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NARRATOR:
Reports of UFO sightings
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come from all corners
of the globe.
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I was taken on board
a 200-foot-diameter spacecraft
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in the Mojave Desert
and given...
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WOMAN: I saw two great big,
real bright lights
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hanging up in the air.
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NARRATOR: Most believe
these alien encounters
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are a modern phenomenon,
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but the fact is, they have been
reported for thousands of years.
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MICHAEL CREMO: Practically
every human civilization
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have been in touch with
extraterrestrial beings.
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In India, Israel.
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The Mayans and the Aztecs.
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LINDA HOWE: The idea that there
was one or more non-human groups
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inspiring us is the truth.
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NARRATOR: Millions of people
around the world
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believe we have been
visited in the past
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by extraterrestrial beings.
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But what if it were true?
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Did ancient aliens really
help to shape our history?
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And if so,
where did they come from?
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And just who were the visitors?
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(wind whistling)
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NARRATOR:
Roswell, New Mexico.
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This sleepy town
in America's Southwest
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was once best known for
its large military air base.
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But that changed in 1947...
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when a local rancher reported
that a spaceship
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crashed on his property.
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Several weeks later, the
U.S. Army issued a press release
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confirming the existence
of an alien craft.
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The next day,
the military changed its story
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and announced that what they had
found was a weather balloon.
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These conflicting reports sent
shock waves around the world,
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and the name "Roswell"
became a pop culture code word
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that forever links
extraterrestrial visitation
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with enduring mystery.
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NICK POPE: Speculation about
why the Roswell crash
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would be covered up
is difficult to pin down.
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Some people talk about this
in terms of information
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that would be shattering
to our worldview.
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STEVEN GREER:
Almost everyone's heard about
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the so-called Roswell event.
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And one of the real implications
of disclosure is that
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some of our most cherished myths
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about the origins of
the human race and our history
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and archeology
would fall apart.
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GEORGE NOORY: Something happened
at Roswell, New Mexico
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a long time ago.
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People want the truth.
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I think there's something
in the human being itself
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that is striving, that is hungry
for this knowledge,
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in order to answer questions
about our own existence.
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NARRATOR: Today,
public opinion polls indicate
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more than half the world's
population believes
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aliens have either come here in
the past or are coming here now.
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But what is it exactly
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that makes
so many people believe?
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I do think
looking upward makes sense.
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The universe is large.
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There are things out there
we do not understand.
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There is probably
intelligent life somewhere.
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ROBERT BAUVAL: People tend to
forget that we're on a planet
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that's four and a half
billion years old.
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The presence of our civilization
in that vast scale of time...
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I mean, if I click my finger,
it wouldn't even be fast enough
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to say this is the time
of our civilization.
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And to think
that we're the only ones
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in this vast period of time,
to me, is absurd.
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SARA SEAGER:
Our galaxy, the Milky Way,
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has over 100 billion stars.
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And in our universe,
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we think there are more than
100 billion galaxies.
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So if every star had a planet
with intelligent life,
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how many alien civilizations
would we have?
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ERICH VON DANIKEN: If you take
us as the crown of creation,
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or the top of evolution,
we look at ourselves
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as the greatest, the biggest.
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We say, how incredible, uh,
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We forgot to learn modesty.
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JENNIFER HELDMANN:
Each step that we take makes us
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a little bit less special.
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We used to think that we were
the center of the universe,
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as humans, and then we realized,
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oh, all right,
well, that's not true.
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And... But we're the center
of the galaxy, and, like,
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well, all right, so we're, like,
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two-thirds of the way
out in a spiral arm.
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And then, well, at least our
sun, you know, with this... No.
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The sun is actually
in the middle,
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and the Earth goes around it.
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So Earth isn't even the center
of that system, and...
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So, the more that we learn,
we sort of, you know...
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It's a very humbling science.
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NARRATOR: When man first
landed on the moon,
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our perspective on the universe
changed forever.
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(over radio): Houston, uh,
the Eagle has landed.
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BUZZ ALDRIN:
We aliens...
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who happened to...
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go down the ladder
on July 20, 1969--
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we aliens...
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were certainly
part of a magnificent race.
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I just don't think people have
a grasp for what energy it takes
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to go from one star to another.
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NARRATOR: This historic event
raised the question:
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if humans can successfully
navigate in space
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and explore other worlds,
why couldn't beings
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from other parts of the universe
have done the same?
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And might they have already
come to Earth
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hundreds, or perhaps,
thousands of years ago?
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VON DANIKEN: I think human past
is more fantastic
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than we all believe.
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I have come to the idea
that maybe extraterrestrials
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were on this planet.
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NARRATOR:
Cahuachi, Peru.
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2,000 years ago, this ancient
settlement served as
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the religious and cultural
capital of the Nazca people.
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But sometime around 500 AD,
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the Nazca
mysteriously disappeared,
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leaving Cahuachi
to fall into disarray.
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1,400 years later, in 1910,
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anthropologist Ales Hrdlicka
came to Cahuachi
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to study the ancient
Nazca civilization.
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During a dig, he unearthed
some of the most surprising
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and shocking artifacts
he had ever seen.
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They were skulls...
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with enormous,
elongated craniums.
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Where did they come from?
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How did they get there?
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And were they human?
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CHILDRESS: In Peru, we find
these weird, elongated skulls.
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And they're bizarre-looking.
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I mean, and-and these people
look like aliens.
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ROBERT SCHOCH:
One may say, okay, aliens.
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But another aspect
that we have to consider
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is that skull
and cranial deformation,
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forming elongated heads
is a practice that's known
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throughout much of
the ancient world.
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NARRATOR: In 1870,
the process of skull deformation
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was well chronicled by
a German botanist and explorer
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named Georg Schweinfurth.
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While exploring
the African Congo,
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he came in contact with a tribe
called the Mangbetu.
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They routinely performed
a ritual of cranial binding
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that allowed them to physically
alter the shape of human skulls.
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CHILDRESS:
They took infants' skulls
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and compressed them
and bound them.
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And they forced the cranium out
and elongate it.
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And in many cases,
they doubled the size.
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SCHOCH:
And a big question is
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why was this being done?
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It may have been a way to
distinguish the elite, perhaps,
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from the everyday people.
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May have been a social
stratification type of issue.
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Something that also appeals
to me is, that may have been
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a way to express physically
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and maybe try
to achieve physically
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greater levels of consciousness
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or higher levels
of mental ability.
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TSOUKALOS:
In my opinion, they did this
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in order to mimic the gods.
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And those gods
were physical beings,
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because if they were
just a figment
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of our ancestors' imagination,
I don't think
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that's a compelling enough
reason to expose your children
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to such a ritual
to achieve that type of look.
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And in my opinion,
these people were misinterpreted
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flesh-and-blood space travelers.
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SCHOCH: Some people have
suggested aliens had
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elongated skulls,
and apparently,
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ancient peoples
are mimicking those skulls.
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The old saying is that
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imitation is the sincerest form
of flattery.
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NARRATOR: Although there have
been many images
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that attempt to depict what
aliens might actually look like,
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one in particular has come to
dominate the public perception.
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It, too, features
an elongated cranium,
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and is associated with
an extraterrestrial race
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that many refer to as the grays.
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POPE:
In terms of entities,
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one very common description
are the so-called grays--
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three and a half, four feet
tall, essentially humanoid,
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but, uh, very spindly with
disproportionately large heads
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and huge, black
almond-shaped eyes.
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NARRATOR: But would someone
in a primitive society
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really want to replicate this
look and deform their skull?
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Some archeologists have
a different perspective.
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They point to
artistic self-expression
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as an explanation
of these customs.
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There are all kinds of people
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that either worship the body
or use the body as art,
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be it a tattoo or a piercing
of some sort, or tribes that,
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that put things in their ears
or on their lips to try to,
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to try to grow
parts of their body.
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Some societies, we know,
practiced binding
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parts of the body--
feet or heads--
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and tried to make
certain shapes,
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and this was done
for whatever reason.
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We know today
that this isn't usually
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the most healthy thing to do,
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but it doesn't mean
people don't do it.
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People are always trying
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to change their body to make it
look a certain way.
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NARRATOR: Whatever the
explanation may be
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for these rituals,
they are not just found
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in Peru and the African Congo.
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Skull deformation
is a global phenomenon.
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CHILDRESS:
What's really strange is that
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this is found
all over the world.
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And this is something
that archaeologists
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cannot easily explain,
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because, for people
on remote islands,
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for people in South America
or Malta or in Africa
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to suddenly, independently
do this cranial deformation
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like this seems incredible.
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I mean, this is something
that had to be learned,
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something that was
taught to them.
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SCHOCH: We seem to have
basic similarities,
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as if there was one civilization
or at least one type of culture
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that was influencing people
around the world.
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I find it more and more
difficult to believe
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what I was taught
as an undergraduate--
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that all these different
cultures just coincidentally
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came up with the same concepts
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independently of each other.
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NARRATOR: Is it possible
that individual societies
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around the world were influenced
by similar events?
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And were they imitating
real beings
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who visited from other planets?
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00:14:08,473 --> 00:14:12,267
Some of the most compelling
images of an elongated cranium
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can be traced to ancient Egypt
and the depictions
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of one of its most
controversial pharaohs.
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Could it be that he, too,
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was mimicking the look
of extraterrestrials?
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Or is there an even more
outrageous explanation?
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Could he have been one of them?
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00:14:42,215 --> 00:14:43,590
Egypt.
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Long before the ancient
Egyptians built the pyramids
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00:14:47,303 --> 00:14:50,847
or even settled along
the Nile River,
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they spoke of an era
called Tep Zepi,
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00:14:54,102 --> 00:14:56,728
or the beginning of time.
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00:14:56,854 --> 00:15:01,066
According to legends,
Tep Zepi was when sky-gods
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descended from the stars
to Earth on flying boats,
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00:15:04,946 --> 00:15:08,949
and then turned mud and water
into a new kingdom.
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00:15:10,827 --> 00:15:12,286
BAUVAL:
The word "god,"
247
00:15:12,328 --> 00:15:15,539
according to the ancient
Egyptian, is "netyro."
248
00:15:15,665 --> 00:15:19,668
It means a being
that came from the cosmos.
249
00:15:19,752 --> 00:15:22,087
They are very adamant
about the fact
250
00:15:22,171 --> 00:15:25,465
that their gods had descended
from the stars.
251
00:15:25,550 --> 00:15:28,427
They tell us
that the god Osiris,
252
00:15:28,511 --> 00:15:31,513
who ruled with his consort
and sister-- the goddess Isis--
253
00:15:31,639 --> 00:15:35,100
they were star gods, and in fact
they identify them very clearly.
254
00:15:35,184 --> 00:15:39,104
Osiris was identified as
the constellation of Orion.
255
00:15:39,188 --> 00:15:42,357
Isis was identified as the god
to the star Sirius,
256
00:15:42,358 --> 00:15:45,360
the brightest star in the sky.
257
00:15:45,361 --> 00:15:47,154
There's an interesting point
about this--
258
00:15:47,280 --> 00:15:48,947
is that within
the constellation of Orion
259
00:15:49,073 --> 00:15:51,533
is the so-called
nursery of stars.
260
00:15:54,454 --> 00:15:57,456
The stars in our galaxy
literally were born
261
00:15:57,540 --> 00:15:59,374
in that zone.
262
00:15:59,375 --> 00:16:02,127
And it's really peculiar that
the ancient Egyptians insist
263
00:16:02,211 --> 00:16:06,381
that the birth of star gods
are in this constellation.
264
00:16:06,507 --> 00:16:09,384
They truly believed-- they were
very adamant about this--
265
00:16:09,385 --> 00:16:12,346
that their origins
is in the sky.
266
00:16:18,394 --> 00:16:20,604
SCHOCH: Something that we see
around the world
267
00:16:20,730 --> 00:16:23,482
with ancient civilizations
is that they had
268
00:16:23,566 --> 00:16:27,361
incredible knowledge
of the stars, of the planets,
269
00:16:27,403 --> 00:16:29,196
of the heavenly motions.
270
00:16:29,322 --> 00:16:31,823
The average person
in the ancient world
271
00:16:31,949 --> 00:16:36,411
had way more knowledge
of what’s going on in the skies
272
00:16:36,537 --> 00:16:40,957
than a lot of
well-educated people today.
