
By the early 1980s little remaining support could be found. Ufologists separated the idea from the UFO controversy. Critics emerged throughout the 1970s, discrediting Von Däniken's claims. Wilkins in 1954 it received some consideration as a serious hypothesis during the 1960s mainly due to Erich von Däniken and the Space Race. The idea was proposed in earnest by Harold T. Paleocontact or "ancient astronaut" narratives first appeared in the early science fiction of the late 19th to early 20th century, including H.P. According to astrophysicist Carl Sagan, "In the long litany of 'ancient astronaut' pop archaeology, the cases of apparent interest have perfectly reasonable alternative explanations, or have been misreported, or are simple prevarications, hoaxes and distortions". Scholars have responded that gaps in contemporary knowledge are not evidence of the existence of ancient astronauts, and that advocates have not provided any convincing documentary or physical evidence of an artifact that might conceivably be the product of ETI contact. These are sometimes referred to as " out-of-place artifacts" and include artwork and legends which are interpreted in a modern sense as depicting extraterrestrial contact or technologies. The evidence is argued to include archaeological artifacts that they deem anachronistic, or beyond the accepted technical capabilities of the historical cultures with which they are associated. Proponents argue that the evidence for ancient astronauts comes from documentary gaps in historical and archaeological records, and they also maintain that absent or incomplete explanations of historical or archaeological data point to the existence of ancient astronauts. Ancient astronauts hypothesis of creation Various terms are used to reference claims about ancient astronauts, such as ancient aliens, ancient ufonauts, ancient space pilots, paleocontact, astronaut- or alien gods, or paleo- or Bible-SETI ( search for extraterrestrial intelligence). 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. 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". Proponents of the ancient astronaut hypothesis often maintain that humans are either descendants or creations of extraterrestrial intelligence (ETI) who landed on Earth thousands of years ago. Tsoukalos, David Hatcher Childress, Peter Kolosimo, and Mauro Biglino.Īncient astronauts proponents suggest that aliens came to Earth long ago, citing artifacts such as this ancient Mesopotamian cylinder seal. Well-known ancient astronauts 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. When proponents of the idea present evidence in favor of their beliefs, it is often distorted or fabricated. It has received no credible attention in peer reviewed studies. The idea that ancient astronauts existed and visited Earth is not taken seriously by academics and archaeologists, who consider it to be pseudoarchaeological and/or unscientific. A common position 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. Proponents suggest that this contact influenced the development of modern cultures, technologies, religions, and human biology. Ancient astronauts (or ancient aliens) refers to a pseudoscientific hypothesis which holds that intelligent extraterrestrial beings visited Earth and made contact with humans in antiquity and prehistoric times.
