All language subtitles for Ancient.Aliens.Origins.S02E01.1080p.WEB.h264-EDITH_track3_[eng]

NARRATOR:
Mysterious visitors
credited with

jump-starting civilization.

Ancient teachers bestowing
wisdom of the cosmos.

And an invisible hand

continuing to guide
mankind's advancements.

For nearly two decades,

Ancient Aliens has
traveled the globe

exploring towering
megalithic structures,

mysterious artifacts,

and stories
of otherworldly beings

in a quest for evidence

that might reveal the truth
of our extraterrestrial origins.

We've been talking
about our ancestors being taught

by extraterrestrials
for thousands of years.

NARRATOR:
Now, we take a look back

through the
Ancient Aliens archives

to the show's very origins

to examine the evidence
that we are not alone.

We have never been alone.

♪ ♪

You know,
one of the basic tenets

of the ancient astronaut
theory is that

our ancestors had teachers.

And so, the idea is that
extraterrestrial visitors

imparted knowledge
to our ancestors

in order to jumpstart
civilization.

Yeah, and we have evidence
for this all over the world.

Nearly every ancient culture
has the same story

of gods descending from the sky
and imparting knowledge.

Right.

And, of course, this goes back

to the very first civilization

-that we know of, the Sumerians.
-Right.

We have 5,000-year-old
cuneiform tablets

that tell of these
powerful beings called Anunnaki

descending from the sky.

We talked about these
otherworldly teachers

way back in 2011
in an episode called

-"Aliens and
the Creation of Man."
-Mm-hmm.

NARRATOR:
Northern Iraq.

Along the east bank
of the Tigris River,

opposite the city of Mosul,

lie the ruins
of the ancient city of Nineveh,

a place originally inhabited
by the Sumerians of Mesopotamia.

Here, in 1842,
British archaeologist

Austen Henry Layard unearthed

the ruins of the great library
of Ashurbanipal,

a royal archive
containing thousands

of clay tablets
with cuneiform inscriptions.

Dating to 3000 BC,
the messages carved into stone

are considered to be the world's
first written accounts.

Sumerian tablets are probably
one of the oldest, uh,

form of a written record
that we have.

They've been translated,
and they tell exciting stories

about how gods intermingled
with human beings,

and actually had a hand
in the creation of human beings.

Whether or not
it's just mythology

or if it's fact,
no one really knows.

NARRATOR:
According to interpretations
of the Sumerian tablets,

the gods were called
the Anunnaki.

What we're looking at here
is a Sumerian tablet

that actually shows
the tree of life

flanked by divine beings.

You can see here
the Anunnaki on each side.

We also see the winged disc,
a symbolic reference

that the Anunnaki
had the power of flight.

They actually had necklaces
with astronomical references--

a moon, a star,
various symbols--

which even could be symbolized
as a wristwatch.

Technology being used
6,000 years ago.

NARRATOR:
The written accounts
etched into stone

suggest the Annunaki
were giant beings,

standing eight feet tall,

who came to Earth in search
of gold for their home planet.

When the Sumerian gods,
the Anunnaki, realized the toll

it was taking to mine
the gold themselves,

they decided to fashion
a worker being,

a slave to mine
the gold for them.

And they explain
in the Sumerian creation tales

that this was
an arduous process.

So, it's very possible
that our genetic evolution

was a process done
by the Anunnaki to create us

in their image
and after their likeness.

NICK REDFERN:
It's almost like these
highly advanced creatures

were acting as teachers.

Uh, and certainly,
Sumerian culture and mythology

is full of stories of, you know,

receiving visitations from these
mysterious higher entities

that, you know, bestowed wisdom

and fantastic ideas
and concepts.

And, you know,
you have to wonder,

is this just down to myth?

Or was somebody coming down

and really trying to give us
a-a push, if you like?

NARRATOR:
Ancient chronicles of sky beings
creating human life

are common in early cultures
found all over the world.

But while mainstream scholars
often dismiss this evidence,

might such
tangible historical accounts

provide proof of alien
intervention in man's evolution,

as ancient astronaut
theorists believe?

The Sumerians are not the only
culture that talks about this.

Also, in the Quran
it says that language

was given to us by Allah or God.

The Maya Popol Vuh
says that language

was given to us by the gods.

The ancient Egyptian texts are
saying the exact same thing.

It doesn't matter what
ancient culture we look at,

they all say the same,

that language was
a gift from the gods.

We should finally
come to grips with the idea

that extraterrestrials
had something to do

with our development.

NARRATOR:
Prior to the use
of early systems of writing,

ancient people carved
symbolic communication

into stone.

Called petroglyphs,

the oldest date to about
10,000 to 12,000 years ago.

According to
ancient astronaut theorists,

petroglyphs located
in the American Southwest

link the prehistoric ancestors

of the Zuni and Hopi tribes
with star beings.

(speaking German)

(translated):
The first graphic expressions

by humans were petroglyphs.

That means symbols or figures
scratched into stone.

The Hopi Indians, for example,
scratched petroglyphs

into their rock faces that show
people with radiating wreaths,

gods that descend from the sky.

The Hopi Indians say
that these beings are kachinas,

beings from space,
who came to earth in aircraft,

who were not gods,
but who brought them knowledge

from another planet.

We have the same phenomenon
in Europe in Val Camonica.

We have it in Asia.
We have it in Brazil.

When we look at the fact that,
all around the world,

we hear similar legends
of people from the stars

coming down and having
a profound impact on the people

of this country
or that particular culture,

all embroiled
in similar time frames.

You know, we're seeing
a pattern developing,

and it's difficult to dismiss
that that pattern is suggestive.

In our ancient past, creatures
came down, interacted with us,

and maybe manipulated us to
become the people we are today.

GEORGE NOORY:
Why are so many
past civilizations

all saying similar things?

I think the simple answer is,

is that the same thing happened,
and they know the story.

And the story is
that extraterrestrials

came to this planet,

genetically made and manipulated

whatever creatures
were here at the time,

and helped jump-start society.

The bottom line is
every civilization

talks about the existence of man

through the eyes of a god,

and if you think of
the eyes of the god as ETs,

it all makes sense.

NARRATOR:
Could it be that
humanity's first teachers

were, in fact,
extraterrestrial beings?

Ancient astronaut
theorists say yes

and suggest further evidence

of this alien influence
can be found

by exploring the remarkable
achievements of the Maya.

When it comes to stories
about teacher gods,

some of the most
fascinating come from

the Maya of Central America.

And they're not just talking
about knowledge

of fire and the wheel
and other primitive things.

But they're talking about
really advanced

-mathematics and astronomy.
-Absolutely.

I mean, archaeologists
discovered that the Maya were

tracking where planets would
appear in the night sky

thousands of years
before their time,

-and with great precision.
-TSOUKALOS: Right.

And they tracked events
that would go on

for tens of thousands of years.

And you have to ask yourself,

how was this possible
unless somebody taught them?

And that is exactly
what the Maya say.

NARRATOR:
Chicago, Illinois.

Housed here,
in the Newberry Library,

is the Mayan manuscript
known as the Popol Vuh.

