All language subtitles for Ancient Aliens s01e02 sitors.eng

Subtitles downloaded from www.OpenSubtitles.org

Reports of UFO sightings come
from all corners of the globe.

I was taken onboard a
200-foot-diameter spacecraft

in the Mojave Desert and given...
I saw two great big, real

bright lights hanging up in the air.

Most believe these
alien encounters are a

modern phenomenon, but the fact
is they have been reported for

thousands of years.

MICHAEL CREMO: Practically
every human civilization have

been in touch with
extraterrestrial beings.

GIORGIO TSOUKALOS: In India, Israel.

DAVID CHILDRESS: The
Mayans and the Aztecs.

LINDA HOWE: The idea that there
was one or more non-human

groups inspiring us is the truth.

Millions of people around
the world believe we

have been visited in the past
by extraterrestrial beings.

But what if it were true?

Did ancient aliens really
help to shape our history?

And if so, where did they come from?

And just who were the visitors?

Sync by kuniva for addic7ed.com

(wind whistling)

Roswell, New Mexico.

This sleepy town in America's
Southwest was once best known

for its large military air base.

But that changed in 1947
when a localancher reported

that a spaceship crashed
on his property.

Several weeks later, the U.S.

Army issued a press release
confirming the existence of an

alien craft.

The next day, the military
changed its story and announced

that what they had found
was a weher balloon.

These conflicting reports sent
shock waves around the world,

and the name "Roswell" became
a pop culture code word that

forever links extraterrestrial
visitation with enduring mystery.

NICK POPE: Speculation about
why the Roswell crash would be

covered up is difficult to pin down.

Some people talk about this in
terms of information that would

be shattering to our worldview.

STEVEN GREER: Almost
everyone's heard about the

so-called Roswell event,
and one of the real

implications of disclosure is
that some of our most cherished

myths about the origins of the
human race and our history

and archaeology would fall apart.

GEORGE NOORY: Something
happened at Roswell, New Mexico

a long time ago.

People want the truth.

I think there's something in
the human being itself that is

striving, that is hungry for
this knowledge in order to

answer questions about
our own existence.

Today, public opinion
polls indicate more than

half the world's population
believes aliens have either come

here in the past or
are coming here now.

But what is it exactly that
makes so many people believe?

JONATHAN YOUNG: I do think
looking upward makes sense.

The universe is large.

There are things out there
we do not understand.

There is probably
intelligent life somewhere.

ROBERT BAUVAL: People tend to
forget that we're on a planet

that's four and a half
billion years old.

The presence of our civilization
in that vast scale of time...

I mean, if I click my finger, it
wouldn't even be fast enough to

say this is the time
of our civilization.

And to think that we're the only
ones in this vast period of

time, to me, is absurd.

SARA SEAGER: Our galaxy, the
Milky Way, has over 100 billion

stars.

And in our universe, we think
there are more than 100 billion

galaxies.

So if every star had a planet
with intelligent life, how many

alien civilizations would we have?

ERICH VON DANIKEN: If you
take us as the crown of

creation, or the top of
evolution, we look at our self

as the greatest, the biggest.

We say, how incredible, uh, unique
we are in the whole universe.

We forgot to learn modesty.

JENNIFER HELDMANN: Each step
that we take makes us a little

bit less special.

We used to think that we were
the center of the universe, as

humans, and then we realized, "Oh,
all right, well, that's not

true." And...
But we're at the center of the

galaxy, and, like, well, all
right, so we're like two thirds

of the way out in a spiral arm.

And then, well, at least our sun,
you know, with this... No.

The sun is actually in the middle,
and the earth goes around it.

So earth isn't even the
center of that system, and...

So, the more that we learn,
we sort of, you know...

It's a very humbling science.

(rumbling)

When man first landed on the moon, our

perspective on the
universe changed forever.

Houston, uh, the Eagle has landed.

BUZZ ALDRIN: We aliens
who happened to...

go down the ladder on July
20, 1969-- we aliens...

were certainly part of
a magnificent race.

I just don't think people have a
grasp for what energy it takes

to go from one star to another.

This historic event raised
the question: if humans

can successfully navigate in
space and explore other worlds,

why couldn't beings from other
parts of the universe have done

the same?

And might they have already come
to Earth hundreds, or perhaps,

thousands of years ago?

VON DANIKEN: I think human
past is more fantastic than we

all believe.

I have come to the idea that
maybe extraterrestrials were on

this planet.

Cahuachi, Peru.

2,000 years ago, this ancient
settlement served as the

religious and cultural
capital of the Nazca people.

But sometime around 500 AD, the
Nazca mysteriously disappeared,

leaving Cahuachi to
fall into disarray.

1,400 years later, in 1910,
anthropologist Ales Hrdlicka

came to Cahuachi to study the
ancient Nazca civilization.

During a dig, he unearthed some
of the most surprising and

shocking artifacts he had ever seen.

They were skulls with
enormous, elongated craniums.

Where did they come from?

How did they get there?

And were they human?

CHILDRESS: In Peru, we find
these weird, elongated skulls.

And they're bizarre-looking.

I mean, and-and these
people look like aliens.

ROBERT SCHOCH: One may
say, okay, aliens.

But another aspect that we have
to consider is that skull and

cranial deformation, forming
elongated heads is a practice

that's known throughout
much of the ancient world.

In 1870, the process of
skull deformation was

well chronicled by a German
botanist and explorer named

Georg Schweinfurth.

While exploring the African
Congo, he came in contact with

a tribe called the Mangbetu.

They routinely performed a
ritual of cranial binding that

allowed them to physically alter
the shape of human skulls.

CHILDRESS: They took infants'

skulls and compressed
them and bound them.

And they forced the cranium
out and elongate it.

And in many cases,
they doubled the size.

SCHOCH: And a big question
is why was this being done?

It may have been a way to
distinguish the elite, perhaps,

from the everyday people.

May have been a social
stratification type of issue.

Something that also appeals to
me is, that may have been a way

to express physically and maybe
try to achieve physically

greater levels of consciousness
or higher levels of mental

ability.

TSOUKALOS: In my opinion, they
did this in order to mimic

the gods.

And those gods were physical
beings because if they were

just a figment of our ancestors'

imagination, I don't think
that's a cpelling enough

reason to expose your children
to such a ritual to achieve that

type of look.

And in my opinion, these
people were misinterpreted

flesh-and-blood space travelers.

SCHOCH: Some people have
suggested aliens had elongated

skulls, and apparently, ancient
peoples are mimicking those

skulls.

The old saying is that imitation
is the sincerest form of

flattery.

Although there have been
many images that attempt to

depict what aliens might
actually look like, one in

particular has come to dominate
the public perception.

It, too, features an elongated
cranium, and is associated with

an extraterrestrial race that
many refer to as the grays.

