Ancient Aliens Research: A Collection of Papers
Main Articles
Introduction: The Entire History of Unidentified Flying Objects
Mufen
Seeing strange objects in the sky may actually predate the appearance of modern humans. Perhaps the earliest depictions of cylindrical objects resembling spacecraft—possibly aliens—are carved into the granite hills and rocks of an island in Hunan Province, China. Their tentative age is 47,000 years, placing them within the Neanderthal time span, earlier than modern Homo sapiens.R
Aliens of the Ancient World
Alex Starr
Based on various clues scattered around the world, it is quite possible that aliens visited Earth long ago. Clues to ancient alien visitations are found in paintings from ancient cultures depicting strange humanoid beings. In addition, physical evidence of ancient alien prospects can be seen in artifacts around the world that show the use of modern technology. Furthermore, ancient markings made in fields that indicate the use of air travel are another set of clues suggesting that Earth may have been visited by aliens long ago.R
The UFO Phenomenon in History
Steven Mizrach
The purpose of this article is not to prove the validity of the “ancient astronaut” school of thought. Because that branch of ufology has several flaws and relies on the ETH, I am not inclined to support its hypotheses. What I am trying to demonstrate is that encounters between UFOs and UFO entities have been occurring long before 1947.
The Ten Most Technologically Advanced Ancient Civilizations
David Hatcher Childress, Atlantis Rising, Issue 1
Like a real-life Indiana Jones, maverick archaeologist David Hatcher Childress has undertaken many incredible journeys to some of the oldest and most remote places on Earth. We interviewed him shortly before he set out on another archaeological expedition to New Guinea and asked whether he would write an exclusive feature for Atlantis Rising on the 10 most technologically advanced ancient civilizations.R
Silent Testimony: Visitors at the Dawn of Time?
Scott Corrales
In the 1970s, when authors such as Otto Binder (Mysteries of the Past), Richard E. Mooney (Gods of Air and Darkness), and Erich Von Daniken (Chariots of the Gods?) wrote extensively about human/alien interaction at the beginning of recorded history and even earlier, the branch of UFO research that rightly ought to have been called “paleo-ufology” constituted a controversial field of study.R
Erich von Däniken
For more than 30 years, Erich von Däniken has pursued the theory that Earth may have been visited by aliens in the distant past. Erich von Däniken is known for a notorious idea: that the origins of human culture lie not only in evolution but also in extraterrestrial influence. Beginning with his first book, Chariots of the Gods?, he argues that artifacts of ancient cultures show evidence of these visitors, who were sometimes regarded by humans as gods.
Author Sticks to the ET Theory — Interview with Erich von Daniken
Billy Cox, Florida Today
This 62-year-old godfather of the ancient astronaut movement may look like a flawed relic of the 1960s. But Erich von Däniken has never gone away. Von Daniken has never wavered from his premise that what ancient scribes (in both Eastern and Western traditions) contributed to the sacred texts were descriptions of contact with technologically sophisticated extraterrestrial visitors.R
Biography of Erich von Däniken
Erich von Däniken was born on April 14, 1935, in Zofingen, Switzerland, and was educated at the College of St. Michel in Fribourg. Even as a student he began studying the ancient sacred texts. While serving as managing director of a Swiss 5-star hotel, he wrote his first book, Chariots of the Gods, which immediately became a bestseller in the United States, Germany, and 38 other countries.R
Skeptical: Ancient Astronauts and Erich von Däniken’s Chariots of the Gods?
Robert Todd Carroll, The Skeptic’s Dictionary
The term “ancient astronauts” refers to the speculative notion that extraterrestrials were responsible for Earth’s oldest civilizations. The most notorious proponent of this idea is Erich von Däniken, author of several popular books on the subject. His Chariots of the Gods?R
Skeptical: Erich von Daniken’s “Chariots of the Gods?”: Science or Quackery?
