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These are the user uploaded subtitles that are being translated: 1 00:00:00,345 --> 00:00:04,385 (music playing) 2 00:00:08,345 --> 00:00:11,165 NARRATOR: Reports of UFO sightings come 3 00:00:11,225 --> 00:00:13,125 from all corners of the globe. 4 00:00:13,185 --> 00:00:15,285 I was taken on board a 200-foot 5 00:00:15,345 --> 00:00:18,245 diameter spacecraft in the Mojave desert and given-- 6 00:00:18,305 --> 00:00:21,145 I saw two great big, real bright lights 7 00:00:21,205 --> 00:00:22,505 hanging up in the air. 8 00:00:24,345 --> 00:00:27,105 NARRATOR: Most believe these alien encounters 9 00:00:27,165 --> 00:00:28,485 are a modern phenomenon. 10 00:00:29,545 --> 00:00:32,305 But the fact is they have been reported 11 00:00:32,365 --> 00:00:34,105 for thousands of years. 12 00:00:34,165 --> 00:00:37,105 Practically every human civilization 13 00:00:37,165 --> 00:00:40,425 have been in touch with extraterrestrial beings. 14 00:00:41,365 --> 00:00:44,165 In India, Israel-- 15 00:00:44,225 --> 00:00:46,445 The Mayans and the Aztecs. 16 00:00:46,505 --> 00:00:50,565 The idea that there was one or more non-human groups 17 00:00:51,125 --> 00:00:54,165 inspiring this is the truth. 18 00:00:56,205 --> 00:00:58,405 NARRATOR: Millions of people around the world 19 00:00:58,465 --> 00:01:01,125 believe we have been visited in the past 20 00:01:01,185 --> 00:01:03,185 by extraterrestrial beings. 21 00:01:04,285 --> 00:01:06,105 But what if it were true? 22 00:01:06,445 --> 00:01:10,185 Did ancient aliens really help to shape our history? 23 00:01:10,485 --> 00:01:13,565 And if so, where did they come from? 24 00:01:14,525 --> 00:01:17,505 And just who were the visitors? 25 00:01:19,585 --> 00:01:22,505 (music playing) 26 00:01:41,145 --> 00:01:44,245 (music playing) 27 00:01:59,265 --> 00:02:01,345 Roswell, New Mexico. 28 00:02:02,205 --> 00:02:05,265 This sleepy town in America's Southwest 29 00:02:05,465 --> 00:02:09,145 was once best known for its large military air base. 30 00:02:09,505 --> 00:02:15,225 But that changed in 1947 when a local rancher 31 00:02:15,285 --> 00:02:19,185 reported that a spaceship crashed on his property. 32 00:02:19,505 --> 00:02:22,305 Several weeks later, the US Army issued 33 00:02:22,365 --> 00:02:26,405 a press release confirming the existence of an alien craft. 34 00:02:27,585 --> 00:02:30,545 The next day, the military changed its story 35 00:02:31,105 --> 00:02:34,465 and announced that what they had found was a weather balloon. 36 00:02:35,385 --> 00:02:39,545 These conflicting reports sent shockwaves around the world. 37 00:02:40,285 --> 00:02:44,205 And the name Roswell became a pop culture code word 38 00:02:44,265 --> 00:02:47,345 that forever links extraterrestrial visitation 39 00:02:48,185 --> 00:02:49,545 with enduring mystery. 40 00:02:52,525 --> 00:02:55,245 NICK POPE: Speculation about why the Roswell 41 00:02:55,305 --> 00:02:59,205 crash would be covered up is difficult to pin down. 42 00:02:59,345 --> 00:03:04,285 Some people talk about this in terms of information 43 00:03:04,345 --> 00:03:07,345 that would be shattering to our world view. 44 00:03:08,265 --> 00:03:09,345 STEVEN GREER: Almost everyone's heard about 45 00:03:09,405 --> 00:03:11,345 the so-called Roswell event. 46 00:03:11,505 --> 00:03:14,465 And one of the real implications of disclosure 47 00:03:14,525 --> 00:03:19,345 is that some of our most cherished myths 48 00:03:19,565 --> 00:03:22,405 about the origins of the human race, 49 00:03:22,465 --> 00:03:27,205 and our history, and archaeology would fall apart. 50 00:03:28,365 --> 00:03:30,405 GEORGE NOORY: Something happened at Roswell, New Mexico 51 00:03:30,465 --> 00:03:31,505 a long time ago. 52 00:03:32,145 --> 00:03:33,305 People want the truth. 53 00:03:33,445 --> 00:03:36,265 I think there's something in the human being itself 54 00:03:36,365 --> 00:03:39,545 that is striving, that is hungry for this knowledge 55 00:03:40,105 --> 00:03:43,245 in order to answer questions about our own existence. 56 00:03:44,145 --> 00:03:47,545 NARRATOR: Today, public opinion polls indicate more than half 57 00:03:48,105 --> 00:03:50,365 the world's population believes aliens 58 00:03:50,425 --> 00:03:54,225 have either come here in the past or are coming here now. 59 00:03:55,545 --> 00:04:00,205 But what is it exactly that makes so many people believe? 60 00:04:03,405 --> 00:04:06,185 I do think looking upward makes sense. 61 00:04:06,245 --> 00:04:07,505 The universe is large. 62 00:04:07,565 --> 00:04:10,245 There are things out there we do not understand. 63 00:04:10,305 --> 00:04:12,445 There is probably intelligent life somewhere. 64 00:04:13,265 --> 00:04:14,265 ROBERT BAUVAL: People tend to forget 65 00:04:14,325 --> 00:04:16,565 that we're on a planet that's 4 and 1/2 billion years old. 66 00:04:20,105 --> 00:04:24,285 The presence of our civilization in that vast scale of time-- 67 00:04:24,345 --> 00:04:26,445 I mean, if I click my finger, it wouldn't 68 00:04:26,505 --> 00:04:29,125 even be fast enough to say, this is 69 00:04:29,185 --> 00:04:30,445 the time of our civilization. 70 00:04:30,585 --> 00:04:34,365 And to think that we're the only ones in this vast period 71 00:04:34,425 --> 00:04:36,305 of time, to me it is absurd. 72 00:04:39,385 --> 00:04:41,225 SARA SEAGER: Our galaxy, the Milky Way, 73 00:04:41,285 --> 00:04:43,545 has over 100 billion stars. 74 00:04:44,345 --> 00:04:46,305 And in our universe, we think there are 75 00:04:46,365 --> 00:04:48,405 more than 100 billion galaxies. 76 00:04:49,185 --> 00:04:51,565 So if every star had a planet with intelligent life, 77 00:04:52,145 --> 00:04:54,485 how many alien civilizations would we have? 78 00:04:56,225 --> 00:04:59,365 ERICH VON DANIKEN: If you take us as the crown of creation 79 00:04:59,425 --> 00:05:02,325 or the top of evolution, we look at ourself 80 00:05:02,385 --> 00:05:04,505 as the greatest, the biggest. 81 00:05:04,565 --> 00:05:09,425 We say, how incredible, unique we are in the whole universe. 82 00:05:09,485 --> 00:05:12,405 We forgot to learn modesty. 83 00:05:14,345 --> 00:05:16,265 JENNIFER HELDMANN: Each step that we take makes 84 00:05:16,325 --> 00:05:18,125 us a little bit less special. 85 00:05:18,185 --> 00:05:19,545 We used to think that we were the center 86 00:05:20,105 --> 00:05:21,185 of the universe as humans. 87 00:05:21,245 --> 00:05:24,105 And then we realized, oh, all right, well, that's not true. 88 00:05:24,165 --> 00:05:25,345 But we're the center of the galaxy. 89 00:05:25,405 --> 00:05:26,525 And like, well, all right. 90 00:05:26,585 --> 00:05:29,325 So we're like 2/3 of the way out in a spiral arm. 91 00:05:29,525 --> 00:05:32,545 And then, well, at least our sun, you know, or this-- no. 92 00:05:33,105 --> 00:05:34,425 The sun is actually in the middle, 93 00:05:34,485 --> 00:05:35,445 and the earth goes around it. 94 00:05:35,505 --> 00:05:38,265 So earth isn't even the center of that system. 95 00:05:38,325 --> 00:05:40,465 And so the more that we learn, we sort of-- you know, 96 00:05:40,525 --> 00:05:42,305 it's a very humbling science. 97 00:05:42,385 --> 00:05:44,525 (rockets firing) 98 00:05:46,465 --> 00:05:49,125 NARRATOR: When man first landed on the moon, 99 00:05:49,185 --> 00:05:52,465 our perspective on the universe changed forever. 100 00:05:53,225 --> 00:05:55,565 NEIL ARMSTRONG (ON RADIO): Houston, the Eagle has landed. 101 00:05:59,505 --> 00:06:04,105 We aliens, who happened to 102 00:06:05,445 --> 00:06:09,285 go down the ladder on July, 1969-- 103 00:06:09,345 --> 00:06:10,485 we aliens, 104 00:06:14,185 --> 00:06:18,225 we're certainly part of a magnificent race. 105 00:06:22,585 --> 00:06:26,445 I just don't think people have a grasp for what energy 106 00:06:26,505 --> 00:06:30,345 it takes to go from one star to another. 107 00:06:33,205 --> 00:06:37,105 NARRATOR: This historic event raised the question, if humans 108 00:06:37,165 --> 00:06:39,205 can successfully navigate in space 109 00:06:39,265 --> 00:06:42,305 and explore other worlds, why couldn't 110 00:06:42,365 --> 00:06:45,585 beings from other parts of the universe have done the same? 111 00:06:46,425 --> 00:06:51,205 And might they have already come to Earth hundreds or perhaps 112 00:06:51,265 --> 00:06:53,185 thousands of years ago? 113 00:06:55,185 --> 00:07:00,265 I think the human past is more fantastic than we all believe. 114 00:07:00,485 --> 00:07:03,565 I have come to the idea that maybe extraterrestrials 115 00:07:04,125 --> 00:07:05,325 were on this planet. 116 00:07:11,225 --> 00:07:12,585 NARRATOR: Cahuachi, Peru. 117 00:07:15,585 --> 00:07:19,285 2,000 years ago, this ancient settlement 118 00:07:19,345 --> 00:07:21,465 served as the religious and cultural capital 119 00:07:21,525 --> 00:07:23,445 of the Nazca people. 120 00:07:26,165 --> 00:07:29,585 But sometime around 500 AD, the Nazca 121 00:07:30,145 --> 00:07:32,245 mysteriously disappeared, leaving 122 00:07:32,305 --> 00:07:35,105 Cahuachi to fall into disarray. 123 00:07:36,585 --> 00:07:42,545 1,400 years later, in 1910, anthropologist Ales Hrdlicka 124 00:07:43,125 --> 00:07:47,165 came to Cahuachi to study the ancient Nazca civilization. 125 00:07:48,505 --> 00:07:50,585 During the dig, he unearthed some 126 00:07:51,145 --> 00:07:52,485 of the most surprising and shocking 127 00:07:52,545 --> 00:07:54,545 artifacts he had ever seen. 128 00:08:00,325 --> 00:08:06,325 They were skulls with enormous, elongated craniums. 129 00:08:08,225 --> 00:08:10,205 Where did they come from? 130 00:08:10,305 --> 00:08:11,565 How did they get there? 131 00:08:12,185 --> 00:08:14,345 And were they human? 132 00:08:17,225 --> 00:08:18,465 DAVID CHILDRESS: In Peru, we find 133 00:08:18,525 --> 00:08:21,505 these weird elongated skulls. 134 00:08:23,185 --> 00:08:24,585 And they're bizarre-looking. 135 00:08:25,145 --> 00:08:28,485 I mean, these people look like aliens. 136 00:08:34,105 --> 00:08:36,245 One may say, OK, aliens. 137 00:08:36,305 --> 00:08:39,445 But another aspect that we have to consider 138 00:08:39,505 --> 00:08:44,365 is that skull and cranial deformation, forming 139 00:08:44,425 --> 00:08:48,465 elongated heads, is a practice that's known throughout much 140 00:08:48,525 --> 00:08:50,205 of the ancient world. 141 00:08:50,465 --> 00:08:54,525 NARRATOR: In 1870, the process of skull deformation 142 00:08:54,585 --> 00:08:58,225 was well chronicled by a German botanist and explorer 143 00:08:58,285 --> 00:09:00,225 named George Schweinfurth. 144 00:09:01,265 --> 00:09:03,445 While exploring the African Congo, 145 00:09:03,505 --> 00:09:07,225 he came in contact with a tribe called the Mangbetu. 146 00:09:07,445 --> 00:09:11,145 They routinely performed a ritual of cranial binding 147 00:09:11,285 --> 00:09:13,305 that allowed them to physically alter 148 00:09:13,365 --> 00:09:15,505 the shape of human skulls. 149 00:09:19,205 --> 00:09:22,225 DAVID CHILDRESS: They took infants' skulls, 150 00:09:22,285 --> 00:09:25,585 and compressed them, and bound them. 151 00:09:26,145 --> 00:09:29,145 And they forced the cranium out and elongate it. 152 00:09:29,205 --> 00:09:33,445 And in many cases, they doubled the size. 153 00:09:36,305 --> 00:09:39,425 And a big question is, why was this being done? 154 00:09:41,525 --> 00:09:46,125 It may have been a way to distinguish the elite, perhaps, 155 00:09:46,185 --> 00:09:48,225 from the everyday people. 156 00:09:48,285 --> 00:09:52,465 It may have been a social stratification type of issue. 157 00:09:52,525 --> 00:09:54,465 Something that also appeals to me 158 00:09:54,525 --> 00:09:59,585 is that may have been a way to express physically, and maybe 159 00:10:00,145 --> 00:10:04,545 try to achieve physically, greater levels of consciousness 160 00:10:05,105 --> 00:10:08,545 or higher levels of mental ability. 161 00:10:09,125 --> 00:10:10,205 GIORGIO TSOUKALOS: In my opinion, 162 00:10:10,265 --> 00:10:15,585 they did this in order to mimic the gods. 163 00:10:16,325 --> 00:10:20,145 And those gods were physical beings 164 00:10:20,225 --> 00:10:23,145 because if they were just a figment of our ancestors' 165 00:10:23,205 --> 00:10:26,485 imagination, I don't think that's a compelling enough 166 00:10:26,545 --> 00:10:32,485 reason to expose your children to such a ritual, 167 00:10:32,545 --> 00:10:35,305 to achieve that type of look. 168 00:10:35,545 --> 00:10:38,125 And in my opinion, these people were 169 00:10:38,185 --> 00:10:42,265 misinterpreted flesh-and-blood space travelers. 170 00:10:42,345 --> 00:10:45,565 MAN: Some people have suggested aliens had enlongated skulls. 171 00:10:46,125 --> 00:10:51,205 And apparently, ancient peoples are mimicking those skulls. 172 00:10:51,265 --> 00:10:53,525 The old saying is that imitation is 173 00:10:53,585 --> 00:10:55,525 the sincerest form of flattery. 174 00:10:57,285 --> 00:11:00,125 NARRATOR: Although there have been many images that attempt 175 00:11:00,185 --> 00:11:02,505 to depict what aliens might actually look like, 176 00:11:03,165 --> 00:11:06,545 one in particular has come to dominate the public perception. 177 00:11:07,225 --> 00:11:10,165 It, too, features an elongated cranium 178 00:11:10,345 --> 00:11:13,245 and is associated with an extraterrestrial race 179 00:11:13,305 --> 00:11:16,145 that many refer to as the Grays. 180 00:11:20,385 --> 00:11:22,545 NICK POPE: In terms of entities, one very 181 00:11:23,105 --> 00:11:26,265 common description are the so-called Grays, 182 00:11:26,325 --> 00:11:28,345 3 and 1/2, 4-feet tall-- 183 00:11:28,405 --> 00:11:31,485 essentially humanoid, but very spindly 184 00:11:31,545 --> 00:11:33,565 with disproportionately large heads 185 00:11:34,125 --> 00:11:37,125 and huge, black, almond-shaped eyes. 186 00:11:37,525 --> 00:11:40,385 NARRATOR: But would someone in a primitive society 187 00:11:40,445 --> 00:11:44,545 really want to replicate this look and deform their skull? 