POPE: In terms of entities, one
very common description are

the so-called grays-- three
and a half, four feet tall,

essentially humanoid, but,
uh, very spindly with

disproportionately large heads
and huge black almond-shaped

eyes.

But would someone in a
primitive society really

want to replicate this look
and deform their skull?

Some archeologists have a
different perspective.

They point to artistic self-
expression as an explanation of

these customs.

ROBERT R. CARGILL: There are all
kinds of people that either

worship the body or use the body
as art, be it a tattoo or a

piercing of some sort, or tribes
that, that put things in their

ears or on their lips to try to,
to try to grow parts of their

body.

Some societies, we know,
practiced binding parts of the

body, feet, or heads and try to
make certain shapes, and this

was done for whatever reason.

We know today that this isn't
usually the most healthy thing

to do, but it doesn't
mean people don't do it.

People are always trying to
change their body to make it

look a certain way.

Whatever the explanation
may be for these

rituals, they are not just found
in Peru and the African Congo.

Skull deformation is
a global phenomenon.

CHILDRESS: What's really
strange is that this is found

all over the world, and this is
something that archaeologists

cannot easily explain because,
for people on remote islands,

for people in South America or
Malta or in Africa to suddenly,

independently do this cranial
deformation like this seems

incredible.

I mean, this is something that
had to be learned, something

that was taught to them.

SCHOCH: We seem to have basic
similarities, as if there was

one civilization or at least
one type of culture that was

influencing people around the world.

I find it more and more
difficult to believe what I was

taught as an undergraduate--
that all these different

cultures just coincidentally
came up with the same concepts

independently of each other.

Is it possible that individual
societies around the

world were influenced
by similar events?

And were they imitating real
beings who visited from other

planets?

Some of the most compelling
images of an elongated cranium

can be traced to ancient Egypt
and the depictions of one of its

most controversial pharaohs.

Could it be that he too
was mimicking the look of

extraterrestrials?

Or is there an even more
outrageous explanation?

Could he have been one of them?

Egypt.

Long before the ancient
Egyptians built the pyramids or

even settled along the Nile
River, they spoke of an era

called Tep Zepi, or the
beginning of time.

According to legends, Tep Zepi
was when "sky-gods" descended

from the stars to Earth on
flying "boats," and then turned

mud and water into a new kingdom.

BAUVAL: The word "god,"

according to the ancient
Egyptian, is "netyro."

It means a being that
came from the cosmos.

They are very adamant about
the fact that their gods had

descended from the stars.

They tell us that the god
Osiris, who ruled with his

consort and sister-- the goddess
Isis they were star gods, and

in fact they identify
them very clearly.

Osiris was identified the
constellation of Orion.

Isis was identified as the
god to the star Sirius, the

brightest star in the sky.

There's an interesting point
about this-- is that within the

constellation of Orion is the
so-called nursery of stars.

The stars in our galaxy
literally were born in that

zone, and it's really peculiar
that the ancient Egyptians

insist that the birth of star
gods are in this constellation.

They truly believed-- they were
very adamant about this-- that

their origins is in the sky.

SCHOCH: Something that we see
around the world with ancient

civilizations is that they had
incredible knowledge of the

stars, of the planets,
of the heavenly motions.

The average person in the
ancient world had way more

knowledge of what's going on
in the skies than a lot of

well-educated people today.

As ancient Egypt grew into
a great civilization,

its citizens believed their
pharaohs were sons of Osiris and

thus, living gods.

Artwork and wall carvings
depicted them as perfect humans,

and while the people worshipped
many different gods, the pharaoh

stood above them all.

This basic Egyptian religious
belief remained in force for

nearly a thousand years until
one pharaoh changed everything.

Who was this heretic?

His name was Akhenaten, and in
every surviving depiction, he is

shown with an elongated skull.

Who was he?

According to Egyptian mythology,
he too was descended from the

gods who arrived on Earth
at the time of Tep Zepi.

But why do so many still believe
he actually came from the stars?

In 1352 BC, Akhenaten ascended
to the throne as the tenth

pharaoh of the 18th dynasty.

Almost immediately, he
instituted a series of radical

religious changes, including a
ban on references to multiple

gods.

BAUVAL: It's a rather strange
thing that he would want to do

that in one sweep, but he ordered
all the, the iconography

of previous gods to be removed.

He only allowed one emblem,
which was a sun emblem,

literally a sun disk with curious
arms or rays pointing down.

TSOUKALOS: Why did he do this?

Because according to his
writings and his poems that were

written about him later on, he
was visited by one of those

beings that descended from the
sky, who told Akhenaten, "This

is the way.

I am your god."

This sun god was known as Aten.

Akhenaten claimed to be a
direct descendent of Aten.

BAUVAL: Akhenaten, like any
other pharaoh, regarded himself

to be divine.

He was a god.

Not only himself believed
himself to be a god, but the

whole nation saw him as a god.

Now, the definition of a god is
that he was a descendant from

these celestial beings.

During his fourth year
as pharaoh, Akhenaten

ordered the construction
of a new capital city.

He called it Amarna and
dedicated it to the sun.

Akhenaten would spend the next
ten years here, during which

time he instituted changes in
both art and culture, including

how he himself would
be publicly depicted.

CARGILL: In Egyptian
iconography, Egyptian pharaohs

are depicted as these
triangular-shaped beings--

these broad, strong shoulders
and these very skinny waists.

Now, we look at leaders today
and we know that most leaders

don't have broad shoulders and
skinny waists, but it was

important to depict the Egyptian
kings as having broad shoulders

and skinny waists-- very, you
know-- the epitome of what a

king ought to look like.

BAUVAL: That's exactly the
opposite with Akhenaten.

He shows himself perhaps as he really is...
a rather strange

look.

He has a very mystical look.

SCHOCH: If we take
Akhenaten's statues, for

instance, literally, he was a
very strange-looking character.

Sort of combined, some people
would say, feminine aspects with

masculine aspects, may have
had an elongated skull.

CARGILL: The change in royal
iconography of Akhenaten showed

him as he probably really was,
with a misshapen head, with a

potbelly, with a sunken chest,
as opposed to the idealized

iconography of traditional
Egyptian artists that showed

this big, strong pharaoh.

Akhenaten's wife Queen
Nefertiti and their

children were also depicted
as having elongated skulls.

So why were Akhenaten's and
Nefertiti's heads deformed?

Did they suffer from a genetic
abnormality or did they

deliberately alter their shape?

Some believe there could be yet
another explanation behind their

strange, otherworldly appearance.

CHILDRESS: They look like
they're different than other

human beings.

TSOUKALOS: Is it possible that
Akhenaten might have been

an extraterrestrial hybrid?

CARGILL: Ancient alien
enthusiasts look at Pharaoh

Akhenaten of Egypt and say,
"Ah, look at that long head.

That looks like an alien gray.

That looks like some kind of
something that's nonhuman, some

hybrid between something
else and something human.

