Ancient Aliens?

I’ve always been intrigued by the ancient aliens or ancient astronaut theory. A theory that suggests aliens visited our planet thousands of years ago.

Aurelia’s favourite Christmas song this year is “Spaceman Came Travelling” by the legendary Chris de Burgh. The premise of this song is the ancient aliens theory. When Aurelia asked me the meaning of this song, I had to explain to my 6-year-old daughter what this theory is.

Proponents of the ancient astronaut theory argue that not only did aliens visit our planet thousands of years ago. But they also influenced the development of civilisation on Earth. So what is the proof for these extraordinary theories? Well when you look at the evidence, their theories aren’t so outlandish.

Nazca Lines

Let’s start with perhaps the most famous earthly landmark associated with the ancient alien theory, the Nazca lines in Peru. These mysterious and enigmatic designs are believed to have been created between 500BC and 500AD. When Europeans first saw these ancient pictograms in the 1500s, they assumed they were the remnants of ancient roads. However, it was only in the early 20th century that the images were truly revealed from the skies!

Some of these pictorial representations drawn into the landscape measure between 0.2 miles and 0.7 miles across.  Collectively, the Nazca lines cover an area of around 19 square miles. Although only around 6 inches deep, they were created by removing the top layer of Earth, mostly consisting of pebbles to reveal the yellow/grey soil below.

Over 300 geometric designs were engraved into this desolate landscape and over 70 of these are representations of animals and plants. Some of the more well-known graphics include a spider, a monkey, a llama and a duck. One of my favourites is the “Astronaut”.

And what is so mysterious about these lines? Well, they can only be truly appreciated from above. Meaning to clearly see the images, you need an aircraft! However, some have argued that the images can be seen from the surrounding hills. Yet ancient alien theorists point out this is not entirely true. Ancient astronaut theorists ask why were these images created?

Nazca Lines – The Astronaut

Ancient aliens theorists point out that the “Astronaut” figure clearly looks like a man in a spacesuit! He looks like he is waving to the stars. This particular image has caused much speculation. Did the ancient Nazca people meet visiting extraterrestrials and draw this image as a representation of what they saw? Were they sending a message to the aliens they had once met? Or did the aliens themselves create the image to leave a message to fellow extraterrestrial travellers?

Another image of interest is the monkey. Ancient alien theorists point out that monkeys are not native to this part of the world. The nearest monkeys would have been hundreds of miles away!

The Pyramids of Giza

Another one of the mysteries of the ancient world – the pyramids of Egypt! Most notably the three pyramids of Giza. This trio of magnificent structures were built around 4,500 years ago. Each pyramid was built using millions of precisely cut stones.

The stones themselves weigh over 2 tonnes each and interlock perfectly. If such a construction project were undertaken today it would be a monumental project requiring a large amount of specialist equipment including huge cranes to place the heavy stones in position. There are no surviving records detailing how exactly the pyramids were constructed (if they ever were any records at all). This has led many to speculate just how and why they were constructed. Archaeologists agree the structures must have taken thousands of people to build. Including specialist engineers and most likely, slaves as manpower to build. And have taken decades to complete. This room for speculation as to how and why has invited suggestions from ancient alien theorists.

So firstly the how. Ancient astronaut theorists suggest that these massive structures may have been built using extraterrestrial technology. Only an advanced civilisation from outer space would have had the necessary equipment to built such structures.

Although, some ancient astronaut theorists argue that humans built these structures in reverence to visitors from space who visited our ancient ancestors. One intriguing feature of the pyramids at Giza is their alignment with Orion’s Belt. Why was there such concern for such a precise location? Well, ancient alien theorists suggest extraterrestrials might have positioned a mothercraft of some sort on Orion’s Belt. Thus this was a particularly important location. The pyramids might then have been some sort of pointer to this specific location or a means of communication between earth and Orion’s Belt.

Elongated Skulls

A number of civilisations throughout the ancient world appear to have practised artificial cranial modification. Also known as head flattening or head binding. This involves binding the skull just after birth and throughout the first few years of life until the desired shape is achieved.

Examples of skeletons whose skulls have been elongated have been found in different ancient continents. From Egypt to Croatia and even in South America. Interestingly enough, near Nazca where the Nazca lines are located! So how did all of these different cultures have the idea to elongate their skulls when there is no evidence that many of these ancient civilisations had any contact?

Did some extraterrestrials show them how to do this? Were these people replicating the skulls of ancient alien visitors? Did ancient aliens breed with humans and create a hybrid species. Are we the descendants of this alien/human hybridisation? These are some of the hypothesis put forward by ancient alien theorists.

So, What Do You Think of the Ancient Alien Theories?

Some of these ideas might sound rather outlandish. But when you consider the evidence, perhaps ancient aliens did indeed visit our planet and share some of their knowledge with our ancestors. Perhaps they did interact with humans or even breed with them?

I am incredibly excited to consider some of these theories a little closer. One of my Christmas gifts this year was the book Chariots of the Gods: Was God an Astronaut? by Erich Von Daniken, a proponent of the ancient astronaut theory. Perhaps the answer to some of these ancient mysteries does lie in the stars!

For more paranormal posts, see my paranormal category.