188 00:11:45,305 --> 00:11:48,465 Some archaeologists have a different perspective. 189 00:11:48,525 --> 00:11:51,385 They point to artistic self-expression 190 00:11:51,445 --> 00:11:54,285 as an explanation of these customs. 191 00:11:55,585 --> 00:11:59,565 There are all kinds of people that either worship the body 192 00:12:00,125 --> 00:12:04,205 or use the body as art, be it a tattoo or piercing 193 00:12:04,265 --> 00:12:08,225 of some sort, or tribes that put things in their ears 194 00:12:08,285 --> 00:12:11,445 or in their lips to try to grow parts of their body. 195 00:12:11,505 --> 00:12:15,205 Some societies, we know, practiced binding parts 196 00:12:15,265 --> 00:12:17,365 of the body-- feet or heads-- and tried 197 00:12:17,425 --> 00:12:18,405 to make certain shapes. 198 00:12:18,465 --> 00:12:20,285 And this was done for whatever reason. 199 00:12:20,345 --> 00:12:22,265 We know today that this isn't usually the most healthy thing 200 00:12:22,325 --> 00:12:23,125 to do. 201 00:12:23,185 --> 00:12:24,385 But it doesn't mean that people don't do it. 202 00:12:24,445 --> 00:12:26,585 People are always trying to change their body 203 00:12:27,145 --> 00:12:28,325 to make it look a certain way. 204 00:12:31,325 --> 00:12:32,525 NARRATOR: Whatever the explanation 205 00:12:32,585 --> 00:12:36,125 may be for these rituals, they are not just found 206 00:12:36,185 --> 00:12:38,305 in Peru and the African Congo. 207 00:12:38,505 --> 00:12:42,185 Skull deformation is a global phenomenon. 208 00:12:44,185 --> 00:12:45,505 DAVID CHILDRESS: What's really strange 209 00:12:46,125 --> 00:12:49,405 is that this is found all over the world. 210 00:12:50,265 --> 00:12:52,285 And this is something that archaeologists 211 00:12:52,345 --> 00:12:54,325 cannot easily explain. 212 00:12:55,165 --> 00:12:58,365 Because for people on remote islands, 213 00:12:58,485 --> 00:13:01,305 for people in South America, or Malta, 214 00:13:01,365 --> 00:13:05,285 or in Africa, to suddenly, independently do 215 00:13:05,345 --> 00:13:10,165 this cranial deformation like this seems incredible. 216 00:13:12,165 --> 00:13:16,265 I mean, this is something that had to be learned, 217 00:13:16,465 --> 00:13:19,305 something that was taught to them. 218 00:13:21,365 --> 00:13:25,585 ROBERT SCHOCH: We seem to have basic similarities, as if there 219 00:13:26,145 --> 00:13:28,485 was one civilization or at least one 220 00:13:28,545 --> 00:13:32,205 type of culture that was influencing 221 00:13:32,265 --> 00:13:33,545 people around the world. 222 00:13:36,405 --> 00:13:39,465 I find it more and more difficult to believe, 223 00:13:39,525 --> 00:13:41,485 what I was taught as an undergraduate, 224 00:13:41,545 --> 00:13:44,145 that all of these different cultures 225 00:13:44,205 --> 00:13:49,225 just coincidentally came up with the same concepts 226 00:13:50,125 --> 00:13:52,225 independently of each other. 227 00:13:55,465 --> 00:13:58,245 NARRATOR: Is it possible that individual societies 228 00:13:58,305 --> 00:14:02,205 around the world were influenced by similar events? 229 00:14:02,465 --> 00:14:05,265 And were they imitating real beings 230 00:14:05,325 --> 00:14:07,365 who visited from other planets? 231 00:14:08,145 --> 00:14:11,505 Some of the most compelling images of an elongated cranium 232 00:14:11,565 --> 00:14:15,245 can be traced to ancient Egypt and the depictions 233 00:14:15,305 --> 00:14:18,205 of one of its most controversial pharaohs. 234 00:14:19,105 --> 00:14:21,445 Could it be that he, too, was mimicking 235 00:14:21,505 --> 00:14:24,145 the look of extraterrestrials? 236 00:14:24,285 --> 00:14:28,325 Or is there an even more outrageous explanation? 237 00:14:28,585 --> 00:14:31,345 Could he have been one of them? 238 00:14:44,065 --> 00:14:48,845 Long before the ancient Egyptians built the pyramids 239 00:14:49,065 --> 00:14:51,925 or even settled along the Nile River, 240 00:14:52,865 --> 00:14:57,925 they spoke of an era called Tep Zepi, or the beginning of time. 241 00:14:58,825 --> 00:15:03,685 According to legends, Tep Zepi was when sky gods descended 242 00:15:03,745 --> 00:15:06,805 from the stars to earth on flying boats 243 00:15:06,865 --> 00:15:10,865 and then turned mud and water into a new kingdom. 244 00:15:12,785 --> 00:15:14,105 ROBERT BAUVAL: The word god, according to the 245 00:15:14,665 --> 00:15:16,785 ancient Egyptians, is Netjeru. 246 00:15:17,785 --> 00:15:21,805 It means a being that came from the cosmos. 247 00:15:22,065 --> 00:15:23,985 They're very adamant about the fact 248 00:15:24,045 --> 00:15:27,765 that their gods had descended from the stars. 249 00:15:28,065 --> 00:15:30,625 They tell us that the god Osiris, 250 00:15:30,685 --> 00:15:33,705 who ruled with his consort and sister, the goddess Isis, 251 00:15:33,765 --> 00:15:34,645 they were star gods. 252 00:15:34,705 --> 00:15:36,645 And we find they identify them very clearly. 253 00:15:37,705 --> 00:15:40,105 Osiris was identified as the constellation of Orion. 254 00:15:41,005 --> 00:15:44,645 And Isis was identified with regard to the star Sirius, 255 00:15:44,705 --> 00:15:46,085 the brightest star in the sky. 256 00:15:47,625 --> 00:15:49,645 There's an interesting point about this, that 257 00:15:49,705 --> 00:15:51,765 within the constellation Orion is 258 00:15:51,825 --> 00:15:53,805 the so-called Nursery of Stars. 259 00:15:56,685 --> 00:15:58,805 The stars in our galaxy literally 260 00:15:58,865 --> 00:16:00,885 were born in that zone. 261 00:16:01,005 --> 00:16:03,105 And it's very peculiar that the ancient Egyptians 262 00:16:03,665 --> 00:16:08,085 insist that the birth of star gods are in this constellation. 263 00:16:08,785 --> 00:16:11,105 They truly believed-- they were very adamant about this-- 264 00:16:11,665 --> 00:16:13,785 that their origins is in the sky. 265 00:16:20,025 --> 00:16:22,845 ROBERT SCHOCH: Something that we see around the world 266 00:16:22,905 --> 00:16:24,845 with ancient civilizations is that they 267 00:16:24,905 --> 00:16:29,025 had incredible knowledge of the stars of the planets 268 00:16:29,085 --> 00:16:31,105 of the heavenly motions. 269 00:16:31,665 --> 00:16:33,865 The average person in the ancient world 270 00:16:33,925 --> 00:16:36,965 had way more knowledge of what's going 271 00:16:37,025 --> 00:16:42,885 on in the skies than a lot of well-educated people today. 272 00:16:47,625 --> 00:16:50,745 NARRATOR: As ancient Egypt grew into a great civilization, 273 00:16:51,025 --> 00:16:54,805 its citizens believed their pharaohs were sons of Osiris, 274 00:16:54,865 --> 00:16:57,625 and thus living gods. 275 00:16:57,765 --> 00:16:59,665 Artwork and wall carvings depicted 276 00:16:59,725 --> 00:17:01,625 them as perfect humans. 277 00:17:01,865 --> 00:17:04,825 And while the people worshipped many different gods, 278 00:17:04,885 --> 00:17:07,085 the pharaoh stood above them all. 279 00:17:07,905 --> 00:17:10,745 This basic Egyptian religious belief 280 00:17:10,805 --> 00:17:13,745 remained in force for nearly 1,000 years 281 00:17:13,825 --> 00:17:16,965 until one pharaoh changed everything. 282 00:17:17,865 --> 00:17:19,925 Who was this heretic? 283 00:17:22,725 --> 00:17:25,005 His name was Akhenaten. 284 00:17:25,065 --> 00:17:26,885 And in every surviving depiction, 285 00:17:26,945 --> 00:17:29,765 he is shown with an elongated skull. 286 00:17:30,825 --> 00:17:31,945 Who was he? 287 00:17:32,925 --> 00:17:35,885 According to Egyptian mythology, he, too, 288 00:17:35,945 --> 00:17:38,765 was descended from the gods who arrived on Earth 289 00:17:38,825 --> 00:17:40,745 at the time of Tep Zepi. 290 00:17:41,705 --> 00:17:43,825 But why do so many still believe he 291 00:17:43,885 --> 00:17:46,005 actually came from the stars? 292 00:17:47,885 --> 00:17:52,105 In 1352 BC, Akhenaten ascended to the throne 293 00:17:52,665 --> 00:17:55,085 as the 10th pharaoh of the 18th dynasty. 294 00:17:55,965 --> 00:17:58,985 Almost immediately, he instituted a series 295 00:17:59,045 --> 00:18:02,745 of radical religious changes, including a ban 296 00:18:02,805 --> 00:18:05,025 on references to multiple gods. 297 00:18:07,725 --> 00:18:10,085 ROBERT BAUVAL: It's a rather strange thing that he would 298 00:18:10,645 --> 00:18:11,045 want to do that in one sweep. 299 00:18:11,105 --> 00:18:14,685 But he ordered all the iconography of previous gods 300 00:18:14,745 --> 00:18:15,785 to be removed. 301 00:18:15,845 --> 00:18:17,965 He only allowed one emblem, which 302 00:18:18,025 --> 00:18:20,825 was the sun emblem, literally a sun disk, 303 00:18:20,885 --> 00:18:23,845 with curious arms or rays pouring down. 304 00:18:25,665 --> 00:18:26,905 Why did he do this? 305 00:18:26,965 --> 00:18:31,665 Because according to his writings and his poems that 306 00:18:31,725 --> 00:18:34,865 were written about him later on, he 307 00:18:34,925 --> 00:18:39,905 was visited by one of those beings that descended 308 00:18:39,965 --> 00:18:45,665 from the sky who told Akhenaten, this is the way, 309 00:18:45,845 --> 00:18:47,045 I am your god. 310 00:18:48,105 --> 00:18:50,865 NARRATOR: This sun god was known as Aten. 311 00:18:51,705 --> 00:18:54,865 Akhenaten claimed to be a direct descendant of Aten. 312 00:18:55,925 --> 00:18:59,065 Akhenaten, like any other pharaoh, 313 00:18:59,865 --> 00:19:02,905 regarded himself to be divine. 314 00:19:02,965 --> 00:19:04,045 He was a god. 315 00:19:04,765 --> 00:19:08,685 Not only himself believed himself to be god, 316 00:19:08,745 --> 00:19:11,725 but the whole nation saw him as a god. 317 00:19:11,785 --> 00:19:14,765 Now, the definition of god is that he was a descendant 318 00:19:14,825 --> 00:19:16,765 from these celestial beings. 319 00:19:20,625 --> 00:19:22,705 NARRATOR: During his fourth year as pharaoh, 320 00:19:22,805 --> 00:19:24,665 Akhenaten ordered the construction 321 00:19:24,725 --> 00:19:26,025 of a new capital city. 322 00:19:26,665 --> 00:19:30,045 He called it Amarna and dedicated it to the sun. 323 00:19:32,845 --> 00:19:35,945 Akhenaten would spend the next 10 years here, 324 00:19:36,045 --> 00:19:38,665 during which time he instituted changes 325 00:19:38,725 --> 00:19:42,745 in both art and culture, including how he, himself, 326 00:19:42,805 --> 00:19:44,645 would be publicly depicted. 327 00:19:46,765 --> 00:19:48,045 ROBERT CARGILL: In Egyptian iconography, 328 00:19:48,105 --> 00:19:51,865 Egyptian pharaohs are depicted as these triangular-shaped 329 00:19:51,925 --> 00:19:54,625 beings, these broad, strong shoulders 330 00:19:54,685 --> 00:19:55,985 and these very skinny waists. 331 00:19:56,045 --> 00:19:58,665 Now, we look at leaders today, and we 332 00:19:58,725 --> 00:20:00,045 know that most leaders don't have broad shoulders 333 00:20:00,105 --> 00:20:01,705 and skinny waists. 334 00:20:01,805 --> 00:20:05,825 But it was important to depict the Egyptian kings as having 335 00:20:05,885 --> 00:20:08,645 broad shoulders and skinny waists, 336 00:20:08,705 --> 00:20:11,805 the epitome of what a king ought to look like. 337 00:20:13,945 --> 00:20:15,925 That's exactly the opposite of Akhenaten. 338 00:20:15,985 --> 00:20:19,805 He shows himself, perhaps as (inaudible),, 339 00:20:19,865 --> 00:20:21,985 a rather strange look. 340 00:20:22,045 --> 00:20:23,805 He has a very mystical look. 341 00:20:29,845 --> 00:20:32,625 ROBERT SCHOCH: If we take Akhenaten's statues, 342 00:20:32,685 --> 00:20:34,825 for instance, literally, he was a very 343 00:20:34,885 --> 00:20:36,765 strange-looking character. 344 00:20:36,825 --> 00:20:39,785 He sort of combined, some people would say, 345 00:20:39,845 --> 00:20:43,865 feminine aspects with masculine aspects, 346 00:20:43,925 --> 00:20:47,005 may have had an elongated skull. 347 00:20:47,965 --> 00:20:51,065 ROBERT CARGILL: The change in royal iconography of Akhenaten 348 00:20:51,625 --> 00:20:55,625 showed him as he probably really was, with a misshapen head, 349 00:20:55,685 --> 00:21:00,905 with a potbelly, with a sunken chest, as opposed 350 00:21:00,965 --> 00:21:05,985 to the idealized iconography of traditional Egyptian artists 351 00:21:06,045 --> 00:21:08,105 that show this big, strong pharaoh. 352 00:21:14,665 --> 00:21:16,825 NARRATOR: Akhenaten's wife, Queen Nefertiti, 353 00:21:16,885 --> 00:21:18,925 and their children were also depicted 354 00:21:18,985 --> 00:21:21,785 as having elongated skulls. 355 00:21:22,045 --> 00:21:25,965 So why were Akhenaten's and Nefertiti's heads deformed? 356 00:21:26,825 --> 00:21:29,765 Did they suffer from a genetic abnormality? 357 00:21:29,985 --> 00:21:32,785 Or did they deliberately alter their shape? 358 00:21:33,645 --> 00:21:36,745 Some believe there could be yet another explanation 359 00:21:36,805 --> 00:21:39,925 behind their strange, otherworldly appearance. 360 00:21:42,725 --> 00:21:46,665 They look like they're different 361 00:21:46,725 --> 00:21:47,905 than other human beings. 362 00:21:50,925 --> 00:21:55,105 Is it possible that Akhenaten might have been 363 00:21:55,665 --> 00:21:57,785 an extraterrestrial hybrid? 364 00:22:02,785 --> 00:22:04,045 ROBERT CARGILL: Ancient alien enthusiast 365 00:22:04,105 --> 00:22:06,065 look at Pharaoh Akhenaten of Egypt 366 00:22:06,625 --> 00:22:08,885 and say, ah, look at that long head. 367 00:22:08,945 --> 00:22:10,045 That looks like an alien Gray. 368 00:22:10,105 --> 00:22:12,805 That looks like some kind of something that's non-human 369 00:22:12,865 --> 00:22:15,065 or some hybrid between something else and something human. 370 00:22:15,645 --> 00:22:18,065 It must be evidence of alien interference, 371 00:22:18,625 --> 00:22:21,725 alien reproduction with humans, something like that. 372 00:22:21,945 --> 00:22:23,045 I've been to Egypt. 373 00:22:23,105 --> 00:22:25,065 And one of the most stunning things 374 00:22:25,625 --> 00:22:28,845 about seeing the archaeological remains of ancient Egypt 375 00:22:28,905 --> 00:22:32,065 is that one unique pharaoh, Akhenaten. 