Must be evidence of alien
interference, alien

reproduction with humans.

Something like that."

BETTY ANN BROWN: I've been to
Egypt, and one of the most

stunning things about seeing
the archeological remains of

ancient Egypt is that one
unique pharaoh, Akhenaten.

TSOUKALOS: I mean, he's got a
very narrow, pointy face, high

cheekbones, and a very
elongated cranium.

CHILDRESS: The idea that they were either...
looking like

extraterrestrials, or perhaps
had extraterrestrial DNA in

them is a credible idea.

Akhenaten ruled for 17 years.

After his reign, Amarna was
abandoned, and temples to the

sun were destroyed.

Images of Akhenaten were
deliberately defaced.

Ancient Egypt swiftly returned
to its old ways, worshipping

many gods.

Was this a rejection of
Akhenaten's radical religious

belief system, or a cover-up
of his alien identity?

BAUVAL: There's been a lot
of theories about why.

Um, if... I mean, the most
extreme is that he somehow had

some sort of
extraterrestrial connection.

If one accepts that conclusion,
then it would explain why he was

literally put off the reign
and, some say, put to death.

Some Egyptologists believe
Akhenaten was forced to

abdicate and flee from Egypt
with a group of his loyal

followers.

In 1907, the actual body of
Akhenaten was discovered in

Egypt's Valley of the Kings by
a British archeologist named

Edward Ayrton.

After unearthing Akhenaten's
mummified remains, he was able

to confirm that, indeed, the
ancient pharaoh's skull was

misshapen and elongated.

CARGILL: Some scholars argue
that he suffered from some kind

of physical abnormality; he
suffered from a disorder that

caused his face to appear to be
long, or his head actually was

longer.

I think with Akhenaten we're
dealing with a physical

deformation that wasn't
corrected by the royal artists.

They just depicted him as he
was: potbelly, sunken chest,

long head.

Akhenaten was succeeded by his
son, Tutankhamen, who became the

most renowned pharaoh of all time.

When his tomb was discovered
in 1922 by Howard Carter,

Tutankhamen was also found
to have an elongated skull.

Could he have inherited alien
genes from his father?

Today, much of Akhenaten's
life still remains a mystery.

Did he really change Egypt's
entire belief system because,

as some suggest, he was
a celestial being?

If that's true, might there be
evidence of similar entities

coming to Earth?

Perhaps more clues can be found
thousands of miles away on the

other side of the African continent.

(men singing)

Mali, in northwest Africa.

Deep in a remote valley live
the Dogon people, who are the

descendants of a nomadic tribe
that settled here around 1000 AD.

Just like Akhenaten's
followers, the Dogon had been

forced to leave Egypt because
of religious persecution.

SCHOCH: The Dogon claim a very
long and ancient tradition,

and in my opinion maintain
some of the ancient Egyptian

traditions and myths that have
been carried on right into the

present age.

Parts of ancient Egypt
may not have died.

They were carried on, to
this day, among the Dogon.

But what exactly are their beliefs?

Dogon mythology holds that the sky.
god Amma created the first

living creature known as Nommo.

The legend also says that
shortly after his creation,

Nommo multiplied into several
parts, one of which rebelled

against Amma.

Amma responded by destroying
him and scattering his ashes

throughout the world.

PETER FIEBAG (translated):

According to the Dogons' myths,
a god gave them this knowledge.

He descended from the sky in an
arc, surfing on fire, landing in

a storm.

TSOUKALOS: Still today, the
Dogon celebrates a festival in

the honor of Nommo and that
visitation that occurred in the

remote past.

How do we know this?

For this festival, they have
wooden masks that date back

to a very long time ago,
when this festival began.

FIEBAG (translated): Dogon
masks tell the mystic stories

of their ancestors.

This is a sculpture of the creator.

They call him Amma.

He is embracing the universe.

This is how they pass on
information from generation to

generation, by stories
carved in masks.

But could Nommo have
been a real person?

Some see eerie similarities
between the Dogons' legend and

the story of the mysterious
Pharaoh Akhenaten.

Akhenaten believed he was
directly descended from the sun

god Aten.

Nommo was said to have been
created by the sky deity, Amma.

Is it a coincidence that both
cultures, although thousands of

miles apart, shared mythical
tales of beings coming from the

skies?

And both Nommo and Akhenaten were
depicted with elongated heads.

Is it possible that these legends
were based on real events?

(Fiebag speaking foreign language)

FIEBAG (translated): The
Dogons dwell in the central

plateau region of Bandiagara.

Their knowledge is centuries old,
and their priests have been

sharing it with chosen
individuals only.

In the 1920s, French
anthropologist Grialue and

ethnologist Dieterle visited
the tribe and were invited to

share their secrets.

But one secret stood
out: the Dogon claimed

that their god Amma came from
a specific star in the Sirius

constellation, the same place
where the ancient Egyptians

believed their god Osiris was born.

This star, which modern
astronomers refer to as Sirius

B, the Dogon called Po Tolo.

But what baffles experts is
that the star is so far from

Earth, it's impossible to
see with the naked eye.

BAUVAL: I was very intrigued
by this, by the way.

I mean, the Dogons should not
have known about the existence

of this star.

Sirius is the second nearest
star from our solar system.

It's eight light-years away.

In fact, it's not even visible
with standard telescopes.

It was first seen, literally
seen, and photographed in the

1970s.

TSOUKALOS: Modern science has
corroborated that Sirius B

does indeed exist.

Problem is, the Dogon knew about

this before modern science

corroborated it.

I mean, that's spooky.

Measurements taken with
the Hubble telescope in

2003 have confirmed that Sirius
B is what's known as a white

dwarf-- or a partially rnt-out
star with extremely dense mass.

Although it is smaller in size
than Earth, it's estimated to

weigh eight times as much as our sun.

But how did the Dogon acquire
this ancient knowledge of

astronomy that seems to be
centuries more advanced than

that of modern science?

SEAGER: The mystery is, how
did this story get passed on

down generations...
if the story came from a time before

astronomers knew there was a
companion star to Sirius which

can't be seen with the human eye?

FIEBAG (translated): This is
the Dogon symbol for Sirius.

When you move it around, you
can see an orbit around the

center marked by Sirius A.

Sirius B circles around it,
so it is a circular system.

This sign is practically an
astronomic model that the

Dogons could not have invented
because only Sirius A is

visible, and Sirius B
and C are invisible.

However, their description
of the orbit is correct.

One assumption is that this god,
Nommo, who brought them this

knowledge, could have been an
extraterrestrial intelligence.

Since the early 20th
century, the tribe has

been routinely studied and
researched by anthropologists.

This has led many modern
historians to claim that the

Dogon must have learned about
astronomy from Westerners.

CARGILL: The Dogon's mythology
is so fluid that when

science confirms something that
they might have believed in

antiquity, it might have just
been sheer coincidence, or it

could have been a conflation.

