Did Aliens Influence Human History?

The idea that aliens visited Earth throughout human history has become more of an accepted, and plausible, explanation for unexplainable events in human history. The theories, and the people that believe them, are still not taken very seriously and are ignored academically.

While we will admit that it is a little comical to think of little green men influencing the Egyptians and the Mayans, some of the logic and arguments that are posited by advocates of ancient astronaut theories are not only interesting, but actually make you wonder "What if?"

For a little over a year, a series on television known as Ancient Aliens, has looked at different events, artifacts, and facts in history that point to the possibility that humans have been influenced by aliens.

Some of the primary cultures that ancient astronaut theorists believe have been influenced are the Greeks, Egyptians, and the Mayans. One of the main proponents for ancient astronauts, with his book Chariots of the Gods?, is Erich von Daniken. Daniken, and other advocates, find support for ancient astronauts in ancient artifacts and monumental constructions.

He argues that they would have required technology that ancient cultures could not have possessed, or would have been unable to figure out on their own. He concludes that aliens either gave ancient cultures knowledge, or that they built the huge structures and supplied the artifacts to ancient people.

There are several reasons why theorists believe that ancient cultures were influenced by aliens. One of the reasons is the possible presence of anachronistic artifacts found in ruins, drawings, monolithic architecture, and other feats of engineering done on a large-scale that could only be viewed, as a whole, from several hundred feet in the air.

An example of this is a drawing of what could be a light bulb in a subterranean tomb in Egypt, a tomb so far underground that it would supposedly have been impossible to take a torch or oil lamp.

Another argument, for influence on Egyptian culture, is the pyramids themselves. Ancient astronaut theorists argue that the great pyramid is in line with the magnetic north pole, a surely impossible feat as there was no way for the ancient Egyptians to know where this was without the compass, which was invented thousands of years later.

They also argue that all three of the pyramids are built in line with the three stars in the belt of the Orion constellation. While a bit more possible for the Egyptians to have done this, it still calls into question how they were able to measure such a vast distance.

Similar arguments are used to question how the Mayan sun and moon temples were built.The more influential arguments seem to be the megalithic structures like the pyramids.

Those that support the idea of alien contact, even if they don't support alien influence on history, argue that it is presumptuous and narrow minded to believe that we are the only form of intelligent life in the vast universe.

Contact from aliens doesn't seem so far-fetched when you consider that humans have entered space and walked on soil other than Earth's. Scientists have already identified numerous planets that may have a similar make-up to earth, and thus possibly able to support similar life forms.

One of the primary arguments against ancient astronaut theories is that "main stream" scientists criticize "junk" scientists for bypassing the methods used by all scientists to research, experiment, and support claims. They argue that junk scientists ignore all forms of scientific evidence to make unfounded claims.

Another argument against ancient astronaut theories is that ancient astronaut theories disregard human ingenuity and take advantage of gaps in knowledge. They posit that ancient astronaut theorists believe that it would be impossible for humans to have done anything great or sensational in history.

Many modern-day people would take offense to this. Great things are accomplished and invented every day by ordinary people, without the help of a more technologically advanced species.

Ancient astronaut theorists also seem to take advantage of gaps in knowledge. If there is a gap in knowledge, then aliens must be involved. Another explanation is that a lot of our history has been lost over time. Although we may not know every little specific fact about something, it doesn't mean that something "beyond this world" was involved.

The idea that history was influenced by aliens is interesting to ponder. There are many arguments, and many people to argue, for both sides of the issue.