The gaping hole in ancient alien theory

I've read a dozen posts, watched the history channel shows, even bought into some of them for a bit...

But here's the big problem:
Nobody ever finds any evidence of anything saying in plain words: "Being got out of a craft and showed us stuff, then left"

This is what I've seen as the excuse we have no real "evidence" other than conjecture and speculation:

• We don't understand their languages so we have to read between the lines
  

Really? So we understand enough of the ancient languages to figure out how they fed their animals, irrigated their farms, raised their kids, and governed their people... but this one little bit is just too hard to glean?

• They didn't have a comprehensive understanding of science like we do today so they called them "gods"
  

They didn't understand science like we do... never mind the complex and insanely accurate astronomic observatories - these cats new the earth was round and we revolved around the sun WAY before the Catholic Church was burning people for such accusations. Never mind that these guys figured out metallurgy and brain surgery - talk about some seriously advanced stuff. Nope, they were just poor dumb clucks that were making the best out of what they saw... it never occurred to them to ask a question like "where ya'll from?" or "how'd you get here?"

• There is no way they could have built these things with the tools of the time
  

We point to a couple of things and say "no way they did that with the tools they had" but we forget that there are some distinct possibilities here that are overlooked: 1.) We don't know all the tools and methods they had... we only know the most primitive tools that have lasted through the years. You think a laser drill would last a couple thousand years in the ground? 2.) Believe it or not - we don't know everything about everything. There may actually be techniques and technologies that have long since been forgotten and never relearned.

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The ancient alien theory rests on some pretty far reaching assertions that are completely overlooked when evaluating the "evidence" as well:

1. the AA's where so advanced they were able to come here and develop entire societies in their image... but not advanced enough for themselves or what they built to last?
   
2. the AA's were thought of as gods instead of aliens... but all the images of "gods" are either people or different animals.... so being around the AA's is like going the NY zoo? Just all kinds of different fun stuff happening and lucky for us it's all like creatures found on earth? Wow...
   
3. the AA's where able to come to earth, show people how to build things - for whatever reason - dwell here for an indefinite amount of time - then mysteriously vanish... but we've got NOTHING from them? Just some stones that "couldn't" be cut by tools of the times and some little figures that look "a whole lot" like space suits?
   
4. WTF are AA's doing wearing space suits? Enviro suits or breathing apparatus - sure... space suits? News Flash: Earth is NOT space... not a vacuum, and thus no need for the space suit. And what's up with the figures that are "not" in space suits? Could horse looking AA's live outside of suits but the "snake" ones couldn't? What about the "bull" AA's? Or the "Greys"..... and why no humans in space suits? They'll show us how to build temples but not ships or other vehicles and things of actual "use"? *yawn
   

Occam's razor people - the simplest solution is usually the correct one:

We dont know what the hell was going on back then, and it bugs the crap out of our "smart" people that these bumbling cave men may have figured out how to do stuff we still can't do today.

I mean seriously... we'll put our trust in the hand size figure made of stone as "proof" but not demand that someone show me a chunk of space ship? An actual piece of space faring vessel?

... this whole theory just sounds cool - but it's got no legs... very "paper tiger" if you will.

I do believe there are things in earth's ancient past (and more specifically humanities ancient past) that we simply don't know about. Histories have been lost, sciences have been forgotten, and civilizations have ceased to exist. But something on this scale to only be left behind by the minutia of evidence defies any kind of serious scientific approach.

The bigger problem with the idea of ancient aliens is that much of the "evidence" for it is really just misunderstood art symbolism. In fact, most of it has even been specifically identified as such, but many proponents of the ancient astronaut idea tend to ignore it.

Things like the anthropomorphic sun and moon seem like beings in a craft, until you see them both in the same painting, one in a moon shape, one in a sun shape, etc. In some works, even birds have been mistaken as UFOs in art.

On the flip side though, you'd have to expect the priests to make the gods more mysterious, and it just "plays better" to say they descended from the sky, rather than to say they landed in some kind of a flying boat.

reply to post by gncnew
The only problem with your OP, (IMO) is that it should be titled "The gaping HOLES in ancient alien theory".

I can't really find anything to argue with in your post. Very good points.

Star and Flag!

Edit to add: Wouldn't it be nice to have a time machine? We could go back to see that the rock artists creating some of the petroglyphs were only 5 year old cave men spawn doing today's version of 'coloring'.