That is, they heard...
Because it's an oral culture,

and because the mythology is
so fluid, they heard something

that someone said about this
star in relation to another

star, and they just grafted
that in to their mythology.

They grafted that into their religion.

And then when some reporter,
some subsequent reporter comes

along and says, "What do you believe?
," they say, "Well,

we've thought this for
millions of years."

TSOUKALOS: When critics suggest
that this knowledge was

given to them by modern
ethnologists, that's simply

incorrect because we know that
the story goes back hundreds of

years earlier than any modern
ethnologist ever went there.

FIEBAG (translated): If it
were ever proven that all this

information is exactly correct,
including the parts that are

still being studied by
astronomers, this would mean

that the earth had visitors
from outer space in prehistoric

times.

BAUVAL: Either they inherited
that knowledge, and the question

is, from where?

From a previous civilization,
or from some sort of

extraterrestrial civilization?

Or it's a coincidence.

In my view, it is not a coincidence.

If the Dogon people really
possessed this advanced

astronomical knowledge, were their
legends based on real events?

The ancient Egyptians and Dogon
were far from alone in their

belief in gods or mystical
beings that came from the sky.

Is there an explanation for
similar myths shared by ancient

cultures all around the world?

And what does that reveal as
to who these visitors may be?

Perhaps the answer can be found,
not in northern Africa, but here

in the rocks and canyons
of the American Southwest.

30 miles south of Gallup, New
Mexico lies the pueblo of Zuni.

Sheltered from the desolate
high plains, this adobe city is

home to the Zuni Indians, one
of the oldest indigenous tribes

in North America.

They have inhabited this land for
almost 2,000 years, and have

protected their secrets even longer.

CHRIS O'BRIEN: The Zuni are a
very interesting culture in that

they're one of theew cultures
that really have not opened up,

uh, to the rest of the world
about their star knowledge

traditions.

Most of this type of information
is very closely held by the

natives.

And, um, I really find it very
intriguing that this is the

time period in history where now
we're starting to learn more and

more about their star knowledge.

Much of the Zuni people's
history is etched in

the rocks in the New Mexico desert.

Tribal Elder Clifford Mahooty
and archeologist Dan Simplicio

have studied the Zuni's
secret history firsthand.

They've collected stories
passed down through generations

that are rooted in the belief
that the tribe's creators and

protectors are supernatural
beings from the sky.

DAN SIMPLICIO: This one's
kind of interesting here.

I would imagine it was created
in last century, but from this

design, you can see the star figure.

Celestial images oftentimes
are depicted in a lot of our

cultural petroglyphs.

And this is one of 'em
where it depicts the star.

It could be the supernova
of the crab nebula.

CLIFFORD MAHOOTY: Our Zuni
mythology in the prayer system,

in the ritualistic protocols,
talk about these people that

came over here, and told us how
to actually live our lives

as beings, sky people.

If you listen to a lot of
religious chants and songs and

prayers, that's all they talk about.

They're talking about space.

They're talking about out there
in the universe where they came

from.

So they depict it on a rock wall here.

But the actual meaning of it is
somewhere more profound and more

complex than that.

These drawings are thought
to have been created

around 1200 BC, yet they appear
to depict modern space travelers

and their vehicles.

SIMPLICIO: If you move back
a little bit, you can see

another figure here.

It has a de.

It has eyes.

Uh, there's something coming down...
MAHOOTY: And a nose.

SIMPLICIO: Like a nose.

There's a nose, but it
kind of flares out...

MAHOOTY: I think it was
something to do with the

ancient ones, when they saw something.

They took as much description
of it to put in on there.

Of course it's not going to
be exactly what they saw, but

that's as best as they can do
for something that they saw.

CHILDRESS: With all
petroglyphs and things like

that, I mean, they're
up to interpretation.

Sometimes they are just
doodlings of people.

But other times, they may well
be actual descriptions and

depictions of some kind of god
from outer space, some ancient

astronaut.

And when you go around, say like
the Zuni pueblo, I mean, that's

what they'll tell you
those petroglyphs e.

Even the Zunis themselves
call them the spacemen.

SIMPLICIO: This one seems to have
two legs coming out like that.

It has a, you know, broad
diamond shape body.

Um, there probably was a better
head that chipped off here.

Well, that's very different-looking
than humans are.

MAHOOTY: Now usually
they're called UFOs.

But in the Zuni way, we've
always been taught that they're

the keepers of the upper
world, which means space.

You know, they're sky people.

Beings that are of the
extraterrestrial origin, and

this is still within our
mythology and our religious

practices today.

Like most Indian tribes,
the Zunis call these

sky people kachinas.

According to the Zunis'

creation story, the kachina
gods came down from the heavens

to lead the Zunis to earth
through a special portal.

MAHOOTY: The sipapu-- that's
the entrance to the fourth

world, or the underworld.

And that's a representation of
where the kachinas come and go.

And so, according to the
mythologies, the Zunis were

brought forth into the world of
light-- which is where we are at

today-- by what I would
interpret as extraterrestrial

beings from the universe.

(singing in native language)

Every year, the Zunis
participate in a ceremony

known as the Shalako festival.

Dressed in traditional costumes
to represent the kachinas, the

Indians celebrate the arrival
of the gods on earth.

(singing continues)

CHILDRESS: This is a-a
figurine of kachina gods.

And these guys are some gods
from the sky who came down.

Uh, they wear weird helmets.

TSOUKALOS: This one has a
helmet as a head, and if you

look at the whole body of it,
it's as if it wears some type

of a... of a suit.

This one here also has the
helmet and the visor.

CHILDRESS: For the Pueblo
Indians, like the Zunis, these

are their-their sky-gods that
every year, they have special

ceremonies.

People put on these special
costumes and masks to reenact

the coming of the gods.

They really look like
ancient astronauts.

BILL BIRNES: If you look at the
poetry and the legends and

the stories from American Indian
tribes in the Southwest, they

have the legend of the star people.

The star people came to Earth
and seeded planet Earth, and

they came on flying ships.

If you speak to the elders, they
will tell you that a lot of us

believe in the existence
of extraterrestrials.

STEVEN M. KARR: These are
timeless traditions that have

been passed on through the
centuries from clan to clan,

from family to family, from
family member to family member.

And it is an oral tradition.

Native peoples did not
have the written word.

They had the spoken word.

And culturally, the spoken word
is still a significant component

of their daily lives, and the
ability to pass down the truth.

SIMPLICIO: I remember my
grandparents talking about a

craft that flew and had actually
crash-landed on one of the mesas

east of here.

There's no interpretation of
what an aircraft is, so the

closest thing that they could
interpret as anything capable of

flight is a bird, or our
masked kachina dancers.

MAHOOTY: We are very, very
superstitious people.

It's always been in the history
of Zuni that they have always

been here even right here where
we're sitting right now, but

you just don't see them.