273
00:16:45,421 --> 00:16:49,424
NARRATOR: As ancient Egypt grew
into a great civilization,
274
00:16:49,425 --> 00:16:52,594
its citizens believed their
pharaohs were sons of Osiris,
275
00:16:52,720 --> 00:16:55,514
and thus, living gods.
276
00:16:55,598 --> 00:16:58,809
Artwork and wall carvings
depicted them as perfect humans.
277
00:16:58,935 --> 00:17:02,771
And while the people worshiped
many different gods,
278
00:17:02,855 --> 00:17:06,024
the pharaoh stood
above them all.
279
00:17:06,150 --> 00:17:09,569
This basic Egyptian religious
belief remained in force
280
00:17:09,654 --> 00:17:11,655
for nearly a thousand years,
281
00:17:11,781 --> 00:17:15,826
until one pharaoh
changed everything.
282
00:17:15,952 --> 00:17:17,452
Who was this heretic?
283
00:17:20,581 --> 00:17:23,208
His name was Akhenaten,
284
00:17:23,292 --> 00:17:25,001
and in every
surviving depiction,
285
00:17:25,086 --> 00:17:27,462
he is shown
with an elongated skull.
286
00:17:27,463 --> 00:17:30,590
Who was he?
287
00:17:30,675 --> 00:17:34,594
According to Egyptian mythology,
he, too, was descended from
288
00:17:34,679 --> 00:17:39,057
the gods who arrived on Earth
at the time of Tep Zepi.
289
00:17:39,183 --> 00:17:43,895
But why do so many still believe
he actually came from the stars?
290
00:17:46,023 --> 00:17:50,235
In 1352 BC,
Akhenaten ascended to the throne
291
00:17:50,319 --> 00:17:53,905
as the tenth pharaoh
of the 18th dynasty.
292
00:17:54,031 --> 00:17:57,200
Almost immediately,
he instituted a series
293
00:17:57,285 --> 00:17:59,411
of radical religious changes,
294
00:17:59,495 --> 00:18:02,998
including a ban on references
to multiple gods.
295
00:18:05,501 --> 00:18:07,294
BAUVAL:
It's a rather strange thing
296
00:18:07,420 --> 00:18:09,463
that he would want to do that
in one sweep,
297
00:18:09,505 --> 00:18:12,507
but he ordered all the-the
iconography of previous gods
298
00:18:12,508 --> 00:18:14,092
to be removed.
299
00:18:14,218 --> 00:18:17,262
He only allowed one emblem,
which was a sun emblem--
300
00:18:17,346 --> 00:18:20,223
literally a sun disk
with curious arms
301
00:18:20,308 --> 00:18:23,310
or rays pointing down.
302
00:18:23,436 --> 00:18:25,020
Why did he do this?
303
00:18:25,104 --> 00:18:29,274
Because, according to
his writings and his poems
304
00:18:29,358 --> 00:18:32,527
that were written
about him later on,
305
00:18:32,528 --> 00:18:34,529
he was visited
306
00:18:34,530 --> 00:18:38,909
by one of those beings
that descended from the sky,
307
00:18:39,035 --> 00:18:43,538
who told Akhenaten,
"This is the way.
308
00:18:43,623 --> 00:18:46,166
I am your god."
309
00:18:46,292 --> 00:18:49,503
NARRATOR: This sun god
was known as Aten.
310
00:18:49,545 --> 00:18:53,757
Akhenaten claimed to be
a direct descendent of Aten.
311
00:18:53,883 --> 00:18:57,719
BAUVAL: Akhenaten,
like any other pharaoh,
312
00:18:57,845 --> 00:19:00,931
regarded himself to be divine.
313
00:19:01,057 --> 00:19:02,557
He was a god.
314
00:19:02,558 --> 00:19:04,559
Not only himself
believed himself to be a god,
315
00:19:04,560 --> 00:19:06,853
but the whole nation
saw him as a god.
316
00:19:06,938 --> 00:19:09,564
Now, the definition of a god
317
00:19:09,690 --> 00:19:14,569
is that he was a descendant
from these celestial beings.
318
00:19:18,574 --> 00:19:20,575
NARRATOR: During his
fourth year as pharaoh,
319
00:19:20,576 --> 00:19:22,536
Akhenaten ordered
the construction
320
00:19:22,578 --> 00:19:24,496
of a new capital city.
321
00:19:24,580 --> 00:19:28,375
He called it Amarna
and dedicated it to the sun.
322
00:19:30,920 --> 00:19:34,339
Akhenaten would spend
the next ten years here,
323
00:19:34,423 --> 00:19:38,593
during which time he instituted
changes in both art and culture,
324
00:19:38,678 --> 00:19:42,681
including how he himself
would be publicly depicted.
325
00:19:44,684 --> 00:19:46,351
CARGILL:
In Egyptian iconography,
326
00:19:46,435 --> 00:19:48,937
Egyptian pharaohs
are depicted as these
327
00:19:49,021 --> 00:19:51,982
triangular-shaped beings--
these broad, strong shoulders
328
00:19:52,108 --> 00:19:53,775
and these very skinny waists.
329
00:19:53,901 --> 00:19:57,153
Now, we look at leaders today
and we know that most leaders
330
00:19:57,238 --> 00:19:59,698
don't have broad shoulders
and skinny waists.
331
00:19:59,782 --> 00:20:01,825
But it was important to depict
332
00:20:01,951 --> 00:20:03,785
the Egyptian kings as having
333
00:20:03,911 --> 00:20:05,620
broad shoulders and skinny
waists-- very, you know--
334
00:20:05,746 --> 00:20:09,749
the epitome of what a king
ought to look like.
335
00:20:12,211 --> 00:20:13,795
That's exactly the opposite
with Akhenaten.
336
00:20:13,921 --> 00:20:17,799
He shows himself
perhaps as he really is...
337
00:20:17,925 --> 00:20:19,718
a rather strange look.
338
00:20:19,802 --> 00:20:21,636
He has a very mystical look.
339
00:20:27,768 --> 00:20:31,187
SCHOCH: If we take Akhenaten's
statues, for instance,
340
00:20:31,272 --> 00:20:34,649
literally, he was a very
strange-looking character.
341
00:20:34,650 --> 00:20:37,777
Sort of combined,
some people would say,
342
00:20:37,862 --> 00:20:41,990
feminine aspects
with masculine aspects,
343
00:20:42,074 --> 00:20:45,076
may have had an elongated skull.
344
00:20:45,202 --> 00:20:49,289
CARGILL: The change in royal
iconography of Akhenaten
345
00:20:49,415 --> 00:20:53,251
showed him as he probably really
was, with a misshapen head,
346
00:20:53,377 --> 00:20:57,380
with a potbelly,
with a sunken chest,
347
00:20:57,465 --> 00:21:01,092
as opposed to
the idealized iconography of
348
00:21:01,218 --> 00:21:04,179
traditional Egyptian artists
349
00:21:04,263 --> 00:21:06,264
that showed this
big, strong pharaoh.
350
00:21:11,812 --> 00:21:14,689
NARRATOR: Akhenaten's wife,
Queen Nefertiti,
351
00:21:14,815 --> 00:21:17,400
and their children
were also depicted
352
00:21:17,485 --> 00:21:20,111
as having elongated skulls.
353
00:21:20,237 --> 00:21:24,699
So why were Akhenaten's and
Nefertiti's heads deformed?
354
00:21:24,700 --> 00:21:28,453
Did they suffer from
a genetic abnormality
355
00:21:28,537 --> 00:21:31,456
or did they deliberately
alter their shape?
356
00:21:31,540 --> 00:21:34,709
Some believe there could be
yet another explanation
357
00:21:34,710 --> 00:21:37,712
behind their strange,
otherworldly appearance.
358
00:21:40,257 --> 00:21:44,135
They look like
they're different
359
00:21:44,261 --> 00:21:46,262
than other human beings.
360
00:21:49,141 --> 00:21:52,268
TSOUKALOS:
Is it possible that Akhenaten
361
00:21:52,353 --> 00:21:55,730
might have been
an extraterrestrial hybrid?
362
00:22:00,653 --> 00:22:02,362
CARGILL:
Ancient alien enthusiasts
363
00:22:02,488 --> 00:22:04,739
look at Pharaoh Akhenaten
of Egypt and say,
364
00:22:04,824 --> 00:22:06,574
"Ah, look at that long head.
365
00:22:06,701 --> 00:22:08,368
"That looks like an alien gray.
366
00:22:08,494 --> 00:22:10,745
"That looks like some kind of
something that's nonhuman
367
00:22:10,746 --> 00:22:12,038
"or some hybrid between
something else
368
00:22:12,123 --> 00:22:13,331
"and something human.
369
00:22:13,457 --> 00:22:14,833
"Must be evidence of
370
00:22:14,917 --> 00:22:18,169
"alien interference,
alien reproduction with humans--
371
00:22:18,295 --> 00:22:19,754
something like that."
372
00:22:19,755 --> 00:22:21,256
BETTYANN BROWN:
I've been to Egypt,
373
00:22:21,340 --> 00:22:24,509
and one of the most stunning
things about seeing
374
00:22:24,593 --> 00:22:26,761
the archeological remains
of ancient Egypt
375
00:22:26,762 --> 00:22:30,890
is that one unique pharaoh,
Akhenaten.
376
00:22:30,975 --> 00:22:34,769
TSOUKALOS: I mean, he's got
a very narrow, pointy face,
377
00:22:34,770 --> 00:22:39,524
high cheekbones,
and a very elongated cranium.
378
00:22:39,608 --> 00:22:42,569
CHILDRESS: The idea
that they were either
379
00:22:42,695 --> 00:22:44,320
looking like extraterrestrials,
380
00:22:44,405 --> 00:22:49,200
or perhaps had
extraterrestrial DNA in them
381
00:22:49,326 --> 00:22:51,327
is a credible idea.
382
00:22:54,707 --> 00:22:57,792
NARRATOR:
Akhenaten ruled for 17 years.
383
00:22:57,793 --> 00:23:00,712
After his reign,
Amarna was abandoned,
384
00:23:00,796 --> 00:23:04,174
and temples to the sun
were destroyed.
385
00:23:04,300 --> 00:23:08,428
Images of Akhenaten
were deliberately defaced.
386
00:23:08,554 --> 00:23:11,723
Ancient Egypt swiftly returned
to its old ways,
387
00:23:11,807 --> 00:23:13,808
worshiping many gods.
388
00:23:13,809 --> 00:23:16,770
Was this a rejection
of Akhenaten's
389
00:23:16,812 --> 00:23:18,813
radical religious belief system
390
00:23:18,898 --> 00:23:21,816
or a cover-up
of his alien identity?
391
00:23:25,821 --> 00:23:28,031
There's been a lot
of theories about why.
392
00:23:28,157 --> 00:23:32,327
Um, if... I mean, the most
extreme is that he somehow
393
00:23:32,411 --> 00:23:34,829
had some sort of
extraterrestrial connection.
394
00:23:34,830 --> 00:23:39,375
If one accepts that conclusion,
then it would explain
395
00:23:39,460 --> 00:23:42,837
why he was literally
put off the reign
396
00:23:42,838 --> 00:23:44,839
and, some say, put to death.
397
00:23:47,802 --> 00:23:50,970
NARRATOR: Some Egyptologists
believe Akhenaten was forced
398
00:23:51,055 --> 00:23:53,681
to abdicate and flee from Egypt
399
00:23:53,808 --> 00:23:57,143
with a group of
his loyal followers.
400
00:23:57,228 --> 00:24:01,856
In 1907, the actual body of
Akhenaten was discovered
401
00:24:01,857 --> 00:24:03,983
in Egypt's Valley of the Kings
402
00:24:04,068 --> 00:24:08,279
by a British archeologist
named Edward Ayrton.
403
00:24:08,405 --> 00:24:12,075
After unearthing
Akhenaten's mummified remains,
404
00:24:12,201 --> 00:24:14,786
he was able to confirm
that, indeed,
405
00:24:14,870 --> 00:24:19,290
the ancient pharaoh's skull
was misshapen and elongated.