Literally translated
as "The Book of the People,"

it is a collection
of Maya oral histories

passed on through the ages.

Written in the mid-16th century,

this incredible book encompasses
a range of subjects,

including those involving
Mayan creation myths.

INGA CALVIN:
The Popol Vuh talks about
the creation of the universe.

It talks about the fact that, in
the beginning all was darkness,

there was a primordial sea.

And then these creators,
male and female,

spoke the word,
and with the word,

the Earth was created
and animals were created.

It's sort of like
the combination

of the Book of Genesis
and the Book of Chronicles

in the Bible.

It's the story of battles
between the gods,

and then it connects
the creation of the world with

the present day through
the kings of the K'iche'.

It's really the only complete
Maya creation myth that we have.

PHILIP COPPENS:
What they were saying was that
a framework was created.

That certain deities
manifested themselves physically

and made decisions as to
what was going to happen.

In the case of the Mayans,
this was the choice

as to where the Mayans
were going to live,

as well as the selection
of certain sacred sites.

NARRATOR:
Throughout the ancient world,
there have been numerous

similar myths of otherworldly
beings coming to Earth

and interacting with
some of the earliest humans.

Most mainstream historians
believe these stories represent

only religious
and spiritual beliefs.

But is it possible, as ancient
astronaut theorists believe,

that the Popol Vuh, as well as
other ancient creation tales,

represents actual evidence
of contact

with extraterrestrials
in the distant past?

According to the translations
of hieroglyphs

found at numerous
ancient Mayan cities,

Kukulkan,
or the Great Feathered Serpent,

was the god who brought
knowledge to the Maya.

When we talk about
the Mayan gods, we know that

their most important god
to them was the Plumed Serpent,

or Kukulkan.

We see his image
all across the Mayan world.

We see it on great
carved images on stone.

Kukulkan is often depicted
as a plumed serpent,

some would say a dragon
or a snake with wings.

That leads some to believe
that Kukulkan may have

descended from the sky.

VON DÄNIKEN:
Now, the Maya
were living in the jungle.

The Maya knew
that the snake could not fly.

But this snake,
this serpent, could fly.

The oldest Maya histories tell

that Kukulkan was
the teacher of young Maya.

He had chosen eight boys
in the age between seven and 12,

and he teached these
eight boys in mathematics,

in astronomy,
in all kind of science.

And later, Kukulkan disappeared

with the promise that he will
return in the far away future.

These boys had become
the first priests

and the first teachers
again for the Maya.

NEWMAN:
Some of the legends state
that he appeared

along the Gulf Coast
on a raft of serpents,

and he spread his high knowledge

through that part
of the country.

Even today,
in some of the Mayan cultures,

he's revered as this great god
that brought all these

teachings and civilization
to their part of the world.

And yet, no one knows who he was
or where he came from.

NARRATOR:
Strangely, depictions
of a winged serpent god

can be found all around
the ancient world.

In India, the epic text
the Mahabharata

details the ancient account
of sky beings known as nagas.

Dating as far back as 2500 BC,

the half-human
and half-serpent entities

look nearly identical
to the Mayan Kukulkan.

And ancient Chinese mythology
from the fifth millennium BC

describe flying dragons
that are eerily similar

to the serpent god
depicted in Mesoamerica.

ANDREW COLLINS:
To the peoples
that preceded the Inca in Peru,

similar ideas were put upon
characters like Quetzalcoatl,

the Feathered Serpent,
who was this wisdom bringer,

sometimes said to have
come down from the sky world,

and once again,
bringing the rudiments

of civilization to the peoples
of Central America.

HAWKES:
There is a common thread
among many ancient cultures

of the Americas when it comes
to plumed serpent god.

The Cherokee, for example,
believe that time--

their calendar--
is based upon a rattlesnake

that they can see
in the night sky,

uh, perhaps a constellation.

So, the idea
of a serpent or a snake

or a dragon is common
among many ancient cultures,

and not just the Maya
or the Mesoamericans.

COPPENS:
The snake is
the giver of wisdom.

In so many cultures,

it gives the tools
of civilization--

working with metals,
working with other instruments,

certain knowledge,
certain aspects of life.

And that it really gives this
knowledge to certain people.

And that he places
these people in a position

whereby,
from their social position,

they are able to give this
to the rest of their culture.

All these cultures were
far apart from each other,

sometimes by thousands
and thousands of miles.

So, how is it possible
that all these societies

came up with not similar
but identical stories?

Was it really flying snakes

or gods that were snakes?

Of course not.

It was misunderstood technology.

Some types of vehicles were
witnessed that descended

from the sky out of which
people came, astronauts,

that instructed people
of different cultures

and different societies in
certain scientific disciplines.

This is not coincidence.

This is evidence
for ancient alien encounters

in the remote past.
There is no other way.

NARRATOR:
Can the ancient creation myths

and legends
of flying serpent gods

really be interpreted
as factual accounts

of extraterrestrial visitors,

as ancient astronaut
theorists contend?

And if so, might such
celestial travelers

have given the Maya
both the tools

and the knowledge to help
advance their civilization?

Perhaps further evidence
can be found by looking

at the Mayan's very profound
connection to the stars.

NARRATOR: In the Mexican state
of the Yucatán

lie the ruins of the ancient
Mayan city of Chichen Itza.

Here, in the tenth century,

the Maya built
what has become known

as the El Caracol observatory.

It has four doors on the bottom
that can be used

as observation points,

and it had a number
of windows up on top,

but most of those have fallen.

We only have two and a half
of those left.

But looking at those, we can see
that they're-they're definitely

looking at the Sun,
probably at the Moon.

There are hints
that they could've been

using them
for stars and planets.

They were tracking,
in particular, Venus,

uh, the phases
of the Moon, eclipses.

We know that
because we have books

that record these things.

NARRATOR:
Most researchers agree
that, from 250 to 900 AD,

the Mayans were the most
advanced astronomers

of their time.

But why were they observing
the cosmos so intently?

And what might
they have been looking for?

CALVIN:
The Maya were very sophisticated

in terms of what they watched
in the heavens

and in the calendars
that they kept track of.

The ability to understand
that Venus as morning star

and Venus as evening star
are the same star

was very rarely done
in the history of humankind.

They were oftentimes seen
as two different entities.

The idea that they could predict

the cycles of the heavens
reflects their sophistication.

VAN STONE:
The Maya were one of the only
ancient people that invented

a mathematical system
that we use,

which is called
place value and zero.

And using place value and zero
allows you to make

enormous calculations, numbers
that are very, very large.

They could probably
calculate things

thousands of years
into the past.

NARRATOR:
Did the Maya develop
such mastery of astronomy

and mathematics on their own?

Or is it possible, as ancient
astronaut theorists believe,

that the elite rulers
of the Maya had received help

from star travelers?

VON DÄNIKEN:
The Maya, for example,
had the knowledge

of the planet Venus
surrounding our solar system

in such a precise way

that, within 6,000 years,
the difference was a few hours.

Now, the Maya itself did not
live for 6,000 years.