376 00:22:32,905 --> 00:22:33,985 GIORGIO TSOUKALOS: I mean, he's got 377 00:22:34,045 --> 00:22:38,005 a very narrow, pointy face, high cheekbones, 378 00:22:38,065 --> 00:22:41,045 and a very elongated cranium. 379 00:22:41,885 --> 00:22:44,985 DAVID CHILDRESS: The idea that they were either looking 380 00:22:45,045 --> 00:22:47,625 like extraterrestrials or perhaps 381 00:22:47,725 --> 00:22:52,985 had extraterrestrial DNA in them is a credible idea. 382 00:22:56,705 --> 00:22:59,625 NARRATOR: Akhenaten ruled for 17 years. 383 00:22:59,845 --> 00:23:02,705 After his reign, Amarna was abandoned, 384 00:23:02,765 --> 00:23:05,065 and temples to the sun were destroyed. 385 00:23:06,105 --> 00:23:09,845 Images of Akhenaten were deliberately defaced. 386 00:23:10,625 --> 00:23:13,705 Ancient Egypt swiftly returned to its old ways, 387 00:23:13,765 --> 00:23:15,645 worshipping many gods. 388 00:23:16,105 --> 00:23:18,705 Was this a rejection of Akhenaten's 389 00:23:18,765 --> 00:23:21,845 radical religious belief system or a cover-up 390 00:23:21,925 --> 00:23:23,785 of his alien identity? 391 00:23:27,905 --> 00:23:29,845 There's been a lot of theories about why. 392 00:23:31,705 --> 00:23:34,905 I mean, the most extreme is that he somehow had some sort 393 00:23:34,965 --> 00:23:36,945 of extraterrestrial connection. 394 00:23:37,005 --> 00:23:40,745 If one accepts that conclusion, then it 395 00:23:40,805 --> 00:23:44,825 would explain why he was literally put off the reign 396 00:23:44,885 --> 00:23:46,745 and, some say, put to death. 397 00:23:49,765 --> 00:23:52,905 NARRATOR: Some Egyptologists believe Akhenaten was forced 398 00:23:52,965 --> 00:23:55,945 to abdicate and flee from Egypt with a group 399 00:23:56,005 --> 00:23:57,985 of his loyal followers. 400 00:23:59,045 --> 00:24:02,965 In 1907, the actual body of Akhenaten 401 00:24:03,025 --> 00:24:06,105 was discovered in Egypt's Valley of the Kings 402 00:24:06,665 --> 00:24:09,885 by a British archaeologist named Edward Ayrton. 403 00:24:10,765 --> 00:24:13,945 After unearthing Akhenaten's mummified remains, 404 00:24:14,045 --> 00:24:16,725 he was able to confirm that, indeed, 405 00:24:16,785 --> 00:24:20,865 the ancient pharaoh's skull was misshapen and elongated. 406 00:24:23,705 --> 00:24:24,785 ROBERT CARGILL: Some scholars argue 407 00:24:24,845 --> 00:24:26,885 that he suffered from some kind of physical abnormality. 408 00:24:26,945 --> 00:24:28,985 He suffered from a disorder that caused 409 00:24:29,045 --> 00:24:31,705 his face to appear to be long, or his head 410 00:24:31,765 --> 00:24:32,865 actually was longer. 411 00:24:32,925 --> 00:24:34,645 I think with Akhenaten, we're dealing 412 00:24:34,705 --> 00:24:36,645 with a physical deformation that wasn't 413 00:24:36,705 --> 00:24:38,065 corrected by the royal artist. 414 00:24:38,625 --> 00:24:40,005 They just depicted him as he was-- 415 00:24:40,065 --> 00:24:42,105 potbelly, sunken chest, long head. 416 00:24:44,025 --> 00:24:45,805 NARRATOR: Akhenaten was succeeded 417 00:24:45,865 --> 00:24:48,845 by his son, Tutankhamen, who became the most 418 00:24:48,905 --> 00:24:50,945 renowned pharaoh of all time. 419 00:24:51,985 --> 00:24:56,065 When his tomb was discovered in 1922 by Howard Carter, 420 00:24:56,765 --> 00:25:00,905 Tutankhamen was also found to have an elongated skull. 421 00:25:01,925 --> 00:25:05,025 Could he have inherited alien genes from his father? 422 00:25:09,705 --> 00:25:13,985 Today, much of Akhenaten's life still remains a mystery. 423 00:25:15,005 --> 00:25:17,825 Did he really change Egypt's entire belief 424 00:25:17,885 --> 00:25:22,745 system because, as some suggest, he was a celestial being? 425 00:25:23,625 --> 00:25:27,685 If that's true, might there be evidence of similar entities 426 00:25:27,745 --> 00:25:28,965 coming to earth? 427 00:25:29,745 --> 00:25:33,025 Perhaps more clues can be found thousands of miles 428 00:25:33,085 --> 00:25:37,105 away on the other side of the African continent. 429 00:25:46,585 --> 00:25:49,425 Mali, in Northwest Africa-- 430 00:25:49,745 --> 00:25:53,425 deep in a remote valley live the Dogon people, 431 00:25:53,685 --> 00:25:56,645 who are the descendants of a nomadic tribe that 432 00:25:56,705 --> 00:25:58,885 settled here around 1000 AD. 433 00:25:59,745 --> 00:26:02,825 Just like Akhenaten's followers, the Dogon 434 00:26:02,885 --> 00:26:05,505 had been forced to leave Egypt because 435 00:26:05,565 --> 00:26:06,865 of religious persecution. 436 00:26:09,525 --> 00:26:11,785 ROBERT SCHOCH: The Dogon's claim a very long and ancient 437 00:26:11,845 --> 00:26:15,625 tradition and, in my opinion, maintain 438 00:26:15,685 --> 00:26:19,525 some of the ancient Egyptian traditions 439 00:26:19,585 --> 00:26:23,605 and myths that have been carried on right into the present age. 440 00:26:25,605 --> 00:26:28,545 Parts of ancient Egypt may not have died. 441 00:26:28,605 --> 00:26:32,865 They were carried on to this day among the Dogon. 442 00:26:36,565 --> 00:26:39,405 NARRATOR: But what exactly are their beliefs? 443 00:26:39,645 --> 00:26:41,865 Dogon mythology holds that the sky 444 00:26:42,425 --> 00:26:44,645 god Amma created the first living 445 00:26:44,705 --> 00:26:46,785 creature, known as Nommo. 446 00:26:47,625 --> 00:26:51,585 The legend also says that shortly after his creation, 447 00:26:51,705 --> 00:26:55,625 Nommo multiplied into several parts, one of which 448 00:26:55,685 --> 00:26:57,585 rebelled against Amma. 449 00:26:57,765 --> 00:27:01,665 Amma responded by destroying him and scattering 450 00:27:01,725 --> 00:27:03,705 his ashes throughout the world. 451 00:27:05,505 --> 00:27:07,445 (non-english speech) 452 00:27:07,505 --> 00:27:08,845 INTERPRETER: According to the Dogon myths, 453 00:27:09,485 --> 00:27:10,845 a god gave him this knowledge. 454 00:27:11,665 --> 00:27:15,725 He descended from the sky in an ark, surfing on fire, 455 00:27:15,785 --> 00:27:17,585 and landed in a storm. 456 00:27:21,805 --> 00:27:26,525 GIORGIO TSOUKALOS: Still today, Dogon celebrates a festival 457 00:27:26,605 --> 00:27:30,705 in the honor of Nommo and that visitation that 458 00:27:30,765 --> 00:27:33,765 occurred in the remote past. 459 00:27:34,625 --> 00:27:36,425 How do we know this? 460 00:27:36,585 --> 00:27:40,585 For this festival, they have wooden masks 461 00:27:40,645 --> 00:27:44,765 that date back to a very long time 462 00:27:44,825 --> 00:27:48,525 ago when this festival began. 463 00:27:52,845 --> 00:27:54,525 (non-english speech) 464 00:27:54,585 --> 00:27:56,685 INTERPRETER: Dogon masks tell the mystic stories 465 00:27:56,745 --> 00:27:57,845 of their ancestors. 466 00:27:58,605 --> 00:28:00,545 This is a sculpture of the creator. 467 00:28:00,865 --> 00:28:02,565 They call him Amma. 468 00:28:03,685 --> 00:28:05,585 He's embracing the universe. 469 00:28:06,665 --> 00:28:08,505 This is how they pass on information 470 00:28:08,565 --> 00:28:12,885 from generation to generation, by stories carved in masks. 471 00:28:13,445 --> 00:28:14,565 (non-english speech) 472 00:28:22,785 --> 00:28:25,785 NARRATOR: But could Nommo have been a real person? 473 00:28:26,605 --> 00:28:30,525 Some see eerie similarities between the Dogon's legend 474 00:28:30,585 --> 00:28:33,665 and the story of the mysterious pharaoh, Akhenaten. 475 00:28:35,465 --> 00:28:37,685 Akhenaten believed he was directly descended 476 00:28:37,745 --> 00:28:39,725 from the sun god, Aten. 477 00:28:39,845 --> 00:28:44,545 Nommo was said to have been created by the sky deity, Amma. 478 00:28:45,525 --> 00:28:49,465 Is it a coincidence that both cultures, although thousands 479 00:28:49,525 --> 00:28:53,445 of miles apart, shared mythical tales of beings coming 480 00:28:53,505 --> 00:28:57,665 from the skies and both Nommo and Akhenaten were 481 00:28:57,725 --> 00:28:59,765 depicted with elongated heads? 482 00:29:01,445 --> 00:29:02,825 Is it possible that these legends 483 00:29:02,885 --> 00:29:05,405 were based on real events? 484 00:29:08,645 --> 00:29:10,525 (non-english speech) 485 00:29:10,585 --> 00:29:11,765 INTERPRETER: The Dogon dwell in the central plateau 486 00:29:11,825 --> 00:29:14,865 region of Bandiagara. 487 00:29:15,745 --> 00:29:17,525 Their knowledge is centuries old, 488 00:29:17,585 --> 00:29:18,805 and their priests have been sharing it 489 00:29:18,865 --> 00:29:20,565 with chosen individuals only. 490 00:29:20,625 --> 00:29:22,705 (non-english speech) 491 00:29:24,625 --> 00:29:27,865 In the 1920s, French anthropologist Griaule 492 00:29:28,465 --> 00:29:30,825 and ethnologist Dieterlen visited the tribe 493 00:29:30,885 --> 00:29:33,405 and were invited to share their secrets. 494 00:29:33,465 --> 00:29:34,825 (non-english speech) 495 00:29:37,465 --> 00:29:39,485 NARRATOR: But one secret stood out. 496 00:29:39,805 --> 00:29:44,605 The Dogon claimed that their god Amma came from a specific star 497 00:29:44,665 --> 00:29:48,485 in the Sirius constellation, the same place 498 00:29:48,545 --> 00:29:49,845 where the ancient Egyptians believed 499 00:29:50,405 --> 00:29:52,465 their god, Osiris, was born. 500 00:29:53,645 --> 00:29:57,565 This star, which modern astronomers refer to as Sirius 501 00:29:57,625 --> 00:30:00,725 B, the Dogon called Potolo. 502 00:30:01,525 --> 00:30:05,725 But what baffles experts is that the star is so far from Earth, 503 00:30:05,785 --> 00:30:08,725 it's impossible to see with the naked eye. 504 00:30:11,425 --> 00:30:12,725 ROBERT BAUVAL: I was very intrigued by this, by the way. 505 00:30:12,785 --> 00:30:16,745 I mean, the Dogons should not have known about the existence 506 00:30:16,805 --> 00:30:17,745 of this star. 507 00:30:18,625 --> 00:30:21,705 Sirius is the second-nearest star from our solar system. 508 00:30:21,885 --> 00:30:23,745 It's eight lightyears away. 509 00:30:24,485 --> 00:30:27,545 In fact, it's not even visible with standard telescopes. 510 00:30:27,705 --> 00:30:29,805 It was first seen, literally seen, 511 00:30:29,865 --> 00:30:31,865 and photographed in the 1970s. 512 00:30:33,505 --> 00:30:34,565 GIORGIO TSOUKALOS: Modern science 513 00:30:34,625 --> 00:30:39,725 has corroborated that Sirius B does, indeed, exist. 514 00:30:39,825 --> 00:30:44,645 The problem is the Dogon knew about this before 515 00:30:44,705 --> 00:30:47,725 modern science corroborated it. 516 00:30:48,465 --> 00:30:50,565 I mean, that's spooky. 517 00:30:53,445 --> 00:30:55,585 NARRATOR: Measurements taken with the Hubble telescope 518 00:30:55,645 --> 00:31:00,445 in 2003 have confirmed that Sirius B is what's 519 00:31:00,505 --> 00:31:04,765 known as a white dwarf, or a partially burnt-out star 520 00:31:04,825 --> 00:31:07,505 with extremely dense mass. 521 00:31:07,765 --> 00:31:10,765 Although it is smaller in size than Earth, 522 00:31:10,825 --> 00:31:14,725 it's estimated to weigh eight times as much as our sun. 523 00:31:15,825 --> 00:31:19,425 But how did the Dogon acquire this ancient knowledge 524 00:31:19,485 --> 00:31:21,785 of astronomy that seems to be centuries 525 00:31:21,845 --> 00:31:24,545 more advanced than that of modern science? 526 00:31:26,585 --> 00:31:29,545 The mystery is, how did this story get passed 527 00:31:29,605 --> 00:31:32,805 on down generations if the story came from a time 528 00:31:32,865 --> 00:31:34,625 before astronomers knew there was 529 00:31:34,685 --> 00:31:36,605 a companion star to Sirius which can't 530 00:31:36,665 --> 00:31:38,445 be seen with the human eye? 531 00:31:40,485 --> 00:31:43,405 INTERPRETER: This is the Dogon symbol for Sirius. 532 00:31:43,525 --> 00:31:46,745 When you move it around, you can see an orbit around the center 533 00:31:46,805 --> 00:31:50,865 marked by Sirius A. Sirius B circles around it, 534 00:31:51,425 --> 00:31:53,405 so it is a circular system. 535 00:31:53,625 --> 00:31:56,545 This sign is practically an astronomical model 536 00:31:56,605 --> 00:31:59,525 that the Dogon could not have invented because only 537 00:31:59,585 --> 00:32:01,485 Sirius A is visible. 538 00:32:02,525 --> 00:32:04,665 Sirius B and C are invisible. 539 00:32:05,465 --> 00:32:08,605 However, their description of the orbit is correct. 540 00:32:09,585 --> 00:32:12,685 One assumption is that this god, Nommo, 541 00:32:12,745 --> 00:32:14,725 who brought them this knowledge, could 542 00:32:14,785 --> 00:32:16,885 have been an extraterrestrial intelligence. 543 00:32:19,685 --> 00:32:21,845 NARRATOR: Since the early 20th century, 544 00:32:22,505 --> 00:32:24,825 the tribe has been routinely studied and researched 545 00:32:24,885 --> 00:32:26,745 by anthropologists. 546 00:32:27,565 --> 00:32:29,765 This has led many modern historians 547 00:32:29,825 --> 00:32:33,465 to claim that the Dogon must have learned about astronomy 548 00:32:33,525 --> 00:32:34,865 from westerners. 549 00:32:36,865 --> 00:32:39,405 ROBERT CARGILL: The Dogon mythology is so fluid 550 00:32:39,465 --> 00:32:42,885 that when science confirms something that they might have 551 00:32:43,445 --> 00:32:45,405 believed in antiquity, it might have 552 00:32:45,465 --> 00:32:46,565 just been sheer coincidence. 553 00:32:46,625 --> 00:32:48,685 Or it could have been a conflation-- that 554 00:32:48,745 --> 00:32:52,545 is, because it's an oral culture and because the mythology is so 555 00:32:52,605 --> 00:32:56,505 fluid, they heard something that someone said about this star 556 00:32:56,565 --> 00:32:57,665 in relation to another star. 557 00:32:57,725 --> 00:33:00,465 And they just grafted that into their mythology. 558 00:33:00,525 --> 00:33:02,405 They grafted that into their religion. 559 00:33:02,465 --> 00:33:04,645 And then when some reporter, some subsequent reporter, 560 00:33:04,705 --> 00:33:06,665 comes along and says, what do you believe? 561 00:33:06,725 --> 00:33:09,605 They say, well, we've thought this for millions of years. 562 00:33:10,405 --> 00:33:12,605 GIORGIO TSOUKALOS: When critics suggest that this knowledge 563 00:33:12,665 --> 00:33:14,745 was given to them by modern ethnologists, 564 00:33:14,805 --> 00:33:16,605 that's simply incorrect. 