406
00:24:21,627 --> 00:24:23,419
CARGILL: Some scholars argue
that he suffered from
407
00:24:23,504 --> 00:24:25,880
some kind of physical
abnormality; he suffered from
408
00:24:26,006 --> 00:24:29,008
a disorder that caused his face
to appear to be long,
409
00:24:29,093 --> 00:24:30,969
or his head actually was longer.
410
00:24:31,053 --> 00:24:32,679
I think with Akhenaten,
we're dealing with
411
00:24:32,805 --> 00:24:34,889
a physical deformation
that wasn't corrected
412
00:24:34,890 --> 00:24:36,307
by the royal artists.
413
00:24:36,433 --> 00:24:37,976
They just depicted him
as he was:
414
00:24:38,060 --> 00:24:40,311
potbelly, sunken chest,
long head.
415
00:24:42,314 --> 00:24:44,649
NARRATOR: Akhenaten was
succeeded by his son,
416
00:24:44,733 --> 00:24:49,904
Tutankhamen, who became the most
renowned pharaoh of all time.
417
00:24:49,905 --> 00:24:54,284
When his tomb was discovered
in 1922 by Howard Carter,
418
00:24:54,410 --> 00:24:59,914
Tutankhamen was also found
to have an elongated skull.
419
00:24:59,915 --> 00:25:03,501
Could he have inherited
alien genes from his father?
420
00:25:07,506 --> 00:25:12,927
Today, much of Akhenaten's life
still remains a mystery.
421
00:25:12,928 --> 00:25:16,306
Did he really change
Egypt's entire belief system
422
00:25:16,432 --> 00:25:21,477
because, as some suggest,
he was a celestial being?
423
00:25:21,562 --> 00:25:23,938
If that’s true,
might there be evidence
424
00:25:24,064 --> 00:25:27,233
of similar entities
coming to Earth?
425
00:25:27,318 --> 00:25:32,280
Perhaps more clues can be found
thousands of miles away
426
00:25:32,364 --> 00:25:35,325
on the other side
of the African continent.
427
00:25:35,451 --> 00:25:37,452
(people singing
in native language)
428
00:25:41,957 --> 00:25:45,084
Mali, in northwest Africa.
429
00:25:45,169 --> 00:25:48,379
Deep in a remote valley
live the Dogon people,
430
00:25:48,505 --> 00:25:50,965
who are the descendants
of a nomadic tribe
431
00:25:50,966 --> 00:25:54,344
that settled here
around 1000 AD.
432
00:25:54,470 --> 00:25:59,098
Just like Akhenaten's followers,
the Dogon had been forced
433
00:25:59,183 --> 00:26:02,685
to leave Egypt because of
religious persecution.
434
00:26:04,688 --> 00:26:08,107
SCHOCH: The Dogon claim a very
long and ancient tradition
435
00:26:08,192 --> 00:26:11,611
and, in my opinion,
maintain some of
436
00:26:11,737 --> 00:26:15,531
the ancient Egyptian
traditions and myths
437
00:26:15,616 --> 00:26:18,785
that have been carried on
right into the present age.
438
00:26:20,829 --> 00:26:23,998
Parts of ancient Egypt
may not have died.
439
00:26:23,999 --> 00:26:29,003
They were carried on,
to this day, among the Dogon.
440
00:26:31,840 --> 00:26:35,009
NARRATOR: But what exactly
are their beliefs?
441
00:26:35,010 --> 00:26:39,097
Dogon mythology holds that
the sky-god Amma created
442
00:26:39,181 --> 00:26:42,934
the first living creature,
known as Nommo.
443
00:26:43,018 --> 00:26:46,938
The legend also says that
shortly after his creation,
444
00:26:47,022 --> 00:26:50,233
Nommo multiplied
into several parts,
445
00:26:50,359 --> 00:26:53,194
one of which
rebelled against Amma.
446
00:26:53,320 --> 00:26:57,615
Amma responded by destroying him
and scattering his ashes
447
00:26:57,741 --> 00:27:00,576
throughout the world.
448
00:27:02,579 --> 00:27:04,664
PETER FIEBAG (translated):
According to the Dogon myths,
449
00:27:04,790 --> 00:27:06,624
a god gave them this knowledge.
450
00:27:06,750 --> 00:27:10,962
He descended from the sky
in an ark, surfing on fire,
451
00:27:11,046 --> 00:27:13,047
and landed in a storm.
452
00:27:17,052 --> 00:27:21,764
TSOUKALOS: Still today,
Dogon celebrates a festival
453
00:27:21,849 --> 00:27:24,058
in the honor of Nommo
454
00:27:24,059 --> 00:27:29,856
and that visitation that
occurred in the remote past.
455
00:27:29,982 --> 00:27:31,274
How do we know this?
456
00:27:31,400 --> 00:27:34,277
For this festival, they have
457
00:27:34,403 --> 00:27:38,906
wooden masks that date back to
458
00:27:39,033 --> 00:27:43,995
a very long time ago,
when this festival began.
459
00:27:49,918 --> 00:27:52,086
FIEBAG (translated): Dogon masks
tell the mystic stories
460
00:27:52,087 --> 00:27:53,880
of their ancestors.
461
00:27:54,006 --> 00:27:56,007
This is a sculpture
of the creator.
462
00:27:56,091 --> 00:27:58,801
They call him Amma.
463
00:27:58,886 --> 00:28:00,178
He is embracing the universe.
464
00:28:02,097 --> 00:28:04,098
This is how
they pass on information
465
00:28:04,099 --> 00:28:08,311
from generation to generation--
by stories carved in masks.
466
00:28:18,197 --> 00:28:21,824
NARRATOR: But could Nommo
have been a real person?
467
00:28:21,909 --> 00:28:25,203
Some see eerie similarities
between the Dogon's legend
468
00:28:25,287 --> 00:28:29,332
and the story of the mysterious
pharaoh Akhenaten.
469
00:28:29,458 --> 00:28:33,127
Akhenaten believed he was
directly descended
470
00:28:33,128 --> 00:28:35,213
from the sun god Aten.
471
00:28:35,297 --> 00:28:39,133
Nommo was said to have been
created by the sky deity Amma.
472
00:28:39,134 --> 00:28:43,137
Is it a coincidence
that both cultures,
473
00:28:43,138 --> 00:28:46,140
although thousands
of miles apart,
474
00:28:46,266 --> 00:28:50,478
shared mythical tales of beings
coming from the skies?
475
00:28:50,562 --> 00:28:52,772
And both Nommo and Akhenaten
476
00:28:52,898 --> 00:28:56,275
were depicted with
elongated heads.
477
00:28:56,360 --> 00:28:58,236
Is it possible
that these legends
478
00:28:58,320 --> 00:29:00,113
were based on real events?
479
00:29:05,285 --> 00:29:06,786
FIEBAG (translated):
The Dogon dwell
480
00:29:06,912 --> 00:29:10,581
in the central plateau region
of Bandiagara.
481
00:29:10,707 --> 00:29:12,542
Their knowledge
is centuries old,
482
00:29:12,668 --> 00:29:14,168
and their priests
have been sharing it
483
00:29:14,253 --> 00:29:17,171
with chosen individuals only.
484
00:29:20,092 --> 00:29:23,344
In the 1920s,
French anthropologist Grialue
485
00:29:23,470 --> 00:29:26,347
and ethnologist Dieterle
visited the tribe
486
00:29:26,473 --> 00:29:28,474
and were invited
to share their secrets.
487
00:29:32,563 --> 00:29:35,189
NARRATOR:
But one secret stood out:
488
00:29:35,190 --> 00:29:39,902
the Dogon claimed that their god
Amma came from a specific star
489
00:29:39,987 --> 00:29:42,405
in the Sirius constellation,
490
00:29:42,531 --> 00:29:45,324
the same place where
the ancient Egyptians believed
491
00:29:45,409 --> 00:29:49,162
their god Osiris was born.
492
00:29:49,204 --> 00:29:51,914
This star, which modern
astronomers refer to
493
00:29:51,999 --> 00:29:56,502
as Sirius B,
the Dogon called Po Tolo.
494
00:29:56,587 --> 00:30:01,215
But what baffles experts is that
the star is so far from Earth,
495
00:30:01,216 --> 00:30:04,218
it's impossible to see
with the naked eye.
496
00:30:06,221 --> 00:30:08,222
BAUVAL: I was very intrigued
by this, by the way.
497
00:30:08,223 --> 00:30:11,225
I mean, the Dogons
should not have known
498
00:30:11,310 --> 00:30:13,978
about the existence
of this star.
499
00:30:14,062 --> 00:30:17,231
Sirius is the second nearest
star from our solar system.
500
00:30:17,232 --> 00:30:19,567
It's eight light-years away.
501
00:30:19,651 --> 00:30:22,945
In fact, it's not even visible
with standard telescopes.
502
00:30:23,030 --> 00:30:25,239
It was first seen,
literally seen,
503
00:30:25,240 --> 00:30:27,158
and photographed in the 1970s.
504
00:30:28,660 --> 00:30:31,245
TSOUKALOS: Modern science
has corroborated
505
00:30:31,330 --> 00:30:35,249
that Sirius B does indeed exist.
506
00:30:35,250 --> 00:30:38,669
Problem is,
the Dogon knew about this
507
00:30:38,795 --> 00:30:43,257
before modern science
corroborated it.
508
00:30:43,383 --> 00:30:46,260
I mean, that's spooky.
509
00:30:48,263 --> 00:30:50,765
NARRATOR: Measurements taken
with the Hubble telescope
510
00:30:50,849 --> 00:30:56,270
in 2003 have confirmed that
Sirius B is what's known as
511
00:30:56,271 --> 00:31:00,274
a white dwarf--
or a partially burnt-out star
512
00:31:00,275 --> 00:31:03,277
with extremely dense mass.
513
00:31:03,278 --> 00:31:06,280
Although it is smaller
in size than Earth,
514
00:31:06,281 --> 00:31:11,244
it's estimated to weigh
eight times as much as our sun.
515
00:31:11,286 --> 00:31:14,288
But how did the Dogon acquire
this ancient knowledge
516
00:31:14,289 --> 00:31:17,708
of astronomy that seems to be
centuries more advanced
517
00:31:17,834 --> 00:31:19,835
than that of modern science?
518
00:31:21,922 --> 00:31:24,382
The mystery is,
how did this story
519
00:31:24,466 --> 00:31:26,300
get passed on down generations
520
00:31:26,385 --> 00:31:29,470
if the story came from a time
before astronomers knew
521
00:31:29,596 --> 00:31:31,430
there was a companion star
to Sirius
522
00:31:31,515 --> 00:31:34,892
which can't be seen
with the human eye?
523
00:31:35,018 --> 00:31:38,854
FIEBAG (translated): This is
the Dogon symbol for Sirius.
524
00:31:38,939 --> 00:31:41,315
When you move it around,
you can see an orbit
525
00:31:41,316 --> 00:31:43,401
around the center
marked by Sirius A.
526
00:31:43,485 --> 00:31:48,864
Sirius B circles around it,
so it is a circular system.
527
00:31:48,949 --> 00:31:51,951
This sign is practically
an astronomic model
528
00:31:52,077 --> 00:31:54,120
that the Dogon
could not have invented
529
00:31:54,246 --> 00:31:57,498
because only Sirius A
is visible.
530
00:31:57,624 --> 00:32:00,418
Sirius B and C are invisible.
531
00:32:00,502 --> 00:32:04,630
However, their description
of the orbit is correct.
532
00:32:04,715 --> 00:32:07,925
One assumption
is that this god, Nommo,
533
00:32:08,051 --> 00:32:10,344
who brought them this knowledge,
could have been
534
00:32:10,470 --> 00:32:13,347
an extraterrestrial
intelligence.
535
00:32:15,142 --> 00:32:17,435
NARRATOR:
Since the early 20th century,
536
00:32:17,519 --> 00:32:19,437
the tribe has been
routinely studied
537
00:32:19,521 --> 00:32:22,732
and researched
by anthropologists.
538
00:32:22,858 --> 00:32:24,483
This has led
many modern historians
539
00:32:24,568 --> 00:32:27,528
to claim that the Dogon
must have learned
540
00:32:27,654 --> 00:32:29,655
about astronomy from Westerners.