So, they had no time--
6,000 years--

to observe if their calculation
concerning the Venus rotation

is correct or not,

because they had their
information from their gods.

COPPENS:
The Mayans could not possibly
have developed these systems

on their own because
it'd take thousands,

some of them tens of thousands
of years of observation.

So, it is clear that they were
given to them by aliens

out there who have made contact
with the Mayan people.

NARRATOR:
Perhaps the most intriguing
astronomical accomplishment

of the Maya concerns
their understanding

of the slow change
in the Earth's rotational axis

in space.

Called precession,
it's a process that takes

more than
26,000 years to complete.

But how could the Maya
have tracked events

over such an extreme time span?

Is it possible that,
like modern scientists,

the Maya had been
using knowledge

of the Earth's movement
in space to track time?

And if so, for what purpose?

The Maya developed these-these
timekeeping skills

by monitoring the movements
and predicting the movements

of not just the Sun
but the Moon,

Venus, in some cases Jupiter,

Mars, Saturn,
some of the constellations.

NARRATOR:
Though most people
consider the Egyptians

as the ultimate
pyramid builders,

ten times as many pyramids

were constructed
in Mesoamerica than in Egypt.

But why did the Maya build

so many of
their monumental structures

in absolute, precise alignment

with solar, lunar,
and stellar events?

Well, it seems as if
they were paranoid that,

if they did not do this,
something bad would happen.

They were on the fifth epoch,

and each of these earlier
epochs they believed

had ended in catastrophe.

And it seemed as if they had
to synchronize their rituals,

their events,
their games, their activities

with these specific celestial
events because, if they didn't,

something bad would happen, and
the epoch would end prematurely.

Mayans were absolutely convinced
that timing was crucial

because the stars were revealing

when the gods were gonna
come back, and obviously,

that meant the gods
were coming from the stars.

NARRATOR:
But where or from whom
did the ancient Maya

learn to accurately track time

by tracing the celestial
movements of our solar system

and the universe beyond?

And if ancient cultures
received wisdom

from extraterrestrial visitors,

as ancient astronaut
theorists suggest,

what other advanced knowledge
might they have shared?

When we talk about
this advanced knowledge

that the ancients said
they received from the gods,

to me, the most impressive
has to do with

the human body and medicine.

I mean, we have evidence
that they were performing

surgery in ancient Egypt.

Isn't that awesome?
Brain surgery, even.

And the ancient Egyptians
were very specific in stating

that this knowledge came to them
from the celestial deity Thoth.

CHILDRESS:
Yeah, but you know,

if I had a surgeon telling me
that he had been trained

-by some strange guy
with a bird's head...
-(laughter)

CHILDRESS:
...I might have second thoughts.

But crazy as it seems,
there is archaeological evidence

-that that's what
they were doing.
-Right.

NARRATOR:
Saqqara, Egypt.

Here, across from
this towering step pyramid,

lies the physician's tomb,

also known as
the tomb of Ankhmahor.

According to archaeologists,

it was built
more than 4,000 years ago

for one of the most
important officials

of the ancient
Egyptian civilization.

I'm taking you
inside the physician's tomb,

where you get a glimpse
of how they performed

complex medical and surgical
operations in ancient times.

But what's amazing
about this tomb

is that the physician Ankhmahor

lived 4,300 years ago.

And he performed very complex
surgical and medical operations.

We can see here a circumcision

2,000 years before the Bible.

And here, we see a scene
of reflexology.

We can see them muscling
and flexing the muscles.

Also, here,
an amazing operation,

a surgical operation
on the hands.

It is even suggested
that they may have had

brain surgery removing tumors.

But where did they get
the knowledge from?

Well, they say
that they got it from Thoth.

The god of wisdom and science,

who brought to them
all the knowledge from the gods.

NARRATOR:
Known for his abilities
in science, magic, and medicine,

Thoth was worshipped
for centuries

as the god
of wisdom and healing.

According to ancient myth,
this divine physician healed

the eye of the Egyptian god
Horus after his uncle Set

gouged it out
in an epic battle for power.

As a result, the Eye of Horus

became an important symbol
of restoration and good health.

But was Thoth
only a mythical deity,

as mainstream scholars believe?

Or might he have been something,

or someone,
who actually existed?

Ancient Egyptian medicine
was anything but primitive.

There are clear examples
of energetic medicine

that are beyond
our technological capabilities.

It seems as if these
technologies were brought in

and were given to them
as a complete package,

rather than something
that developed out of a society

that, before then,
had been extremely primitive.

And the Egyptians themselves

said that Thoth
was responsible for this.

NARRATOR:
But who or what was Thoth?

Might he have been
not a divine being,

but an alien visitor,

one possessing
advanced scientific knowledge?

In the Egyptian pantheon
of gods, Thoth is the one

with the head of an ibis,
but the body of a human being.

He was the Egyptian
father of medicine,

meaning he descended
from the sky,

and he gave them that knowledge.

NARRATOR:
Might Thoth have been
not a divine being,

as the Egyptians believed,
but an alien visitor

who possessed
advanced scientific knowledge?

One from whom the Egyptians
learned their ability to heal?

Perhaps the answer can be found
by examining the story

of one of the most
advanced surgeons

in the history of India.

Varanasi, India.

500 miles southeast of Delhi.

Located on the banks
of the Ganges,

Varanasi is one of
the oldest cities on Earth.

A city that,
according to legend,

was founded by the gods.

Long known as a center
of knowledge and learning,

Varanasi was once home
to an ancient physician

by the name of Sushruta,

whom many historians credit with
developing the art of surgery.

In ancient India,
the early physician

was a guy named Sushruta.

And he was a surgeon
and physician

who would do skin grafts,
cataract removals,

even early plastic surgery
on people.

So once again, we have someone

whose medical knowledge
seems so advanced for his time.

NARRATOR:
Sushruta is also considered
to be the first

practitioner of ayurveda,

one of the oldest known systems
of medicine in the world.

According to Hindu legend,
Sushruta is said to have

received this knowledge
from a god known as Dhanvantari.

Dhanvantari was a high-level
god, as we would know them,

who provided all the information

on this complete
healing modality

based on an understanding
of the physical

and subtle aspects of the body.

And it was passed through to
Indian culture in ancient times

and has been preserved
and expanded since then.

NARRATOR:
Though he is most often
depicted as having four arms

and holding medicinal herbs,

the god Dhanvantari was
also a shape-shifter.

According to legend,
during his journeys to Earth,

he could take on other forms,
including that of a bird.

Is it possible
that both Dhanvantari

and the half-man, half-bird
Egyptian god of healing, Thoth,

were connected in some way?

And if so, how?

HENRY:
Whether it's Dhanvantari
or Thoth,

we learn of these
extraterrestrial divinities

very often being portrayed
as bird-like beings

who delivered the knowledge
of ancient medicine to Earth.

This tells us that our original
knowledge of medicine,

human anatomy,
and how to heal the body

came from
extraterrestrial sources.

TSOUKALOS:
Sushutra was very clear
in stating

that he learned
this knowledge from the gods.

