# Ancient Aliens? Possible or bullshit? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 3, 2013, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ancient-aliens-possible-or-bullshit/659994 "2013-06-03T02:36:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2013, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ancient-aliens-possible-or-bullshit/659994/21 "2013-06-03T06:32:09Z")
Is it possible? Sure. Is it also possible that I am the king of France, who happens to be in a coma dreaming that he’s posting on an internet message board? Sure! ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2013, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ancient-aliens-possible-or-bullshit/659994/22 "2013-06-03T07:21:13Z")
Time to wake up, Your Majesty. There’s a group of peasants outside who want to see you. They’ve set up a scaffold for you. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2013, 10:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ancient-aliens-possible-or-bullshit/659994/23 "2013-06-03T10:05:06Z")
> [@Maiira](#): > > Seriously, how fucking insulting is it to be so dismissive of the intellectual capabilities of an ancient culture that you (general you) have to ascribe those capabilities to ALIENS?? Who needs aliens for this purpose, when we have dolphins? They were smart enough to never invent nuclear weapons or New York City. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2013, 10:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ancient-aliens-possible-or-bullshit/659994/24 "2013-06-03T10:35:35Z")
> [@Beelzebubba](#): > > Could it explain some of the events in the Bible (Manna from Heaven, Parting of the Sea)? The construction of the Pyramids? Machu Picchu? Easter Island? The Mayan Empire and/or fall? Pumapunku? Perhaps Atlantis? The construction of the pyramids in Egypt, the city of Machu Picchu, and heads on Easter Island were all constructed by the very human societies that lived there at the time. Atlantis never existed and was simply a made up society used for allegorical purposes. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2013, 10:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ancient-aliens-possible-or-bullshit/659994/25 "2013-06-03T10:54:51Z")
Isn’t it interesting how beavers can build dams, birds can build some pretty amazing nests, bees build hives, but ancient peoples couldn’t possibly have figured out how to build anything beyond primitive tools and holes in the ground… :rolleyes: Isn’t it also interesting how aliens would travel the vastness of space to do this stuff for our ancestors but neglect to sign their work so we’d know? Even school kids have gouged their initials into their desks. I think it’s more likely that aliens visited Mars, totally screwed it up, left a dusty red ball in their wake, while saying “Shit - let’s get out of here before anyone finds out what we did…” Prove me wrong! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2013, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ancient-aliens-possible-or-bullshit/659994/26 "2013-06-03T11:59:33Z")
Genetic evidence proves conclusively that we are descended from other forms of Earth life. If aliens are somehow responsible for us, I can see only two possibilities: 1. They arrived when we were already 99.9% of the way evolved to our current form, and performed a few tweaks so small and minor that they don’t stand out from the background mutation rate. In this case, I don’t think they get much credit for our success - we did the vast majority of the work ourselves. 2. The aliens arrived billions of years ago and seeded the Earth with very primitive single-celled life that evolved into all of our planet’s life forms. In this case, again, we did nearly all of the hard evolving work ourselves, and why were they such jerks? They could have saved us a few hundred million years at least by dropping a few more advanced life-forms. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2013, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ancient-aliens-possible-or-bullshit/659994/27 "2013-06-03T12:24:52Z")
> [@Beelzebubba](#): > > That is actually a brutally honest and accurate description, good one! I hate the freakin’ X-files…but somehow my favorite show is Supernatural (even though I’m agnostic)…even I was confused by my love of the show until I realized it had nothing to do with the ‘Supernatural’ subject manner…it’s the dreamy hunk Jensen Ackles (who plays Dean) that I enjoy looking at for the entire hour… > [@April\_R](#): > > Oh Jensen, rawr! > [@Beelzebubba](#): > > As our friends across the pond would say, He is SEX on LEGS! I want to do things to that boy that would earn me multiple mandatory death penalties in most Middle Eastern countries…and then some… > > He really doesn’t take his shirt off for photographs nearly enough- > > [JENSEN shirtless](http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/jensen%20ackles%20shirtless) Guys, if you want to talk about actors you want to see shirtless, start a new thread in Cafe Society – you’re off-topic here. **twickster** , MPSIMS moderator ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2013, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ancient-aliens-possible-or-bullshit/659994/28 "2013-06-03T12:51:07Z")
> [@Beelzebubba](#): > > Some of the evidence used to support certain theories is actually very compelling. Such as? I’ve never seen anything on that show that I would consider “compelling.” ---