They're in a different frequency.

And those are very, very sacred,
and those are very, very secret.

They're out there somewhere.

For those who believe
that ancient astronauts

came to earth thousands of years
ago, the prehistoric artwork

provides more clues in what
they claim is a growing body of

evidence: from wall carvings
and statues in ancient Egypt

to tribal traditions and
exotic masks in West Africa

to petroglyphs in the
American Southwest.

All thousands of years old,
they seem to recount similar

stories of visitors from the skies.

Could the legends of alien
beings visiting earth thousands

of years ago have inspired
more traditional beliefs?

Celestial beings coming down to Earth.

Gods descending from the sky.

Can these events only be found
in the ancient legends of the

Zuni?

Do similar accounts exist
in other cultures and other

religions across the world?

And if so, what is the explanation?

TSOUKALOS: We have to remind
ourselves that our ancestors

were highly intelligent.

However, their technological
frame of reference was different

than our technological frame of
reference, so they didn't have

the vocabulary with which to
describe or with which to name

certain things that they saw.

So what did they do?

They used words that they were
familiar with in their time, and

so they tried to describe
whatever they witnessed to the

best of their abilities
with their vocabulary.

Ancient China also shared
some of the same beliefs

that can be found in Egyptian,
Native American, and Dogon

legends-- that deities
arrived from the stars.

According to Chinese mythology
dating back to 3000 BC, when the

god named Huang Di was born,
there was "a radiance from the

great star Chi."

Huang Di would later emerge
from the belly of a fire-

breathing dragon to become
China's first emperor.

YOUNG: The origins of the Han
Chinese people start with a

story of a great god
looking down with empathy.

Here were people in poverty, in
a beautiful, rich country, the

landscape profound, but the
people were suffering.

He took pity and decided to come down.

TSOUKALOS: Huang Di arrived on
planet Earth in a flying dragon.

He had the power of flight.

Huang Di could be anywhere
within minutes, and he usually

accomplished this by hopping on
his dragon and flying somewhere.

YOUNG: Now this divine energy
becomes human and is a great

leader-- the Yellow Emperor who
rules and unites the people--

and there is a period of great
prosperity until his work is

done.

Huang Di brought order
to the chaos, creating

China's first empire.

He is seen as a cultural hero,
and is credited with the

invention of the compass,
acupuncture, and the

standardization of Chinese writing.

One of his greatest legacies
is the Great Wall of China.

YOUNG: When the land is
prosperous, he decides it's time

to go, and the great yellow
dragon comes back and he gets

back into the belly of the
dragon and flies off forev.

TSOUKALOS: Now, were these
dragons truly dragons in a

biological nature?

Or were they misinterpreted
types of machines?

Because, as we all know, dragons
are always correlated with

spewing fire and a lot of smoke.

Whenever we see a modern rocket
take off, there is all this

smoke, and sometimes the smoke is
yellow and sometimes it's red.

So it's very bizarre how we have
these correlations between the

ancient times and modern times today.

YOUNG: Mythology is the
effort to grasp what we can't

grasp, to understand
what is beyond us.

In the Eastern teachings, the
dragons very often carry people,

sometimes on their back or
sometimes inside their bellies,

so if we think of them as, as
a poet's effort to explain a

vehicle that was strange to
them, well, those sound like

flying saucers.

So it might just be a problem
with translation because, after

all, it's just a word.

It's trying to describe
something that's very difficult

to grasp.

4,000 miles west of China,
another tale of celestial

beings influencing civilization
can be found, this time in what

is now modern-day Iraq.

The Babylonian legend of Enuma
Elish dates back to the seventh

century BC.

The text was first discovered in
1849 by British archeologist Sir

Austen Henry Layard while
searching the ruins of the

Library of Ashurbanipal in Nineveh.

The story tells of how the first
humans were created by an

extraterrestrial re
known as the Anunnaki.

TSOUKALOS: In the ancient
texts of Sumeria, we have

descriptions of these beings
descending from the sky called

the Anunnaki.

The term "Anunnaki" means "those
who from the heavens came."

It says, word for word, that
these beings descended in flying

vehicles from the sky, and we
can find not only descriptions

of the Anunnaki, but also
depictions and we can see them

in statues, in carvings, so it's
all very interesting to see that

those beings looked like
modern-day space travelers with

weird suits.

Some of them wore wristwatches.

They had boots on and helmets
and, above all, wings, and they

were always described or
depicted in floating above some

"regular people."

So the question is: who
were the Anunnaki?

And according to the ancient
astronaut hypothesis, they were

space travelers who visited
Earth in the remote past.

Similar themes can be found
in the legends of Greek

and Roman gods, which also
describe events that some

interpret as extraterrestrial contact.

Both cultures believed in
powerful gods who lived in the

heavens and often came down to
Earth to interact with humans.

(thunder cracks)

CHILDRESS: A well-known
example is Zeus and the Greek

gods, and they've come down from
the sky and Mount Olympus, where

they live in some mountain,
and they're bringing, really,

civilization and sciences to
mankind, but they have many

human attributes, too, where,
yeah, they, uh, they're

attracted to human women, uh,
they want to have sex and

children with as many of 'em as
they can, and then they go back

into the sky.

THOMAS BULLARD: These ideas of
gods mating with humans are

very commonplace, like Zeus
in Greek mythology was always

coming down, mating with mortals,
and producing demigods

like Hercules or Helen of
Troy, who were exceptionally

beautiful, exceptionally
powerful, unusually gifted in

every way.

So, in other words, you were
creating a better race in, in

this sense.

TSOUKALOS: In the ancient
astronaut opinion, the whole

pantheon of gods that we have
in ancient Greece consists of

nothing else but flesh-and-blood
extraterrestrials who were

misinterpreted as being these
divine creatures by our ancestors.

CREMO: There is a lot of
evidence showing that we're not

alone in the cosmos and that our
human civilizations on Earth

have been interacting for
long periods of time with

extraterrestrial intelligences.

Belief in celestial beings
interacting with humans

is a cornerstone in
several major religions.

In fact, according to the
Bible's Book of Genesis, God

created the first humans Adam and Eve.

The Bible also contains other
passages that describe strange

interactions between
"otherworldly" beings and humans.

CARGILL: People believe
messengers of some sort come

down from the heavens.

You know, they came down and
they had sex with humans, and

this is where we produced
giants, people like Goliath, so

in a technical sense, they are alien.

They're gods or they're angels;

there's some kind of superhuman thing.

Interpreting these Bible
stories has also led to a

certain amount of
debate and controversy.

While most see a single god
directing and influencing

mankind's destiny, others argue
that it is really a number of

gods that are responsible.

TSOUKALOS: In the Old Testament,
it says very clearly,

"And then God created
man in our own image."

Now, grammatically speaking,
that sentence doesn't make

sense, because you have "God"

and then you have "our image."