541
00:32:32,367 --> 00:32:34,368
CARGILL:
The Dogon mythology is so fluid
542
00:32:34,369 --> 00:32:37,204
that when science
confirms something
543
00:32:37,331 --> 00:32:39,999
that they might have
believed in antiquity,
544
00:32:40,125 --> 00:32:41,751
it might have just been
sheer coincidence,
545
00:32:41,877 --> 00:32:43,377
or it could have been
a conflation.
546
00:32:43,378 --> 00:32:44,670
That is, they heard...
547
00:32:44,755 --> 00:32:46,130
Because it's an oral culture,
548
00:32:46,214 --> 00:32:48,132
and because the mythology
is so fluid,
549
00:32:48,216 --> 00:32:51,385
they heard something that
someone said about this star
550
00:32:51,511 --> 00:32:53,137
in relation to another star,
551
00:32:53,221 --> 00:32:55,514
and they just grafted that
into their mythology.
552
00:32:55,599 --> 00:32:57,391
They grafted that
into their religion.
553
00:32:57,517 --> 00:32:59,935
And then when some reporter,
some subsequent reporter
554
00:33:00,020 --> 00:33:02,313
comes along and says,
"What do you believe?"
555
00:33:02,397 --> 00:33:05,399
they say, "Well, we've thought
this for millions of years."
556
00:33:05,400 --> 00:33:07,943
TSOUKALOS: When critics suggest
that this knowledge was
557
00:33:08,028 --> 00:33:10,363
given to them
by modern ethnologists,
558
00:33:10,405 --> 00:33:14,909
that's simply incorrect,
because we know that the story
559
00:33:14,993 --> 00:33:18,829
goes back
hundreds of years earlier
560
00:33:18,955 --> 00:33:22,124
than any modern ethnologist
ever went there.
561
00:33:24,961 --> 00:33:26,420
FIEBAG (translated):
If it were ever proven
562
00:33:26,505 --> 00:33:29,423
that all this information
is exactly correct,
563
00:33:29,424 --> 00:33:31,425
including the parts
that are still being studied
564
00:33:31,510 --> 00:33:34,720
by astronomers, this would mean
that the Earth had visitors
565
00:33:34,805 --> 00:33:37,431
from outer space
in prehistoric times.
566
00:33:39,434 --> 00:33:41,435
BAUVAL: Either they inherited
that knowledge--
567
00:33:41,436 --> 00:33:43,229
and the question is, from where?
568
00:33:43,355 --> 00:33:44,814
From a previous civilization,
569
00:33:44,940 --> 00:33:47,441
or from some sort of
extraterrestrial civilization?
570
00:33:47,442 --> 00:33:48,651
Or it's a coincidence.
571
00:33:48,777 --> 00:33:51,445
In my view,
it is not a coincidence.
572
00:33:53,448 --> 00:33:56,033
NARRATOR: If the Dogon people
really possessed
573
00:33:56,159 --> 00:33:58,744
this advanced
astronomical knowledge,
574
00:33:58,829 --> 00:34:01,247
were their legends
based on real events?
575
00:34:03,542 --> 00:34:06,877
The ancient Egyptians and Dogon
were far from alone
576
00:34:07,003 --> 00:34:09,463
in their belief in gods
or mystical beings
577
00:34:09,464 --> 00:34:12,383
that came from the sky.
578
00:34:14,428 --> 00:34:17,263
Is there an explanation
for similar myths
579
00:34:17,389 --> 00:34:21,058
shared by ancient cultures
all around the world?
580
00:34:21,184 --> 00:34:26,063
And what does that reveal
as to who these visitors may be?
581
00:34:26,189 --> 00:34:29,817
Perhaps the answer can be found,
not in northern Africa,
582
00:34:29,901 --> 00:34:33,320
but here in the rocks
and canyons
583
00:34:33,447 --> 00:34:35,448
of the American Southwest.
584
00:34:45,333 --> 00:34:48,002
30 miles south
of Gallup, New Mexico,
585
00:34:48,086 --> 00:34:50,629
lies the pueblo of Zuni.
586
00:34:54,676 --> 00:34:57,470
Sheltered from
the desolate high plains,
587
00:34:57,512 --> 00:34:59,513
this adobe city is home
to the Zuni Indians,
588
00:34:59,514 --> 00:35:04,059
one of the oldest indigenous
tribes in North America.
589
00:35:05,687 --> 00:35:09,023
They have inhabited this land
for almost 2,000 years,
590
00:35:09,107 --> 00:35:12,109
and have protected
their secrets even longer.
591
00:35:15,113 --> 00:35:16,697
CHRIS O'BRIEN:
The Zuni are
592
00:35:16,823 --> 00:35:18,616
a very interesting culture,
in that they're one of
593
00:35:18,700 --> 00:35:21,660
the few cultures that really
have not opened up, uh,
594
00:35:21,745 --> 00:35:25,164
to the rest of the world about
their star knowledge traditions.
595
00:35:25,290 --> 00:35:26,957
Most of this type of information
596
00:35:27,083 --> 00:35:30,544
is very closely held
by the natives.
597
00:35:30,545 --> 00:35:34,340
And, um, I really find it
very intriguing that this is
598
00:35:34,466 --> 00:35:37,551
the time period in history where
now we're starting to learn
599
00:35:37,552 --> 00:35:39,720
more and more
about their star knowledge.
600
00:35:44,559 --> 00:35:46,852
NARRATOR: Much of
the Zuni people's history
601
00:35:46,937 --> 00:35:49,730
is etched in the rocks
in the New Mexico desert.
602
00:35:57,155 --> 00:36:01,700
Tribal Elder Clifford Mahooty
and archeologist Dan Simplicio
603
00:36:01,785 --> 00:36:05,120
have studied the Zuni's
secret history firsthand.
604
00:36:05,205 --> 00:36:09,124
They've collected stories
passed down through generations
605
00:36:09,209 --> 00:36:11,710
that are rooted in the belief
that the tribe's
606
00:36:11,795 --> 00:36:15,130
creators and protectors
are supernatural beings
607
00:36:15,215 --> 00:36:17,383
from the sky.
608
00:36:17,509 --> 00:36:19,426
DAN SIMPLICIO: This one's
kind of interesting here.
609
00:36:19,553 --> 00:36:23,597
I would imagine it was created
in last century,
610
00:36:23,682 --> 00:36:27,601
but from this design,
you can see the star figure.
611
00:36:27,727 --> 00:36:31,230
Celestial images
oftentimes are depicted
612
00:36:31,356 --> 00:36:33,607
in a lot of
our cultural petroglyphs.
613
00:36:33,608 --> 00:36:36,610
And this is one of them
where it depicts the star.
614
00:36:36,611 --> 00:36:42,241
It could be the supernova
of the crab nebula.
615
00:36:42,367 --> 00:36:44,994
CLIFFORD MAHOOTY:
Our Zuni mythology
616
00:36:45,120 --> 00:36:49,623
in the prayer system,
in the ritualistic protocols,
617
00:36:49,624 --> 00:36:52,626
talk about these people
that came over here
618
00:36:52,627 --> 00:36:55,045
and told us how to
actually live our lives
619
00:36:55,171 --> 00:36:56,755
as being sky people.
620
00:37:01,553 --> 00:37:05,222
If you listen to a lot of
religious chants and songs
621
00:37:05,348 --> 00:37:07,433
and prayers,
that's all they talk about.
622
00:37:07,559 --> 00:37:08,851
They're talking about space.
623
00:37:08,977 --> 00:37:10,436
They're talking about out there
624
00:37:10,562 --> 00:37:12,646
in the universe
where they came from.
625
00:37:12,647 --> 00:37:14,982
So they depict it
on a rock wall here.
626
00:37:15,066 --> 00:37:18,652
But the actual meaning of it is
somewhere more profound
627
00:37:18,653 --> 00:37:21,363
and more complex than that.
628
00:37:23,491 --> 00:37:25,743
NARRATOR: These drawings are
thought to have been created
629
00:37:25,827 --> 00:37:29,288
around 1200 BC,
yet they appear to depict
630
00:37:29,414 --> 00:37:33,417
modern space travelers
and their vehicles.
631
00:37:36,087 --> 00:37:40,633
If you move back a little bit,
you can see another figure here.
632
00:37:40,675 --> 00:37:43,093
It has a dome.
633
00:37:43,219 --> 00:37:44,678
Has eyes.
634
00:37:44,679 --> 00:37:46,263
Uh, there's something
coming down...
635
00:37:46,389 --> 00:37:48,098
And a nose.
636
00:37:48,224 --> 00:37:50,976
Like a nose. There's a nose,
but it kind of flares out...
637
00:37:51,061 --> 00:37:52,770
I think it was
something to do with
638
00:37:52,854 --> 00:37:55,314
the ancient ones,
when they saw something.
639
00:37:55,440 --> 00:37:58,233
They took as much description
of it to put it on there.
640
00:37:58,318 --> 00:38:00,027
Of course, it's not going to be
641
00:38:00,111 --> 00:38:03,822
exactly what they saw, but
that's as best as they can do
642
00:38:03,907 --> 00:38:05,658
for something that they saw.
643
00:38:07,202 --> 00:38:09,536
CHILDRESS: With all petroglyphs
and things like that,
644
00:38:09,663 --> 00:38:11,705
I mean, they're up to
interpretation.
645
00:38:11,706 --> 00:38:15,334
Sometimes they're just
doodlings of people.
646
00:38:15,460 --> 00:38:17,127
But other times,
they may well be
647
00:38:17,253 --> 00:38:20,714
actual descriptions
and depictions of
648
00:38:20,715 --> 00:38:23,926
some kind of god
from outer space,
649
00:38:24,052 --> 00:38:26,303
some ancient astronaut.
650
00:38:26,429 --> 00:38:29,348
And when you go around, say,
like the Zuni pueblo,
651
00:38:29,474 --> 00:38:32,851
I mean, that's what they'll
tell you those petroglyphs are.
652
00:38:32,936 --> 00:38:36,897
Even the Zunis themselves
call them the spacemen.
653
00:38:38,733 --> 00:38:41,735
This one seems to have two legs
coming out like that.
654
00:38:41,736 --> 00:38:46,573
It has a, you know,
broad diamond-shaped body.
655
00:38:46,700 --> 00:38:50,536
Um, there probably was a better
head that chipped off here.
656
00:38:50,662 --> 00:38:52,371
Well, that's very
different-looking
657
00:38:52,497 --> 00:38:55,082
than humans are.
658
00:38:55,166 --> 00:38:58,043
MAHOOTY: Now usually
they're called UFOs.
659
00:38:58,128 --> 00:39:00,295
But in the Zuni way,
660
00:39:00,380 --> 00:39:02,756
we've always been taught
that they're the keepers
661
00:39:02,757 --> 00:39:05,551
of the upperworld,
which means space.
662
00:39:05,677 --> 00:39:06,969
You know, they're sky people--
663
00:39:07,095 --> 00:39:11,598
beings that are of
the extraterrestrial origin.
664
00:39:11,725 --> 00:39:14,184
And this is still
within our mythology
665
00:39:14,310 --> 00:39:16,311
and our
religious practices today.
666
00:39:22,777 --> 00:39:24,778
NARRATOR:
Like most Indian tribes,
667
00:39:24,779 --> 00:39:28,282
the Zunis call
these sky people kachinas.
668
00:39:28,366 --> 00:39:32,327
According to the Zunis'
creation story, the kachina gods
669
00:39:32,412 --> 00:39:35,789
came down from the heavens
to lead the Zunis to Earth
670
00:39:35,790 --> 00:39:37,791
through a special portal.
671
00:39:40,879 --> 00:39:44,715
MAHOOTY: The sipapu-- that's the
entrance to the fourth world,
672
00:39:44,799 --> 00:39:46,425
or the underworld.
673
00:39:46,551 --> 00:39:47,801
And that's a representation
674
00:39:47,802 --> 00:39:50,721
of where the kachinas
come and go.
675
00:39:50,805 --> 00:39:54,600
And so, according to
the mythologies,
676
00:39:54,726 --> 00:39:58,520
the Zunis were brought forth
into the world of light--
677
00:39:58,605 --> 00:40:02,441
which is where we are at today--
by what I would interpret as
678
00:40:02,567 --> 00:40:04,943
extraterrestrial beings
from the universe.