565 00:33:16,665 --> 00:33:21,885 Because we know that this story goes back hundreds of years 566 00:33:22,445 --> 00:33:26,845 earlier than any modern ethnologist ever went there. 567 00:33:28,445 --> 00:33:29,685 (non-english speech) 568 00:33:29,745 --> 00:33:30,885 INTERPRETER: If it were ever proven 569 00:33:31,445 --> 00:33:34,725 that all this information is exactly correct, including 570 00:33:34,785 --> 00:33:37,505 the parts that are still being studied by astronomers, 571 00:33:37,665 --> 00:33:40,505 this would mean that the Earth had visitors from outer space 572 00:33:40,565 --> 00:33:41,845 in prehistoric times. 573 00:33:42,445 --> 00:33:43,825 (non-english speech) 574 00:33:43,885 --> 00:33:44,805 ROBERT BAUVAL: Either the inherited 575 00:33:44,865 --> 00:33:47,685 that knowledge and the question is, from where? 576 00:33:47,745 --> 00:33:50,705 From a previous civilization, or from some sort of 577 00:33:50,765 --> 00:33:52,485 extraterrestrial civilization? 578 00:33:52,605 --> 00:33:53,605 Or it's a coincidence. 579 00:33:53,665 --> 00:33:55,665 In my view, it is not a coincidence. 580 00:33:58,465 --> 00:34:00,445 NARRATOR: If the Dogon people really 581 00:34:00,505 --> 00:34:03,405 possessed this advanced astronomical knowledge, 582 00:34:03,585 --> 00:34:06,505 were their legends based on real events? 583 00:34:08,465 --> 00:34:11,665 The ancient Egyptians and Dogon were far from alone 584 00:34:11,725 --> 00:34:14,445 in their belief in gods or mystical beings 585 00:34:14,505 --> 00:34:15,885 that came from the sky. 586 00:34:18,805 --> 00:34:21,685 Is there an explanation for similar myths 587 00:34:21,745 --> 00:34:25,405 shared by ancient cultures all around the world? 588 00:34:25,685 --> 00:34:29,845 And what does that reveal as to who these visitors may be? 589 00:34:30,665 --> 00:34:34,785 Perhaps the answer can be found not in northern Africa, 590 00:34:34,845 --> 00:34:38,425 but here in the rocks and canyons 591 00:34:38,485 --> 00:34:39,845 of the American Southwest. 592 00:34:52,425 --> 00:34:57,565 30 miles south of Gallup, New Mexico lies the Pueblo of Zuni. 593 00:35:02,345 --> 00:35:04,485 Sheltered from the desolate high plains, 594 00:35:04,545 --> 00:35:07,585 this adobe city is home to the Zuni Indians, 595 00:35:08,205 --> 00:35:11,285 one of the oldest indigenous tribes in North America. 596 00:35:13,265 --> 00:35:16,445 They have inhabited this land for almost 2,000 years 597 00:35:16,565 --> 00:35:19,505 and have protected their secrets even longer. 598 00:35:23,305 --> 00:35:25,465 The Zuni are a very interesting culture in that 599 00:35:25,525 --> 00:35:28,465 they're one of the few cultures that really have not opened up 600 00:35:28,525 --> 00:35:31,425 to the rest of the world about their star 601 00:35:31,485 --> 00:35:32,545 knowledge traditions. 602 00:35:32,605 --> 00:35:35,285 Most of this type of information is very 603 00:35:35,345 --> 00:35:37,465 closely held by the natives. 604 00:35:38,125 --> 00:35:41,185 And I really find it very intriguing 605 00:35:41,245 --> 00:35:44,245 that this is the time period in history where now 606 00:35:44,305 --> 00:35:45,605 we're starting to learn more and more 607 00:35:46,165 --> 00:35:47,445 about their star knowledge. 608 00:35:52,125 --> 00:35:54,265 NARRATOR: Much of the Zuni people's history 609 00:35:54,325 --> 00:35:57,385 is etched in the rocks in the New Mexico desert. 610 00:36:04,385 --> 00:36:09,185 Tribal elder Clifford Mahooty and archaeologist Dan Simplicio 611 00:36:09,305 --> 00:36:12,205 have studied the Zuni's secret history firsthand. 612 00:36:13,185 --> 00:36:17,185 They've collected stories passed down through generations that 613 00:36:17,245 --> 00:36:19,245 are rooted in the belief that the tribe's 614 00:36:19,305 --> 00:36:22,345 creators and protectors are supernatural beings 615 00:36:22,405 --> 00:36:23,465 from the sky. 616 00:36:24,545 --> 00:36:27,245 MAN: This one's kind of interesting here. 617 00:36:27,345 --> 00:36:31,145 I would imagine it was created in the last century. 618 00:36:31,205 --> 00:36:35,125 But on this design, you can see the star figure. 619 00:36:35,545 --> 00:36:39,205 Celestial images oftentimes are depicted in a lot 620 00:36:39,265 --> 00:36:40,585 of our cultural petroglyphs. 621 00:36:41,165 --> 00:36:43,605 And this is one of them where it depicts a star. 622 00:36:44,245 --> 00:36:48,265 It could be the supernova of the Crab Nebula. 623 00:36:50,365 --> 00:36:53,565 Our Zuni mythology, in the prayer system 624 00:36:54,125 --> 00:36:58,605 and the ritualistic protocols, talk about these people that 625 00:36:59,165 --> 00:37:02,465 came over here and told us how to actually live 626 00:37:02,525 --> 00:37:04,565 our lives as being sky people. 627 00:37:08,525 --> 00:37:12,145 If you listen to a lot of religious chants, 628 00:37:12,205 --> 00:37:14,525 and songs, and prayers, that's all they talk about. 629 00:37:14,585 --> 00:37:16,345 They're talking about space. 630 00:37:16,405 --> 00:37:18,445 They're talking about out there in the universe, 631 00:37:18,505 --> 00:37:19,565 where they came from. 632 00:37:20,125 --> 00:37:22,405 So they depict it on that rock wall here. 633 00:37:22,465 --> 00:37:26,265 But the actual meaning of it is somewhere more profound 634 00:37:26,325 --> 00:37:28,205 and more complex than that. 635 00:37:30,505 --> 00:37:33,265 NARRATOR: These drawings are thought to have 636 00:37:33,325 --> 00:37:35,245 been created around 1200 BC. 637 00:37:35,445 --> 00:37:37,365 Yet they appear to depict modern space 638 00:37:37,425 --> 00:37:39,465 travelers and their vehicles. 639 00:37:43,325 --> 00:37:45,285 If you move back a little bit, you 640 00:37:45,345 --> 00:37:48,205 can see another figure here. 641 00:37:48,485 --> 00:37:50,365 It has a dome. 642 00:37:50,445 --> 00:37:52,185 It has eyes. 643 00:37:52,285 --> 00:37:54,425 There's something coming down. 644 00:37:54,485 --> 00:37:55,425 CLIFFORD MAHOOTY: And a nose. 645 00:37:55,485 --> 00:37:56,585 Like a nose. Through the nose. 646 00:37:57,145 --> 00:37:58,405 But it kind of flares out. 647 00:37:58,465 --> 00:38:01,205 I think it was something to do with the ancient ones. 648 00:38:01,265 --> 00:38:05,425 When they saw something, they took as much description of it 649 00:38:05,485 --> 00:38:06,465 to put it on there. 650 00:38:06,525 --> 00:38:09,305 Of course, it's not going to be exactly what they saw. 651 00:38:09,525 --> 00:38:12,565 But that's as best as they can do for something that they saw. 652 00:38:14,325 --> 00:38:15,405 DAVID CHILDRESS: With all petroglyphs 653 00:38:15,465 --> 00:38:16,325 and things like that-- 654 00:38:16,385 --> 00:38:19,165 I mean, they're up to interpretation. 655 00:38:19,225 --> 00:38:22,605 Sometimes they're just doodlings of people. 656 00:38:23,205 --> 00:38:26,365 But other times, they may well be actual descriptions 657 00:38:26,425 --> 00:38:30,225 and depictions of some kind of god 658 00:38:30,285 --> 00:38:33,485 from outer space, some ancient astronaut. 659 00:38:33,545 --> 00:38:37,205 And when you go around, say, like the Zuni Pueblo, I mean, 660 00:38:37,265 --> 00:38:39,505 that's what they'll tell you those petroglyphs are. 661 00:38:40,445 --> 00:38:44,285 Even the Zunis themselves call them the spaceman. 662 00:38:45,585 --> 00:38:50,165 MAN: This one seems to have two legs coming out like that. 663 00:38:50,225 --> 00:38:53,485 It has a broad, diamond-shaped body. 664 00:38:54,145 --> 00:38:57,485 There probably was a bigger head that chipped off here. 665 00:38:59,205 --> 00:39:01,605 That's very different-looking than humans are. 666 00:39:02,525 --> 00:39:05,345 CLIFFORD MAHOOTY: Now, usually, they're called UFOs. 667 00:39:05,405 --> 00:39:08,245 But in the Zuni way, we've always 668 00:39:08,305 --> 00:39:11,345 been taught that they're the keepers of the upper world, 669 00:39:11,405 --> 00:39:13,245 which means space. 670 00:39:13,365 --> 00:39:16,345 They're sky people, beings that are 671 00:39:16,425 --> 00:39:18,505 of the extraterrestrial origin. 672 00:39:19,205 --> 00:39:22,145 And this is still within our mythology and 673 00:39:22,205 --> 00:39:24,165 our religious practices today. 674 00:39:30,145 --> 00:39:32,225 NARRATOR: Like most Indian tribes, 675 00:39:32,285 --> 00:39:35,265 the Zunis call these sky people Kachinas. 676 00:39:35,585 --> 00:39:38,365 According to the Zuni's creation story, 677 00:39:38,445 --> 00:39:41,405 the Kachina gods came down from the heavens 678 00:39:41,465 --> 00:39:44,485 to lead the Zunis to Earth through a special portal. 679 00:39:48,305 --> 00:39:49,485 CLIFFORD MAHOOTY: The Sipapu-- 680 00:39:49,545 --> 00:39:53,585 that's the entrance to the fourth world or the underworld. 681 00:39:54,145 --> 00:39:58,365 And that's a representation of where the Kachinas come and go. 682 00:39:59,245 --> 00:40:02,145 And so according to their mythologies, 683 00:40:02,205 --> 00:40:05,565 the Zunis were brought forth into the world of light-- 684 00:40:06,125 --> 00:40:07,585 which is where we are at today-- 685 00:40:08,145 --> 00:40:11,365 by what I would interpret as extraterrestrial beings 686 00:40:11,425 --> 00:40:12,505 from the universe. 687 00:40:14,405 --> 00:40:17,425 (chanting) 688 00:40:19,385 --> 00:40:22,425 NARRATOR: Every year, the Zunis participate in a ceremony 689 00:40:22,485 --> 00:40:24,585 known as the Shalako festival. 690 00:40:25,265 --> 00:40:28,525 Dressed in traditional costumes to represent the Kachinas, 691 00:40:29,145 --> 00:40:32,305 the Indians celebrate the arrival of the gods on Earth. 692 00:40:36,185 --> 00:40:39,265 This is a figurine of Kachina gods. 693 00:40:39,465 --> 00:40:43,165 And these guys are some gods from the sky who came down. 694 00:40:43,225 --> 00:40:45,405 They wear weird helmets. 695 00:40:46,225 --> 00:40:49,445 GIORGIO TSOUKALOS: This one has a helmet as a head. 696 00:40:49,505 --> 00:40:53,605 And if you look at the whole body of it, 697 00:40:54,365 --> 00:40:57,505 it's as if it wears some type of a suit. 698 00:40:58,245 --> 00:41:02,465 This one here also has the helmet and the visor. 699 00:41:03,365 --> 00:41:05,445 For the Pueblo Indians like the Zunis, 700 00:41:05,505 --> 00:41:08,425 these are their sky gods that, every year, 701 00:41:08,485 --> 00:41:10,145 they have special ceremonies. 702 00:41:10,205 --> 00:41:12,545 People put on these special costumes and masks 703 00:41:12,605 --> 00:41:15,225 to re-enact the coming of the gods. 704 00:41:16,365 --> 00:41:19,345 They really look like ancient astronauts. 705 00:41:27,125 --> 00:41:29,285 BILL BIRNES: If you look at the poetry, and the legends, 706 00:41:29,345 --> 00:41:34,345 and the stories from American Indian tribes in the Southwest, 707 00:41:34,405 --> 00:41:37,405 they have the legend of the star people. 708 00:41:38,145 --> 00:41:41,405 The star people came to Earth and seeded planet Earth. 709 00:41:41,465 --> 00:41:44,145 And they came on flying ships. 710 00:41:45,165 --> 00:41:48,245 If you speak to the elders, they will tell you that a lot of us 711 00:41:48,305 --> 00:41:51,145 believe in the existence of extraterrestrials. 712 00:41:53,245 --> 00:41:55,585 The Zunis don't have a written language. 713 00:41:56,145 --> 00:41:58,485 The storyteller comes and he tells the young children 714 00:41:58,545 --> 00:42:00,205 how it all happened. 715 00:42:00,265 --> 00:42:03,325 All of their songs that they do in their ceremonies 716 00:42:03,505 --> 00:42:05,505 tell the story over and over. 717 00:42:05,565 --> 00:42:08,285 And that's how they passed it down. 718 00:42:08,345 --> 00:42:12,525 Traditions, customs, beliefs-- they taught in the Indian way. 719 00:42:12,585 --> 00:42:15,505 They used things they understand to explain things 720 00:42:15,565 --> 00:42:17,365 that they don't understand. 721 00:42:17,565 --> 00:42:22,405 I remember my grandparents talking about a craft that flew 722 00:42:22,465 --> 00:42:27,485 and had actually crash-landed on one of the mesas east of here. 723 00:42:30,285 --> 00:42:33,605 There's no interpretation of what an aircraft is. 724 00:42:34,165 --> 00:42:36,545 So the closest thing that they could interpret 725 00:42:36,605 --> 00:42:39,325 as anything capable of flight is a bird 726 00:42:39,385 --> 00:42:42,285 or our masked Kachina dancers. 727 00:42:44,185 --> 00:42:46,605 CLIFFORD MAHOOTY: We're a very, very superstitious people. 728 00:42:47,265 --> 00:42:49,485 It's always been in the history of Zuni 729 00:42:49,545 --> 00:42:53,145 that they've always been here, even right here 730 00:42:53,205 --> 00:42:54,445 where we're sitting right now. 731 00:42:54,505 --> 00:42:55,565 But you just don't see them. 732 00:42:56,125 --> 00:42:57,425 They're in a different frequency. 733 00:42:57,545 --> 00:42:59,485 And those are very, very sacred. 734 00:42:59,545 --> 00:43:01,485 And those are very, very secret. 735 00:43:02,225 --> 00:43:04,185 They're out there somewhere. 736 00:43:09,405 --> 00:43:12,425 NARRATOR: For those who believe that ancient astronauts came 737 00:43:12,485 --> 00:43:16,205 to Earth thousands of years ago, prehistoric artwork 738 00:43:16,265 --> 00:43:18,405 provides more clues and what they claim 739 00:43:18,465 --> 00:43:20,605 is a growing body of evidence. 740 00:43:21,405 --> 00:43:25,125 From wall carvings and statues in ancient Egypt 741 00:43:25,425 --> 00:43:28,345 to tribal traditions and exotic masks 742 00:43:28,405 --> 00:43:33,485 in West Africa to petroglyphs in the American Southwest-- 743 00:43:34,285 --> 00:43:36,525 all thousands of years old-- 744 00:43:37,125 --> 00:43:40,205 they seem to recount similar stories of visitors 745 00:43:40,265 --> 00:43:41,405 from the skies. 746 00:43:42,485 --> 00:43:45,165 Could the legends of alien beings 747 00:43:45,225 --> 00:43:47,565 visiting Earth thousands of years ago 748 00:43:48,325 --> 00:43:51,065 have inspired more traditional beliefs? 