Well, theologians suggest that,
by "our," what they meant is the

Trinity, the Holy Trinity, so
basically, if you were to change

the word "god" to "gods," then
all of a sudden, the sentence

makes sense-- "and then the gods

created man in our own image."

CARGILL: So you have this

reference-- "let us create man

in our image."

In several religious texts,

specifically the Hebrew Bible,

which Christians also accept,

and in the Koran, which Muslims

revere as holy, you have the

reference to God in the plural,

and it is incredibly

interesting.

But do all these

religious scriptures that tell

similar stories really point to

the possibility that aliens have

visited Earth throughout ancient

history?

BIRNES: The fact is, the

story of creation in our own

Bible is the story of creation

in cultures around the world.

The story of the flood, the

evolution of the human species,

the development of language--

all of this points to-- in fact,

the Bible says so-- life on

Earth came from contact with an

extraterrestrial life form.

That's in the Bible.

That's in ancient cultures

around the world.

So I believe the theory of

ancient astronauts is true, and

I believe there's solid

evidence there, and I believe

the harder you try to refute

that evidence, the more you wind

up against a brick wall.

That ancient astronauts visited

us, visited Earth thousands upon

thousands of years ago, and

seeded the very civilization we

have today.

If the believers in

the ancient astronaut theory are

correct, then just who were

these visitors?

And might cutting-edge

astrophysics and biology help us

to uncover their identity?

On March 18, 1965, Russian
cosmonaut Alexei Leonov

stepped outside the Voskhod 2
and became the first human to

walk in space.

He spent 12 minutes and eight
seconds outside his ship before

returning.

Leonov's survival depended upon
a protective suit that could

keep him alive where there was
neither atmospheric pressure nor

oxygen.

If we need spacesuits, would
aliens traveling to Earth

require the same protection?

Is that what we're looking at
in these ancient carvings and

drawings?

TSOUKALOS: When critics ask,
"Well, why would ancient

astronauts have to wear
astronaut suits like... that

we're familiar with today?,"

the answer is very simple.

Can we go through space without
wearing a type of suit?

Of course not.

We would die.

'Cause who says that whoever
visited us in the remote past,

that they could breathe in the
atmosphere of planet Earth?

So, it's not farfetched to
suggest that they did, in fact,

wear some type of suit.

Why might these images
resemble modern astronauts?

If they are aliens, is it possible
they are similar to humans?

And could they have come from
a planet just like Earth?

At the turn of the 20th century,
a group of British and German

scientists considered
this possibility.

They embraced a theory put forth
by early Greek philosophers,

that all life in the universe
began in one specific place.

This theory is called panspermia.

SEAGER: Panspermia is the
theory that life formed in one

place, and then got spread
around to other places.

In outer space in the medium
between stars, we see molecules

that are the building blocks of life.

So it's easy to get the building
blocks of life to another

planet.

For example, if life formed on
Mars, it could have come here

to Earth, contaminated Earth,
and then started life here.

Roughly 3.6 billion years
ago, Mars was warm and

wet, much like the
conditions on Earth today.

Biologists believe that because
Mars cooled more quickly than

other planets, life may
have developed there first.

(whirring)

PAUL DAVIES: Mars is a better
candidate for life during the

early part of the solar system.

Mars rocks are coming here all
the time, and these have been

knocked off Mars by
asteroid and comet impacts.

And we know that they
could convey any Martian

microorganisms to Earth.

In August 1996, a team
of scientists made a

stunning announcement.

A Martian meteorite found in
Antarctica contained evidence of

fossilized life.

The four-pound rock, designated
ALH 84001, showed the presence

of carbonate globules excreted
by microbes when they were alive

on Mars 3.6 billion years ago.

Earth was no longer alone.

Life had existed elsewhere
in the universe.

DAVIES: So this cross-
contamination beeen Mars and

Earth, which 20 years ago was
regarded as a rather wild

conjecture, is now pretty much
accepted by the astrobiology

community.

Astrobiologists studying the origin
and evolution of life in the

universe embraced the
possibility that life on Earth

began in outer space.

Did modern-day scientists
finally prove what ancient

cultures have believed for centuries?

BAUVAL: The common myth or
idea that the origins of

humankind is from the
stars is widespread.

Ancient cultures have...
The ancient Egyptians, the

Mayans, the Aztecs, the
Indians and so forth...

Uh, is intriguing, and
it's probably true.

And I mean it from an
astrophysical point of view.

We do come from the stars.

It's a fact that life on earth
has been seeded by the coming of

a comet containing the life matter.

SCHOCH: I personally suspect
there is life out there.

In fact, I believe that we have evidence...
if nothing else,

microbial evidence, for
life extraterrestrially.

But if life did land on
Earth from outer space,

was it by accident, or might it
have been sent here on purpose?

One mainstream scientist thought so.

British geneticist Francis
Crick is best known for his

collaboration with James Watson.

Together, they unraveled the
structure of human DNA in 1953.

Less than ten years later, they
were awarded the Nobel Prize

for their groundbreaking
work in genetics.

In the 1960s, Crick became a
proponent of panspermia theory

and took it to a whole new
level with an idea he called

directed panspermia.

GRAHAM HANCOCK: Francis Crick
hypothesized that somewhere,

perhaps on the other side of
the galaxy, there had been a

civilization of advanced
intelligent beings.

And they had found that their
planet was going to be destroyed.

Perhaps a supernova was going to
go off in their vicinity, and

their planet would be
sterilized of life.

And he asked himself, "What
would an intelligent

civilization do in
that situation?"

Um, well, first of all, they'd
try to figure out if they could

get out of there, if they could
actually preserve their lives

and the lives of their descendants.

Perhaps crowd into spaceships
and fly across interstellar

space until they found a
suitable planet to colonize.

But could it actually be true?

Could we really be the
descendants of an alien race

that traveled here from another world?

POPE: The ultimate implication of
some exobiological theories is

actually that we ourselves
are extraterrestrials,

that life on earth arose
because organic material was

brought here from elsewhere.

BIRNES: What if we're the ones,
the descendants of those

who came from another planet?

We weren't created.

We were brought here, seeded
planet Earth as a colony from

some other planet.

So we're colonists of another race.

And that's why the
aliens look like us.

SCHOCH: In my opinion, it's not
unscientific to consider the

possibility of ancient
astronauts, alien intervention.

We live in a huge universe.

Now, bacteria versus humanoids--
one may say, that's a big

difference, but in some ways,
it's not a big difference.

Where you have life, you have
the ability for that life to

develop into what we consider
civilization or intelligent

beings.

Is it just a coincidence
that modern science

and ancient alien theory have
come to the same conclusion:

that life on Earth
came from the stars?

And if it's possible that
billions of years ago, an

extraterrestrial race spread
out across space, how would

they survive in their new home?

Could they really be our missing link?

For thousands of
years, mankind has tried to

depict alien beings who they
believe came from the skies.