**Author:** ![mo50](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8797f3/32.png) [@mo50](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mo50)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2013, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ancient-aliens-possible-or-bullshit/659994/29 "2013-06-03T12:57:56Z")
I personally enjoy the show & speculating about that kinda stuff. To me, there’s about as much evidence for “ancient alien theory” as there is for religion or any other type of woo : Tons if you’re inclined to believe, if not, it’s very easy to shoot down. That guy with the huge hair does crack me up, though! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2013, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ancient-aliens-possible-or-bullshit/659994/30 "2013-06-03T14:38:21Z")
Nevermind ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2013, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ancient-aliens-possible-or-bullshit/659994/31 "2013-06-03T15:22:42Z")
Well, there is one variation that seems at least reasonable IMO. But not that I think it happened. At various stages of our evolution, both genetic and cultural, the aliens came along and gave us helpful hints. Hey, here’s how you make a fire. Look what happens when you PLANT food rather than forage. See the funny symbols, we call them letters. Hey, ever tried bronze? Now it could have been flat out “here’s how you do it”. Or projected voices. Or just manipulating situations behind the scenes so at to make the “discovery” very likely to happen but nobody knew they were being helped. ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2013, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ancient-aliens-possible-or-bullshit/659994/32 "2013-06-03T16:16:27Z")
It’s certainly been a staple of SF for some time. Stargate was based on the very idea of ancient alien contact and explains that a lot of “gods” that humans have worshiped were actually aliens from specific races. They even had different peoples contacting different parts of humanity like the Asgard influencing Northern European cultures and the Goauld going to Egypt. Star Trek also had a few episodes where they included ancient contact between Earth and elsewhere. Quick trivia: according to Star Trek (all series and movies) there were three different intelligent species to develop on earth and make contact with others. Humans are one, name the other two. You sure? They are Voth and humpback whales Also, Arthur C. Clarke wrote at least one ancient alien contact short story. Encounter at Dawn ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2013, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ancient-aliens-possible-or-bullshit/659994/33 "2013-06-03T16:35:27Z")
The show is entertaining. However, I would not be in the slightest bit surprised to find that aliens have visited us in the past, and they have hung signs up all over the galaxy warning intelligent life away from the insane asylum on the third planet. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2013, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ancient-aliens-possible-or-bullshit/659994/34 "2013-06-03T16:58:27Z")
I remember somebody else’s random point of evidence of alien visitation. Viruses. Viruses are pretty darn weird. Maybe aliens left viruses to do some sort of manipulation on us. And I think a few of their pet playtypuses got left behind. ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2013, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ancient-aliens-possible-or-bullshit/659994/35 "2013-06-03T17:00:43Z")
[Bullshit or not](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Q4F-kvWY7A)? ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2013, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ancient-aliens-possible-or-bullshit/659994/36 "2013-06-03T18:00:36Z")
Bullshit, and as currently presented unworthy of any consideration apart from derision. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2013, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ancient-aliens-possible-or-bullshit/659994/37 "2013-06-03T18:10:14Z")
> [@mo50](#): > > I personally enjoy the show & speculating about that kinda stuff. To me, there’s about as much evidence for “ancient alien theory” as there is for religion or any other type of woo : Tons if you’re inclined to believe, if not, it’s very easy to shoot down. That guy with the huge hair does crack me up, though! 😃 THe talking heads on the show are so damned earnest about it all! > [@Clothahump](#): > > The show is entertaining. > > However, I would not be in the slightest bit surprised to find that aliens have visited us in the past, and they have hung signs up all over the galaxy warning intelligent life away from the insane asylum on the third planet. _snicker_ I watch it when there isn’t anything else on just to have sound if I am not in the mood for music. This past weekend mrAru and I watched an episode on the cyclopean mesoamerican structures [try saying that 3 times fast] and about fell off the bed laughing. Some talking head was looking at a series of 5 or 6 tiny fingertip sized holes drilled in a stone block and saying that there was no way to do such precision work with no metal tools. _cough_ [bow drill](http://pradhandentalcentre.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Image-of-a-boy-2.png) and sand _cough_ and smoothing the blocks used to build with _cough_ sanding block and wet sand _cough_ - who wouldn’t notice that when you rub a metate and petate together, you wear hollows in the stone and get a nice smooth surface. :dubious: And why there are pyramids everywhere - you can only stack crap a particular way or it falls down. You get the ‘pyramid angle’ from trickling a handful of sand out of your hand and looking at the result. [I will admit I would actually go for making my pyramid by building a perimeter of [blocks](http://www.ufo-contact.com/pumapunku/machined-stone-at-site-of-pumapunku-bolivia-tiwanaku-tiahuanaco) clamped together, fill in the layer with rubble, floor it for the next level so it would have alternating bands of fill and stone, with the perimeter stones clamped together. But being sensible I really wouldn’t build a pyramid, who needs bodies cluttering up the plaza :D] ---