679
00:40:06,946 --> 00:40:10,157
(people singing
in native language)
680
00:40:10,241 --> 00:40:12,785
NARRATOR:
Every year,
681
00:40:12,827 --> 00:40:15,370
the Zunis participate
in a ceremony known as
682
00:40:15,455 --> 00:40:16,997
the Shalako festival.
683
00:40:17,123 --> 00:40:21,251
Dressed in traditional costumes
to represent the kachinas,
684
00:40:21,377 --> 00:40:24,838
the Indians celebrate the
arrival of the gods on Earth.
685
00:40:24,839 --> 00:40:26,757
(singing continues)
686
00:40:28,760 --> 00:40:30,427
CHILDRESS:
This is a-a figurine of
687
00:40:30,553 --> 00:40:32,221
kachina gods.
688
00:40:32,347 --> 00:40:35,182
And these guys are some gods
from the sky who came down.
689
00:40:35,266 --> 00:40:38,644
Uh, they wear weird helmets.
690
00:40:38,770 --> 00:40:42,147
TSOUKALOS: This one has
a helmet as a head.
691
00:40:42,232 --> 00:40:43,857
And if you look at
692
00:40:43,858 --> 00:40:47,778
the whole body of it,
it's as if
693
00:40:47,862 --> 00:40:50,030
it wears some type of a,
of a suit.
694
00:40:50,156 --> 00:40:55,410
This one here also has
the helmet and the visor.
695
00:40:55,495 --> 00:40:58,288
CHILDRESS: For the Pueblo
Indians, like the Zunis,
696
00:40:58,414 --> 00:41:00,874
these are their-their sky-gods
that every year,
697
00:41:01,000 --> 00:41:02,376
they have special ceremonies.
698
00:41:02,460 --> 00:41:04,378
People put on these
special costumes
699
00:41:04,462 --> 00:41:08,006
and masks to reenact
the coming of the gods.
700
00:41:08,091 --> 00:41:12,094
They really look like
ancient astronauts.
701
00:41:19,477 --> 00:41:21,895
BILL BIRNES: If you look at
the poetry and the legends
702
00:41:21,896 --> 00:41:26,900
and the stories from American
Indian tribes in the Southwest,
703
00:41:26,901 --> 00:41:30,612
they have the legend
of the star people.
704
00:41:30,697 --> 00:41:32,531
The star people came to Earth
705
00:41:32,657 --> 00:41:36,827
and seeded planet Earth,
and they came on flying ships.
706
00:41:36,911 --> 00:41:40,330
If you speak to the elders,
they will tell you that
707
00:41:40,456 --> 00:41:43,458
"a lot of us believe in the
existence of extraterrestrials."
708
00:41:45,920 --> 00:41:48,505
THOMAS MILLS: The Zunis
don't have a written language.
709
00:41:48,631 --> 00:41:50,924
The storyteller comes
and he tells the young children
710
00:41:50,925 --> 00:41:52,426
how it all happened.
711
00:41:52,510 --> 00:41:56,138
All their songs that they do
in their ceremonies
712
00:41:56,264 --> 00:41:58,932
tell the story over and over.
713
00:41:58,933 --> 00:42:03,437
And that's how they pass down
traditions, customs, beliefs.
714
00:42:03,521 --> 00:42:05,439
They tell it in the Indian way.
715
00:42:05,523 --> 00:42:07,649
They use things they understand
716
00:42:07,734 --> 00:42:09,943
to explain things
that they don't understand.
717
00:42:10,028 --> 00:42:13,488
SIMPLICIO: I remember
my grandparents talking about
718
00:42:13,573 --> 00:42:17,326
a craft that flew
and had actually crash-landed
719
00:42:17,452 --> 00:42:20,454
on one of the mesas
east of here.
720
00:42:22,957 --> 00:42:25,959
There's no interpretation
of what an aircraft is,
721
00:42:25,960 --> 00:42:29,755
so the closest thing
that they could interpret as
722
00:42:29,881 --> 00:42:31,048
anything capable of flight
723
00:42:31,132 --> 00:42:34,968
is a bird
or our masked kachina dancers.
724
00:42:36,554 --> 00:42:39,765
MAHOOTY: We are very, very
superstitious people.
725
00:42:39,891 --> 00:42:43,185
It's always been in the history
of Zuni that they have always
726
00:42:43,311 --> 00:42:46,939
been here, even right here
where we're sitting right now,
727
00:42:46,981 --> 00:42:48,190
but you just don't see them.
728
00:42:48,316 --> 00:42:49,983
They're in
a different frequency.
729
00:42:49,984 --> 00:42:54,321
And those are very, very sacred,
and those are very, very secret.
730
00:42:54,405 --> 00:42:56,406
They're out there somewhere.
731
00:43:02,080 --> 00:43:04,122
NARRATOR: For those who believe
that ancient astronauts
732
00:43:04,207 --> 00:43:07,376
came to Earth
thousands of years ago,
733
00:43:07,502 --> 00:43:11,004
prehistoric artwork provides
more clues in what they claim
734
00:43:11,130 --> 00:43:14,007
is a growing body of evidence--
735
00:43:14,008 --> 00:43:18,011
from wall carvings and statues
in ancient Egypt
736
00:43:18,012 --> 00:43:23,183
to tribal traditions
and exotic masks in West Africa
737
00:43:23,309 --> 00:43:26,979
to petroglyphs
in the American Southwest.
738
00:43:27,021 --> 00:43:30,816
All thousands of years old,
they seem to recount
739
00:43:30,942 --> 00:43:34,361
similar stories of visitors
from the skies.
740
00:43:34,445 --> 00:43:38,448
Could the legends of
alien beings visiting Earth
741
00:43:38,574 --> 00:43:40,867
thousands of years ago
742
00:43:40,994 --> 00:43:44,037
have inspired
more traditional beliefs?
743
00:43:52,880 --> 00:43:56,842
Celestial beings
coming down to Earth.
744
00:43:56,968 --> 00:44:00,053
Gods descending from the sky.
745
00:44:00,179 --> 00:44:02,055
Can these events only be found
746
00:44:02,056 --> 00:44:04,975
in the ancient legends
of the Zuni?
747
00:44:05,059 --> 00:44:07,769
Do similar accounts exist
in other cultures
748
00:44:07,854 --> 00:44:10,647
and other religions
across the world?
749
00:44:10,773 --> 00:44:15,277
And if so,
what is the explanation?
750
00:44:15,403 --> 00:44:18,780
TSOUKALOS: We have to remind
ourselves that our ancestors
751
00:44:18,865 --> 00:44:20,824
were highly intelligent.
752
00:44:20,908 --> 00:44:25,787
However, their technological
frame of reference was different
753
00:44:25,872 --> 00:44:28,790
than our technological
frame of reference.
754
00:44:28,875 --> 00:44:32,794
So they didn't have
the vocabulary with which
755
00:44:32,879 --> 00:44:35,672
to describe
or with which to name
756
00:44:35,798 --> 00:44:38,091
certain things that they saw.
757
00:44:38,217 --> 00:44:40,093
So what did they do?
758
00:44:40,094 --> 00:44:45,474
They used words that they were
familiar with in their time,
759
00:44:45,600 --> 00:44:49,478
and so they tried to describe
whatever they witnessed
760
00:44:49,604 --> 00:44:53,607
to the best of their abilities
with their vocabulary.
761
00:44:59,113 --> 00:45:02,240
NARRATOR: Ancient China also
shared some of the same beliefs
762
00:45:02,325 --> 00:45:05,494
that can be found in
Egyptian, Native American
763
00:45:05,620 --> 00:45:07,621
and Dogon legends--
764
00:45:07,705 --> 00:45:11,291
that deities arrived
from the stars.
765
00:45:11,417 --> 00:45:16,129
According to Chinese mythology
dating back to 3000 BC,
766
00:45:16,255 --> 00:45:19,132
when the god named
Huang Di was born,
767
00:45:19,133 --> 00:45:21,843
there was a radiance
from the great star Chi.
768
00:45:25,556 --> 00:45:28,141
Huang Di would later
emerge from the belly
769
00:45:28,142 --> 00:45:33,355
of a fire-breathing dragon to
become China's first emperor.
770
00:45:33,481 --> 00:45:37,067
The origins of the Han Chinese
people start with a story
771
00:45:37,151 --> 00:45:41,238
of a great god
looking down with empathy.
772
00:45:41,322 --> 00:45:44,116
Here were people in poverty,
773
00:45:44,158 --> 00:45:47,994
in a beautiful, rich country,
the landscape profound,
774
00:45:48,121 --> 00:45:50,747
but the people were suffering.
775
00:45:50,873 --> 00:45:53,583
He took pity
and decided to come down.
776
00:46:00,174 --> 00:46:03,593
TSOUKALOS: Huang Di
arrived on planet Earth
777
00:46:03,719 --> 00:46:06,179
in a flying dragon.
778
00:46:06,180 --> 00:46:10,142
He had the power of flight.
779
00:46:10,184 --> 00:46:13,186
Huang Di could be anywhere
780
00:46:13,187 --> 00:46:17,315
within minutes, and he usually
accomplished this by
781
00:46:17,400 --> 00:46:21,319
hopping on his dragon
and flying somewhere.
782
00:46:25,408 --> 00:46:28,201
Now this divine energy
becomes human
783
00:46:28,327 --> 00:46:30,162
and is a great leader--
784
00:46:30,204 --> 00:46:33,832
the Yellow Emperor who rules
and unites the people--
785
00:46:33,958 --> 00:46:35,625
and there is a period
of great prosperity
786
00:46:35,751 --> 00:46:38,211
until his work is done.
787
00:46:38,212 --> 00:46:41,214
NARRATOR: Huang Di
brought order to the chaos,
788
00:46:41,215 --> 00:46:44,301
creating China's first empire.
789
00:46:44,385 --> 00:46:48,138
He is seen as a cultural hero
and is credited
790
00:46:48,222 --> 00:46:51,391
with the invention
of the compass, acupuncture,
791
00:46:51,517 --> 00:46:55,228
and the standardization
of Chinese writing.
792
00:46:55,354 --> 00:47:00,150
One of his greatest legacies
is the Great Wall of China.
793
00:47:00,234 --> 00:47:02,235
YOUNG:
When the land is prosperous,
794
00:47:02,236 --> 00:47:04,237
he decides it's time to go.
795
00:47:04,363 --> 00:47:06,323
And the great yellow dragon
comes back
796
00:47:06,407 --> 00:47:08,950
and he gets back into
the belly of the dragon
797
00:47:09,035 --> 00:47:11,036
and flies off forever.
798
00:47:13,581 --> 00:47:18,752
Now, were these dragons
truly dragons
799
00:47:18,836 --> 00:47:21,588
in a biological nature?
800
00:47:24,383 --> 00:47:29,262
Or were they misinterpreted
types of machines?
801
00:47:29,263 --> 00:47:31,264
Because, as we all know,
802
00:47:31,265 --> 00:47:35,560
dragons are always correlated
with spewing fire
803
00:47:35,645 --> 00:47:37,062
and a lot of smoke.
804
00:47:39,106 --> 00:47:41,274
Whenever we see
a modern rocket take off,
805
00:47:41,400 --> 00:47:44,694
there's all this smoke; and
sometimes the smoke is yellow
806
00:47:44,820 --> 00:47:46,363
and sometimes it's red.
807
00:47:46,447 --> 00:47:50,408
So it's very bizarre
how we have these correlations
808
00:47:50,493 --> 00:47:53,870
between the ancient times
and modern times today.
809
00:47:55,456 --> 00:47:58,833
Mythology is the effort to grasp
what we can't grasp,
810
00:47:58,918 --> 00:48:00,919
to understand what is beyond us.
811
00:48:01,045 --> 00:48:05,298
In the Eastern teachings, the
dragons very often carry people,
812
00:48:05,299 --> 00:48:08,301
sometimes on their back,
sometimes inside their bellies.
813
00:48:08,302 --> 00:48:12,055
So if we think of them as,
as a poet's effort to explain
814
00:48:12,139 --> 00:48:14,307
a vehicle that was
strange to them,
815
00:48:14,392 --> 00:48:16,309
well, those sound like
flying saucers.
816
00:48:16,435 --> 00:48:18,687
So it might just be a problem
with translation,
817
00:48:18,813 --> 00:48:20,313
because, after all,
it's just a word.
