Ancient astronauts
Belief that aliens visited Earth in ancient times.
Ancient astronauts are a pseudoscientific belief that extraterrestrial beings visited Earth in antiquity and influenced human development.[1] Well-known proponents include Erich von Däniken, Zecharia Sitchin, and Giorgio A. Tsoukalos.[2]
Quick Facts
- Topics
- Archaeology
Facts from the source article.
Key facts and history
Paleocontact narratives first appeared in late 19th and early 20th century science fiction, and were proposed in earnest by journalist Harold T. Wilkins in 1954.[3] Proponents often claim that deities from most religions are extraterrestrial in origin.[1] Proponents also claim that travelers from outer space built many structures on Earth, such as the Egyptian pyramids.[4] The Space Race and Erich von Däniken's publications were the primary drivers of the idea's increased popularity during the 1960s, as noted in the Encyclopedia of Pseudoscience (2013).[5]
Throughout the 1970s, various critics emerged who discredited the claims made by Von Däniken, according to the Encyclopedia of Pseudoscience.[5] By the early 1980s, very little support for the idea remained, as documented in the Encyclopedia of Pseudoscience.[5] A frequently held belief is that extraterrestrial visitors served as a "mother culture" from which human knowledge, religion, and culture originated, as described in Olien's "The Human Myth" (1978).[4] Followers of ancient astronaut theories often believe that some or all humans are either descended from or were created by extraterrestrial intelligence, according to Olien's "The Human Myth" (1978).[4]
What the cited sources add
The Skeptic's Dictionary notes that Zecharia Sitchin begins with the assumption that ancient myths are not myths but historical and scientific texts.[6] The Skeptic's Dictionary reports that Sitchin has received nothing but ridicule from scientific archaeologists and scholars familiar with ancient languages.[6] Heiser asks whether Sitchin's word meanings are consistent with Mesopotamian cuneiform bilingual dictionaries produced by ancient Akkadian scribes.[7] Italian art expert Diego Cuoghi states that objects in Medieval and Renaissance art cited as unidentified flying objects contain religious symbolism, such as radiant clouds or angels.[8]
References
- Wikipedia, "Ancient astronauts" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Lieb, "Children of Ezekiel: Aliens, UFOs, the Crisis of Race, and the Advent of End Time", Duke University Press, 1998, p. 51–54, 249–251; Hammer, "Handbook of UFO Religions", Brill Publishers, 2021, p. 151–177; May, "Pseudoscience and Science Fiction", Springer Verlag, 2016, p. 133; "Philosophy of Science and the Occult", State University of New York Press, 1983, p. 278–288; Lieb, "Children of Ezekiel: Aliens, UFOs, the Crisis of Race, and the Advent of End Time", Duke University Press, 1998, p. 51–54, 249–251; Hammer, "Handbook of en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Ancient astronauts" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Lieb, "Children of Ezekiel: Aliens, UFOs, the Crisis of Race, and the Advent of End Time", Duke University Press, 1998, p. 51–54, 249–251; Hammer, "Handbook of UFO Religions", Brill Publishers, 2021, p. 151–177; "Philosophy of Science and the Occult", State University of New York Press, 1983, p. 278–288 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Ancient astronauts" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Envisioning Martian Civilizations", Library of Congress; Card 2018: p. 249 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Ancient astronauts" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Olien, "The Human Myth: An Introduction to Anthropology", Harper & Row, 1978, p. 236–241, 245, 255 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Ancient astronauts" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Williams, "Encyclopedia of Pseudoscience: From Alien Abductions to Zone Therapy", Routledge, 2013 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Carroll, "The Skeptic's Dictionary", Zecharia Sitchin and The Earth Chronicles, 1994–2009. facts only, no text reused. skepdic.com
- "Open Letter to Zecharia Sitchin", stichiniswrong.com. facts only, no text reused. sitchiniswrong.com
- Wikipedia, "Ancient astronauts" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Polidoro 2005 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Ancient astronauts (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
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