749 00:44:02,785 --> 00:44:05,645 Celestial beams coming down to earth, 750 00:44:06,845 --> 00:44:09,725 gods descending from the sky-- 751 00:44:09,985 --> 00:44:12,945 can these events only be found in the ancient legends 752 00:44:13,005 --> 00:44:14,005 of the Zuni? 753 00:44:14,945 --> 00:44:18,025 Do similar accounts exist in other cultures and other 754 00:44:18,585 --> 00:44:20,625 religions across the world? 755 00:44:20,905 --> 00:44:24,565 And if so, what is the explanation? 756 00:44:25,665 --> 00:44:26,765 GIORGIO TSOUKALOS: We have to remind 757 00:44:26,825 --> 00:44:30,685 ourselves that our ancestors were highly intelligent. 758 00:44:30,765 --> 00:44:34,665 However, their technological frame of reference 759 00:44:34,725 --> 00:44:37,725 was different than our technological frame 760 00:44:37,785 --> 00:44:38,725 of reference. 761 00:44:38,785 --> 00:44:41,845 So they didn't have the vocabulary 762 00:44:41,905 --> 00:44:45,725 with which to describe or with which to name 763 00:44:45,785 --> 00:44:47,965 certain things that they saw. 764 00:44:48,025 --> 00:44:49,745 So what did they do? 765 00:44:49,805 --> 00:44:55,565 They used words that they were familiar with in their time. 766 00:44:55,645 --> 00:44:58,025 And so they tried to describe whatever 767 00:44:58,585 --> 00:45:01,665 they witnessed to the best of their abilities 768 00:45:01,725 --> 00:45:04,005 with their vocabulary. 769 00:45:08,885 --> 00:45:12,545 NARRATOR: Ancient China also shared some of the same beliefs 770 00:45:12,605 --> 00:45:14,765 that can be found in Egyptian, Native 771 00:45:14,825 --> 00:45:18,545 American, and Dogon legends, that deities 772 00:45:18,605 --> 00:45:20,605 arrived from the stars. 773 00:45:21,545 --> 00:45:25,945 According to Chinese mythology dating back to 3000 BC, 774 00:45:26,005 --> 00:45:28,865 when the god named Huangdi was born, 775 00:45:28,945 --> 00:45:31,805 there was a radiance from the great star, Chi. 776 00:45:35,605 --> 00:45:37,905 Huangdi would later emerge from the belly 777 00:45:37,965 --> 00:45:42,625 of a fire-breathing dragon to become China's first emperor. 778 00:45:43,685 --> 00:45:45,685 The origins of the Han Chinese people 779 00:45:45,745 --> 00:45:50,005 start with a story of a great god looking down with empathy. 780 00:45:51,565 --> 00:45:56,005 Here were a people in poverty in a beautiful, rich country. 781 00:45:56,565 --> 00:45:57,845 The landscape was profound. 782 00:45:57,905 --> 00:45:59,785 But the people were suffering. 783 00:46:00,865 --> 00:46:03,785 He took pity and decided to come down. 784 00:46:09,885 --> 00:46:13,585 GIORGIO TSOUKALOS: Huangdi arrived on planet 785 00:46:13,825 --> 00:46:15,905 Earth in a flying dragon. 786 00:46:17,665 --> 00:46:19,905 He had the power of flight. 787 00:46:19,965 --> 00:46:24,765 Huangdi could be anywhere within minutes. 788 00:46:24,825 --> 00:46:29,645 And he usually accomplished this by hopping on his dragon 789 00:46:29,745 --> 00:46:31,665 and flying somewhere. 790 00:46:35,585 --> 00:46:38,025 Now this divine energy becomes human 791 00:46:38,585 --> 00:46:41,745 and is a great leader, the Yellow Emperor, who 792 00:46:41,805 --> 00:46:43,725 rules and unites the people. 793 00:46:43,785 --> 00:46:45,665 And there is a period of great prosperity 794 00:46:45,725 --> 00:46:47,625 until his work is done. 795 00:46:47,965 --> 00:46:50,925 NARRATOR: Huangdi brought order to the chaos, 796 00:46:51,025 --> 00:46:53,745 creating China's first empire. 797 00:46:54,625 --> 00:46:57,925 He is seen as a cultural hero and is credited 798 00:46:57,985 --> 00:46:59,965 with the invention of the compass, 799 00:47:00,545 --> 00:47:02,825 acupuncture, and the standardization 800 00:47:02,885 --> 00:47:04,605 of Chinese writing. 801 00:47:05,545 --> 00:47:08,905 One of his greatest legacies is the Great Wall of China. 802 00:47:10,025 --> 00:47:13,925 When the land is prosperous, he decides it's time to go. 803 00:47:14,025 --> 00:47:16,565 And the great yellow dragon comes back. 804 00:47:16,625 --> 00:47:18,785 And he gets back into the belly of the dragon 805 00:47:18,845 --> 00:47:20,545 and flies off forever. 806 00:47:23,545 --> 00:47:27,805 Now, were these dragons truly 807 00:47:27,865 --> 00:47:31,705 dragons in a biological nature? 808 00:47:34,585 --> 00:47:39,565 Or were they misinterpreted types of machines? 809 00:47:39,645 --> 00:47:41,945 Because as we all know, dragons are 810 00:47:42,005 --> 00:47:46,925 always correlated with spewing fire and a lot of smoke. 811 00:47:48,805 --> 00:47:51,025 Whenever we see a modern rocket take off, 812 00:47:51,585 --> 00:47:52,705 there's all this smoke. 813 00:47:52,765 --> 00:47:56,545 And sometimes the smoke is yellow, and sometimes it's red. 814 00:47:56,605 --> 00:48:00,565 So it's very bizarre how we have these correlations 815 00:48:00,625 --> 00:48:04,025 between the ancient times and modern times today. 816 00:48:05,025 --> 00:48:07,825 Mythology is the effort to grasp 817 00:48:07,885 --> 00:48:10,845 what we can't grasp, to understand what is beyond us. 818 00:48:10,905 --> 00:48:13,705 In the Eastern teachings, the dragons very often 819 00:48:13,765 --> 00:48:16,965 carry people, sometimes on their back and sometimes 820 00:48:17,025 --> 00:48:18,565 inside their bellies. 821 00:48:18,625 --> 00:48:21,625 So if we think of them as a poet's effort 822 00:48:21,685 --> 00:48:24,025 to explain a vehicle that was strange to them, 823 00:48:24,625 --> 00:48:25,985 well, those sound like flying saucers. 824 00:48:26,545 --> 00:48:28,725 So it might just be a problem of translation. 825 00:48:28,785 --> 00:48:29,965 Because after all, it's just a word. 826 00:48:30,025 --> 00:48:31,565 He's trying to describe something 827 00:48:31,625 --> 00:48:33,725 that's very difficult to grasp. 828 00:48:37,905 --> 00:48:41,685 NARRATOR: 4,000 miles West of China, another tale 829 00:48:41,745 --> 00:48:44,545 of celestial beings influencing civilization 830 00:48:44,605 --> 00:48:49,025 can be found, this time in what is now modern-day Iraq. 831 00:48:50,745 --> 00:48:53,705 The Babylonian legend of Enuma Elish 832 00:48:53,765 --> 00:48:56,665 dates back to the seventh century BC. 833 00:48:56,885 --> 00:49:02,025 The text was first discovered in 1849 by British archaeologist 834 00:49:02,585 --> 00:49:04,785 Sir Austen Henry Layard while searching 835 00:49:04,845 --> 00:49:08,825 the ruins of the Library of Ashurbanipal in Nineveh. 836 00:49:08,965 --> 00:49:11,705 The story tells of how the first humans 837 00:49:11,765 --> 00:49:14,605 were created by an extraterrestrial race 838 00:49:14,665 --> 00:49:16,545 known as the Anunnaki. 839 00:49:23,985 --> 00:49:26,765 GIORGIO TSOUKALOS: In the ancient texts of Samaria, 840 00:49:26,945 --> 00:49:30,005 we have descriptions 841 00:49:30,565 --> 00:49:34,605 of these beings descending from the sky 842 00:49:34,665 --> 00:49:36,685 called the Anunnaki. 843 00:49:37,565 --> 00:49:42,745 The term Anunnaki means "those who from the heavens came." 844 00:49:43,025 --> 00:49:46,825 It says, word for word, that these beings 845 00:49:46,905 --> 00:49:51,545 descended in flying vehicles from the sky. 846 00:49:51,925 --> 00:49:55,845 And we can find not only descriptions of the Anunnaki 847 00:49:55,905 --> 00:49:57,805 but also depictions. 848 00:49:57,925 --> 00:50:01,665 And we can see them in statues, in carvings. 849 00:50:01,725 --> 00:50:04,865 So it's all very interesting to see 850 00:50:04,925 --> 00:50:09,625 that those beings looked like modern-day space travelers 851 00:50:09,685 --> 00:50:10,745 with weird suits. 852 00:50:10,805 --> 00:50:12,925 Some of them wore wristwatches. 853 00:50:13,025 --> 00:50:18,745 They had boots on, and helmets, and above all, wings. 854 00:50:18,825 --> 00:50:21,765 And they were always described or depicted 855 00:50:21,845 --> 00:50:27,545 in floating above some quote, unquote "regular people." 856 00:50:28,845 --> 00:50:32,865 So the question is, who were the Anunnaki? 857 00:50:32,925 --> 00:50:35,885 And according to the ancient astronaut hypothesis, 858 00:50:36,005 --> 00:50:38,825 they were space travelers who visited 859 00:50:38,885 --> 00:50:41,545 Earth in the remote past. 860 00:50:48,825 --> 00:50:50,625 NARRATOR: Similar themes can be found 861 00:50:50,685 --> 00:50:53,005 in the legends of Greek and Roman gods, 862 00:50:53,605 --> 00:50:55,865 which also describe events that some interpret 863 00:50:55,945 --> 00:50:58,585 as extraterrestrial contact. 864 00:50:58,925 --> 00:51:01,645 Both cultures believed in powerful gods 865 00:51:01,705 --> 00:51:04,905 who lived in the heavens and often came down to Earth 866 00:51:04,965 --> 00:51:06,885 to interact with humans. 867 00:51:09,925 --> 00:51:11,665 DAVID CHILDRESS: A well-known example 868 00:51:11,725 --> 00:51:13,905 is Zeus and the Greek gods. 869 00:51:13,965 --> 00:51:17,665 And they've come down from the sky, and Mount Olympus, 870 00:51:17,725 --> 00:51:19,585 where they live in some mountain. 871 00:51:19,685 --> 00:51:22,005 And they're bringing, really, civilization 872 00:51:22,565 --> 00:51:24,745 and sciences to mankind. 873 00:51:24,825 --> 00:51:27,605 But they have many human attributes 874 00:51:27,665 --> 00:51:30,805 too where, yeah, they're attracted to human women. 875 00:51:31,705 --> 00:51:33,945 They want to have sex and children with as many of them 876 00:51:34,005 --> 00:51:34,845 as they can. 877 00:51:34,905 --> 00:51:37,705 And then they go back into the sky. 878 00:51:38,705 --> 00:51:41,005 THOMAS BULLARD: These ideas of gods mating with humans 879 00:51:41,565 --> 00:51:45,645 are very commonplace, like Zeus in Greek mythology 880 00:51:45,725 --> 00:51:48,545 was always coming down, and mating with mortals, 881 00:51:48,685 --> 00:51:52,925 and producing demigods like Hercules or Helen of Troy, 882 00:51:53,005 --> 00:51:55,905 who were exceptionally beautiful, 883 00:51:55,965 --> 00:52:01,905 exceptionally powerful, unusually gifted in every way. 884 00:52:02,665 --> 00:52:04,885 So in other words, you were creating 885 00:52:04,945 --> 00:52:07,665 a better race, in this sense. 886 00:52:07,865 --> 00:52:09,805 GIORGIO TSOUKALOS: In the ancient (inaudible) opinion, 887 00:52:09,865 --> 00:52:15,025 the whole pantheon of gods that we have in ancient Greece 888 00:52:15,685 --> 00:52:19,785 consists of nothing else but flesh-and-blood 889 00:52:19,845 --> 00:52:23,805 extraterrestrials who were misinterpreted 890 00:52:24,025 --> 00:52:28,985 as being these divine creatures by our ancestors. 891 00:52:30,025 --> 00:52:32,785 MICHAEL CREMO: There's a lot of evidence showing that we're not 892 00:52:32,845 --> 00:52:38,005 alone in the cosmos and that our human civilizations on Earth 893 00:52:38,565 --> 00:52:41,645 have been interacting for long periods of time 894 00:52:41,825 --> 00:52:45,545 with extraterrestrial intelligences. 895 00:52:46,585 --> 00:52:48,005 NARRATOR: Belief in celestial beings 896 00:52:48,565 --> 00:52:50,725 interacting with humans is a cornerstone 897 00:52:50,785 --> 00:52:52,865 in several major religions. 898 00:52:52,985 --> 00:52:56,785 In fact, according to the Bible's Book of Genesis, 899 00:52:56,845 --> 00:53:00,665 God created the first humans, Adam and Eve. 900 00:53:01,545 --> 00:53:04,005 The Bible also contains other passages 901 00:53:04,585 --> 00:53:07,025 that describe strange interactions between 902 00:53:07,585 --> 00:53:09,765 otherworldly beings and humans. 903 00:53:10,945 --> 00:53:12,985 ROBERT CARGILL: People believe messengers of some sort 904 00:53:13,545 --> 00:53:14,625 come down from the heavens. 905 00:53:14,685 --> 00:53:16,585 They came down and they had sex with humans. 906 00:53:16,645 --> 00:53:20,605 And this is where we produce giants, people like Goliath. 907 00:53:20,665 --> 00:53:23,645 So in a technical sense, they are alien. 908 00:53:23,705 --> 00:53:26,725 They're gods, or they're angels, or they're 909 00:53:26,785 --> 00:53:28,785 some kind of superhuman thing. 910 00:53:29,665 --> 00:53:30,965 NARRATOR: Interpreting these Bible 911 00:53:31,025 --> 00:53:33,565 stories has also led to a certain amount 912 00:53:33,625 --> 00:53:34,985 of debate and controversy. 913 00:53:35,925 --> 00:53:39,705 While most see a single god directing and influencing 914 00:53:39,765 --> 00:53:43,985 mankind's destiny, others argue that it is really a number 915 00:53:44,545 --> 00:53:45,945 of gods that are responsible. 916 00:53:47,865 --> 00:53:49,685 GIORGIO TSOUKALOS: In the Old Testament, 917 00:53:49,745 --> 00:53:53,985 it says very clearly, let us make man in our image, 918 00:53:54,545 --> 00:53:56,645 according to our likeness. 919 00:53:56,705 --> 00:53:59,705 Now, grammatically speaking, that sentence 920 00:53:59,765 --> 00:54:02,805 doesn't make sense because you have God 921 00:54:02,865 --> 00:54:04,885 and then you have "our image." 922 00:54:04,985 --> 00:54:09,705 Well, theologians suggest that by "our," what they meant 923 00:54:09,765 --> 00:54:11,945 is the Trinity, the Holy Trinity. 924 00:54:12,545 --> 00:54:14,645 So basically, if you were to change 925 00:54:14,705 --> 00:54:17,965 the word God to gods, then all of a sudden, 926 00:54:18,545 --> 00:54:20,545 the sentence makes sense. 927 00:54:20,645 --> 00:54:25,805 And then the gods created men in our own image. 928 00:54:25,965 --> 00:54:27,605 ROBERT CARGILL: So you have this reference, 929 00:54:27,665 --> 00:54:30,685 let us create man in our image. 930 00:54:30,765 --> 00:54:32,565 And several religious texts-- 931 00:54:32,625 --> 00:54:35,805 specifically the Hebrew Bible, which Christians also accept, 932 00:54:35,905 --> 00:54:38,865 and in the Quran, which Muslims revere as holy-- 933 00:54:38,925 --> 00:54:42,745 you have the reference to god in the plural. 934 00:54:42,805 --> 00:54:44,865 And it is incredibly interesting. 935 00:54:46,905 --> 00:54:49,665 NARRATOR: But do all of these religious scriptures that 936 00:54:49,725 --> 00:54:53,545 tell similar stories really point to the possibility 937 00:54:53,705 --> 00:54:56,965 that aliens have visited Earth throughout ancient history? 