818
00:48:20,314 --> 00:48:21,398
It's trying to
describe something
819
00:48:21,482 --> 00:48:23,483
that's very difficult to grasp.
820
00:48:28,155 --> 00:48:30,907
NARRATOR:
4,000 miles west of China,
821
00:48:31,033 --> 00:48:34,536
another tale of celestial beings
influencing civilization
822
00:48:34,662 --> 00:48:39,249
can be found, this time
in what is now modern-day Iraq.
823
00:48:40,876 --> 00:48:43,169
The Babylonian legend
of Enuma Elish
824
00:48:43,296 --> 00:48:46,965
dates back to
the seventh century BC.
825
00:48:47,091 --> 00:48:50,969
The text was
first discovered in 1849
826
00:48:51,095 --> 00:48:54,264
by British archeologist
Sir Austen Henry Layard
827
00:48:54,348 --> 00:48:55,640
while searching the ruins of
828
00:48:55,725 --> 00:48:59,352
the Library of Ashurbanipal
in Nineveh.
829
00:48:59,353 --> 00:49:02,564
The story tells of how
the first humans were created
830
00:49:02,690 --> 00:49:06,359
by an extraterrestrial race
known as the Anunnaki.
831
00:49:14,368 --> 00:49:17,162
TSOUKALOS:
In the ancient texts of Sumeria,
832
00:49:17,288 --> 00:49:22,500
we have descriptions
of these beings
833
00:49:22,585 --> 00:49:27,130
descending from the sky
called the Anunnaki.
834
00:49:27,214 --> 00:49:29,674
The term "Anunnaki" means
835
00:49:29,759 --> 00:49:33,303
"those who from
the heavens came."
836
00:49:33,387 --> 00:49:37,807
It says, word for word,
that these beings descended
837
00:49:37,933 --> 00:49:41,978
in flying vehicles from the sky.
838
00:49:42,104 --> 00:49:46,149
And we can find not only
descriptions of the Anunnaki,
839
00:49:46,233 --> 00:49:48,109
but also depictions.
840
00:49:48,194 --> 00:49:51,571
And we can see them
in statues, in carvings.
841
00:49:51,697 --> 00:49:56,951
So it's all very interesting
to see that those beings
842
00:49:57,036 --> 00:50:00,789
looked like modern-day space
travelers with weird suits.
843
00:50:00,915 --> 00:50:03,208
Some of them wore wristwatches.
844
00:50:03,334 --> 00:50:08,838
They had boots on and helmets
and, above all, wings.
845
00:50:08,964 --> 00:50:12,008
And they were always
described or depicted
846
00:50:12,134 --> 00:50:17,055
in floating above
some "regular people."
847
00:50:19,225 --> 00:50:23,019
So the question is:
who were the Anunnaki?
848
00:50:23,145 --> 00:50:26,272
And according to the
ancient astronaut hypothesis,
849
00:50:26,399 --> 00:50:29,442
they were space travelers
who visited Earth
850
00:50:29,443 --> 00:50:31,444
in the remote past.
851
00:50:38,869 --> 00:50:41,246
NARRATOR: Similar themes
can be found in the legends
852
00:50:41,372 --> 00:50:44,791
of Greek and Roman gods,
which also describe events
853
00:50:44,875 --> 00:50:49,170
that some interpret as
extraterrestrial contact.
854
00:50:49,255 --> 00:50:51,631
Both cultures believed
in powerful gods
855
00:50:51,757 --> 00:50:55,093
who lived in the heavens
and often came down to Earth
856
00:50:55,219 --> 00:50:57,387
to interact with humans.
857
00:50:57,471 --> 00:50:59,597
(thunder cracks)
858
00:50:59,682 --> 00:51:03,893
CHILDRESS: A well-known example
is Zeus and the Greek gods.
859
00:51:04,019 --> 00:51:07,480
And they've come down
from the sky and Mount Olympus,
860
00:51:07,481 --> 00:51:09,482
where they live
in some mountain.
861
00:51:09,483 --> 00:51:11,276
And they're bringing, really,
862
00:51:11,402 --> 00:51:14,654
civilization and sciences
to mankind.
863
00:51:14,780 --> 00:51:17,323
But they have many
human attributes, too,
864
00:51:17,450 --> 00:51:20,702
where, yeah, they, uh, they're
attracted to human women,
865
00:51:20,828 --> 00:51:23,079
uh, they want
to have sex and children
866
00:51:23,205 --> 00:51:24,706
with as many of them
as they can.
867
00:51:24,832 --> 00:51:27,459
And then they go back
into the sky.
868
00:51:27,501 --> 00:51:31,087
THOMAS BULLARD: These ideas
of gods mating with humans
869
00:51:31,213 --> 00:51:32,505
are very commonplace.
870
00:51:32,590 --> 00:51:36,217
Like, Zeus in
the Greek mythology was always
871
00:51:36,302 --> 00:51:39,304
coming down, mating
with mortals and producing
872
00:51:39,430 --> 00:51:44,517
demigods like Hercules
or Helen of Troy, who were,
873
00:51:44,518 --> 00:51:46,102
you know,
exceptionally beautiful,
874
00:51:46,228 --> 00:51:49,522
exceptionally powerful,
875
00:51:49,523 --> 00:51:52,025
unusually gifted in every way.
876
00:51:52,109 --> 00:51:53,526
So, in other words,
877
00:51:53,527 --> 00:51:57,280
you were creating a better race
in-in this sense.
878
00:51:57,364 --> 00:51:59,699
TSOUKALOS: In the ancient
astronaut opinion,
879
00:51:59,825 --> 00:52:05,538
the whole pantheon of gods
that we have in ancient Greece
880
00:52:05,539 --> 00:52:09,542
consists of nothing else
but flesh-and-blood
881
00:52:09,668 --> 00:52:14,839
extraterrestrials who were
misinterpreted as being
882
00:52:14,924 --> 00:52:18,885
these divine creatures
by our ancestors.
883
00:52:18,969 --> 00:52:22,555
CREMO: There is a lot of
evidence showing that
884
00:52:22,556 --> 00:52:24,891
we're not alone in the cosmos
885
00:52:24,975 --> 00:52:29,687
and that our human civilizations
on Earth have been interacting
886
00:52:29,772 --> 00:52:31,564
for long periods of time
887
00:52:31,565 --> 00:52:35,568
with extraterrestrial
intelligences.
888
00:52:35,569 --> 00:52:40,198
NARRATOR: Belief in celestial
beings interacting with humans
889
00:52:40,324 --> 00:52:43,159
is a cornerstone
in several major religions.
890
00:52:43,285 --> 00:52:46,788
In fact, according to
the Bible's Book of Genesis,
891
00:52:46,914 --> 00:52:51,292
God created the first humans,
Adam and Eve.
892
00:52:51,377 --> 00:52:54,504
The Bible also contains
other passages
893
00:52:54,588 --> 00:52:56,589
that describe
strange interactions
894
00:52:56,590 --> 00:53:00,969
between otherworldly beings
and humans.
895
00:53:01,095 --> 00:53:02,929
CARGILL: People believe
messengers of some sort
896
00:53:03,013 --> 00:53:04,597
come down from the heavens.
897
00:53:04,598 --> 00:53:06,516
You know, they came down
and they had sex with humans.
898
00:53:06,600 --> 00:53:10,353
And this is where we produced
giants-- people like Goliath.
899
00:53:10,437 --> 00:53:13,606
So in a technical sense,
they are alien.
900
00:53:13,607 --> 00:53:16,234
They're gods or they're angels;
901
00:53:16,360 --> 00:53:18,319
they're some kind of
superhuman thing.
902
00:53:18,404 --> 00:53:21,614
NARRATOR:
Interpreting these Bible stories
903
00:53:21,615 --> 00:53:25,785
has also led to a certain amount
of debate and controversy.
904
00:53:25,911 --> 00:53:27,787
While most see a single God
905
00:53:27,913 --> 00:53:31,624
directing and influencing
mankind's destiny,
906
00:53:31,625 --> 00:53:33,626
others argue that it is really
907
00:53:33,627 --> 00:53:35,837
a number of gods
that are responsible.
908
00:53:37,965 --> 00:53:41,634
TSOUKALOS: In the Old Testament,
it says very clearly,
909
00:53:41,635 --> 00:53:46,639
"Let Us make man in Our image,
according to Our likeness."
910
00:53:46,640 --> 00:53:48,641
Now, grammatically speaking,
911
00:53:48,642 --> 00:53:52,812
that sentence doesn't make
sense, because you have "God"
912
00:53:52,938 --> 00:53:55,148
and then you have "our image."
913
00:53:55,232 --> 00:53:58,359
Well, theologians suggest
that by "our,"
914
00:53:58,444 --> 00:54:02,238
what they meant is the Trinity,
the Holy Trinity.
915
00:54:02,364 --> 00:54:06,743
So basically, if you were to
change the word "god" to "gods,"
916
00:54:06,827 --> 00:54:10,663
then all of a sudden,
the sentence makes sense--
917
00:54:10,664 --> 00:54:16,210
"and then the gods created man
in our own image."
918
00:54:16,295 --> 00:54:17,503
So you have this reference--
919
00:54:17,630 --> 00:54:20,423
"let us create man
in our image."
920
00:54:20,507 --> 00:54:23,885
In several religious texts,
specifically the Hebrew Bible,
921
00:54:24,011 --> 00:54:26,804
which Christians also accept,
and in the Koran,
922
00:54:26,889 --> 00:54:31,851
which Muslims revere as holy,
you have the reference to God
923
00:54:31,977 --> 00:54:34,979
in the plural, and it is
incredibly interesting.
924
00:54:37,232 --> 00:54:39,400
NARRATOR: But do all these
religious scriptures
925
00:54:39,485 --> 00:54:41,110
that tell similar stories
926
00:54:41,236 --> 00:54:45,406
really point to the possibility
that aliens have visited Earth
927
00:54:45,491 --> 00:54:47,450
throughout ancient history?
928
00:54:49,453 --> 00:54:54,540
The fact is, the story of
creation in our own Bible
929
00:54:54,667 --> 00:54:58,711
is the story of creation
in cultures around the world.
930
00:54:58,712 --> 00:55:02,715
The story of the flood, the
evolution of the human species,
931
00:55:02,716 --> 00:55:07,220
the development of language--
all of this points to--
932
00:55:07,304 --> 00:55:12,725
in fact, the Bible says so--
life on Earth came from
933
00:55:12,726 --> 00:55:16,270
contact with
an extraterrestrial life-form.
934
00:55:16,355 --> 00:55:17,814
That's in the Bible.
935
00:55:17,898 --> 00:55:19,691
That's in ancient cultures
around the world.
936
00:55:19,733 --> 00:55:22,735
So I believe the theory of
ancient astronauts is true,
937
00:55:22,736 --> 00:55:25,113
and I believe
there's solid evidence there,
938
00:55:25,239 --> 00:55:28,116
and I believe the harder you try
to refute that evidence,
939
00:55:28,242 --> 00:55:30,743
the more you wind up
against a brick wall--
940
00:55:30,828 --> 00:55:33,746
that ancient astronauts
visited us,
941
00:55:33,747 --> 00:55:37,875
visited Earth thousands
upon thousands of years ago,
942
00:55:37,960 --> 00:55:41,170
and seeded the very civilization
we have today.
943
00:55:44,133 --> 00:55:47,051
NARRATOR: If the believers in
the ancient astronaut theory
944
00:55:47,136 --> 00:55:51,556
are correct, then just who were
these visitors?
945
00:55:51,682 --> 00:55:55,143
And might cutting-edge
astrophysics and biology
946
00:55:55,269 --> 00:55:57,770
help us to uncover
their identity?
947
00:56:03,777 --> 00:56:07,780
On March 18, 1965,
948
00:56:07,781 --> 00:56:12,785
Russian cosmonaut Alexei Leonov
stepped outside the Voskhod 2
949
00:56:12,786 --> 00:56:16,080
and became the first human
to walk in space.
950
00:56:20,794 --> 00:56:22,879
He spent 12 minutes
and eight seconds
951
00:56:22,963 --> 00:56:27,133
outside his ship
before returning.
952
00:56:27,217 --> 00:56:31,095
Leonov's survival depended upon
a protective suit that could
953
00:56:31,180 --> 00:56:33,014
keep him alive
where there was neither
954
00:56:33,140 --> 00:56:35,349
atmospheric pressure nor oxygen.