Who were the gods?
Extraterrestrials.

COPPENS:
Every culture will tell you
that the first surgeon,

that medicine, that healing was
a gift of the gods.

And that is
extraordinarily interesting

because it really shows
that the benefit of mankind

was accomplished
through the intervention

and the knowledge
of the deities.

NARRATOR:
How is it possible
that ancient cultures

separated by thousands of miles

shared similar stories
about a bird-like creature?

Could it be true, as ancient
astronaut theorists suggest,

that this extraordinary being
was actually

a highly-skilled
extraterrestrial

from another world?

And might he have traveled
across the globe

in an effort to teach
early humans the art of healing?

Perhaps more clues can
be found in a collection

of mysterious skulls
discovered in the ruins

of yet another
ancient civilization.

NARRATOR:
Northern Turkey. 2010.

While digging
at an archaeological site

in the Samsun Province,

archaeologists unearth
hundreds of skeletal remains

and ancient skulls dating back
more than 4,000 years.

Strangely, 14 of the skulls
have large holes,

providing what some scholars
believe is proof

that ancient man carried out
a remarkably sophisticated

type of brain surgery
called cranial trepanation.

NEIL MARTIN:
Trepanation is making
an opening into the skull.

We do it on a routine basis
in today's neurosurgery

to get exposure of the brain,

to remove a tumor
or remove a blood clot.

But it was done
in ancient times,

probably to repair
traumatic brain injuries

from accidents and war injuries.

Ancient cultures did this
all over the world;

uh, in Peru, in Europe,
in Asia and Africa.

They were literally
cutting holes in people's heads,

successfully
opening up their skulls,

removing skull material,
and then covering it up again.

And the patients were
surviving this

and living long lives.

NARRATOR:
Even with the delicate

and highly sophisticated tools
in use today,

neurosurgery is a complicated
and risky procedure,

one involving the body's most
complex organ, the human brain.

Today's neurosurgery provides us

with some remarkable
new digital tools.

We have what is the equivalent
now of a GPS system

that allows us to navigate
around the intracranial space.

We also are able to use
preoperative imaging now

to create an individual map

of the brain
and the brain function.

Those maps are critical
to do modern neurosurgery.

NARRATOR:
But how could an ancient
civilization have learned

such highly advanced methods
for operating on a human brain

hundreds of years
before such procedures

were even attempted
in other parts of the world?

Perhaps the answers can be found

by looking at a collection
of human skulls

discovered a century ago
near the Peruvian Andes.

Here, at the
San Diego Museum of Man,

is an extensive display
of pre-Columbian antiquities...

...including one of
the largest collections

of skulls in the world.

Dr. Tori Randall,
a chief paleoanthropologist,

has spent years studying the
ancient practice of trepanation.

TORI RANDALL:
These skulls
are about 1,000 years old.

They're Incan skulls,
and, um, they're special

because they have trepanations,

and you can see
from the hole right here

in the head they've had
skull surgery performed on them.

It seems likely that
a lot of these trepanations

were happening based on
warfare or healing

some type of traumatic injury.

They seem to have performed

the actual trepanations
in parts of the skull

where there wasn't a lot
of cranial musculature,

which would've made it
more difficult.

One thing that they used
were tumis,

which are usually made
out of bronze or copper,

and they're this little
curvilinear knife.

This is definitely a very
well planned out practice,

very successful,
and it happened well before

the advent of modern medicine,

and the fact that so many
individuals survived

meant that they were
very good at it.

It's remarkable that we see
evidence of healing and recovery

and survival in so many
of the archaeological specimens,

the skulls that show signs
of bone healing.

They must've had a good sense
of meticulous technique.

But it had to be a rough ordeal
for the individual patient.

NARRATOR:
According to
Dr. Randall's findings,

the Inca surgeons were also
skilled at avoiding

parts of the brain
that would've damaged

important nerves
and affected motor skills.

What this means is that
our ancient ancestors

had extraordinary information
about the brain.

It means that they had detailed
knowledge about human anatomy

way beyond what
we normally attribute to them.

It involves
an extraordinary amount

of scientific information.

All over the world,
we see skulls

with curious
small holes drilled in.

In these ancient cultures,
the practice of trepanation

was often said to have been
given to them by the gods.

So, it's possible that
extraterrestrial technology

had the ability
to see into the brain.

NARRATOR:
Could the ancient Incan
knowledge of brain surgery

have really come from
an extraterrestrial source?

And, if so,
might ancient alien visitors

have passed on
any other medical knowledge?

Ancient astronaut theorists
believe further evidence

can be found
just a few hundred miles

from where the trepanned
Incan skulls were found.

80 miles northwest
of the famous Nazca Lines

lies the small city
of Ica, Peru.

In 1966, a local physician
named Javier Cabrera

acquired several andesite stones
unearthed in the desert here.

Stones etched
with mysterious depictions

of ancient,
pre-Columbian people.

The Ica stones really give
a different perspective

on what the locals believed
history was all about.

And the Ica stones,
what they really spell out,

or indicate at least,

is that history is not
the way we know it.

Each of these stones
is inscribed

with unusual scenes:

people interacting
with what seems to be

prehistoric animals,

people looking
through telescopes.

Uh, some of the Ica stones
seem to be strange maps

of the world before ours.

And one of the things
that the Ica stones depicts

is ancient surgeries.

NARRATOR:
Also carved on dozens
of these stones

are images of brain surgeries,

cesarean sections,

and even tracheotomies.

But one stone is among
the most mysterious.

It is thought to depict
two surgeons with a heart

between them,
as they appear to be

reconnecting the blood vessels.

Could this really be evidence
that ancient man

was capable of transplanting
a human heart?

The Ica stones are one
of the very few examples

of our ancients
actually performing surgery.

CHILDRESS:
It seems impossible
that ancient people

were doing anything like this.

And therefore,
it would seem to be that this is

knowledge and medical knowledge

that's coming from
some advanced civilization

of extraterrestrials.

NARRATOR:
Is it possible, as ancient
astronaut theorists suggest,

that extraterrestrial beings

taught mankind
advanced medical procedures

like cranial trepanation

and heart transplants

in the distant past?

If so, might the lessons
have extended beyond medicine?

And could these visitors
have also been the masterminds

behind some of humanity's most
remarkable architectural feats?

You know, all over the world,
we have these massive,

megalithic structures that have
stood for thousands of years.

-Right.
-CHILDRESS: And some of them
are built out of stones

that weigh over 1,000 tons.

-Mm-hmm.
-CHILDRESS: And archaeologists
do not have

a good explanation for how
they moved and built them.

Right. And what's
even more bizarre

is that the same
construction style

exists over and over again
and globally.

And why were pyramids being
built by separate cultures?

Again, it seems like
there's really only one

logical explanation, and that is

all these ancient builders
had the same teachers.

-Right.
-HENRY: We covered this

in a 2017 episode called
"The Alien Architects."

NARRATOR: Krong Siem Reap,
Northwest Cambodia.

Just outside the magnificent
ruins of Angkor Wat

stands an ancient pyramid temple

known as Baksei Chamkrong.

