Ancient astronauts
- Ancient aliens redirects here. For the show, see Ancient Aliens.
| I'm not saying it was...
Ancient aliens! |
| Xenu was here |
Ancient asso- (ahem) astronauts are aliens purported to have come to Earth thousands of years ago. Some claim that these aliens form the basis for the mythological gods of ancient cultures. Others suggest that we are descendants of these aliens. A few claim they came, placed random pieces of architecture in random spots, and left ie. that structures made of stone such as the pyramids at Giza, Stonehenge, and the Nazca lines were made by a civilization advanced enough to achieve space travel.
If someone presents these arguments to you, don't even bother responding, as you'll only validate their insanity and encourage them in their esoteric fantasies.[1]
The main result of the ancient astronauts' influence in the late 20th and early 21st centuries has been to upwardly mobilize sundry con artists, cynical authors and loonies (von Däniken, Scientology) and provide fodder for really stupid shows on the US basic cable History Channel.
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[edit] Purported evidence
Any obscure and/or exotic (at least to the average Westerner) piece of archaeology, history or mythology has been used as evidence for ancient extraterrestrial visitation at some time or other. (Impressive ancient ruins? Aliensdidit! Descriptions of gods or demons coming from the sky? Aliens!) A non-exhaustive list:
- The Giza pyramids and the Sphinx
- Pyramids in general
- Stonehenge and other megalithic monuments in general
- The Nazca lines
- The purported astronomical knowledge of the Dogon people
- Mohenjo-daro, a ruined city cited as evidence of ancient nuclear war
The quest for oddities has its fun moments, such as the carving of an astronaut in the decorations of the New Cathedral in Salamanca (in Spain). The Cathedral has been built between the 16th and the 18th centuries, but the figure itself was carved by a playful restorator in 1992.[2]
[edit] It's never major white cultures who get science and technology from aliens
This is a coincidence.
[edit] See also
- Aliensdidit
- Ancient Aliens
- Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence
- Tower of Babel, depending on interpretation
[edit] Proponents
- Peter Kolosimo
- Erich von Däniken
- Giorgio A. Tsoukalos
- Zecharia Sitchin
- Lloyd Pye
- Raëlism
- Scientology (not proponents per se, publicly they say they have nothing to do with it. Once you pay them lots of $$$ then you find out about Xenu and aliens being on Earth first)
- Maximillien de Lafayette
- Robert Temple
- Mike Bara
- Courtney Brown
- Center for Ancient Astronaut Research
[edit] Footnotes
- ↑ But... but... but... Stonehenge points to their home star!!!
- ↑ A Spanish Mystery, Snopes.com