**Author:** ![April\_R](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@April\_R](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/April_R)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2013, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ancient-aliens-possible-or-bullshit/659994/38 "2013-06-03T20:20:19Z")
In Hitchhiker’s Guide the aliens are the dolphins and they try to warn us of impending doom but we don’t listen. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2013, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ancient-aliens-possible-or-bullshit/659994/39 "2013-06-03T20:59:37Z")
Bullshit. The show is a study in what happens when you remove critical thought from academia. Biologically, were all earth–if we’re seedlings then so was the rest of the biosphere ala [Project Genesis](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Genesis_(Star_Trek)#Plot). I also can’t buy into a campaign of benefactor races coming down and recommending to Jensen Ackles dreamy, steamy, shirtless ancestors that they “bang the rocks together guys.” To what end would they have done this? Even if Earth was conveniently located as a gas station or resort, they certainly did a thorough job of removing any traces they’d been here when they took us off their maps. One would expect something like a ghost town with some badly weathered but clearly, “what the hell is that?” artifacts. Instead all we have is stone buildings, cleverly crafted for purposes we don’t remember. And suppose a race DID come to us. Their tech would be so mind-bogglingly beyond ours as to make us in 2013 look only a little more clever than 1013 in comparison–why ain’t they coming back? It’s because they can’t get here, and they never could. Just because we can see other stars, know they are suns, and work out the mathematical inevitability that at least some of them will host life and technology as we know it, doesn’t mean there has to be a way for us to get together for drinks no matter how much we think we want to. Or maybe they moved in next door to Mars, trashed it out using it as a lab for mixing illegal drugs, and then split. Who knows? But H2 is balls. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2013, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ancient-aliens-possible-or-bullshit/659994/40 "2013-06-03T21:17:27Z")
> [@Beelzebubba](#): > > Yeah, H2 (and History Int’l before that) lost much of the credibility it had left by hyping the 2012 Mayan ‘Apocalypse’ and endless ‘Doomsday’-esque shows… > > I’ve always known there was a practical, logical reason for the Mayan calendar ‘ending’ in 12/2012. Hammering out a calendar using a chisel and tablet is NOT and easy task to start with. But the Mayans (for whatever reason) felt the need to create 24,000 years of historical calendars as well…they didn’t understand that you throw them out at the end of the year and don’t need the old ones!? > > So after all that ‘typing/chiseling’ they came the end of a ‘cycle’, they were tired as hell and had a calendar good for centuries into the future. They probably thought a later generation could pick up the task and it just fell thru the cracks…but just because a calendar ends on a certain date, the assumption that the world and/or mankind would cease to exist at that time is moronic! Sort of like assuming that the programmers who used 2-digit year dates before 2000 were predicting the end of the world in 2000. Maybe the Mayans used a calendar that ended in 2012 for similar reasons. The Mayans who devised that calendar aren’t around any more, unlike at least some of the programmers, so we can’t ask them. > [@](#): > > What if they actually came here to ‘seed’ the planet with intelligent life and we are actually their descendants? Why would aliens want to do this? Everything we know now seems to indicate that interstellar travel will always be difficult and time-consuming. Barring some totally new discovery in physics, it’s something you’d only do if you had a really good reason to do it. What would be their reason for doing this? If we’re their descendants, you’d think they would have left all their alien technology here for us, along with a record of where they came from. They got here in the first place, so getting back here if we lost that information, or just transmitting that information back to us, shouldn’t be impossible. If we set up a colony on Mars, we’d take all of our technology with us, not just the means for building pyramids. If humans, and not other life on Earth, were alien, you’d expect us to be much less similar to other life on Earth than we actually are. It’s very unlikely we would share 90+% of our DNA with chimpanzees in that case. If just one or a few groups of humans were aliens, you’d expect them to be unable to interbreed with other humans. We have yet to find a group of humans that can’t do this. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ancient-aliens-possible-or-bullshit/659994.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ancient-aliens-possible-or-bullshit/659994.md?page=3)