Robert Sheaffer
Was God an ancient astronaut? Do centuries of legends about gods and heroes tell of space travelers who came to Earth from distant reaches of the cosmos? Were some ancient ruins of large “airports” preferred landing sites for alien spacecraft? “Yes!” writes Erich Von Daniken in his bestseller Chariots of the Gods.R
Theme Park of the Gods
Jürgen Heinzerling, Fortean Times, April 2003
In 1968, a Swiss hotelier named Erich von Däniken burst onto the literary scene with a book called Chariots of the Gods. His theories about ancient astronauts were scorned by the establishment, but von Däniken has pursued his vision for more than 30 years and is about to translate it into a surprising new medium—a tourist attraction. Jürgen Heinzerling traveled to Switzerland to meet the man behind “Mystery Park.”
Von Däniken’s Chariots of the Gods — Documentary Review
Adam Nelson
In Chariots of the Gods, von Däniken gathers and documents evidence from around the world supporting the view that most of humanity’s achievements over thousands of years can be attributed to the influence of extraterrestrial civilizations, and merely through.R
Zecharia Sitchin
Zecharia Sitchin was born in Russia and raised in Palestine, where he acquired a deep knowledge of modern and ancient Hebrew, other Semitic and European languages, the Old Testament, and Near Eastern history and archaeology. He is one of the few scholars able to read and understand Sumerian. The premise of The Earth Chronicles series is that myths are not fairy tales but a treasury of ancient memories. The first book, The 12th Planet, raises the probability of yet another planet in our solar system. There are twelve members, including the Sun, the Moon, and ten planets, rather than the nine we know. The people of that planet came to Earth about 500,000 years ago and did many of the things we read about in the Bible and Genesis.
Breaking the God Spell: Reflections on the Work of Zecharia Sitchin
Neil Freer
The archaeological synthesis of Sumerian scholar Zecharia Sitchin demonstrates that the “gods” upheld by ancient civilizations (Sumerian: Annunaki; Egyptian: Neter; Hebrew: Anakim, Nefilim, Elohim) came here from space, created humankind and gave us civilization—that they were flesh-and-blood humanoid beings from the last planet in our solar system (Nibiru, Planet X), who genetically engineered us into slave animals by splicing our genes with those of Homo erectus, and eventually accepted us as limited partners.R
Connecting the Missing Link: Interview with Zecharia Sitchin
Sirona Knight and Michael Starwyn
Zecharia Sitchin has written a series of fascinating books, including The 12th Planet, The Wars of Gods and Men, When Time Began, The Stairway to Heaven, and The Lost Realms (Bear & Company). These books deal with the history and prehistory of Earth and humankind and are based on information that the ancient civilizations of the Near East actually wrote on clay tablets. In a rare interview, we had the opportunity to ask Zecharia Sitchin about his transformative journey that led to his thoroughly researched and documented discovery that our ancestors came from the stars.R
The Bellaria Dialogue: Sitchin and a Vatican Theologian Discuss UFOs, Aliens, Angels, and the Creation of Humankind
Zecharia Sitchin
For the first time in history, a high-ranking Vatican official and a Hebrew scholar discussed the questions of extraterrestrials and the creation of humankind and, despite differences in upbringing, background, religion, and method, reached common conclusions.
Excerpts from Zecharia Sitchin’s Lectures
Crystalinks
In our own solar system, a planet appears between Mars and Jupiter every 3,600 years—not light-years away. About a million years ago, people from that planet came to Earth and did many of the things we read about in the Bible and Genesis. I have predicted the return of this planet called Nibiru, though I have no time frame. That planet is inhabited by intelligent beings like ourselves who will travel back and forth between their world and ours. They created Homo sapiens. We look like them. I call them the Anunnaki.R
Gods from Outer Space?
Christie Taylor
Have we been visited? Have aliens influenced our history? If you look at mythology, it seems we have been visited! Almost all mythologies (including Christian mythology) mention some kind of flying sky gods.R
Skepticism: Sitchin’s The 12th Planet
Rob Havernick
This book aims to analyze Sitchin’s writings in light of mainstream archaeological thinking on the ancient Sumerians and mainstream science in other fields such as aerospace engineering, astronomy, evolutionary theory, and biblical studies. — Sitchin’s work is a masterpiece of linguistic manipulation and allegorical interpretation. He is clearly very knowledgeable about the archaeology and mythology of ancient Sumer and related legends. However, his work conflicts with mainstream archaeological views.R
Skeptical: Zecharia Sitchin and The Earth Chronicles
Robert Todd Carroll, The Skeptic’s Dictionary
Zecharia Sitchin, together with Erich von Däniken and Immanuel Velikovsky, forms a trinity of pseudoscientific mythmakers of ancient history. Each begins with the assumption that ancient myths are not myths but historical and scientific texts. Sitchin rose to fame because he alone supposedly read the ancient Sumerian tablets correctly.R
Sumerian Culture and the Anunnaki
Neil Freer, Xfacts
A discussion of Zeccharia Sitchin’s Annunaki theory—an extraterrestrial civilization that colonized Earth.R
The Anunnaki and the 12th Planet
Chris Fowler
What sets Zecharia Sitchin apart from others who have written books on similar subjects is his academic background and the research (30 years) he did before publishing his first book, The 12th Planet, in 1976.