I do believe the AA theory, but I also think that earth has seen many advanced human civilizations before our time. Just advanced in different ways. We are technologically advanced in the sense of gadgets and medicine, etc. But we still don't understand how many of the ancient artifacts and buildings worked or what they were used for.

Every age seems to advance in certain areas, which is understandable. But can you imagine how advanced we would be if none of these were destroyed and we could combine the knowledge and technology of all of these civilizations combined...? I think it would be absolutely mind blowing.

Great post!

reply to post by gncnew


After reading such books as Chariots of the Gods, Fingerprints of the Gods, and others like them, I have come to the conclusion that perhaps civilizations in millenia past were actually as advanced, or more advanced than we are. I mean, how long would it take for our civilization to be completely taken back by Mother Earth? 1,000 years, 10,000 years, 100,000 years? I mean everything that we build today would not have any lasting value a few thousand years from now.

I could not even begin to speculate on the possibilities that history has erased over time. I very much believe in a cyclical cycle pertaining to civilizations on Earth. The only thing that we have left to go on is all of the temples, inscriptions, etc. that were created from stone. None of the tech that some claim existed can be found. There is nothing but subjective evidence left, which includes these accounts of "Gods" and flying machines, etc. But even anthropologists have not been able to come up with how far humanity reaches back in time. We find new evidence every day that changes our common conceptions of how long ago we actually existed. I think more research should be put into the writings of the Greeks, especially pertaining to ancient civilizations such as Atlantis. While many scholars point to it being just a trumped up fairy tale, there has to be some sort of validity to all the stories. Of course, this is only one example.

As far as being visited by aliens before Antiquity, I'm not sure where I stand these days. Some accounts are so telling of something coming from the sky that I just can't immediately dismiss all accounts as stories or mistranslations of text. I think that we should be looking closer at Sumerian texts and find people that are willing to put their reputations on the line in order to definitively prove or disprove their accounts of ancient aliens or gods, or whatever.

I agree with your sentiments, and I only hope that one day we will be able to discover what was lost so long ago. Who knows? Maybe the Vatican or some other powerful entity has the documents and the keys we need to unlock our history on this planet.

I won't hold my breath however. Thank you for your thoughts.


Peace be with you.

-truthseeker

You raise some good points. Maybe they really did question who the aliens were, and didn't just call them 'gods' out of a lack of scientific understanding, but what if the aliens told them that they were 'gods' and from then on they would have to see them as 'goods'? We take things for granted all the time. Why would the ancient races have been any different? Just imagine an alien race millions, billions of years ahead of us, or something like that? They could easily convince us today that they're 'god', I can only imagine it would've been easier back then?

Or maybe it's just too late for me and I'm just over thinking things again....

Originally posted by gncnew

1. the AA's where so advanced they were able to come here and develop entire societies in their image... but not advanced enough for themselves or what they built to last?

Who said they came here to develop civilizations? Could they have just come as explorers and humans attempted to emulate what they saw?

the AA's were thought of as gods instead of aliens... but all the images of "gods" are either people or different animals.... so being around the AA's is like going the NY zoo? Just all kinds of different fun stuff happening and lucky for us it's all like creatures found on earth? Wow...

How is one supposed to look? Who said Aliens had to fit any one stereo typed perception of aliens? Who set the tone? Hollywood with their bulbous heads or goo dripping teeth ready to rip humans apart?

the AA's where able to come to earth, show people how to build things - for whatever reason - dwell here for an indefinite amount of time - then mysteriously vanish... but we've got NOTHING from them? Just some stones that "couldn't" be cut by tools of the times and some little figures that look "a whole lot" like space suits?

Why would they leave anything behind in the first place? It also seems cheaper and easier to just cut giant blocks of stone and stack anyway you want for storage or any other type of building needed. Then later humans were either used as labor or they simply observed how it was done and attempted to copy the construction eventually leading us down the path towards present day modern man.

WTF are AA's doing wearing space suits? Enviro suits or breathing apparatus - sure... space suits? News Flash: Earth is NOT space... not a vacuum, and thus no need for the space suit. And what's up with the figures that are "not" in space suits? Could horse looking AA's live outside of suits but the "snake" ones couldn't? What about the "bull" AA's? Or the "Greys"..... and why no humans in space suits? They'll show us how to build temples but not ships or other vehicles and things of actual "use"? *yawn

News Flash, Earth may not be space but again whose to say that if these aliens come from another planet what makes you assume that they can live on Earth with our Atmosphere, Temperature gravity etc etc etc. They could be intelligent beings from a planet that is so Alien to our human requirements that in order for them to visit us they require artificial life sustaining apparatuses.