While it is
a solid rock structure,

and therefore
cannot be carbon-dated,

mainstream archaeologists
suggest that it was constructed

in the tenth century AD.

9,000 miles away
in the Petén Basin of Guatemala

lay the ruins
of the Mayan city of Tikal.

Amongst the long-abandoned
structures

is a Temple of the Great Jaguar,

which is believed to date back
to the eighth century AD.

When you see pictures
of these two pyramids

on two different continents,

they're virtually identical.

It's as if the same architect
had designed both of these.

NARRATOR:
Although the Cambodian pyramid

is much smaller than
the pyramid in Guatemala,

the similarities between
the specific design features

are uncanny.

Both have an unusually
steep slope angle

that we don't see
in other pyramids.

They both have
a stepped formation.

There's a stairwell
going up the middle.

There's a domed area on the top.

There's a little door
that goes in,

and there's interior structure
that looks the same, as well.

You have the civilization
in Cambodia

and the civilization
in Mesoamerica.

There are so many parallels,
it's incredible.

It's unbelievable that scholars
haven't-- until now--

recognized those parallels.

Is it possible that they were
working off the same blueprint?

And if so, where did
that blueprint come from?

NARRATOR:
Could it be that these
seemingly unrelated sites,

located
thousands of miles apart,

share a common architect?

Cambodian lore attributes
the building of Angkor

to Preah Pisnokar,

a being of half-human,
half-divine origin.

Preah Pisnokar is the son of
the moon goddess and a mortal.

One day, she takes him
up to heaven,

where he meets
the great high god Indra,

who decides that the boy is
to be given special schooling.

At Indra's heaven,
he was given instructions.

Instructions about mathematics,
engineering, architecture,

all these different
scientific disciplines.

HENRY:
One very provocative way
of looking at this story

is that Indra's heaven
is not just a place

in the stars,
it is actually a spacecraft,

and that Preah Pisnokar
was instructed

by extraterrestrial beings
on this craft

in the art of temple making.

NARRATOR:
According to
ancient astronaut theorists,

an interesting parallel exists

between the Mayan
and Cambodian stories.

In the Maya manuscripts,

the god Kukulcan is responsible
for their temple architecture.

He was also credited
with educating humans

on mathematics,
engineering, and science--

the same teachings
attributed to Pisnokar.

VON DÄNIKEN:
Kukulkan is supposed to have
descended from a star.

He's represented
as the feathered serpent,

but also, he's represented,

he's a big being
with the helmet,

a helmet has rays on it,

and he's sitting on
a half-open sort of egg.

He was the teacher, according
to Central American mythology.

He definitely
is an extraterrestrial.

NARRATOR:
Could these two otherworldly
architects be one and the same?

And if so, does further evidence

of a master builder exist

in other parts
of the world as well?

WILLIAM BRAMLEY:
In Mesoamerica,
we have the gods associated

with the construction
of the pyramids over there.

This reflects
the same kind of entity

that the Mesopotamians reported,

that the Egyptians reported
as being the architect

that designed the cities,
that designed these structures.

So, you have the same pattern

and the same claim
happening over and over again

over a span
of at least 7,000 years,

where it's the same type of god

planning and directing
the construction

of these types
of similar buildings.

FREDDY SILVA:
We seem to be talking about
the same architect that

seems to be crossing different
continents at different times.

It's interesting that,
when you start looking

at all of these structures

covering many
thousands of years,

you begin to see that
there's a relationship.

NARRATOR:
Pyramids are found
by the hundreds

in nearly every region
of the world,

including Central America,
Mesopotamia, Egypt,

China, and even Antarctica.

And many cultures'
most sacred structures

appear remarkably alike.

It is striking that you can
travel around the planet,

and you can find structures
that are similar in nature.

For example, in China,
the Xian altar of heaven,

or the stone circle
above Sacsayhuaman in Peru.

WILCOCK:
All over the planet,
you see tall,

megalithic architecture.

You see cyclopean
stone structures as well.

A bunch of
primitive people somehow

get motivated all over the world
to haul around

these gigantic blocks of stone
that could be 20 tons, 100 tons.

And everybody around the world

seemed to be doing
the same thing.

CASSARO: There is a kind
of a master blueprint

that we see in the architecture,

and it's not in just one
or two or three civilizations,

it's in all the civilizations,

China, India,
South America, it's there.

BRAMLEY:
Archeologists tell us, well,

there was no connection
at those times.

There had to be something.

That's too much
of a coincidence.

NARRATOR: Are the curious
parallels between structures

seen throughout the world
truly random,

or do they point to a shared
source of advanced knowledge?

Knowledge of
an extraterrestrial origin?

Ancient astronaut theorists
say yes,

and they suggest
there's even a written archive

of this otherworldly
instruction in India.

Nowhere else on Earth will you
find more ancient evidence

of extraterrestrial visitation
than in ancient India.

I mean, the Vedic texts
are filled with stories

of beings descending
from the sky

and imparting knowledge
like astronomy,

building techniques,
healing medicine, you name it.

Yeah, they even speak about
the beginning of the universe

in terms that are
strikingly similar to the way

modern scientists
speak about the Big Bang.

Yeah, I mean,
how would you even have

conceived of something
like this 3,000 years ago,

unless you had teachers?

NARRATOR:
Chandigarh, India.

This thriving city at the foot
of the towering Himalayas

is the capital
of India's Punjab state.

It was in this region
of northwest India that scholars

believe a series of
religious texts called the Vedas

were compiled from
oral stories that had been

passed down for centuries.

SUBHASH KAK:
The Vedas, according to
the Indian tradition itself,

were put together
into the final form

about 5,000 years ago.

But these hymns
had been circulating

in the Indian region
for a long time.

We do know that
not a single letter

of the four Vedas has changed,

unlike any other text
in the world.

So, there was the belief
that the text of the Vedas

should not be tampered with

because they represent
the entire cosmos.

YOUNG:
In the Hindu lore, the Vedas
are not of earthly origin.

They are from
mysterious sources,

and they are from before time.

They are from
before human history,

and are said to be
from before even the gods.

Major figures in modern science

were ardent students
of the Vedas.

Bohrs and Schrödinger
read arduously.

Oppenheimer could read it
in Sanskrit.

Even Einstein and Tesla
were known to have read it.

It had a profound influence
on modern thinking.

NARRATOR:
Inside these ancient tomes

are Hinduism's first stories
of creation.

In one Vedic text,
called the Rigveda,

creation was said to have begun
suddenly and explosively

from an infinitesimal point
of pure energy.

TSOUKALOS:
It describes
this strange cosmic egg

that begins as a single,
concentrated point,

and everything expanded

from this single concentrated
point to form the universe.

Now, if you look at this
from a modern perspective,

this actually reflects modern
science's Big Bang theory,

where the universe began
as a singularity

and it expanded to form the
universe as we know it today.

To me, the similarities
are astounding.

WILCOCK:
It's not like this idea
was just banging around

for anybody to see.

It was a concept
that our scientists didn't start

to embrace
until the 20th century.