Many of those creatures seem
to share characteristics with

humans.

They often have two arms, two
legs, fingers and a head...

just like we do.

Biologists refer to this basic
body shape as bilateral symmetry.

MICHAEL DENNIN: Bilateral
symmetry is, very simply, you

divide something down the
middle into two parts, and

lateral means up and down, and
the two sides are an exact

reflection of each other.

If you fold the thing in
half, all the parts line up.

RUSSELL TUTTLE: Being
bilaterally symmetric allows

you to be streamlined...
and to develop a head end, so

you become cephalized.

And that certainly
happened in vertebrates.

Virtually, the mouth at the end
of something and then you get

progressive development, and
that seems to have led to many,

many advances.

(creatures chirping, chittering)

DENNIN: So, when you look at it
closely, you can see a lot of

advantages coming in.

Having the two arms and two
legs to work together really

gives you great mobility
and balance and speed.

Having eyes on two sides
separated gives really improved

vision in various ways.

Animals that are predominantly
prey use their two eyes

independently and get
a huge field of view.

Animals that are predominantly
hunters have them more in the

front and get really good depth
perception, which you need if

you're gonna land on the
animal you're hunting.

(lion growling)

If it is true that aliens
resemble humans in their

physical characteristics,
might there also be genetic

similarities?

Could we even be related?

In 2003, the U.S.
Government announced that the Human Genome

Project had idfntified all of
the nearly 25,000 genes in the

human body.

For the first time, scientists
had a road map to the genetic

make-up of humans.

In 2006, genetic researchers
at the University

of California at Santa Cruz
discovered an area of the

genome they called HAR1 that
appears to be unique to humans.

Scientists believe the HAR1
gene plays a critical role in

the advanced development of
the human brain, and is a key

element that sets us apart
from other animals.

But where did it come from?

Did humans develop this
distinct gene naturally through

evolution?

Or did it land here
from another planet?

Francis Crick, the British
scientist who helped discover

the structure of DNA, believed
that human genes could not have

evolved by chance.

HANCOCK: Crick didn't feel
in that period of roughly

600 million years, from the
formation of the planet down to

the time when the planet could
first support life, there was

enough time for DNA to
evolve by accident.

It's an enormously
complicated molecule.

Crick gave this analogy: You
would be more likely to

assemble a fully functioning and
flying jumbo jet by passing

a hurricane through a junkyard
than you would be to assemble

the DNA molecule by chance in
any kind of primeval soup in

five or six hundred million years.

It's just not possible.

But if this molecule
could not have evolved

accidentally, how was it created?

Was it, as some believe,
put there on purpose?

TSOUKALOS: The question
should not be do the

extraterrestrials look
like us or what do the

extraterrestrials look like,
but do we look like the

extraterrestrials?

Because according to the ancient
astronaut theory, a long, long

time ago, extraterrestrials
came here, and through a

targeted mutation of our genes,
we-- quote, unquote-- "became

human."

(Fiebag speaking foreign language)

FIEBAG (translated): Possibly
there is information in our DNA

about whether human evolution
was manipulated or not.

The DNA is almost deciphered,
yet we only understand five

percent of the information it carries.

TSOUKALOS: Geneticists have
determined that it only

takes about five percent to
clone a human being, and that

95% of that genetic material
that we have in our bodies is

nothing more than what they
refer to as "genetic junk."

DENNIN: Why is everything there?

And there's probably parts of
the DNA that don't have an

obvious current function.

Maybe they're left over from
something that was used in the

past, kind of like our
appendix is left over.

Could this "genetic junk"
hold the key to the

evolution of humans?

Some people suggest that
decoding our DNA entirely will

unlock startling information
about our origins.

But could it even prove that
aliens played a role in our

development thousands of years ago?

HANCOCK: If you hypothetically
wanted to record

an eternal message that could
be decoded by a creature that

had eventually evolved enough
intelligence to decode it, the

place to put that message would
not be on some monument or in

some text, which might be swept
away, but actually on the DNA of

the creature itself.

(baby cooing)

It's recently been established
that DNA is a recording medium

of almost limitless power.

It would be technically
possible to record the entire

knowledge of a civilization
on the DNA in our bodies.

All you'd need is a way to
access that information.

VON DANIKEN: I think we
have something, the whole

humanity, in our genes.

Somewhere in our genes it is
coded that extraterrestrials

were here thousands of years ago.

But the questions persist:
If aliens visited

Earth tens of thousands of years ago...
how did they get here?

When we look to the past for
the answers, are we looking in

the wrong place?

Should we actually look forward...
to our future?

Scientists agree that
the best chances of finding

alien life will be on planets
similar to ours, and

descriptions of
extraterrestrials seem to

resemble humans in many ways.

Some ancient astronaut
theorists draw a surprising

conclusion from these facts,
suggesting that aliens might

actually be human.

POPE: It is odd that many of
the descriptions of aliens

are effectively humanoid, and
this raises an interesting

possibility.

One idea that's been put
forward is that, uh, these are

not extraterrestrials at all,
but they're time travelers from

the future.

NOORY: They could be us from
a thousand, 2,000, 10,000

years from now.

Let's assume for a moment that
10,000 years from now on this

planet, if we all survive,
that time travel was created.

They've invented it.

Just like the time machine of H.
G. Wells' day, they can go

back, or they can go forward.

So let's assume 10,000 years

from now we decide to come back

to see us.

Maybe they have changed

physically.

They look like the alien grays
or whoever they may be.

BIRNES: It could well be that
ancient astronauts might

not be creatures from other
planets at all, but time

travelers from 2720 in a time machine.

Time travel is an essential
concept for science

fiction, but would it be
possible for flesh-and-blood

humans to find a way to
transport themselves through

time with current technology?

Would this enable us to cover
the vast distances of space?

PAUL DAVIES: If I could
travel close to the speed of

light, I could reach the year
3000, say, in a couple of years.

Have to get very close to the
speed of light for that, but

it's doable, and we know that
this isn't a theory, this is...

this is real physics-- we could
demonstrate these time-warping

effects.

So you can reach the future
quicker by traveling close to

the speed of light.

(whooshing)

The concept of time
travel was first proposed

by Albert Einstein in 1905 when
he published his Theory of

Special Relativity.

DENNIN: Ancient astronaut
theory says that astronauts

visited us a long time
ago from somewhere else.

The technology involved in
doing that, we would assume

would be similar to
what we understand now.

I mean, we know special
relativity is a law of physics.

It holds anywhere in the universe.

Ancient astronauts that would
come all the way here can

travel these large distances and
not age that much, relative

to their home planet.

Because if you're going close
enough to the speed of light,

you will have slowed down time
enough that when you get back,

hundreds, thousands, or even
millions of years could have

passed.

One limitation to this
method of travel is that

because a spacecraft has mass,
it theoretically cannot reach

the exact speed of light.