I'm sorry I just find those questions a bit myopic.

reply to post by gncnew
The whole 'ancient astronaut/aliens' concept is founded on BS and modern interpretations. Absurd! It seemed to have sprung up in the late 50s and has since been a vehicle for making money or generating attention.

Why the hell would an advanced race with space flight technology come here and build crude buildings out of rock? Why only use copper and bronze? Why would they then leave behind tools made from bone, rocks and copper?

A poet (Neruda or Gibran?) once described a fishing net as a collection of holes held together by string. The ancient aliens theory is something similar.

Don't forget that a major claim of AA theory is that it would be impossible for humans to evolve naturally. Yet, if that were true then it would mean that it would be impossible for these more advanced creatures to evolve naturally. So, then you get a never ending line of species that require another species to genetically engineer them. It's very similar to the belief that humans had to be created by God because we are so complex, yet God would have to be more complex than us and need a creator.

I am on the fence, neither side has given me enough proof to lean quite yet, but if I may make an observation; The pro AA side seems to be wide eyed and enjoy thinking about possibilities, modern interpretations, and different reasons for said visits, while the anti- AA side is; using curse words, degrading interesting, new, and creative points of views and slamming new ideas with a simple... "We already know this because it was told to us for years and life is good.”

Again, as far as the facts go I am half and half, but if there are some anti AA people around who would like to present why "they are right" a little more civil and with more than a “check your 3rd grade science book” logic I would love to review the debate.

I don’t watch the TV so I haven’t yet heard what Ancient Aliens on History channel says, but once I feel educated enough to make a decision, I will join discussions like this to politely and logically present what I feel about the truth here.

Originally posted by RestingInPieces


It sounds like your mind is so open, that your brain is in danger of falling out.

That was extremely ridiculous said. Point out exactly where in the post, Slayer is "In danger of having his brain falling out". He pointed out the obvious flaws in some of the arguments against the AA-theory- he did not say the theory in itself was fact.
He is, simply put, denying ignorance.

reply to post by Xcalibur254
Exactly. The ancient aliens theory is devoid of human endeavour and ingenuity. It takes away the credit for life on Earth being adaptable and gives it all to 'X' aliens. Then it ignores the question of how the 'X' aliens evolved their own ideas.

In my opinion, it highlights the extremely narrow and ill-informed focus of the AA proponents.

Originally posted by Kandinsky
reply to post by gncnew

 

The whole 'ancient astronaut/aliens' concept is founded on BS and modern interpretations. Absurd! It seemed to have sprung up in the late 50s and has since been a vehicle for making money or generating attention.

Why the hell would an advanced race with space flight technology come here and build crude buildings out of rock? Why only use copper and bronze? Why would they then leave behind tools made from bone, rocks and copper?

A poet (Neruda or Gibran?) once described a fishing net as a collection of holes held together by string. The ancient aliens theory is something similar.

edit on 11-10-2010 by Kandinsky because: (no reason given)

Uhm maybe because these elements don't decrade as fast?

There is a documantry about how long it would take to disolve our entire buildings, it was from national geographic i think.

One thing ive seen that could fill some of the plausible holes in AA theories is that they didnt come here by choice it was a survival issue. Stranded on a foreign planet their technology would quickly die, for example you take a bunch of computer programmers, scientists, astronauts and then strand them in the furthest reaches of the world with no outside communication. If they survived they wouldn't even bother to pass their advanced knowledge to their offspring nor even bother writing it down , their first concern would be survival. Who cares if you know how to split atoms if you really just need to start a fire to keep warm.

Also i once read a scifi short story written by Issac Isomov where a civilization essentially destroyed itself sending them back to cave man like times. After seeing what their tech eventual led to it was forbidden to even speak of it for fear they would repeat their mistakes. Although it was a short story it seems plausible and believe there are areas around the world that show signs of nuclear damage such as a certain type of green glass found in some deserts.

Who knows , the only thing i know for sure is history has been rewritten several times, each time by the victorious party's in wars. Each time it gets rewritten the winners change it so it best reflects them and omit what they see fit.