And yet, it was already there
in these texts

that are at least 3,000 years
old, if not much older.

KAK:
What is remarkable in the Vedas
is that they were able

to come to an understanding,

which is very similar
to the understanding

that modern science has reached

through the intuitions of our
great contemporary scientists.

NARRATOR:
Is it really possible
that the Hindu creation story

from the Rigveda is evidence

that people living
thousands of years ago

may have had knowledge
of the precise

scientific process involved
in the creation of the universe?

A process modern scientists
are only just

beginning to understand?

Ancient astronaut theorists
say yes,

and believe that further proof
can be found

in another early creation story,

the Hebrew Bible's
Book of Genesis.

JOHN BRANDENBURG:
One of the first phrases in
Genesis, "Let there be light."

And this is like the moment
of the Big Bang.

The whole universe began
effectively as light, as energy.

We're speaking
of moments of existence

that humans would experience
just as a great flash of light.

And in that sense,
the story of Genesis

in the Bible
and science converge.

YOUNG:
We have, in this verse,

the description
of the very first light.

The light out of which
all things came.

The light which led, finally, to
matter, to things of substance,

to the universe itself.

In current scientific theory,

fractions of a second after
the Big Bang,

the Higgs field
transformed what had been

particles of light into mass.

Matter into creation itself.

We have very strong parallels
with the scriptures.

First, light, and then, matter.

NARRATOR:
Similar descriptions
of the universe beginning

from a single point of light

can be found in cultures
throughout the ancient world,

from Egypt to China
and to the American Southwest.

YOUNG:
In the Egyptian
creation narrative,

the very first god was Atum.

He emerged from the darkness
to create Egyptian civilization.

The Sumerian,
the Egyptian, the Norse.

Something emerges
out of darkness.

Order emerges out of chaos.

Wh-Where there was no form,
form begins.

There is something about
these stories that is beyond

any one of them that seems
to allude to a greater reality.

NARRATOR:
But how is it that the ancient
world's most sacred texts

all describe creation
in much the same way

as our current
scientific theory?

And where did our ancestors
get this seemingly

advanced understanding
of the origins of the universe?

Ancient astronaut theorists
believe the answers may lie

in the stories of the man
who compiled the Vedic texts

in written form, a mysterious
sage named Veda Vyasa.

In the Hindu mythologies,
Vyasa is believed

to be a reincarnation
of the god Vishnu,

and that Vishnu specifically
took on a human embodiment

to be able to write down
these classic texts.

This sage, Vyasa,
who is the author

of the Vedas,
was said to be an immortal.

And, ultimately,
one of the gods himself.

TSOUKALOS:
Some have suggested
that Vyasa came to Earth

to record and impart
this Vedic knowledge to mankind.

Now, could it be possible
that he was in fact

an extraterrestrial who came
here with the direct mission

to bring knowledge to mankind

and guide them
in their understanding

of science and physics?

NARRATOR:
Could Veda Vyasa really
have been an extraterrestrial?

And might he have
educated mankind

about the workings of
the universe thousands of years

before modern science
began its quest for answers?

And if so, why?

Ancient astronaut theorists
believe further evidence

can be found in the stories
of a Greek scientist

2,500 years ahead of his time.

NARRATOR:
The Thracian coast, Greece.

At the northern end
of the Aegean Sea

lie the ruins
of an ancient metropolis.

2,500 years ago,

Abdera was a thriving seaport
and trading center.

It was a wealthy hub
of commerce between empires,

and the home of one of history's
greatest thinkers, Democritus.

Democritus was
a Greek philosopher

in the fifth century
before the Common Era.

He was not just a philosopher,
but a scientific theorist.

In fact,
his great gifts have led him

to be revered
as the father of modern science.

NARRATOR:
Democritus was born
to a wealthy family

and educated by Persian magi,

learned priests who were said
to control the fates.

It was believed that
he was trained by the magi,

these priests of the east,

and that he also traveled
to Egypt and to Babylon

and studied
with the secret masters

who had these
ancient wisdom teachings

hidden in their lineage.

RICHARD RADER:
Democritus traveled quite a bit.

And through his travels,
learned, uh, quite a lot.

Traveling east through what
we call the ancient Near East,

studying with the magi,

and studying with Chaldeans
who were known

for their magical,
mysterious learnings

and their magical,
mysterious knowledge, as well.

NARRATOR:
Through his travels and
his interactions with people

said to have
"mysterious knowledge,"

the young philosopher
and mathematician came up with

a radical theory concerning
all matter in the universe.

Democritus theorized
that everything--

people, plants, stone and sun--

were made of the same stuff,

tiny particles
he called "atomos."

SABINA MAGLIOCCO:
He developed an early version
of the atomic theory.

It is an early theory
of everything in the world being

made up of these
very, very small,

uh, invisible particles, which
Democritus then called atoms.

ROBERT CARGILL:
Democritus argued that there's
a fundamental building block.

Even though we couldn't
see them, that was the theory.

The philosophical theory
that was in ancient Greece.

This is, this is
long before science.

MICHAEL DENNIN:
When Democritus
was talking about atoms,

it's amazing how close
he got to what we really know.

What he was motivated by
was the idea that,

if you cut something up,

the pieces still have
the same properties.

And so, he just did
the thought experiment, "Well,

"if I keep cutting it smaller,

"then eventually, I'll have
the smallest possible piece,

and that's the atom."

And, that's what gives it
its properties.

That's basically
our picture of matter now,

that smallest piece
is the protons, neutrons,

and the electron
that make up the atom.

NARRATOR:
What Democritus articulated
2,500 years ago

is remarkably similar to today's
Standard Model of physics,

the basis of our search for the
Higgs boson, or God particle.

But how could Democritus
have known about the atom

and the forces that govern it?

Could it be that Democritus
had access to advanced

and perhaps even
extraterrestrial information

about the quantum realm?

Some ancient astronaut theorists
believe that the answer may lie

in an even more radical
suggestion

Democritus made
about the cosmos.

TSOUKALOS:
In his writings, Democritus
proposed that there are

many worlds and that these
worlds even sustained life.

Now, could it be that
by other worlds

he was maybe even referring
to parallel universes?

DENNIN:
As we fast forward
from Democritus

to the more current era,

where the idea of parallel
universes have really taken off

is the multi-universe view,

where all possible universes
has occurred.

This is very similar
to Democritus' idea

of making
all possible universes.

But now they're very much
next to each other,

parallel in space
as well as occurring in time.

NARRATOR:
Some cosmologists today believe
our universe is one of many,

and that the God particle

could lead us to discovering
these other universes.

Is it possible that Democritus

had knowledge of this
2,500 years ago?

And might that information
have come to him not only from

a different world, but perhaps
a different universe?

MARTELL:
Democritus claimed
to communicate

with what he thought
were parallel worlds.

He sometimes would exercise
his energy by going into places

of the dead and would receive
what he thought were voices

and information
which would predict the future.

TSOUKALOS:
Some accounts of Democritus
describe him as having access

to magical powers
with which he could control

the weather and predict
natural disasters.