955
00:56:37,811 --> 00:56:41,397
If we need spacesuits,
would aliens traveling to Earth
956
00:56:41,523 --> 00:56:43,524
require the same protection?
957
00:56:46,987 --> 00:56:48,821
Is that what we're looking at
958
00:56:48,822 --> 00:56:52,825
in these ancient carvings
and drawings?
959
00:56:52,826 --> 00:56:56,954
When critics ask, "Well,
why would ancient astronauts
960
00:56:57,039 --> 00:57:01,000
"have to wear astronaut suits
961
00:57:01,126 --> 00:57:05,129
that we're familiar with today?"
the answer is very simple.
962
00:57:05,214 --> 00:57:10,051
Can we go through space
without wearing a type of suit?
963
00:57:10,177 --> 00:57:11,928
Of course not.
We would die.
964
00:57:15,224 --> 00:57:20,937
Because who says that whoever
visited us in the remote past,
965
00:57:21,021 --> 00:57:26,567
that they could breathe in
the atmosphere of planet Earth?
966
00:57:30,781 --> 00:57:35,076
So it's not farfetched
to suggest
967
00:57:35,202 --> 00:57:39,205
that they did, in fact,
wear some type of suit.
968
00:57:45,212 --> 00:57:49,882
NARRATOR: Why might these images
resemble modern astronauts?
969
00:57:52,719 --> 00:57:54,387
If they are aliens,
970
00:57:54,471 --> 00:57:57,890
is it possible they are
similar to humans?
971
00:57:57,891 --> 00:58:02,228
And could they have come from
a planet just like Earth?
972
00:58:05,607 --> 00:58:08,109
At the turn of the 20th century,
973
00:58:08,235 --> 00:58:10,862
a group of British
and German scientists
974
00:58:10,904 --> 00:58:13,656
considered this possibility.
975
00:58:13,740 --> 00:58:16,909
They embraced a theory put forth
by early Greek philosophers:
976
00:58:16,910 --> 00:58:21,247
that all life in the universe
began in one specific place.
977
00:58:23,250 --> 00:58:26,544
This theory is called
panspermia.
978
00:58:26,670 --> 00:58:30,047
Panspermia is the theory
that life formed in one place
979
00:58:30,132 --> 00:58:32,133
and then got spread around
to other places.
980
00:58:34,219 --> 00:58:37,722
In outer space,
in the medium between stars,
981
00:58:37,848 --> 00:58:40,266
we see molecules that are
the building blocks of life.
982
00:58:40,350 --> 00:58:42,685
So it's easy to get
the building blocks of life
983
00:58:42,769 --> 00:58:44,478
to another planet.
984
00:58:44,563 --> 00:58:46,105
For example,
if life formed on Mars,
985
00:58:46,231 --> 00:58:49,358
it could have come here
to Earth...
986
00:58:49,484 --> 00:58:52,278
contaminated Earth
and then started life here.
987
00:58:56,283 --> 00:58:59,452
NARRATOR:
Roughly 3.6 billion years ago,
988
00:58:59,536 --> 00:59:05,166
Mars was warm and wet, much like
the conditions on Earth today.
989
00:59:05,292 --> 00:59:08,961
Biologists believe that because
Mars cooled more quickly
990
00:59:08,962 --> 00:59:12,965
than other planets, life may
have developed there first.
991
00:59:15,969 --> 00:59:18,179
PAUL DAVIES:
Mars is a better candidate
992
00:59:18,305 --> 00:59:21,515
for life during the early part
of the solar system.
993
00:59:21,600 --> 00:59:23,976
Mars rocks are coming here all
the time, and these have been
994
00:59:24,061 --> 00:59:27,313
knocked off Mars by asteroid
and comet impacts.
995
00:59:27,397 --> 00:59:30,983
And we know that
they could convey
996
00:59:30,984 --> 00:59:33,945
any Martian microorganisms
to Earth.
997
00:59:36,531 --> 00:59:39,992
NARRATOR: In August 1996,
a team of scientists
998
00:59:39,993 --> 00:59:42,620
made a stunning announcement.
999
00:59:44,706 --> 00:59:47,792
A Martian meteorite
found in Antarctica
1000
00:59:47,918 --> 00:59:51,003
contained evidence
of fossilized life.
1001
00:59:51,004 --> 00:59:56,175
The four-pound rock,
designated ALH 84001,
1002
00:59:56,301 --> 00:59:59,637
showed the presence
of carbonate globules
1003
00:59:59,763 --> 01:00:03,015
excreted by microbes
when they were alive on Mars
1004
01:00:03,016 --> 01:00:06,143
3.6 billion years ago.
1005
01:00:06,228 --> 01:00:10,189
Earth was no longer alone.
1006
01:00:10,315 --> 01:00:15,111
Life had existed elsewhere
in the universe.
1007
01:00:15,195 --> 01:00:17,029
DAVIES:
So this cross-contamination
1008
01:00:17,030 --> 01:00:19,949
between Mars and Earth,
which 20 years ago,
1009
01:00:20,033 --> 01:00:21,993
was regarded as
a rather wild conjecture,
1010
01:00:22,035 --> 01:00:26,205
is now pretty much accepted by
the astrobiology community.
1011
01:00:30,377 --> 01:00:33,254
NARRATOR: Astrobiologists
studying the origin
1012
01:00:33,380 --> 01:00:36,048
and evolution of life
in the universe
1013
01:00:36,049 --> 01:00:39,010
embraced the possibility
that life on Earth
1014
01:00:39,052 --> 01:00:41,053
began in outer space.
1015
01:00:46,143 --> 01:00:48,978
Did modern-day scientists
finally prove
1016
01:00:49,062 --> 01:00:52,773
what ancient cultures
have believed for centuries?
1017
01:00:57,070 --> 01:01:00,281
BAUVAL:
The common myth or idea
1018
01:01:00,407 --> 01:01:06,078
that the origins of humankind
is from the stars is widespread.
1019
01:01:06,079 --> 01:01:08,873
Ancient cultures have-- the
ancient Egyptians, the Mayans,
1020
01:01:08,999 --> 01:01:12,084
the Aztecs, the Indians
and so forth.
1021
01:01:12,085 --> 01:01:16,088
Uh, is intriguing,
and it's probably true.
1022
01:01:16,089 --> 01:01:18,716
And I mean it from
an astrophysical point of view.
1023
01:01:18,842 --> 01:01:20,676
We do come from the stars.
1024
01:01:20,802 --> 01:01:24,055
It's a fact that life on Earth
has been seeded by the coming
1025
01:01:24,097 --> 01:01:26,098
of a comet
containing the life matter.
1026
01:01:30,937 --> 01:01:34,106
I personally suspect
there is life out there.
1027
01:01:34,107 --> 01:01:36,108
In fact, I believe
that we have evidence--
1028
01:01:36,109 --> 01:01:39,070
if nothing else,
microbial evidence,
1029
01:01:39,112 --> 01:01:43,032
for life extraterrestrially.
1030
01:01:43,116 --> 01:01:44,950
NARRATOR:
But if life did land on Earth
1031
01:01:45,077 --> 01:01:48,120
from outer space,
was it by accident,
1032
01:01:48,121 --> 01:01:52,124
or might it have been
sent here on purpose?
1033
01:01:57,923 --> 01:02:01,509
One mainstream scientist
thought so.
1034
01:02:01,635 --> 01:02:04,887
British geneticist Francis Crick
is best known
1035
01:02:04,971 --> 01:02:07,556
for his collaboration
with James Watson.
1036
01:02:07,682 --> 01:02:13,145
Together, they unraveled the
structure of human DNA in 1953.
1037
01:02:16,983 --> 01:02:20,694
Less than ten years later, they
were awarded the Nobel Prize
1038
01:02:20,779 --> 01:02:24,740
for their groundbreaking work
in genetics.
1039
01:02:24,866 --> 01:02:29,745
In the 1960s, Crick became
a proponent of panspermia theory
1040
01:02:29,871 --> 01:02:32,498
and took it to a whole new level
1041
01:02:32,582 --> 01:02:36,710
with an idea he called
directed panspermia.
1042
01:02:36,795 --> 01:02:39,171
GRAHAM HANCOCK: Francis Crick
hypothesized that somewhere,
1043
01:02:39,172 --> 01:02:43,175
perhaps on the other side
of the galaxy,
1044
01:02:43,176 --> 01:02:48,139
there had been a civilization
of advanced intelligent beings.
1045
01:02:48,181 --> 01:02:50,182
And they had found
that their planet
1046
01:02:50,308 --> 01:02:52,184
was going to be destroyed.
1047
01:02:52,185 --> 01:02:55,604
Perhaps a supernova was going
to go off in their vicinity,
1048
01:02:55,730 --> 01:02:58,607
and their planet would be
sterilized of life.
1049
01:03:00,360 --> 01:03:01,735
And he asked himself,
1050
01:03:01,820 --> 01:03:03,404
"What would an intelligent
civilization do
1051
01:03:03,530 --> 01:03:05,114
in that situation?"
1052
01:03:05,198 --> 01:03:07,199
Um, well, first of all,
they'd try to figure out
1053
01:03:07,325 --> 01:03:09,034
if they could get out of there,
1054
01:03:09,161 --> 01:03:11,829
if they could actually
preserve their lives
1055
01:03:11,955 --> 01:03:13,205
and the lives
of their descendants.
1056
01:03:13,331 --> 01:03:16,167
Perhaps crowd into spaceships
and fly across
1057
01:03:16,209 --> 01:03:17,585
interstellar space
until they found
1058
01:03:17,711 --> 01:03:19,712
a suitable planet to colonize.
1059
01:03:25,552 --> 01:03:28,012
NARRATOR:
But could it actually be true?
1060
01:03:28,138 --> 01:03:29,555
Could we really be
the descendants
1061
01:03:29,639 --> 01:03:33,934
of an alien race that traveled
here from another world?
1062
01:03:39,232 --> 01:03:42,651
POPE:
The ultimate implication of some
1063
01:03:42,777 --> 01:03:46,238
exobiological theories
is actually
1064
01:03:46,239 --> 01:03:48,657
that we ourselves
are extraterrestrials,
1065
01:03:48,783 --> 01:03:52,536
that life on Earth arose because
1066
01:03:52,621 --> 01:03:55,873
organic material was
brought here from elsewhere.
1067
01:03:58,418 --> 01:04:01,378
BIRNES:
What if we’re the ones,
1068
01:04:01,463 --> 01:04:04,882
the descendants of those
who came from another planet?
1069
01:04:05,008 --> 01:04:07,218
We weren't created.
1070
01:04:07,260 --> 01:04:12,181
We were brought here,
seeded planet Earth as a colony
1071
01:04:12,265 --> 01:04:14,558
from some other planet.
1072
01:04:14,643 --> 01:04:18,270
So we're colonists
of another race.
1073
01:04:18,271 --> 01:04:21,232
And that's why the aliens
look like us.
1074
01:04:24,277 --> 01:04:26,987
SCHOCH: In my opinion,
it's not unscientific
1075
01:04:27,072 --> 01:04:31,116
to consider the possibility
of ancient astronauts,
1076
01:04:31,243 --> 01:04:33,285
alien intervention.
1077
01:04:33,286 --> 01:04:35,287
We live in a huge universe.
1078
01:04:38,208 --> 01:04:42,670
Now, bacteria versus humanoids--
1079
01:04:42,796 --> 01:04:44,505
one may say
that's a big difference,
1080
01:04:44,631 --> 01:04:46,382
but in some ways,
it's not a big difference.
1081
01:04:46,466 --> 01:04:47,925
Where you have life,
1082
01:04:48,051 --> 01:04:50,678
you have the ability
for that life to develop
1083
01:04:50,804 --> 01:04:52,680
into what we consider
1084
01:04:52,806 --> 01:04:56,809
civilization
or intelligent beings.
1085
01:05:00,397 --> 01:05:03,399
NARRATOR: Is it just a
coincidence that modern science
1086
01:05:03,483 --> 01:05:08,320
and ancient alien theory have
come to the same conclusion:
1087
01:05:08,446 --> 01:05:12,449
that life on Earth
came from the stars?