938 00:54:59,605 --> 00:55:03,705 The fact is the story of creation in our own 939 00:55:03,765 --> 00:55:08,645 Bible is the story of creation in cultures around the world-- 940 00:55:08,705 --> 00:55:12,685 the story of the flood, the evolution of the human species, 941 00:55:12,745 --> 00:55:14,945 the development of language. 942 00:55:15,585 --> 00:55:17,645 All of this points to-- 943 00:55:17,905 --> 00:55:19,865 in fact, the Bible says so-- 944 00:55:19,925 --> 00:55:24,905 life on Earth came from contact with an extraterrestrial life 945 00:55:24,965 --> 00:55:25,965 form. 946 00:55:26,025 --> 00:55:27,585 That's in the Bible. 947 00:55:27,645 --> 00:55:29,585 That's in ancient cultures around the world. 948 00:55:29,645 --> 00:55:32,685 So I believe the theory of ancient astronauts is true. 949 00:55:32,745 --> 00:55:34,905 And I believe there's solid evidence there. 950 00:55:34,965 --> 00:55:37,925 And I believe the harder you try to refute that evidence, 951 00:55:37,985 --> 00:55:40,665 the more you wind up against a brick wall 952 00:55:40,805 --> 00:55:45,885 that ancient astronauts visited us, visited Earth thousands 953 00:55:45,945 --> 00:55:49,965 upon thousands of years ago and seeded the very civilization we 954 00:55:50,025 --> 00:55:51,585 have today. 955 00:55:53,985 --> 00:55:56,945 NARRATOR: If the believers in the ancient astronaut theory 956 00:55:57,005 --> 00:56:00,885 are correct, then just who were these visitors? 957 00:56:01,645 --> 00:56:05,705 And might cutting-edge astrophysics and biology help 958 00:56:05,765 --> 00:56:06,945 us to uncover their identity? 959 00:56:16,365 --> 00:56:19,645 On March 18, 1965, 960 00:56:19,765 --> 00:56:22,505 Russian cosmonaut Alexei Leonov 961 00:56:22,625 --> 00:56:26,645 stepped outside the Voskhod 2 and became the first human 962 00:56:26,705 --> 00:56:28,585 to walk in space. 963 00:56:33,365 --> 00:56:36,505 He spent 12 minutes and 8 seconds outside his ship 964 00:56:36,565 --> 00:56:37,765 before returning. 965 00:56:39,585 --> 00:56:43,585 Leonov's survival depended upon a protective suit that 966 00:56:43,645 --> 00:56:45,365 could keep him alive where there was 967 00:56:45,425 --> 00:56:47,725 neither atmospheric pressure nor oxygen. 968 00:56:50,405 --> 00:56:51,785 If we need spacesuits, 969 00:56:52,345 --> 00:56:56,325 would aliens traveling to earth require the same protection? 970 00:56:59,605 --> 00:57:02,665 Is that what we're looking at in these ancient carvings 971 00:57:02,725 --> 00:57:04,445 and drawings? 972 00:57:05,405 --> 00:57:08,465 When critics ask, well, why would 973 00:57:08,545 --> 00:57:13,665 ancient astronauts have to wear astronaut suits 974 00:57:13,765 --> 00:57:15,685 that we're familiar with today? 975 00:57:16,385 --> 00:57:17,665 The answer is very simple. 976 00:57:18,305 --> 00:57:22,625 Can we go through space without wearing a type of suit? 977 00:57:22,705 --> 00:57:24,585 Of course not. We would die. 978 00:57:28,565 --> 00:57:33,605 Because who says that whoever visited us in the remote past, 979 00:57:34,405 --> 00:57:39,305 that they could breathe in the atmosphere of planet Earth? 980 00:57:43,425 --> 00:57:47,505 So it's not far-fetched to suggest 981 00:57:48,645 --> 00:57:50,405 that they did, in fact, 982 00:57:50,465 --> 00:57:52,465 wear some type of suit. 983 00:57:57,665 --> 00:58:01,525 NARRATOR: Why might these images resemble modern astronauts? 984 00:58:05,385 --> 00:58:07,785 If they are aliens, is it possible 985 00:58:08,345 --> 00:58:10,345 they are similar to humans? 986 00:58:11,345 --> 00:58:14,625 And could they have come from a planet just like Earth? 987 00:58:17,785 --> 00:58:21,425 At the turn of the 20th century, a group 988 00:58:21,485 --> 00:58:25,485 of British and German scientists considered this possibility. 989 00:58:25,765 --> 00:58:29,585 They embraced a theory put forth by early Greek philosophers 990 00:58:29,645 --> 00:58:33,765 that all life in the universe began in one specific place. 991 00:58:35,605 --> 00:58:38,625 This theory is called panspermia. 992 00:58:39,445 --> 00:58:42,605 Panspermia is the theory that life formed in one place 993 00:58:42,665 --> 00:58:44,785 and then got spread around to other places. 994 00:58:47,325 --> 00:58:50,405 In outer space, in the medium between stars, 995 00:58:50,465 --> 00:58:52,765 we see molecules that are the building blocks of life. 996 00:58:53,505 --> 00:58:54,785 So it's easy to get the building blocks of life 997 00:58:55,345 --> 00:58:56,405 to another planet. 998 00:58:57,385 --> 00:58:58,685 For example, if life formed on Mars, 999 00:58:58,745 --> 00:59:00,385 it could have come here to Earth, 1000 00:59:02,305 --> 00:59:03,505 contaminated Earth, 1001 00:59:03,565 --> 00:59:04,785 and then started life here. 1002 00:59:08,665 --> 00:59:11,685 NARRATOR: Roughly 3.6 billion years ago, 1003 00:59:11,785 --> 00:59:17,345 Mars was warm and wet, much like the conditions on Earth today. 1004 00:59:17,765 --> 00:59:20,765 Biologists believe that because Mars cooled more 1005 00:59:21,325 --> 00:59:25,385 quickly than other planets, life may have developed there first. 1006 00:59:29,625 --> 00:59:31,385 PAUL DAVIES: Mars is a better candidate 1007 00:59:31,465 --> 00:59:33,685 for life during the early part of the solar system. 1008 00:59:34,385 --> 00:59:35,765 Mars rocks are coming here all the time. 1009 00:59:36,325 --> 00:59:37,505 And these have been knocked off Mars 1010 00:59:37,565 --> 00:59:39,525 by asteroid and comet impacts. 1011 00:59:40,785 --> 00:59:44,445 And we know that they could convey any Martian 1012 00:59:44,505 --> 00:59:46,365 microorganisms to Earth. 1013 00:59:49,525 --> 00:59:53,305 NARRATOR: In August, 1996, a team of scientists 1014 00:59:53,365 --> 00:59:55,305 made a stunning announcement. 1015 00:59:57,385 --> 01:00:00,645 A Martian meteorite found in Antarctica contained 1016 01:00:00,705 --> 01:00:02,685 evidence of fossilized life. 1017 01:00:04,425 --> 01:00:08,745 The four-pound rock, designated ALH84001, 1018 01:00:09,565 --> 01:00:12,465 showed the presence of carbonate globules 1019 01:00:12,565 --> 01:00:15,545 excreted by microbes when they were alive on Mars 1020 01:00:15,605 --> 01:00:18,385 3.6 billion years ago. 1021 01:00:18,665 --> 01:00:21,465 Earth was no longer alone. 1022 01:00:22,765 --> 01:00:26,725 Life had existed elsewhere in the universe. 1023 01:00:27,625 --> 01:00:30,585 So this cross-contamination between Mars and Earth, 1024 01:00:30,645 --> 01:00:34,485 which 20 years ago was regarded as a rather wild conjecture, 1025 01:00:34,545 --> 01:00:38,585 is now pretty much accepted by the astrobiology community. 1026 01:00:43,545 --> 01:00:45,645 NARRATOR: Astrobiologists studying the origin 1027 01:00:45,705 --> 01:00:48,405 and evolution of life in the universe 1028 01:00:48,545 --> 01:00:51,445 embraced the possibility that life on Earth 1029 01:00:51,505 --> 01:00:53,685 began in outer space. 1030 01:00:58,665 --> 01:01:00,685 Did modern-day scientists finally 1031 01:01:00,745 --> 01:01:04,725 prove what ancient cultures have believed for centuries? 1032 01:01:09,525 --> 01:01:12,645 ROBERT BAUVAL: The common myth or idea 1033 01:01:12,705 --> 01:01:18,405 that the origins of humankind is from the stars is widespread. 1034 01:01:18,525 --> 01:01:20,665 Ancient cultures have the ancient Egyptians, 1035 01:01:20,725 --> 01:01:24,365 the Mayans, the Aztecs, the Indians, and so forth-- 1036 01:01:24,545 --> 01:01:25,785 it is intriguing. 1037 01:01:26,565 --> 01:01:28,345 And it's probably true. 1038 01:01:29,405 --> 01:01:31,545 And I mean it from an astrophysical point of view. 1039 01:01:31,605 --> 01:01:33,305 We do come from the stars. 1040 01:01:33,365 --> 01:01:34,785 It's a fact that life on Earth has 1041 01:01:35,345 --> 01:01:37,345 been seeded by the coming of a comet 1042 01:01:37,405 --> 01:01:38,705 containing the life matter. 1043 01:01:43,385 --> 01:01:46,465 I personally suspect there is life out there. 1044 01:01:46,525 --> 01:01:48,645 In fact, I believe that we have evidence-- 1045 01:01:48,705 --> 01:01:51,505 if nothing else, microbial evidence-- 1046 01:01:51,565 --> 01:01:54,405 for life extraterrestrially. 1047 01:01:55,645 --> 01:01:59,345 NARRATOR: But if life did land on Earth from outer space, 1048 01:01:59,625 --> 01:02:01,445 was it by accident? 1049 01:02:01,645 --> 01:02:04,765 Or might it have been sent here on purpose? 1050 01:02:10,525 --> 01:02:13,385 One mainstream scientist thought so. 1051 01:02:14,345 --> 01:02:16,685 British geneticist Francis Crick is 1052 01:02:16,745 --> 01:02:19,725 best known for his collaboration with James Watson. 1053 01:02:20,345 --> 01:02:25,665 Together, they unraveled the structure of human DNA in 1953. 1054 01:02:29,465 --> 01:02:31,665 Less than 10 years later, they were 1055 01:02:31,725 --> 01:02:34,325 awarded the Nobel Prize for their groundbreaking 1056 01:02:34,385 --> 01:02:35,525 work in genetics. 1057 01:02:37,465 --> 01:02:42,305 In the 1960s, Crick became a proponent of panspermia theory 1058 01:02:42,545 --> 01:02:45,625 and took it to a whole new level with an idea 1059 01:02:45,685 --> 01:02:48,505 he called directed panspermia. 1060 01:02:49,505 --> 01:02:51,665 GRAHAM HANCOCK: Francis Crick hypothesized that somewhere, 1061 01:02:51,725 --> 01:02:53,725 perhaps on the other side of the galaxy, 1062 01:02:55,625 --> 01:03:00,545 there had been a civilization of advanced intelligent beings. 1063 01:03:00,745 --> 01:03:03,305 And they had found that their planet 1064 01:03:03,365 --> 01:03:04,525 was going to be destroyed. 1065 01:03:04,585 --> 01:03:07,745 Perhaps a supernova was going to go off in their vicinity, 1066 01:03:08,305 --> 01:03:10,605 and their planet would be sterilized of life. 1067 01:03:13,385 --> 01:03:15,645 And he asked himself, what would an intelligent civilization 1068 01:03:15,705 --> 01:03:17,465 do in that situation? 1069 01:03:17,565 --> 01:03:20,345 Well, first of all, they'd try to figure out if they could get 1070 01:03:20,405 --> 01:03:24,525 out of there, if they could actually preserve their lives 1071 01:03:24,585 --> 01:03:26,525 and the lives of their descendants, perhaps crowd 1072 01:03:26,585 --> 01:03:29,425 into spaceships and fly across interstellar space 1073 01:03:29,485 --> 01:03:32,445 until they found a suitable planet to colonize. 1074 01:03:38,325 --> 01:03:40,445 NARRATOR: But could it actually be true? 1075 01:03:40,725 --> 01:03:42,585 Could we really be the descendants 1076 01:03:42,645 --> 01:03:46,485 of an alien race that traveled here from another world? 1077 01:03:51,725 --> 01:03:57,625 The ultimate implication of some exobiological theories 1078 01:03:57,685 --> 01:04:01,445 is actually that we, ourselves, are extraterrestrials, 1079 01:04:01,665 --> 01:04:06,385 that life on Earth arose because organic material was 1080 01:04:06,445 --> 01:04:08,505 brought here from elsewhere. 1081 01:04:11,745 --> 01:04:15,345 What if we're the ones, the descendants of those 1082 01:04:15,425 --> 01:04:17,305 who came from another planet? 1083 01:04:17,545 --> 01:04:19,485 We weren't created. 1084 01:04:20,325 --> 01:04:24,585 We were brought here, seeded planet Earth as a colony 1085 01:04:24,645 --> 01:04:26,585 from some other planet. 1086 01:04:26,785 --> 01:04:30,585 So we are colonists of another race. 1087 01:04:30,645 --> 01:04:33,445 And that's why the aliens look like us. 1088 01:04:36,645 --> 01:04:41,325 In my opinion, it's not unscientific to consider 1089 01:04:41,385 --> 01:04:45,605 the possibility of ancient astronauts, alien intervention. 1090 01:04:45,685 --> 01:04:48,425 We live in a huge universe. 1091 01:04:50,565 --> 01:04:55,705 Now, bacteria versus humanoids, one may 1092 01:04:55,765 --> 01:04:57,585 say that's a big difference. 1093 01:04:57,665 --> 01:04:59,385 But in some ways, it's not a big difference. 1094 01:04:59,445 --> 01:05:02,765 Where you have life, you have the ability for that life 1095 01:05:03,325 --> 01:05:07,305 to develop into what we consider civilization 1096 01:05:07,365 --> 01:05:09,505 or intelligent beings. 1097 01:05:12,785 --> 01:05:15,745 NARRATOR: Is it just a coincidence that modern science 1098 01:05:16,305 --> 01:05:20,345 and ancient alien theory have come to the same conclusion, 1099 01:05:21,785 --> 01:05:25,425 that life on Earth came from the stars? 1100 01:05:27,445 --> 01:05:29,745 And if it's possible that, billions of years 1101 01:05:30,305 --> 01:05:32,745 ago, an extraterrestrial race spread 1102 01:05:33,305 --> 01:05:37,305 out across space, how would they survive in their new home? 1103 01:05:39,605 --> 01:05:43,165 Could they really be our missing link? 1104 01:05:51,925 --> 01:05:54,105 For thousands of years, mankind has 1105 01:05:54,165 --> 01:05:56,185 tried to depict alien beings who they 1106 01:05:56,245 --> 01:05:58,185 believe came from the skies. 1107 01:05:59,205 --> 01:06:01,205 Many of those creatures seem to share 1108 01:06:01,265 --> 01:06:03,225 characteristics with humans. 1109 01:06:04,245 --> 01:06:08,925 They often have two arms, two legs, fingers, and a head 1110 01:06:10,025 --> 01:06:11,265 just like we do. 1111 01:06:12,085 --> 01:06:14,125 Biologists refer to this basic body 1112 01:06:14,185 --> 01:06:16,285 shape as bilateral symmetry. 1113 01:06:17,205 --> 01:06:20,905 Bilateral symmetry is, very simply, you divide something 1114 01:06:20,965 --> 01:06:22,205 down the middle into two parts. 1115 01:06:23,085 --> 01:06:24,925 And lateral means up and down. 1116 01:06:25,045 --> 01:06:28,065 And the two sides are an exact reflection of each other. 1117 01:06:28,885 --> 01:06:31,225 If you fold the thing in half, all the parts line up. 1118 01:06:43,185 --> 01:06:45,085 That being bilaterally symmetrical 1119 01:06:45,145 --> 01:06:49,225 allows you to be streamlined and to develop a head end. 1120 01:06:49,285 --> 01:06:51,125 So you become cephalized. 