He also allegedly
communicated with what

he referred to as other worlds.

And he described images
and voices

that came to him giving him
all sorts of information.

WILCOCK:
Is it possible
that the priests of the magi,

the priests of the
Egyptian mystery schools,

and the priests of Babylon
taught him some form

of ancient practice
that allows the human body

to become an instrument
to connect directly

on a telepathic level
with extraterrestrial beings?

RABBI ARIEL BAR TZADOK:
The more that we draw forth
in science,

we're going to discover
the truths of the past

that have long
been hidden from us.

Yes, mankind has been directed
from the beginning.

NARRATOR:
But did Democritus
truly understand atomic theory

and the concept
of multiple universes

all the way back
in the fifth century BC?

Or is it possible, as some
ancient astronaut theorists

suggest, that he was simply
documenting information

passed on to him
by more advanced beings?

Perhaps further clues
of an otherworldly influence

on our modern world can be found

by examining
the extraordinary achievements

of one of the 20th century's
greatest minds.

You know, we've been talking
about ancient people

being taught
by extraterrestrials

for thousands of years,

but what's so fascinating
is that, also in modern times,

there seem to be these bursts
of productivity out of nowhere.

Yeah, and there are
these stories

of people receiving
special knowledge

or having, uh,
certain revelation that led

to a new discovery.

And a lot of this
has to do with meditation.

And we have examples
of this, like with Steve Jobs

or even Nikola Tesla,

and Albert Einstein would have
these sudden epiphanies.

Right, so you have to ask
the question,

are certain people
receiving information

from extraterrestrials?
But in a different way

than our ancestors
did thousands of years ago?

NARRATOR:
Principe island.

140 miles off the west coast
of Africa.

May 29, 1919.

During a rare
total solar eclipse,

astrophysicist
Arthur Eddington

photographs the deflection
of starlight

around the darkened sun

to try and prove
Albert Einstein's much-disputed

theory of general relativity.

DENNIN:
The theory of
general relativity says light

will bend in
a gravitational field.

So, when the eclipse
blocks out the sun,

the stars close to the sun
can now be seen.

And if the light bends,

they'll be in
a slightly different position.

Einstein was exactly right.

The light bent just as much
as he predicted it would bend.

Newspapers around
the world had headlines

saying Einstein's theory
was vindicated.

And in fact, space and time
were a lot stranger

than we had imagined.

NARRATOR:
In his lifetime, Albert Einstein
was a worldwide celebrity,

whose name personified
the word genius.

His groundbreaking discoveries

redefined Isaac Newton's
laws of physics and created

a completely new understanding
of how the universe works.

HOOPER:
Before Einstein,
physicists viewed space and time

as simple, unchanging,
static ideas

that objects existed in
and that events took place in.

According to Einstein,
the existence of matter

and energy in space
can change its shape.

It can warp time.
It can distort it.

And his theory of relativity

totally upended
everything we thought about

these most fundamental
of physical concepts.

TSOUKALOS:
Before his theory of relativity,

our understanding
of space was equivalent

to a time when we believed
the Earth was flat, essentially.

Einstein's theory
of relativity expanded

our understanding
of the universe on that level.

DENNIN:
Albert Einstein was a genius.

And his genius was looking
at this stuff,

and just thinking about it from
a completely different angle.

And that's what
really allowed him to make

huge progress in areas
that other people

hadn't been able to make
up to that point.

NARRATOR:
But what was the origin

of Einstein's revolutionary
scientific breakthroughs?

Was it a product
of his innate gifts?

Or might it have come
from somewhere else?

Albert Einstein was born on
March 14, 1879 in Ulm, Germany.

As a child, he displayed
an unusual interest

in the less tangible forces
of the world.

His father, when he was ill
one time, showed him a compass.

And Einstein,
as a child, was so amazed.

Here there was
this invisible force

that caused the compass needle
to point,

and that sparked
his imagination.

What is that?
How does that happen?

So, this is sort of
the beginning

of things that made him
realize that what we saw

in the world had sort of
a mysterious connection.

NARRATOR:
This curiosity led young
Einstein to a physics degree

from the Swiss National
Polytechnic in Zurich.

It was during this time,
that something remarkable

happened to Albert Einstein.

Something,
which suggests that Einstein

was communicating
with a realm outside our galaxy.

A realm that some
ancient astronaut theorists

believe may be designed
by extraterrestrials.

DOC BARHAM:
Albert Einstein was very adept
in putting himself

into altered states
of consciousness

through what he called
his thought experiments,

which were a kind of, uh,

three-dimensional
metaphorical reverie.

This was the kind of thing
of putting himself into a place

that most of us won't go,
and exploring that space...

...so that he could receive
very, very novel and new ideas.

Thought experiments
enable you to

visually or geometrically
approach a problem

that maybe mathematically
might be difficult.

For example,
Einstein liked to think about

what it would be like
from a first-person perspective

sitting on a beam of light
moving through space.

What would you see
from that perspective?

He had all sorts
of-of different visual ways

of thinking about physics.

NARRATOR:
In 1905, after immersing himself
in these thought experiments,

Einstein authored four papers
that would redefine

mankind's perception of
the universe in multiple ways.

HOOPER:
Included in that year,
was a paper, which, essentially,

proved that atoms were real
entities that really existed.

That was a very controversial
idea at the time.

In that year,
he published a paper

on what's called
the photoelectric effect.

Everybody believed
that light was a wave.

Einstein, he said, "No, light
really acts like a particle,

and it comes
in little discreet packets."

These particles of light
eventually led Einstein

to the notion of the stimulated
emissions, so we have lasers.

We use lasers for everything
from, uh, eye surgery

to cutting metals.

One of his papers
included the equation E=mc^2.

It said you could create mass,
you could destroy mass,

and it gave us an idea
of how mass

might come into existence
in the first place.

DENNIN:
Einstein showed that mass
can be converted

into useful kinetic energy.

And so, this is the basis
of the energy we get

out of nuclear fission
and nuclear fusion.

HOOPER:
And another paper
he published that year

became the beginning
of his theory of relativity.

This was an amazing array
of things to do

for scientists
in an entire career.

The fact that Einstein
did it all in one year

is virtually miraculous.

BARHAM:
To get a sense of how dramatic
those papers were,

imagine if someone
came up to you and said,

"Everything that you know
about space

and time and matter
and energy is wrong."

And then they would give you all
the math and all the explanation

of why everything
that you know is totally wrong.

It's often referred to
as the annus mirabilis papers,

which basically means the
miracle year or wonderful year.

NARRATOR:
What was the source behind
Einstein's incredible insight

about the laws of physics?

Is it possible, as ancient
astronaut theorists contend,

that Einstein's ability to enter
altered states of consciousness

connected him to
an extraterrestrial world?

One that allowed him
to access information

about the inner workings
of the universe?

CHILDRESS:
Einstein said that,
when he first developed

the concept of relativity,

it was like a storm
going off in his head.

And this would show that
he had a different kind

of a brain,
and his brain was wired

in a different way
than normal human beings.