Return of the Anunnaki (Review)
Willard Van de Bogart
The Nibiruans live on the planet Nibiru, which orbits our Sun every 3,600 years. Nibiru is the 12th planet in our local solar system (including the Sun and Moon) and will pass through the orbits of Earth and Mars in the near future. These startling statements are made possible by Zecharia Sitchin’s skill in deciphering Sumerian cuneiform—he is a linguist fluent in multiple ancient languages whose astonishing interpretations of ancient writings have sent shock waves through the scientific community.R
Ufopsi: The Sumerian Tablets
Flying Saucer
Researcher Zecharia Sitchin states that the Sumerians knew the exact position of every planet in the solar system, including the planet farthest from the Sun that they called “Nibiru,” whose orbit is highly elliptical and whose atmosphere is very dense.
The Sirius Mystery
“Several experts now claim they have found the long-sought ‘final proof’ that ancient astronauts visited Earth. The myths of the Dogon tribe of West Africa contain astronomical knowledge that the local people could neither have learned nor guessed on their own. Clearly, researchers say, some more advanced civilization told them. These fascinating Dogon legends speak of the four moons of Jupiter and the rings of Saturn, which humans did not see until the invention of the telescope. They speak of Sirius and a pair of invisible companions. One of them circles Sirius every fifty years; legend declares it is made of the heaviest metal in the universe. Astronomers have discovered that such an object (called “Sirius-B”)) does indeed exist, but only the most sophisticated and sensitive instruments—which, of course, the Dogon could not have had—can detect it.” From The Sirius Mystery, by James Oberg
Book: The Sirius Mystery: New Scientific Evidence of Alien Contact 5,000 Years Ago
Robert K.G. Temple
Convincing evidence that the Egyptian, Sumerian, and Dogon civilizations were founded by extraterrestrials from the Sirius system who are now preparing to return. * Updated with 140 pages of new scientific evidence that consolidates * the hypothesis the KGB, CIA, and NASA tried to suppress. * An awe-inspiring research effort that demands a profound * reassessment of our role in the universe. *
Can the Sirius Story Be Taken Seriously?
Jay Ingram, The Toronto Star
With winter rapidly approaching, skywatchers look forward to seeing Sirius, the brightest star visible in the Northern Hemisphere. Sirius is also the subject of one of the most persistent—and most far-fetched—claims of alien visitation to Earth.R
The Dogon
Loy Lawhon
The year was 1947. French anthropologist Marcel Griaule had been studying African cultures for 19 years, 16 of them living among and researching the Dogon tribe of French West Africa.R
Dogon Shame
Filip Coppens, Fortean Times, November 2000
Did ancient gods from the Sirius system visit an African tribe 5,000 years ago? FILIP COPPENS reviews new evidence that deals a devastating blow to what was considered the best case for alien visitation.R
Dogon Creation Theory
Crystalinks
The Dogon are an indigenous tribe living in the region of Mali south of the Sahara Desert in Africa. The tribe has about 100,000 members.
The Dogon and Sirius
Flying Saucer
An African tribe called the Dogon, living in the Republic of Mali, already knew precise information about the Sirius system 3,000–4,000 years ago.
