Humankind is pretty old. As a species, we’ve walked this planet for some 300,000 years,
and that’s only in our most recent guise, as homo sapiens. Our evolutionary path until that point
stretches even further back… and yet, compared to Earth itself, we’ve still barely been here
a moment. The history of the world reaches not thousands, hundreds of thousands, or even
millions of years, but multi-billions of years into the past. For the history of the universe,
it’s a further three times as much again. When contemplating the true nature of reality, then,
we have a truly massive timeframe to work within… which leads to some interesting suggestions.
This is Unveiled, and today we’re answering the extraordinary question;
did ancient humans interact with aliens?
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The search for alien life is now an ever-present in the modern era. We have telescopes, satellites,
probes and landers all geared toward achieving that one monumental breakthrough; the discovery
of an extraterrestrial lifeform. And, if reports are to be believed, then we’re getting closer and
closer… with state-backed initiatives like the James Webb superseding even the Hubble
in terms of the astronomical detail it can now zoom in on… and with private groups, including
Breakthrough Starshot and the Galileo Project, bidding to beat our space agencies by becoming
the first to make first contact. But, actually, one theory asks; have we seen it all before?
Paleocontact - more widely known as the ancient astronauts theory - was fiercely
debated throughout much of the second half of the twentieth century, particularly in
the 1960s, ‘70s and ‘80s. That it is still quite contemporary, though, in the wider human story,
doesn’t mean that it’s problem-free… and in fact, far from it. Ideas on paleocontact - that is,
that there was some kind of ancient arrival by aliens to Earth which thereafter shaped human
history - are widely labeled as pseudoscience by academics. It’s a discussion that’s also wrapped
up in allegations of prejudice, with it (in the past) being used by predominantly white,
western figures to explain predominantly non-western ancient structures - as though
ancient groups couldn’t possibly have built things like the pyramids without alien help,
despite now-vast evidence that, actually, they could and they did.
Nevertheless, the possibility of paleocontact, in its broadest sense, is still of interest in
some circles - notably science fiction - and in some thought experiments, on human life
before recorded history, for example. In terms of tangible evidence of humankind pre-10,000
years ago, say, there are dramatically fewer materials to go on. Even our oldest,
iconic physical structures fall short. The Great Pyramid was built only four-and-a-half thousand
years ago. The first parts of Stonehenge date to only five thousand years ago. Göbekli Tepe in
Turkey is thought to be around twelve thousand years old… but as we travel further back,
the potential ruins and objects and leads become smaller and smaller, and less and less certain. As
we look back in time to before the agricultural revolution, some thirteen thousand years ago,
the human trace becomes even more difficult to follow. There then appears to be a very
lengthy blind spot within our own story. And, while modern technology does allow us to fill
it to some extent - with methods to analyze past atmospheres, for instance, as well as the more
traditional study of strata, the era-defining layers of rock and silt embedded into the
Earth - it’s perhaps little wonder that some make the case for some more outlandish ideas, as well.
The debate on paleocontact - whether it is (or isn’t) possible, and whether it is (or isn’t)
likely - really centers on two people; the US astronomer, Carl Sagan, and the Swiss writer,
Erich von Däniken. First, in 1963, Sagan published in-depth work in which he analyzed the probability
and likelihood of a hypothetical alien group ever having visited Earth, at any point in its history.
In the paper, Sagan applied the famous Drake Equation - a flexible formula for calculating
the potential number of alien civilizations - before arriving at a ballpark estimate that there
could be up to one million intelligent groups, in just the Milky Way galaxy alone. Naturally, apply
a similar thinking to every other galaxy in the universe, and it’s arguably plausible that there
could be multi-multi-millions of aliens in total. Sagan then suggested that there was at least some
potential for any one of those speculated groups to have traveled to Earth; and then,
just through the laws of time and probability, there should be at least a small chance that that
might’ve happened 1) at a time when humans were here, and 2) in such a way as humans would be
able to notice and understand what was happening. Crucially, though, Sagan had continually stressed
(in the paper, and in subsequent interviews) that his calculations were all hypothetical;
that just because it perhaps could happen, doesn’t mean that it ever in fact did.
Enter Erich von Däniken who, five years after Sagan’s paper, in 1968, published
his first major bestseller, called “Chariots of the Gods?”. In it, he vehemently argues
that ancient visitations (maybe one, maybe many) certainly did happen - in his view. In general,
the crux of the argument is seemingly wrapped up in that same controversial belief that ancient
civilizations can’t possibly have achieved things like the building of the Pyramids or the creation
of the Easter Island Moai statues without alien help. Von Däniken does go further, though, in
suggesting that not only buildings and structures but whole religions and belief systems may have
been installed into humankind by a visiting alien race. There are comparisons drawn between
Biblical angels and descending alien beings, and a general claim that what we’ve since converted
into gods via religion… were actually advanced beings from above, sometime in our distant past.
Von Däniken’s book (and its many sequels) have received constant criticism, however,
for everything from suspected plagiarism… to a near total lack of evidence. In many cases, the
examples that von Däniken draws on have even been incontrovertibly proven otherwise. Most famously,
six years after releasing “Chariots of the Gods?”, in 1974, the writer was forced to row back on his
claims that the monument known as the Iron Pillar of Delhi - in Delhi, India - had been alien made,
or influenced. While von Däniken had asserted that the pillar didn’t rust most likely due to
some kind of alien knowhow… the truth is (and always was) that there actually was evidence of
rust on the pillar, as it had aged in an expected and typical way. Given that there are also solid
records as to how and when the monument was built, as well, von Däniken eventually conceded that he
was wrong about it. Similarly, the author’s explanation of the Nazca Lines, in Peru,
as being human-made, yes, but only in a bid to attract the attention of an alien race, and to
persuade them to return to Earth… are considered to be entirely unsubstantiated. In other words,
in the view of most scientists who look for proof first of all, they’re totally made up.
Carl Sagan was reportedly not best pleased about how von Däniken had responded to
(and ran with) his original, speculative research. Again, Sagan had crunched his
numbers through the Drake Equation with a purely hypothetical outcome in mind. At no point did he,
or any of his colleagues, outright claim that Earth had been visited by aliens before,
let alone that past humans had ever made their acquaintance. That said, and partly
due to his 1963 research, Sagan never outright rubbished the idea that it was possible, either.
And again, we return to that massive, massive timeframe we encountered at the beginning.
With three hundred thousand years of modern human history to work within, with hundreds of thousands
of years or our multi-stranded evolutionary story before then, and with only the last five
thousand years, or so, committed to any kind of written record… it can feel that, if there are
advanced civilizations out there, then they’ve surely had more than enough time to drop by?
The specific claims of ancient alien influence over early human societies, however,
are being increasingly shown to be unfounded, misguided, and potentially even dangerous.
While there are some mysterious elements that remain, we know that humans built the pyramids;
while there are plenty of questions as to why human beings would subscribe to gods
in the first place, we can trace the birth of religions to social developments at the time.
Did ancient humans interact with aliens? All credible research and evidence still says no,
they didn’t. There could always be time enough to rewind the clock a little more,
and a little more, however, and particularly with Carl Sagan’s original claims in mind. And
if we move further back to the time before humans were here under any definition,
to the ever-unknowable early Earth… and if we take Sagan’s estimations at their highest,
with a million or so potential alien groups in just this galaxy… could it be that our planet,
at least, has interacted with at least one of them? Could Earth’s greatest secret be
that we’re not the first intelligent life forms that it has ever seen?
But, regardless, on the scale between Sagan and von Däniken, where would you place yourself?
What do you think? Is there anything we missed? Let us know in the comments, check out these other
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