MARTELL:
Albert Einstein was known
to spend hours on end

sitting in a chair,
formulating an idea

or a thought to its inception.

Now, was he tapping
into some type

of advanced field of knowledge?

It's very possible Einstein used

this type of technology
to a certain level.

COPPENS:
When we look at history and
we look at the people themselves

who are the-the giants
on whose shoulders we stand,

what they are saying is that
this information wasn't theirs,

but that something beyond them,
something which was larger,

something which was divine,

allowed them to receive
this information

and give it to the world.

All the knowledge
of the universe exists

in the cosmos.

And maybe Einstein was able
to access that knowledge.

That he was more in tune
with this what I would

even refer to
as a metaphysical world.

That he had this direct access.

He didn't know how he did this,

but his being knew it,
his essence.

That through his being,
he was able to unlock

the secret of the universe.

NARRATOR:
Did Albert Einstein's use
of thought experiments

grant him access
to an extraterrestrial realm,

as some ancient astronaut
theorists believe?

If so, where might
this field of knowledge exist?

Perhaps answers
can be found in Asia,

within the pages
of an ancient Hindu text.

You know,

from ancient Hinduism
known as the Akashic record.

And it's this idea that all
the knowledge of the universe

is there for someone
who knows how to tap into it.

Yeah, it's like a metaphysical
version of the cloud,

and this is really interesting
in light of

people claiming to get
information during meditation.

Maybe this is how they access
this Akashic record.

Right, and if this is true
and the Akashic record exists,

my question is
did the extraterrestrials

teach some of our ancestors
how to access this?

Now, we actually covered
this on an early episode

of Ancient Aliens in 2013
named "The Einstein Factor."

NARRATOR:
Angkor, Cambodia.

Here in the northwestern jungle

stands the largest Hindu temple
in the world, Angkor Wat.

Built in the 12th century,

the temple's design is meant
to represent Mount Meru,

a mythical mountain that exists
in the cosmos that the Hindu

believed was the center
of the metaphysical universe.

Numerous stone carvings
adorn the walls of the temple,

depicting scenes from
the Hindu epic the Mahabharata.

Within the pages of this
ancient text of Hindu mythology,

there is a description
of a non-physical plane

of existence in the universe
called the Akashic record.

BARHAM:
Akasha is actually
a Sanskrit word,

and the Akashic record
is a term,

uh, that basically,
the idea behind it is that

all of the information
in the universe is pre-existing,

and an individual can actually
tap into that information.

COPPENS:
Our ancestors began
to look more into this,

and the Akashic records
came about.

Basically, the notion is this,
that somehow,

all the information,
not just from mankind,

but everywhere in the universe,
is somehow accessible.

Some cultures actually say
that this information

really is a gift of the gods,
that they left this

somehow behind for us
to use at our own will.

And we are able to download
this information

from this other realm,
this hall of records,

whatever you want to call it.

An interesting thing
to correlate

with the Akashic Record might
be from Star Wars-- the Force.

Some type of cosmic energy
that's omnipresent,

and we have the ability
to tap into this.

This is something very new
in our own sciences,

trying to discover
and understand

this field of knowledge.

NARRATOR:
Is it possible that
Albert Einstein's method

of meditation, which he called
his thought experiments,

was actually connecting him
to the Akashic record?

Could the Akashic record
be the source of inspiration

behind the world's geniuses?

If so, how could
such a metaphysical

plane of knowledge exist?

Perhaps the answer can be found

in one of Albert Einstein's
many theories.

In 1935,
Albert Einstein published

a paper describing
quantum entanglement.

It theorized that, if a particle
is split into two parts,

both remain linked
to one another,

even when separated
over vast distances.

The experiments showed that
two particles separated

in space and time
demonstrated a connectivity.

If you changed the spin
of one particle,

the other particle
would actually

change its spin as well.

In other words,
if something happens to one,

the other responds

in the same or an equal
and opposite manner.

And this occurs instantaneously.

So, it's a form of
instantaneous communication.

It's what Einstein
referred to as

spooky communication
at a distance.

What we have
to remind ourselves is that

we are made of stardust.

Our whole body
consists of material

that has been here since
before the beginning of time.

And these particles
that we consist of,

each and every particle contain
the knowledge of the universe.

COLLINS:
It's not only real,
but it can explain to us

so much weirdness in this world,

which we still don't understand
and call paranormal.

And this would include the idea
of telepathy and remote viewing.

NARRATOR:
Remote viewing is the practice
of using deep concentration

to visualize locations or
objects beyond sight and sound.

Starting in the 1970s,

the United States
initiated a program

called Project Stargate
to train individuals...

...to access
a higher realm of knowledge.

Using controlled
scientific settings,

remote viewers attempted
to sense unknown targets

and then record
their impressions on paper.

COLLINS:
The U.S. government have funded

remote viewing programs,
as did the Soviets,

as have various other
governments around the world.

Remote viewing exercises
have taken place

for people to try and observe
that which is on the Moon...

...on Mars.

And these are proper scientific
programs, with accuracy.

BARHAM:
The U.S. military
remote viewing program

has scientific protocols
for how to do this.

There are really specific
techniques where an individual

can put out
a question or a query.

And if they are in that
altered state of consciousness,

they will receive information.

If you read the biographies
of famous geniuses

and things like that,
each one of them has

their own description
for how to do this.

MARTELL:
Why would the government
spend millions of dollars

in all these
advanced studies in areas like

remote viewing unless there is
some type of valid need

to experiment with
these types of technology?

If we think about the fact
that we're all pretty much

made of the same elements
in the universe,

is there maybe some
atomic level of energy

that allows us
to communicate and tap into

knowledge that we're now
starting to rediscover?

NARRATOR:
Is it possible
that remote viewers

were attempting to replicate
the meditative techniques

behind Albert Einstein's
thought experiments?

Can this explain
how remote viewers

might possess the capability to
transcend both sight and sound?

Could Einstein's thought
experiments be the inspiration

behind the incredible
breakthroughs of Socrates,

Nikola Tesla, and other geniuses
throughout history?

All these different geniuses--
Ramanujan, Tesla, Socrates--

according to their own diaries

always said that they were
in communication

with some type
of otherworldly entities.

So were all these people
just crazy or is it possible

that the universe is far more
complex than we think?

NARRATOR:
Is it possible
that mankind's greatest minds

had the ability to access
a realm of knowledge

left behind
by otherworldly beings?

Could this be evidence
that the Akashic record

actually exists, just as
the ancient Hindu believed?

And if a select few
have the power

to tap into this alien realm,

does this mean that
the extraterrestrials

who created it continue
to shape human knowledge?

Personally,
I think the ultimate goal

of the extraterrestrials having
assisted us all this time is

for us, one day,
to reach other planets.

To become a interstellar
civilization ourselves.

Yeah, it's like
they want us to be like them

and have knowledge and science
and be able to go to the stars

and be, you know,
an interstellar civilization.

They're teaching us
so we can become the teachers.

Exactly.

HENRY: We will fan out,
migrate into other worlds,

and we'll do exactly
for these other worlds

what they've done for us.

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