1121 01:06:51,185 --> 01:06:54,005 And that certainly happened in vertebrates-- virtually, the 1122 01:06:54,065 --> 01:06:55,145 mouth at the end of something. 1123 01:06:55,205 --> 01:06:57,065 And then you get progressive development. 1124 01:06:57,125 --> 01:07:00,285 And that seems to have led to many, many advances. 1125 01:07:04,945 --> 01:07:06,065 MAN: So when you look at it closely, 1126 01:07:06,125 --> 01:07:08,185 you can see a lot of advantages coming in. 1127 01:07:09,165 --> 01:07:12,265 Having the two arms and the two legs to work together really 1128 01:07:12,325 --> 01:07:15,985 give you great mobility, and balance, and speed. 1129 01:07:22,925 --> 01:07:26,145 Having eyes on two sides, separated, give really improved 1130 01:07:26,205 --> 01:07:27,885 vision in various ways. 1131 01:07:27,945 --> 01:07:29,165 Animals that are predominantly prey 1132 01:07:29,225 --> 01:07:32,285 use their two eyes independently and get a huge field of view. 1133 01:07:32,905 --> 01:07:34,165 Animals that are predominantly hunters 1134 01:07:34,225 --> 01:07:36,165 have them more in the front and get really good depth 1135 01:07:36,225 --> 01:07:37,985 perception, which you need if you're going to land 1136 01:07:38,045 --> 01:07:39,925 on the animal you're hunting. 1137 01:07:49,325 --> 01:07:52,325 NARRATOR: If it is true that aliens resemble humans 1138 01:07:52,885 --> 01:07:54,925 in their physical characteristics, 1139 01:07:55,085 --> 01:07:58,225 might there also be genetic similarities? 1140 01:08:00,025 --> 01:08:02,105 Could we even be related? 1141 01:08:05,225 --> 01:08:07,045 In 2003, 1142 01:08:07,145 --> 01:08:10,025 the US government announced that the Human Genome 1143 01:08:10,085 --> 01:08:12,945 Project had identified all of the nearly 1144 01:08:13,005 --> 01:08:16,005 25,000 genes in the human body. 1145 01:08:16,345 --> 01:08:19,065 For the first time, scientists had 1146 01:08:19,125 --> 01:08:22,185 a roadmap to the genetic makeup of humans. 1147 01:08:48,325 --> 01:08:53,165 In 2006, genetic researchers at the University of California 1148 01:08:53,225 --> 01:08:56,965 at Santa Cruz discovered an area of the genome 1149 01:08:57,105 --> 01:09:02,165 they called HAR1 that appears to be unique to humans. 1150 01:09:03,065 --> 01:09:07,865 Scientists believe the HAR1 gene plays a critical role 1151 01:09:07,925 --> 01:09:10,325 in the advanced development of the human brain 1152 01:09:11,045 --> 01:09:15,105 and is a key element that sets us apart from other animals. 1153 01:09:15,225 --> 01:09:17,185 But where did it come from? 1154 01:09:17,965 --> 01:09:19,945 Did humans develop this distinct gene 1155 01:09:20,005 --> 01:09:22,145 naturally through evolution? 1156 01:09:22,945 --> 01:09:25,945 Or did it land here from another planet? 1157 01:09:28,185 --> 01:09:30,925 Francis Crick, the British scientist 1158 01:09:30,985 --> 01:09:33,245 who helped discover the structure of DNA, 1159 01:09:33,925 --> 01:09:37,925 believed that human genes could not have evolved by chance. 1160 01:09:38,085 --> 01:09:40,965 Crick didn't feel, in that period of roughly 600 million 1161 01:09:41,025 --> 01:09:43,205 years, from the formation of the planet down to the time 1162 01:09:43,265 --> 01:09:45,145 when the planet could first support life, 1163 01:09:45,205 --> 01:09:47,965 there was enough time for DNA to evolve by accident. 1164 01:09:48,025 --> 01:09:51,005 It's an enormously complicated molecule. 1165 01:09:51,065 --> 01:09:52,985 Crick gave this analogy. 1166 01:09:53,085 --> 01:09:57,285 You would be more likely to assemble a fully functioning 1167 01:09:57,345 --> 01:10:02,325 and flying jumbo jet by passing a hurricane through a junkyard 1168 01:10:03,085 --> 01:10:06,145 than you would be to assemble the DNA molecule 1169 01:10:06,205 --> 01:10:09,925 by chance in any kind of primeval soup 1170 01:10:09,985 --> 01:10:11,345 in 500 or 600 million years. 1171 01:10:11,905 --> 01:10:13,285 It's just not possible. 1172 01:10:15,185 --> 01:10:17,125 NARRATOR: But if this molecule could not 1173 01:10:17,185 --> 01:10:21,245 have evolved accidentally, how was it created? 1174 01:10:22,005 --> 01:10:26,285 Was it, as some believe, put there on purpose? 1175 01:10:27,165 --> 01:10:30,925 The question should not be, do the extraterrestrials look 1176 01:10:30,985 --> 01:10:32,865 like us or what do the extraterrestrials 1177 01:10:32,925 --> 01:10:36,945 look like, but, do we look like the extraterrestrials? 1178 01:10:37,005 --> 01:10:39,265 Because according to the ancient astronaut theory, 1179 01:10:40,245 --> 01:10:45,045 a long, long time ago, extraterrestrials came here. 1180 01:10:45,165 --> 01:10:50,005 And through a targeted mutation of our genes, 1181 01:10:50,065 --> 01:10:52,865 we, quote unquote, became "human." 1182 01:10:57,305 --> 01:10:59,905 (non-english speech) 1183 01:11:00,145 --> 01:11:02,905 INTERPRETER: Possibly, there is information in our DNA about 1184 01:11:02,965 --> 01:11:06,005 whether human evolution was manipulated or not. 1185 01:11:09,945 --> 01:11:13,965 The DNA is almost deciphered, yet we only understand 5% 1186 01:11:14,025 --> 01:11:15,945 of the information it carries. 1187 01:11:16,105 --> 01:11:18,945 (non-english speech) 1188 01:11:19,865 --> 01:11:20,865 GIORGIO TSOUKALOS: Geneticists have 1189 01:11:20,925 --> 01:11:24,905 determined that it only takes about 5% 1190 01:11:25,045 --> 01:11:27,145 to clone a human being. 1191 01:11:27,205 --> 01:11:32,085 And that 95% of that genetic material that we have 1192 01:11:32,145 --> 01:11:35,085 in our bodies is nothing more than what 1193 01:11:35,145 --> 01:11:38,885 they refer to as genetic junk. 1194 01:11:39,885 --> 01:11:40,885 Why is everything there? 1195 01:11:40,945 --> 01:11:43,025 And there's probably parts of the DNA that don't have 1196 01:11:43,085 --> 01:11:44,185 an obvious current function. 1197 01:11:44,245 --> 01:11:45,945 Maybe they're left over from something 1198 01:11:46,005 --> 01:11:47,145 that was used in the past, kind of 1199 01:11:47,205 --> 01:11:48,925 like our appendix is left over. 1200 01:11:50,165 --> 01:11:53,005 NARRATOR: Could this genetic junk hold the key 1201 01:11:53,065 --> 01:11:55,045 to the evolution of humans? 1202 01:11:55,885 --> 01:11:58,965 Some people suggest that decoding our DNA 1203 01:11:59,025 --> 01:12:04,045 entirely will unlock startling information about our origins. 1204 01:12:05,045 --> 01:12:07,165 But could it even prove that aliens 1205 01:12:07,225 --> 01:12:10,965 played a role in our development thousands of years ago? 1206 01:12:12,125 --> 01:12:14,085 GRAHAM HANCOCK: If you, hypothetically, 1207 01:12:14,145 --> 01:12:20,085 wanted to record an eternal message that could be decoded 1208 01:12:20,145 --> 01:12:22,265 by a creature that had eventually evolved 1209 01:12:22,325 --> 01:12:24,325 enough intelligence to decode it, 1210 01:12:24,885 --> 01:12:26,105 then the place to put that message 1211 01:12:26,165 --> 01:12:30,285 would not be on some monument or in some text which 1212 01:12:30,925 --> 01:12:35,105 might be swept away, but actually on the DNA 1213 01:12:35,185 --> 01:12:37,185 of the creature itself. 1214 01:12:42,065 --> 01:12:48,005 It's recently been established that DNA is a recording medium 1215 01:12:48,065 --> 01:12:49,345 of almost limitless power. 1216 01:12:49,905 --> 01:12:52,225 It would be technically possible to record 1217 01:12:52,285 --> 01:12:55,245 the entire knowledge of a civilization 1218 01:12:55,305 --> 01:12:57,905 on the DNA in our bodies. 1219 01:12:57,965 --> 01:13:01,265 All you'd need is a way to access that information. 1220 01:13:04,925 --> 01:13:06,965 ERICH VON DANIKEN: I think we have something, 1221 01:13:07,085 --> 01:13:10,065 the whole humanity in our genes. 1222 01:13:10,245 --> 01:13:14,165 Somewhere in our genes, it is coded 1223 01:13:14,885 --> 01:13:18,105 that extraterrestrials were here thousands of years ago. 1224 01:13:19,985 --> 01:13:22,045 NARRATOR: But the questions persist. 1225 01:13:22,265 --> 01:13:26,285 If aliens visited Earth tens of thousands of years ago, 1226 01:13:28,025 --> 01:13:29,885 how did they get here? 1227 01:13:30,905 --> 01:13:33,245 When we look to the past for the answers, 1228 01:13:33,345 --> 01:13:36,245 are we looking in the wrong place? 1229 01:13:37,125 --> 01:13:42,085 Should we actually look forward to our future? 1230 01:13:54,025 --> 01:13:58,685 Scientists agree that the best chances of finding alien life 1231 01:13:58,805 --> 01:14:01,685 will be on planets similar to ours. 1232 01:14:01,905 --> 01:14:04,105 And descriptions of extraterrestrials 1233 01:14:04,665 --> 01:14:07,625 seem to resemble humans in many ways. 1234 01:14:08,005 --> 01:14:12,105 Some ancient astronaut theorists draw a surprising conclusion 1235 01:14:12,665 --> 01:14:15,745 from these facts, suggesting that aliens 1236 01:14:15,805 --> 01:14:17,925 might actually be human. 1237 01:14:19,645 --> 01:14:24,085 It is odd that many of the descriptions of aliens 1238 01:14:24,805 --> 01:14:26,825 are effectively humanoid. 1239 01:14:26,885 --> 01:14:30,725 And this raises an interesting possibility. 1240 01:14:30,785 --> 01:14:33,745 One idea that's been put forward is that these are not 1241 01:14:33,805 --> 01:14:35,825 extraterrestrials at all but they're 1242 01:14:35,885 --> 01:14:37,765 time-travelers from the future. 1243 01:14:38,865 --> 01:14:43,625 They could be us from 1,000, 2,000, 10,000 years from now. 1244 01:14:44,785 --> 01:14:47,685 Let's assume for a moment that 10,000 years from now 1245 01:14:47,745 --> 01:14:49,805 on this planet, if we all survive, 1246 01:14:49,865 --> 01:14:51,705 that time travel was created. 1247 01:14:51,765 --> 01:14:53,745 They've invented it just like the time 1248 01:14:53,805 --> 01:14:55,705 machine of HG Wells' days. 1249 01:14:55,765 --> 01:14:57,925 They can go back or they can go forward. 1250 01:14:58,885 --> 01:15:01,625 So let's assume 10,000 years from now, 1251 01:15:01,925 --> 01:15:05,045 we decide to come back to see us. 1252 01:15:05,625 --> 01:15:07,785 Maybe they have changed physically. 1253 01:15:07,845 --> 01:15:11,705 They look like the alien Grays or whoever they may be. 1254 01:15:13,105 --> 01:15:16,065 It could well be that ancient astronauts might not 1255 01:15:16,625 --> 01:15:18,805 be creatures from other planets at all, 1256 01:15:18,865 --> 01:15:23,625 but time travelers from 2720 in a time machine. 1257 01:15:26,785 --> 01:15:28,945 NARRATOR: Time travel is an essential concept 1258 01:15:29,005 --> 01:15:30,725 for science fiction. 1259 01:15:31,005 --> 01:15:34,045 But would it be possible for flesh-and-blood humans 1260 01:15:34,105 --> 01:15:37,025 to find a way to transport themselves through time 1261 01:15:37,085 --> 01:15:39,005 with current technology? 1262 01:15:39,845 --> 01:15:43,065 Would this enable us to cover the vast distances of space? 1263 01:15:44,845 --> 01:15:46,865 If I could travel close to the speed of light, 1264 01:15:46,925 --> 01:15:50,745 I could reach the year 3000, say, in a couple of years. 1265 01:15:50,805 --> 01:15:52,805 I would have to get very close to the speed of light for that, 1266 01:15:52,865 --> 01:15:55,745 but it's doable. And we know that this isn't a theory. 1267 01:15:55,805 --> 01:15:57,065 This is real physics. 1268 01:15:57,625 --> 01:15:59,745 We can demonstrate these timewarping effects. 1269 01:16:02,065 --> 01:16:04,765 So you can reach the future quicker by traveling 1270 01:16:04,825 --> 01:16:06,645 close to the speed of light. 1271 01:16:07,725 --> 01:16:09,725 NARRATOR: The concept of time travel 1272 01:16:09,785 --> 01:16:13,645 was first proposed by Albert Einstein in 1905 1273 01:16:13,805 --> 01:16:17,005 when he published his theory of special relativity. 1274 01:16:17,825 --> 01:16:20,045 Ancient astronaut theory says that astronauts 1275 01:16:20,105 --> 01:16:22,825 visited us a long time ago from somewhere else. 1276 01:16:23,725 --> 01:16:25,845 The technology involved in doing that, we would assume, 1277 01:16:25,905 --> 01:16:27,085 would be similar to what we understand now. 1278 01:16:27,645 --> 01:16:28,865 I mean, we know special relativity 1279 01:16:28,925 --> 01:16:31,025 is the law of physics. It holds anywhere in the universe. 1280 01:16:32,665 --> 01:16:34,765 The ancient astronauts would come all the way here, 1281 01:16:34,825 --> 01:16:36,085 and travel these large distances, 1282 01:16:36,645 --> 01:16:39,045 and not age that much relative to their home planet. 1283 01:16:39,105 --> 01:16:41,725 Because if you're going close enough to the speed of light, 1284 01:16:41,785 --> 01:16:45,785 you will have slowed down time enough that when you get back, 1285 01:16:45,845 --> 01:16:47,765 hundreds, thousands, or even millions of years 1286 01:16:47,825 --> 01:16:48,865 could have passed. 1287 01:16:56,105 --> 01:16:59,825 NARRATOR: One limitation to this method of travel is that 1288 01:16:59,885 --> 01:17:03,865 because a spacecraft has mass, it theoretically cannot 1289 01:17:03,925 --> 01:17:05,945 reach the exact speed of light. 1290 01:17:06,885 --> 01:17:09,005 The resulting reduction in velocity 1291 01:17:09,665 --> 01:17:12,785 would then dramatically increase the amount of time needed 1292 01:17:12,845 --> 01:17:14,985 to cross the vast universe. 1293 01:17:16,745 --> 01:17:19,805 Well, there's definitely many theories about how 1294 01:17:19,865 --> 01:17:23,825 extraterrestrials got here, how their propulsion system 1295 01:17:23,885 --> 01:17:25,645 got them to planet Earth. 1296 01:17:25,705 --> 01:17:28,905 They're surely not coming here the way we go out into space. 1297 01:17:28,965 --> 01:17:30,105 They'd never get here. 1298 01:17:30,725 --> 01:17:32,005 They are finding different ways. 1299 01:17:32,065 --> 01:17:34,945 They have either developed a new form of propulsion 1300 01:17:35,085 --> 01:17:37,885 or they're able to travel through what I've always 1301 01:17:37,945 --> 01:17:41,905 believed, wormholes, throughout the universe that would 1302 01:17:41,965 --> 01:17:44,765 instantaneously put them here. 1303 01:17:47,085 --> 01:17:49,765 NARRATOR: The idea of wormholes was first 1304 01:17:49,825 --> 01:17:53,705 proposed in 1935 by Albert Einstein 1305 01:17:53,765 --> 01:17:56,665 and his longtime collaborator Nathan Rosen. 