Skeptical: Investigating the Sirius “Mystery”
Ian Ridpath, The Skeptic magazine, 1978
Did amphibious beings from Sirius visit Earth more than 5,000 years ago and leave behind advanced astronomical knowledge that a remote African tribe called the Dogon still possess? In 1976, Robert Temple made this startling claim in his “ancient astronaut” book The Sirius Mystery.R
Skeptical: The Dogon and Sirius
The Skeptic’s Dictionary
According to Robert Temple (The Sirius Mystery), about 5,000 years ago the Dogon had contact with some ugly amphibious* extraterrestrials, the Nommos.R
Skeptical: Revisiting the Dogon
Bernard R. Ortiz de Montellano
In 1976, Robert Temple published The Sirius Mystery, claiming that the extraordinary astronomical knowledge of the Egyptians and the Dogon of Mali (1) was due to a visit by inhabitants of the Sirius system.R
Skepticism: The Sirius Lie
Filip Coppens
Scientists have learned that the Dogon do not possess secret knowledge about Sirius and its companion star. What some considered the best evidence for extraterrestrial beings from Sirius has thus dealt a devastating blow.R
Skepticism: The Sirius Mystery
James Oberg
Several experts now claim they have found the long-sought “final proof” that ancient astronauts visited Earth. The myths of the Dogon tribe of West Africa contain astronomical knowledge that the local people could neither have learned nor guessed on their own. Researchers say that, clearly, some more advanced civilization told them.R
The Dogon
Loy Lawhon，About.com
The year was 1947. French anthropologist Marcel Griaule had been studying African cultures for 19 years, 16 of them living among and researching the Dogon tribe of French West Africa.R
The Dogon and the Sirius Mystery
Flying Saucer Zone
The Dogon say that the primary star Sirius in the Sirius system has a small invisible companion, named after a fonio seed; it is Sirius B.
The Dogon Mystery: Is Sirius a Triple Star?
Benest and Duvent
An article on Sirius in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics. From 1994.
The Dogon Mystery: Summary of Marcel Griaule’s Work
Eric Jolly
This is Eric Jolly’s summary of Marcel Griaule’s work.R
The Dogon Tribe
Sphinx Group
The Dogon live in the Hombori Mountains near Timbuktu. At the heart of their religious teachings is knowledge of a star invisible to the naked eye and difficult to observe even through a telescope—it was not photographed until 1970. The Dogon say they received this knowledge from visitors from another galaxy to Earth.R
Dogon, Nommos, and Sirius B
Museum of Unnatural Mystery
In Mali, West Africa, lives a tribe called the Dogon. The Dogon are thought to be of Egyptian origin, and their astronomical legends date back thousands of years to 3200 BCE.R
The Sirius Mystery
Jerome Clark, Encyclopedia of Strange and Unexplained Phenomena
In the late 1940s, four of their priests told two French anthropologists the Dogon myths about Sirius (8.6 light-years from Earth). The priests said Sirius has a companion star invisible to the naked eye. They also stated that this star travels in a 50-year elliptical orbit around Sirius, that it is small and extremely heavy, and that it rotates on its axis.R
The Vimanas of Ancient India
In the Vedic literature of India there are many descriptions of flying craft, commonly called vimanas. They fall into two categories: (l) man-made flying machines resembling airplanes and flying with the aid of birdlike wings, and (2) non-streamlined structures that fly in mysterious ways and were generally not built by humans. Machines of type (l) are described mainly in medieval secular Sanskrit works dealing with architecture, automata, military siege engines, and other mechanical devices. Type (2) is described in ancient works such as the Rg Veda, Maha-bha-rata, Rama-yana, and Pura-nas, and they have many features reminiscent of UFOs.
Homage to Hinduism — Vimanas
Homage to Hinduism
In the Vedic literature of India there are many descriptions of flying craft, commonly called Vimanas. India’s national epic, the Mahabharata, is a long and complex poem. There are no physical remains of ancient Indian aircraft technology, but mentions of ancient flying craft are commonplace in ancient Indian texts. Several popular ancient epics describe their use in warfare. Depending on one’s point of view, they either contain some of the earliest known science fiction, or they record conflicts between beings who possessed weapons as powerful and advanced as anything in use today.
Accomplice: Vimanas
Accomplice
The inspiration behind Accomplice’s scars—such as Karloff’s loco vimana—is that VIMANAS are spaceships, land behemoths, aircraft, and multidimensional craft described in India’s ancient Vedic literature in very detailed technical terms. Some are said to have been as fast as thought itself.