The resulting reduction in
velocity would then dramatically

increase the amount of time needed
to cross the vast universe.

NOORY: Well, there's
definitely many theories about

how extraterrestrials got here,
how their propulsion system got

them to planet Earth.

They're surely not coming here
the way we go out into space.

They'd never get here.

They are finding different ways.

They have either developed a new
form of propulsion, or they're

able to travel through-- what
I've always believed-- wormholes

throughout the universe.

That would instantaneously
put them here.

The idea of wormholes
was first proposed in

1935 by Albert Einstein and his
longtime collaborator Nathan

Rosen.

They began to explore the
possibility that space and time

could literally be bent to
create a time travel shortcut.

DENNIN: Wormholes have
not been detected.

They are a postulated structure
in space that involve actually

taking-- if you want to think of
a sheet of paper-- bending it in

half and connecting the two
pieces that you get together.

A wormhole is thought to
do something like that.

Space gets warped, and it
connects between two different

parts of space.

You know, there's predictions
about what they would look like;

there's theories about them, but
we haven't detected one yet.

You're not actually ever
traveling faster than the speed

of light; you're just cutting corners.

CHILDRESS: You don't actually
have to go light speed and

travel for light-years to someplace.

You literally go there through
a wormhole and through

hyperspace, and bang, you're there.

DAVIES: If you can have a
wormhole in space, then it can

be turned, in principle,
into a time machine.

And so travel back in time as
well as forward in time would

then be possible.

The problem is: where do
you get your wormhole?

Uh, it's not inconceivable that
wormholes were made in the Big

Bang, coughed out along with
everything else, and there might

be one out there in the universe
we could harvest or adapt to

form a time machine.

DENNIN: If you end up
discovering that you could make

wormholes, then that increases
the range that you can explore

in space and that increases
the likelihood of having two

civilizations at the same time
with the right technology to

communicate with each other.

While theoretically
possible, traveling through

wormholes or at the speed
of light is currently both

economically and technically
impossible for us here on Earth.

Using modern propulsion methods,
it would take 70,000 years to

reach the nearest star.

DAVIES: Our fastest
rockets are totally puny.

It's really pathetic.

So we're talking about .
01% of the speed of light if you're

lucky.

Any object that we can fire out
into the solar system is going

to take tens of thousands of
years to reach the nearest star.

Believe it or not, at 4.6
billion yrs old, our

solar system is one of the
youngest in the universe.

But if civilizations exist in
other galaxies, is it possible

that they are more advanced
than those on Earth?

And if so, could they be ahead
of us in their ability to travel

through space and time?

CHILDRESS: For extraterrestrials
to come here,

through the vast reaches of
space to our planet, they

clearly have to have technology
that's way in advance of what we

have today.

To go from solar system to solar
system, rather than going warp

speed, like in Star Trek, you

really are going to travel, as
they do in Star Wars, where

you're jumping through hyperspace.

Going from a solar system to
solar system is no time at all.

TSOUKALOS: Just because we
can't travel from star to star

does not mean another more advanced
society can't do it either.

I think that's the height of
human arrogance to say, "Just

because we can't do it, another
more advanced civilization can't

do it either," so, you know, we
have to stop looking at us that

we are the pinnacle of
creation 'cause we're not.

Celestial beings.

Visitors from the skies.

Deities descending from the
heavens to interact with man.

Could these worldwide stories
be the foundation for the

prevailing belief that
something greater than

ourselves, from beyond our
world, created the universe as

we know it?

Almost all of the great
world faiths are based on

stories of celestial
beings who visit Earth.

Many millions of people accept
these legends as part of their

core beliefs.

And from the earliest cave drawings...
to images at

Roswell, we see artists'

interpretations of
extraterrestrials or gods coming

to our planet.

YOUNG: In many traditions, there
is something coming from above.

There is a stairway to heaven or
there's a whirlwind or an angel

descends.

Sometimes the encounter
is quite dangerous.

As would be appropriate to
something awesome and larger and

more powerful than we are.

Usually it is memorable.

CHILDRESS: Many of the myths are
much more specific and they

really talk about gods
physically coming to Earth--

landing, doing miracles, and
showing the people how to live.

If visitors did come
from the stars, is it

possible that they actually changed the way
ancient people thought?

Did they provide an intellectual spark
to prehistoric civilizations?

Could that be the reason why so
many different cultures could

build such large and
lasting monuments?

NOORY: It's almost as if
primitive man woke up one

morning and went, "Hey, I've got
this knowledge and I know how to

make tools and I'm gonna go
and build all these things."

Nah, I don't think it
happened that way.

I think others came down to this
planet and started teaching

other people, uh, that
were beginning to evolve.

But the one thing I truly do not
believe is that modern cavemen

at the time basically created
all this knowledge out of thin air.

TSOUKALOS: All around the
world, we have concise

descriptions in ancient texts
which say word for word that

some beings came from the sky.

So it's as if this intellectual
Big Bang or this Big Bang of

knowledge occurred in various
periods of time, and those

various periods of time most
concisely always correlate with

some type of description of
gods descending from the sky.

HANCOCK: I do think of
that as a very significant

before-and-after moment in the
human story, and it is not a

moment that is linked
to physical evolution.

We've already got the hardware.

It's as though something
happened to our software around

about that time, and I think
it's a very intriguing moment

in the human story.

For supporters of ancient
alien theory, the

verdict is already in.

They believe that aliens visited
many of Earth's earliest

cultures thousands of years ago.

But is it possible?

Are extraterrestrials
responsible for the sacred

creation myths of the first
human civilizations?

Might they have tampered with our DNA?

Are humans themselves aliens
from another planet in the

heavens or even from another time?

While man continues to search
for these answers, the questions remain.

If they came here, what
was their mission?

We call Earth home, but with
perfect conditions for life,

could it be a beacon, calling
out to other intelligent

civilizations that may
exist in the universe?

CARGILL: I think there is
life, simple life, bacterial

life, microbial life on other planets.

I think we're going to find that.

And who knows?

Maybe one day we'll find some
other planet that's capable of

sustaining life, that has
evolved people over a long

period of time, that are
also looking up at the stars

wondering: is there anybody else
out there, are we the only ones?

HELDMANN: What bigger
question could we ask about

ourselves and our place
in the universe?

You know, is there life elsewhere
in the universe, or are we it?

I mean, I think it's one of the
most fascinating questions, and

we're fortunate enough to live
in a time when we can address

this question scientifically and really
try and get at some answers.

NOORY: You can then come
up with a conclusion that

something, one, very strange is
happening on this planet, and

two, if it's coming from outside
of this system, then we're being

visited by something that has
some intelligence behind it.

TSOUKALOS: In the end the truth
wins, and we've seen this

in history, where scientific
theories or ideas that have been

deemed impossible turned out to
be true, and so it is my firm

conviction that the same will count
for the ancient alien theory.

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