Ancient astronaut hypothesis
Petroglyphs from Val Camonica, Italy. Ancient astronaut proponents assert that these pictures resemble modern astronauts during EVA.
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| Claims | Intelligent extraterrestrial life visited the Earth in ancient times and profoundly affected the development of human civilization. |
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| Related scientific disciplines | Archaeology |
| Year proposed | 1919 |
| Original proponents | Charles Fort, Erich von Däniken |
| Subsequent proponents | Robert K. G. Temple, Zecharia Sitchin, Richard C. Hoagland, Burak Eldem |
| Pseudoscientific concepts | |
Ancient astronauts (or ancient aliens) is a pseudohistoric concept based on the belief that intelligent extraterrestrial beings visited Earth and made contact with humans in antiquity and prehistoric times. Proponents suggest that this contact influenced the development of modern cultures, technologies, and religions. A common claim is that deities from most, if not all, religions are extraterrestrial in origin, and that advanced technologies brought to Earth by ancient astronauts were interpreted as evidence of divine status by early humans.
The idea that ancient astronauts existed is not taken seriously by academics, and has received no credible attention in peer reviewed studies. Ancient astronauts have been widely used as a plot device in science fiction.
Well-known proponents in the latter half of the 20th century who have written numerous books or appear regularly in mass media include Erich von Däniken, Zecharia Sitchin, Robert K. G. Temple, Giorgio A. Tsoukalos and David Hatcher Childress.
Proponents of the ancient astronaut hypotheses often maintain that humans are either descendants or creations of extraterrestrial intelligence (ETI) who landed on Earth thousands of years ago. An associated idea is that humans evolved independently, but that much of human knowledge, religion, and culture came from extraterrestrial visitors in ancient times, in that ancient astronauts acted as a "mother culture". Some ancient astronaut proponents also believe that travelers from outer space, referred to as "astronauts" (or "spacemen") built many of the structures on Earth (such as Egyptian pyramids and the Moai stone heads of Easter Island) or aided humans in building them.
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Wikipedia