Ancient Nuclear Weapons? Another Aspect of the Ancient Indian Astronaut Connection
Colin Mulligan
Did the ancient Indians really have the ability to deploy devastating nuclear weapons against their enemies?R
Ancient Vimana Aircraft
John Burrows
Sanskrit literature is filled with references to deities who fought in the skies using vimanas, equipped with any deadly weapons we might deploy in these more enlightened times.R
Book: Vimana Aircraft of Ancient India and Atlantis
D.H. Childress and Ivan T. Sanderson
The author/editor provides us with translations of ancient Indian texts intended to describe the construction and operation of aircraft. He then comments on the subject, including excerpts from related works. The idea is that, according to Childress and others, India’s ancient civilization had achieved technological progress equal to—and possibly surpassing—our own before it was mysteriously destroyed, perhaps in a nuclear war!R
Could the Ancients Fly? Strange Connections
David Hatcher Childress, Atlantis Rising, Issue 10
Throughout history there have been many common myths and legends about flying machines or devices: the flying carpets familiar to the ancient Arabs; biblical figures such as Ezekiel and Solomon traveling from place to place by flight; and the magical chariots or vimanas of ancient India and China.R
Secrets of the Vimana
Illuminations
In various Asian and South Asian texts we can find references to flying craft and aerial vehicles. Stories from China and India tell of peoples or individual craftsmen who built devices for air travel.R
The Anti-Gravity Handbook
David Hatcher Childress
Many researchers studying the UFO mystery tend to overlook a very important fact. While it is assumed that most flying saucers are extraterrestrial, or possibly of government military origin, another possible origin of UFOs is ancient India and Atlantis.R
The Story of Vimanas: India’s Flying-Craft Tradition
Dr. Srikumar V. Gopalakrishna
In the Vedic literature of India there are many descriptions of flying craft, commonly called vimanas. They fall into two categories: (l) man-made flying machines resembling airplanes and flying with the aid of birdlike wings, and (2) non-streamlined structures that fly in mysterious ways and were generally not built by humans. This book describes both types of vimanas in detail. In this chapter I will survey some of the existing literature on vima-nas, beginning with texts dating to late antiquity and the medieval period.R
UFOpsi – Vimanas
Flying Saucer
Many ancient documents written in Sanskrit—especially a text called “Vimanika” discovered by Bharadvajy in 1875 inside an ancient Indian temple—describe how to build “vimanas” (sky chariots), how to pilot them, and so on. In other documents, certain gods are said to have traveled about and ruled from their vimanas.R
UFOs and Vimanas
Stephen Knapp
In presenting information about Vedic scientific advances, the subject of Vedic aircraft—vimanas—almost belongs in a category of its own. Some of this information is so astonishing that for some people it may border on science fiction. Even so, as we discover and interpret it, it offers serious food for thought.R
Vedic Creation Theory — Vimanas
Crystalinks
Vimanas — The Ramayana describes the Vimana as a double-decked circular (cylindrical) aircraft with portholes and a dome. It flew at the speed of the wind and emitted a pleasing sound (a hum?). There is so much ancient Indian literature on vimanas that it would take several books to connect everything they say. The ancient Indians themselves wrote complete flight manuals for controlling various types of Vimana; there were essentially four: Shakuna Vimana, Sundara Vimana, Rukma Vimana, and Tripura Vimana R
Vimanas in Sanskrit: Descriptions of Ancient Aircraft
R. Cedric Leonard, Exploring Atlantis
The following quotations from classical Sanskrit literature are offered to illustrate the appearance, nature, and capabilities commonly attributed in the writings of ancient India to the ancient flying craft known as vimanas (pronounced “vimans”).R
Vimanas: The Ancient Indian Astronaut Connection
Colin Mulligan
I first remember reading about vimanas—highly advanced ancient Indian flying craft—in Chariots of the Gods, the first international bestseller by the controversial writer Erich Von Daniken. Over the years I have also come across several other interesting references to vimanas elsewhere. However, it was not until I recently received an email from an Indian reader about my article on ancient astronauts that I was reminded how fascinating these vimanas are—and that there are, in fact, many other references to space travel and astonishingly advanced technology in the ancient Indian texts. To that end, the next article aims to revisit vimanas and, more broadly, to explore the ancient astronaut connection in India.R
