistoric era?
Despite the popularity of ancient astronaut theories, most mainstream scientists do not consider them to be a credible explanation for the development of human societies. These theories often lack concrete evidence and are not supported by scientific principles such as the laws of physics. Moreover, many of the claims made by ancient astronaut theorists have been debunked or shown to be based on flawed interpretations of the evidence. What do you think?