2021/02/22 by Olav Hammer, Karen Swartz · 2 citations
Social Sciences · Arts and Humanities · #Classical Antiquity Studies #Ancient Mediterranean Archaeology and History #Archaeology and Historical Studies #History #Ancient history
paper · doi:10.1163/9789004435537_008
openalex publication_date 2021/02/22 · openalex created_date 2022/05/12 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/23
The idea that space aliens visited the Earth in the distant past and imparted civilization to its inhabitants, popularized in particular by the best-selling author Erich von Däniken, has multiple historical roots: in Theosophy, in the work of Charles Fort, and in the writings of various ufologists. The theme of ancient aliens has been used by a very diverse cohort of authors who, for instance, view the alleged role of aliens in prehistory from an occultist perspective, argue that the Bible can best be understood as a record of alien interventions, or suggest that “common sense” reinterpretations of archaeological findings will reveal that they are evidence of extraterrestrial visits in the distant past.