After talking to my brother & some of my friends recently about the program "Ancient Aliens" on History Channel, I had to make this graphic. The series attempts to investigate the world's mysteries and how they may relate to extraterrestrial visitors.
I think the show is mildly interesting, but definitely don't take any of it seriously. To it's credit, the discussion of ancient anomalies brings to light the many questions that still exist about the history of our species. The series also has alot of footage of interesting places around the globe.
However, some of the assertions made by the various "experts" are simply outrageous in their ignorance. The most hardcore of the 'ancient alien-ologists' like Giorgio Tsoukalos in the picture above, confidently assert that almost any phenomena we don't understand is UFO-related. They are as bad as traditional archaeology when it comes to underestimating the imagination & ingenuity of ancient man.
One of the worst segments I've seen was about the ancient Mayan culture. I've read alot about the Maya, & I rolled my eyes when they started talking about the sarcophagus lid of Lord Pakal. This stone lid has decoration which has been described as a 'rocketship,' but it's not:
What really is amazing is the astronomical knowledge the ancient cultures knew, which they incorporated into their art & architecture.
What really blew my mind, though, was when 'UFO archaeologist' David Childress said one of the the dumbest things I've ever heard on TV. While discussing the fall of Mayan civilization, he claimed it was possible that the people 'disappeared' because they were all taken off-planet in spaceships!!! I couldn't believe such blatantly false information wasn't edited out of the show.
If that was the case, how did I have a Mayan descendant driving me to the airport when I was in Mexico? It's pretty well-known that the Mayan people spread south, into Belize & Guatemala where they live today.
Anyway, to sum up my feelings on this whole "ancient astronaut" idea:
I do think there is most likely life throughout the universe.
(For all I know, Earth could be a zoo for inter-dimensional beings to observe.)
However, I don't think "aliens" should be the default answer to every mysterious aspect of human history, especially feats of colossal engineering.
Human imagination is a powerful force in it's own right.
I agree with you. The show is super interesting but their conclusions are preposterous! The ancient alien theory is fascinating but there are SO MANY other, more interesting speculative theories out there to explain why, how, what etc. of these mysteries.
ReplyDeleteThe panel of this program shows no respect for our ancient peoples of the world, it also shows a lack of imagination from these researchers, and it also shows an agenda: 1) to sell their own books and 2) A deeper agenda from the media to shovel feed us the theory that aliens exist and that something bigger is coming (i.e. Project Blue Beam)