1306 01:17:57,625 --> 01:17:59,885 They began to explore the possibility 1307 01:17:59,945 --> 01:18:03,925 that space and time could literally be bent to create 1308 01:18:03,985 --> 01:18:05,945 a time travel shortcut. 1309 01:18:08,645 --> 01:18:10,645 Wormholes have not been detected. 1310 01:18:10,705 --> 01:18:13,785 They're a postulated structure in space 1311 01:18:13,845 --> 01:18:15,985 that involve actually taking-- if you want to think 1312 01:18:16,045 --> 01:18:18,785 of a sheet of paper, bending it in half, 1313 01:18:18,845 --> 01:18:21,745 and connecting the two pieces that you get together, 1314 01:18:21,985 --> 01:18:24,645 a wormhole is thought to do something like that. 1315 01:18:24,765 --> 01:18:27,625 Space gets warped, and it connects between two 1316 01:18:27,685 --> 01:18:28,825 different parts of space. 1317 01:18:28,885 --> 01:18:30,745 There's predictions about what they would look like. 1318 01:18:30,805 --> 01:18:32,885 There's theories about them. But we haven't detected one yet. 1319 01:18:33,085 --> 01:18:34,665 You're not actually ever traveling 1320 01:18:34,725 --> 01:18:37,065 faster than the speed of light, you're just cutting corners. 1321 01:18:38,725 --> 01:18:42,005 You don't actually have to go light speed and travel 1322 01:18:42,065 --> 01:18:43,785 for lightyears to someplace. 1323 01:18:43,845 --> 01:18:45,845 You literally go there through a wormhole, 1324 01:18:45,905 --> 01:18:48,085 and through hyperspace, and bang, you're there. 1325 01:18:49,825 --> 01:18:51,825 MAN: If you can have a wormhole in space, 1326 01:18:51,885 --> 01:18:54,045 then it can be turned, in principle, into a time machine. 1327 01:18:55,105 --> 01:18:59,885 And so travel back in time as well as forward in time 1328 01:18:59,945 --> 01:19:01,025 would then be possible. 1329 01:19:01,085 --> 01:19:03,685 The problem is, where do you get your wormhole? 1330 01:19:04,025 --> 01:19:06,925 It's not inconceivable that wormholes 1331 01:19:06,985 --> 01:19:08,845 were made in the Big Bang, puffed 1332 01:19:08,905 --> 01:19:09,965 out along with everything else. 1333 01:19:10,025 --> 01:19:12,005 There might be one out there in the universe 1334 01:19:12,065 --> 01:19:15,785 we could harvest and adapt to form a time machine. 1335 01:19:16,745 --> 01:19:18,805 If you end up discovering that you could make wormholes, 1336 01:19:18,865 --> 01:19:21,825 then that increases the range that you can explore in space. 1337 01:19:21,945 --> 01:19:23,745 And that increases the likelihood 1338 01:19:23,805 --> 01:19:26,025 of having two civilizations at the same time 1339 01:19:26,085 --> 01:19:28,905 with the right technology to communicate with each other. 1340 01:19:31,085 --> 01:19:33,645 NARRATOR: While theoretically possible, 1341 01:19:33,745 --> 01:19:36,085 traveling through wormholes or at the speed of light 1342 01:19:36,865 --> 01:19:39,825 is currently impossible for us here on Earth. 1343 01:19:44,885 --> 01:19:49,945 Using modern propulsion methods, it would take 70,000 years 1344 01:19:50,005 --> 01:19:51,945 to reach the nearest star. 1345 01:19:52,905 --> 01:19:54,865 The fastest rockets are totally puny. 1346 01:19:54,925 --> 01:19:55,985 It's really pathetic. 1347 01:19:56,045 --> 01:20:00,945 So we're talking about 0.01% of the speed of light 1348 01:20:01,005 --> 01:20:02,665 if you're lucky. 1349 01:20:02,725 --> 01:20:05,065 Any object that we can fire out of the solar system 1350 01:20:05,625 --> 01:20:07,725 is going to take tens of thousands of years 1351 01:20:07,785 --> 01:20:09,065 to reach the nearest star. 1352 01:20:12,945 --> 01:20:16,945 NARRATOR: Believe it or not, at 4.6 billion years old, 1353 01:20:17,625 --> 01:20:21,025 our solar system is one of the youngest in the universe. 1354 01:20:21,885 --> 01:20:25,025 But if civilizations exist in other galaxies, 1355 01:20:25,705 --> 01:20:27,085 is it possible that they are more 1356 01:20:27,645 --> 01:20:28,985 advanced than those on Earth? 1357 01:20:29,805 --> 01:20:32,805 And if so, could they be ahead of us in their ability 1358 01:20:32,865 --> 01:20:34,965 to travel through space and time? 1359 01:20:37,665 --> 01:20:40,965 For extraterrestrials to come here through the vast reaches 1360 01:20:41,025 --> 01:20:43,665 of space to our planet, they clearly 1361 01:20:43,725 --> 01:20:46,965 have to have technology that's way in advance 1362 01:20:47,025 --> 01:20:48,885 of what we have today. 1363 01:20:48,945 --> 01:20:51,685 To go from solar system to solar system, 1364 01:20:51,745 --> 01:20:54,845 rather than going warp speed like in Star Trek, 1365 01:20:54,985 --> 01:20:57,985 you're really going to travel as they do in Star Wars 1366 01:20:58,725 --> 01:21:01,065 where you're jumping through hyperspace. 1367 01:21:01,705 --> 01:21:04,985 Going from solar system to solar system is no time at all. 1368 01:21:09,945 --> 01:21:12,025 Just because we can't travel from star 1369 01:21:12,085 --> 01:21:16,925 to star does not mean another, more advanced society 1370 01:21:16,985 --> 01:21:18,665 can't do it either. 1371 01:21:19,005 --> 01:21:21,705 I think that's the height of human arrogance, 1372 01:21:21,765 --> 01:21:24,105 to say just because we can't do it, 1373 01:21:24,665 --> 01:21:26,945 another more advanced civilization 1374 01:21:27,005 --> 01:21:28,685 can't do it either. 1375 01:21:28,745 --> 01:21:32,065 So we have to stop looking at us that we are the pinnacle 1376 01:21:32,625 --> 01:21:34,065 of creation, because we're not. 1377 01:21:37,865 --> 01:21:39,805 NARRATOR: Celestial beings, 1378 01:21:41,725 --> 01:21:43,825 visitors from the skies, 1379 01:21:45,685 --> 01:21:48,925 deities descending from the heavens to interact with man-- 1380 01:21:49,925 --> 01:21:53,685 could these worldwide stories be the foundation 1381 01:21:53,825 --> 01:21:55,925 for the prevailing belief that something 1382 01:21:55,985 --> 01:22:00,705 greater than ourselves from beyond our world created 1383 01:22:00,765 --> 01:22:01,445 the universe as we know it? 1384 01:22:17,465 --> 01:22:20,225 Almost all of the great world faiths 1385 01:22:20,285 --> 01:22:22,305 are based on stories of celestial beings 1386 01:22:22,365 --> 01:22:24,025 who visit earth. 1387 01:22:25,185 --> 01:22:28,025 Many millions of people accept these legends 1388 01:22:28,085 --> 01:22:30,205 as part of their core beliefs. 1389 01:22:36,225 --> 01:22:41,325 And from the earliest cave drawings to images at Roswell, 1390 01:22:42,205 --> 01:22:46,485 we see artists' interpretations of extraterrestrials or gods 1391 01:22:47,045 --> 01:22:48,365 coming to our planet. 1392 01:22:50,445 --> 01:22:52,025 JONATHAN YOUNG: In many traditions, 1393 01:22:52,085 --> 01:22:54,465 there is something coming from above. 1394 01:22:55,465 --> 01:22:58,285 There is a stairway to heaven, or there's a whirlwind, 1395 01:22:58,345 --> 01:23:00,265 or an angel descends. 1396 01:23:01,425 --> 01:23:04,205 Sometimes the encounter is quite dangerous, 1397 01:23:07,205 --> 01:23:10,105 as would be appropriate to something awesome, and larger, 1398 01:23:10,165 --> 01:23:11,365 and more powerful than we are. 1399 01:23:11,425 --> 01:23:13,145 Usually, it is memorable. 1400 01:23:20,125 --> 01:23:22,425 Many of the myths are much more specific. 1401 01:23:23,125 --> 01:23:25,145 And they really talk about 1402 01:23:25,425 --> 01:23:28,425 gods physically coming to earth, 1403 01:23:29,065 --> 01:23:35,065 landing, doing miracles, and showing the people how to live. 1404 01:23:38,145 --> 01:23:41,105 NARRATOR: If visitors did come from the stars, 1405 01:23:41,205 --> 01:23:43,305 is it possible that they actually changed 1406 01:23:43,365 --> 01:23:45,465 the way ancient people thought? 1407 01:23:48,025 --> 01:23:50,125 Did they provide an intellectual spark 1408 01:23:50,185 --> 01:23:52,265 to prehistoric civilizations? 1409 01:23:54,025 --> 01:23:57,245 Could that be the reason why so many different cultures 1410 01:23:57,305 --> 01:24:00,285 could build such large and lasting monuments? 1411 01:24:03,445 --> 01:24:05,485 It's almost as if primitive man woke up one 1412 01:24:06,045 --> 01:24:08,365 morning and went, hey, I've got this knowledge, 1413 01:24:08,425 --> 01:24:10,445 and I know how to make tools, and I'm going to go 1414 01:24:10,505 --> 01:24:12,405 and build all these things. 1415 01:24:13,105 --> 01:24:15,205 Nah. I don't think it happened that way. 1416 01:24:15,345 --> 01:24:18,045 I think that others came down to this planet 1417 01:24:18,105 --> 01:24:20,105 and started teaching other people 1418 01:24:20,245 --> 01:24:22,225 that were beginning to evolve. 1419 01:24:24,285 --> 01:24:27,345 But the one thing I truly do not believe 1420 01:24:28,025 --> 01:24:30,505 is that modern cavemen at the time 1421 01:24:31,065 --> 01:24:34,465 basically created all this knowledge out of thin air. 1422 01:24:39,245 --> 01:24:43,045 All around the world, we have concise descriptions 1423 01:24:43,105 --> 01:24:48,165 in ancient texts which say, word for word, 1424 01:24:48,405 --> 01:24:53,145 that some beings came from the sky. 1425 01:24:54,345 --> 01:24:58,465 So it's as if this intellectual Big Bang 1426 01:24:59,025 --> 01:25:03,045 or this Big Bang of knowledge occurred 1427 01:25:03,185 --> 01:25:06,085 in various periods of time. 1428 01:25:06,265 --> 01:25:10,205 And those various periods of time, most concisely, 1429 01:25:10,265 --> 01:25:15,125 always correlate with some type of description 1430 01:25:15,325 --> 01:25:19,285 of gods descending from the sky. 1431 01:25:26,165 --> 01:25:28,425 GRAHAM HANCOCK: I do think of that as a very significant 1432 01:25:28,485 --> 01:25:31,305 before and after moment in the human story. 1433 01:25:31,365 --> 01:25:35,045 And it is not a moment that is linked to physical evolution. 1434 01:25:35,105 --> 01:25:36,485 We've already got the hardware. 1435 01:25:37,045 --> 01:25:40,105 It's as though something happened to our software around 1436 01:25:40,165 --> 01:25:42,365 about that time. And I think it's a very intriguing 1437 01:25:42,425 --> 01:25:44,285 moment in the human story. 1438 01:25:48,365 --> 01:25:51,225 NARRATOR: For supporters of ancient alien theory, 1439 01:25:51,285 --> 01:25:54,045 the verdict is already in. 1440 01:25:54,305 --> 01:25:57,065 They believe that aliens visited many 1441 01:25:57,125 --> 01:26:00,365 of Earth's earliest cultures thousands of years ago. 1442 01:26:02,045 --> 01:26:03,305 But is it possible? 1443 01:26:04,165 --> 01:26:06,145 Are extraterrestrials responsible 1444 01:26:06,205 --> 01:26:10,165 for the sacred creation myths of the first human civilizations? 1445 01:26:11,245 --> 01:26:13,385 Might they have tampered with our DNA? 1446 01:26:14,505 --> 01:26:18,065 Are humans themselves aliens from another planet 1447 01:26:18,125 --> 01:26:21,405 in the heavens or even from another time? 1448 01:26:22,405 --> 01:26:25,345 While man continues to search for these answers, 1449 01:26:25,405 --> 01:26:27,365 the questions remain. 1450 01:26:28,145 --> 01:26:31,365 If they came here, what was their mission? 1451 01:26:32,265 --> 01:26:34,225 We call Earth home. 1452 01:26:35,025 --> 01:26:37,185 But with perfect conditions for life, 1453 01:26:37,325 --> 01:26:40,225 could it be a beacon calling out to 1454 01:26:40,285 --> 01:26:45,125 other intelligent civilizations that may exist in the universe? 1455 01:26:48,505 --> 01:26:51,225 ROBERT CARGILL: I think there is life-- simple life, bacterial 1456 01:26:51,285 --> 01:26:52,445 life, microbial life-- 1457 01:26:53,045 --> 01:26:55,305 on other planets. I think we're going to find that. 1458 01:26:56,125 --> 01:26:57,085 And who knows? 1459 01:26:57,145 --> 01:27:00,325 Maybe one day, we'll find some other planet that's 1460 01:27:00,385 --> 01:27:04,065 capable of sustaining life, that has evolved people 1461 01:27:04,125 --> 01:27:06,305 over a long period of time, that are also 1462 01:27:06,365 --> 01:27:08,345 looking up at the stars wondering, 1463 01:27:08,505 --> 01:27:11,225 is there anybody else out there? Are we the only ones? 1464 01:27:12,125 --> 01:27:13,205 JENNIFER HELDMANN: What bigger question 1465 01:27:13,265 --> 01:27:16,305 could we ask about ourselves and our place in the universe? 1466 01:27:16,365 --> 01:27:20,025 Is there life elsewhere in the universe, or are we it? 1467 01:27:20,285 --> 01:27:22,425 I mean, I think it's one of the most fascinating questions. 1468 01:27:22,485 --> 01:27:25,165 And we're fortunate enough to live in a time 1469 01:27:25,225 --> 01:27:28,065 when we can address this question scientifically 1470 01:27:28,125 --> 01:27:30,145 and really try and get at some answers. 1471 01:27:31,505 --> 01:27:33,425 GEORGE NOORY: You can then come up with a conclusion 1472 01:27:33,485 --> 01:27:35,245 that something, one, very strange 1473 01:27:35,305 --> 01:27:39,105 is happening on this planet, and two, 1474 01:27:39,205 --> 01:27:42,505 if it's coming from outside of this system, 1475 01:27:43,105 --> 01:27:45,285 then we're being visited by something that has 1476 01:27:45,345 --> 01:27:47,245 some intelligence behind it. 1477 01:27:49,305 --> 01:27:52,345 GIORGIO TSOUKALOS: In the end, the truth wins. 1478 01:27:53,205 --> 01:27:58,445 And we've seen this in history where scientific theories 1479 01:27:58,505 --> 01:28:02,485 or ideas that have been deemed impossible 1480 01:28:03,165 --> 01:28:05,325 turned out to be true. 1481 01:28:06,325 --> 01:28:11,505 And so it is my firm conviction that the same will count 1482 01:28:12,125 --> 01:28:14,185 for the ancient alien theory. 1483 01:28:14,345 --> 01:28:16,325 (theme sound) 115175

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