Originally posted by truthseeker1984
After reading such books as Chariots of the Gods, Fingerprints of the Gods, and others like them, I have come to the conclusion that perhaps civilizations in millenia past were actually as advanced, or more advanced than we are. I mean, how long would it take for our civilization to be completely taken back by Mother Earth? 1,000 years, 10,000 years, 100,000 years? I mean everything that we build today would not have any lasting value a few thousand years from now.

Originally posted by coolism

Originally posted by Kandinsky

Why the hell would an advanced race with space flight technology come here and build crude buildings out of rock? Why only use copper and bronze? Why would they then leave behind tools made from bone, rocks and copper?

Uhm maybe because these elements don't decrade as fast?

There is a documantry about how long it would take to disolve our entire buildings, it was from national geographic i think.

Truthseeker and coolism,

Modern buildings are set on foundation pilings of poured concrete in 60 ft. deep holes around twenty inches in diameter.

That ain't goin' nowhere.

Today, we can find the remains of a temporary fishing camp made out of grass huts on the beach.

See the problem with this logic?

Originally posted by truthseeker1984 I think more research should be put into the writings of the Greeks, especially pertaining to ancient civilizations such as Atlantis. While many scholars point to it being just a trumped up fairy tale, there has to be some sort of validity to all the stories. Of course, this is only one example.

By all means, conduct research into Greek writings.

I mean, every scrap of Greek ever found has been researched to death by experts, but not by you so have at it.

The fact is, there is only one story of Atlantis, written in the mid 2nd century BC, by Plato. It starts with a preview in his dialogue "Timaeus" and continues in his unfinished dialogue "Critias."

Everything else that has ever been said about Atlantis is either in reference to Plato's allegory (such as critiques, expositions, interpretations, etc.) or in reference to "channelled" material that is designed to line the pockets of the channeller, starting with the proven fraudulent medium Helena Blavatsky.

If that sounds harsh to some of the more delicately inclined posters here, that's life.

Harte

Why would they do this? Why would they do that? They're aliens, friend. Who the hell knows. The arrogance and vanity of human beings never fails to annoy me. Your questions are perfectly rationable... in respect to humans. But we're not hypothesizing about humans. For all we know they built cities of gold with free Wi-Fi in every home - and wiped all trace when they left. I'm sorry but I don't think the proper scientific method can be applied here.

We start by accepting that we know NOTHING about them, and go from there. Seriously, if they did exist, they could have been capable of anything.

BTW - I don't believe the AA theory. But I'm not vain enough to apply human logic to non-human hypotheses.

Originally posted by Tripple_Helix
I do believe the AA theory, but I also think that earth has seen many advanced human civilizations before our time. Just advanced in different ways. We are technologically advanced in the sense of gadgets and medicine, etc. But we still don't understand how many of the ancient artifacts and buildings worked or what they were used for.

Every age seems to advance in certain areas, which is understandable. But can you imagine how advanced we would be if none of these were destroyed and we could combine the knowledge and technology of all of these civilizations combined...? I think it would be absolutely mind blowing.

Great post!

Your post reminded me of a Biblical story:

According to the biblical account, a united humanity of the generations following the Great Flood, speaking a single language and migrating from the east, came to the land of Shinar, where they resolved to build a city with a tower "with its top in the heavens...lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the Earth." God came down to see what they did and said: "They are one people and have one language, and nothing will be withholden from them which they purpose to do." So God said, "Come, let us go down and confound their speech." And so God scattered them upon the face of the Earth, and confused their languages, and they left off building the city, which was called Babel "because God there confounded the language of all the Earth."(Genesis 11:5-8)

I forgot to add my own personal theory that if AA did exist could they have not been something of a parasitic nature that could co-exist in a symbiotic relation ship with early man. Over the years getting ingrained into our dna and thinned out as each generation got born which could explain the myths of people living hundreds of years and giants with super strength as well as mysterious god like powers.

Modern buildings are set on foundation pilings of poured concrete in 60 ft. deep holes around twenty inches in diameter. That ain't goin' nowhere. Today, we can find the remains of a temporary fishing camp made out of grass huts on the beach. See the problem with this logic?

I had a 12 inch thick front porch poured from concrete with a 4 foot footer around the base 9 months ago. Due to a drought it has already sunk an inch, to where my front porch posts swing freely and thats only 9 months of bad weather. Sure its smaller scale but trust me concrete can degrade quickly depending on the conditions. I also have a 20 year old cistern on my property that has become subject to concrete rot. There literally is grass growing on top of it as well as a 6 foot tree. I would wager a guess nature will overcome it completely in the next few years.