Ancient Astronauts : is a theory
popularised by the writer Eric Von Daniken, that between 10,000 and 40,000
years ago the earth was visited by extra-terrestrials who bred with
early humans to produce Homo sapiens. In his popular book Chariots
of the Gods he suggests that these extra-terrestrials were
responsible for building the great Egyptian pyramids and that they
also laid down air fields in Peru that are still clearly visible
today. The basis for his theory stems from the countless legends
from around the world which tell of flying machines and winged gods.
Instead of being from the imagination of early civilizations Von Daniken
suggests that these relics and images come from aliens with much advanced
technologies. He points to the fact that the Egyptians could not
have possibly built the Great Pyramid of Cheops without the help of
technology. He also suggests that the famous mysterious lines on
Peru's Nazca Plain are indeed early form of
alien airfield. Since
writing his books advances in DNA technology have ruled out the
possibility of alien genes as it is unlikely that the biology between
humans and aliens would be so close. Even if it was close there is
evidence today that human beings can trace their genes back to a small
group of pre-humans living in Africa.
Von Daniken is not the only person to subscribe to the theory that early
man was visited by much more advanced beings. Robert Temple wrote a
book called the Sirius Mystery about an African tribe called the Dogon
who believed in astronauts called the Nommos. The Räelians
are a religious group whose beliefs are based around alien visits.