After years of relative obscurity, it appears that Erich von Daniken (Chariots of the Gods, The Gods Were Astronauts, Pathways to the Gods and more) is staging a comeback on the History Channel this month. The 2009 TV special titled Ancient Aliens features von Daniken and bills itself as follows:
“What if life on Earth began in outer space? Millions of people accept the theory that intelligent life forms visited Earth thousands of years ago and were worshiped as gods by primitive man. Are monuments like Stonehenge and Easter Island the last remains of an ancient alien visitation? From unexplainable super structures, to knowledge of the solar system, mathematics, and even the ability to make electricity, this special explores evidence of super-human influences on ancient man and embarks on an around-the-world search for answers. It’s an investigation into a theory some believe cannot be true, but many agree cannot be ignored.”
While many people believe that von Daniken’s writings are simply theories created to connect a number of (possibly) unrelated facts, there are others who think the “ancient aliens” theory is the only logical explanation for the quantum leaps in scientific knowledge that have occurred throughout history.
Whatever the truth is, I used the theory as a foundation on which to build my Seeds of Civilization series of novels (http://www.SeedsOfCivilization.com). The underlying theme that ties the three novels together is a series of real-life artifacts that are unmistakably alien in origin – a mysterious sphere in Tractrix, an ancient Ninja weapon in Tsubute and an odd-shaped “coin” in Triangle. Near the end of the third book, readers learn about a million-year-old effort to keep human-kind from becoming extinct – an effort that’s in its thirty-seventh and last phase!
Ancient Aliens (2009), The History Channel (http://www.history.com)
Monday, March 9th at 12:00 a.m.
Saturday, March 14th at 8:00 p.m.
Sunday, March 15th at 12:00 a.m.
Wednesday, March 18th at 8:00 a.m.
Wednesday, March 18th at 2:oo p.m.
Check your local TV listings for channel and time in your area.