1088
01:05:14,869 --> 01:05:18,122
And if it's possible
that billions of years ago,
1089
01:05:18,248 --> 01:05:22,334
an extraterrestrial race
spread out across space,
1090
01:05:22,335 --> 01:05:27,172
how would they survive
in their new home?
1091
01:05:27,299 --> 01:05:30,301
Could they really be
our missing link?
1092
01:05:36,349 --> 01:05:40,686
For thousands of years, mankind
has tried to depict alien beings
1093
01:05:40,770 --> 01:05:43,981
who they believe
came from the skies.
1094
01:05:44,107 --> 01:05:46,191
Many of those creatures
seem to share
1095
01:05:46,318 --> 01:05:49,153
characteristics with humans.
1096
01:05:49,279 --> 01:05:53,782
They often have two arms,
two legs, fingers and a head,
1097
01:05:53,908 --> 01:05:56,702
just like we do.
1098
01:05:56,786 --> 01:05:59,371
Biologists refer
to this basic body shape
1099
01:05:59,372 --> 01:06:02,124
as bilateral symmetry.
1100
01:06:02,208 --> 01:06:05,461
Bilateral symmetry is, very
simply, you divide something
1101
01:06:05,545 --> 01:06:09,673
down the middle into two parts--
and lateral means up and down--
1102
01:06:09,758 --> 01:06:13,218
and the two sides are an exact
reflection of each other.
1103
01:06:13,345 --> 01:06:17,389
If you fold the thing in half,
all the parts line up.
1104
01:06:27,525 --> 01:06:29,902
RUSSELL TUTTLE:
Being bilaterally symmetric
1105
01:06:29,986 --> 01:06:34,323
allows you to be streamlined
and to develop a head end,
1106
01:06:34,407 --> 01:06:35,991
so you become cephalized.
1107
01:06:36,117 --> 01:06:37,993
And that certainly happened
in vertebrates.
1108
01:06:38,119 --> 01:06:40,120
Virtually, the mouth
at the end of something
1109
01:06:40,205 --> 01:06:42,915
and then you get progressive
development, and that seems to
1110
01:06:42,999 --> 01:06:45,250
have led to many, many advances.
1111
01:06:48,421 --> 01:06:50,506
DENNIN: So, when you
look at it closely,
1112
01:06:50,590 --> 01:06:53,967
you can see a lot of advantages
coming in.
1113
01:06:54,052 --> 01:06:57,054
Having the two arms and
the two legs to work together
1114
01:06:57,180 --> 01:07:00,391
really gives you great mobility
and balance and speed.
1115
01:07:08,024 --> 01:07:09,858
Having eyes
on two sides separated
1116
01:07:09,984 --> 01:07:12,277
gives really improved vision
in various ways.
1117
01:07:12,404 --> 01:07:14,071
Animals that are
predominantly prey
1118
01:07:14,197 --> 01:07:17,241
use their two eyes independently
and get a huge field of view.
1119
01:07:17,367 --> 01:07:18,450
Animals that are
predominantly hunters
1120
01:07:18,535 --> 01:07:20,244
have them more in the front
1121
01:07:20,370 --> 01:07:21,954
and get really good depth
perception, which you need
1122
01:07:22,038 --> 01:07:23,956
if you’re gonna land on
the animal you're hunting.
1123
01:07:24,040 --> 01:07:27,459
(lion growling)
1124
01:07:34,050 --> 01:07:37,386
NARRATOR: If it is true
that aliens resemble humans
1125
01:07:37,470 --> 01:07:39,888
in their physical
characteristics,
1126
01:07:40,014 --> 01:07:44,560
might there also be
genetic similarities?
1127
01:07:44,644 --> 01:07:48,105
Could we even be related?
1128
01:07:50,191 --> 01:07:53,485
In 2003,
the U.S. Government announced
1129
01:07:53,486 --> 01:07:57,823
that the Human Genome Project
had identified all of the nearly
1130
01:07:57,907 --> 01:08:01,326
25,000 genes in the human body.
1131
01:08:01,453 --> 01:08:04,913
For the first time,
scientists had a road map
1132
01:08:05,039 --> 01:08:08,417
to the genetic makeup of humans.
1133
01:08:32,275 --> 01:08:36,445
NARRATOR: In 2006,
genetic researchers
1134
01:08:36,529 --> 01:08:39,531
at the University of California
at Santa Cruz
1135
01:08:39,616 --> 01:08:44,328
discovered an area of the genome
they called HAR1
1136
01:08:44,454 --> 01:08:47,664
that appears to be
unique to humans.
1137
01:08:47,749 --> 01:08:52,544
Scientists believe the HAR1 gene
plays a critical role
1138
01:08:52,545 --> 01:08:55,714
in the advanced development
of the human brain,
1139
01:08:55,840 --> 01:09:00,177
and is a key element that sets
us apart from other animals.
1140
01:09:00,303 --> 01:09:02,554
But where did it come from?
1141
01:09:02,555 --> 01:09:04,681
Did humans develop
this distinct gene
1142
01:09:04,766 --> 01:09:07,559
naturally through evolution?
1143
01:09:07,560 --> 01:09:11,146
Or did it land here
from another planet?
1144
01:09:13,149 --> 01:09:16,568
Francis Crick, the British
scientist who helped discover
1145
01:09:16,569 --> 01:09:20,531
the structure of DNA,
believed that human genes
1146
01:09:20,573 --> 01:09:22,908
could not have evolved
by chance.
1147
01:09:22,992 --> 01:09:25,744
Crick didn't feel in that period
of roughly 600 million years,
1148
01:09:25,870 --> 01:09:27,955
from the formation of the planet
down to the time
1149
01:09:28,081 --> 01:09:29,581
when the planet
could first support life,
1150
01:09:29,666 --> 01:09:32,584
there was enough time
for DNA to evolve by accident.
1151
01:09:32,710 --> 01:09:35,796
It's an enormously
complicated molecule.
1152
01:09:35,922 --> 01:09:38,590
Crick gave this analogy:
You would be
1153
01:09:38,716 --> 01:09:44,596
more likely to assemble a fully
functioning and flying jumbo jet
1154
01:09:44,722 --> 01:09:48,809
by passing a hurricane through
a junkyard than you would be
1155
01:09:48,935 --> 01:09:51,895
to assemble
the DNA molecule by chance
1156
01:09:51,980 --> 01:09:54,606
in any kind of primeval soup
1157
01:09:54,607 --> 01:09:56,608
in five or
six hundred million years.
1158
01:09:56,609 --> 01:09:59,945
It's just not possible.
1159
01:10:00,029 --> 01:10:02,239
NARRATOR: But if this molecule
could not have
1160
01:10:02,365 --> 01:10:06,618
evolved accidentally,
how was it created?
1161
01:10:06,744 --> 01:10:10,831
Was it, as some believe,
put there on purpose?
1162
01:10:10,957 --> 01:10:13,625
TSOUKALOS:
The question should not be
1163
01:10:13,710 --> 01:10:15,794
do the extraterrestrials
look like us
1164
01:10:15,920 --> 01:10:17,629
or what do the extraterrestrials
look like,
1165
01:10:17,630 --> 01:10:21,633
but do we look like
the extraterrestrials?
1166
01:10:21,634 --> 01:10:25,220
Because according to
the ancient astronaut theory,
1167
01:10:25,346 --> 01:10:29,766
a long, long time ago,
extraterrestrials came here,
1168
01:10:29,851 --> 01:10:34,938
and through a targeted mutation
of our genes,
1169
01:10:35,023 --> 01:10:37,608
we "became human."
1170
01:10:44,866 --> 01:10:46,742
FIEBAG (translated): Possibly
there's information in our DNA
1171
01:10:46,826 --> 01:10:50,370
about whether human evolution
was manipulated or not.
1172
01:10:54,208 --> 01:10:57,836
The DNA is almost deciphered,
yet we only understand
1173
01:10:57,962 --> 01:11:00,088
five percent of the information
it carries.
1174
01:11:03,217 --> 01:11:06,303
TSOUKALOS:
Geneticists have determined
1175
01:11:06,429 --> 01:11:09,681
that it only takes
about five percent
1176
01:11:09,682 --> 01:11:14,645
to clone a human being,
and that 95%
1177
01:11:14,687 --> 01:11:17,898
of that genetic material
that we have in our bodies
1178
01:11:18,024 --> 01:11:20,692
is nothing more than
what they refer to
1179
01:11:20,818 --> 01:11:23,862
as "geneticjunk."
1180
01:11:23,988 --> 01:11:25,322
DENNIN:
Why is everything there?
1181
01:11:25,448 --> 01:11:26,865
And there's probably
parts of the DNA
1182
01:11:26,991 --> 01:11:29,117
that don't have an obvious
current function.
1183
01:11:29,243 --> 01:11:31,119
Maybe they're left over
from something that was used
1184
01:11:31,245 --> 01:11:33,705
in the past, kind of like
our appendix is left over.
1185
01:11:33,706 --> 01:11:36,833
NARRATOR:
Could this genetic junk
1186
01:11:36,918 --> 01:11:40,420
hold the key
to the evolution of humans?
1187
01:11:40,505 --> 01:11:44,716
Some people suggest
that decoding our DNA entirely
1188
01:11:44,717 --> 01:11:49,721
will unlock startling
information about our origins.
1189
01:11:49,722 --> 01:11:52,808
But could it even prove
that aliens played a role
1190
01:11:52,892 --> 01:11:56,728
in our development
thousands of years ago?
1191
01:11:56,729 --> 01:11:59,564
HANCOCK:
If you hypothetically wanted
1192
01:11:59,691 --> 01:12:02,943
to record an eternal message
1193
01:12:03,069 --> 01:12:06,738
that could be decoded by
a creature that had eventually
1194
01:12:06,739 --> 01:12:09,282
evolved enough intelligence
to decode it,
1195
01:12:09,367 --> 01:12:11,743
the place to put that message
would not be on
1196
01:12:11,744 --> 01:12:15,288
some monument or in some text,
1197
01:12:15,373 --> 01:12:17,749
which might be swept away,
1198
01:12:17,750 --> 01:12:21,878
but actually on the DNA
of the creature itself.
1199
01:12:23,923 --> 01:12:26,758
(baby cooing)
1200
01:12:26,759 --> 01:12:28,760
It's recently been established
1201
01:12:28,761 --> 01:12:34,516
that DNA is a recording medium
of almost limitless power.
1202
01:12:34,600 --> 01:12:38,895
It would be technically possible
to record the entire knowledge
1203
01:12:38,980 --> 01:12:42,691
of a civilization
on the DNA in our bodies.
1204
01:12:42,775 --> 01:12:45,777
All you'd need is a way
to access that information.
1205
01:12:48,781 --> 01:12:51,783
VON DANIKEN:
I think we have something,
1206
01:12:51,784 --> 01:12:55,287
the whole humanity,
in our genes.
1207
01:12:55,371 --> 01:12:59,541
Somewhere in our genes,
it is coded
1208
01:12:59,625 --> 01:13:02,794
that extraterrestrials were here
thousands of years ago.
1209
01:13:04,797 --> 01:13:07,007
NARRATOR:
But the questions persist:
1210
01:13:07,133 --> 01:13:11,344
If aliens visited Earth
tens of thousands of years ago,
1211
01:13:11,429 --> 01:13:14,806
how did they get here?
1212
01:13:14,932 --> 01:13:18,310
When we look to the past
for the answers,
1213
01:13:18,394 --> 01:13:21,813
are we looking
in the wrong place?
1214
01:13:21,814 --> 01:13:25,317
Should we actually
look forward...
1215
01:13:25,401 --> 01:13:27,402
to our future?
1216
01:13:36,329 --> 01:13:40,624
Scientists agree that the best
chances of finding alien life
1217
01:13:40,750 --> 01:13:43,835
will be on planets
similar to ours,
1218
01:13:43,836 --> 01:13:46,963
and descriptions of
extraterrestrials seem to
1219
01:13:47,048 --> 01:13:49,132
resemble humans in many ways.
1220
01:13:49,217 --> 01:13:53,136
Some ancient astronaut
theorists draw
1221
01:13:53,221 --> 01:13:55,847
a surprising conclusion
from these facts,
1222
01:13:55,932 --> 01:13:59,643
suggesting that aliens
might actually be human.
1223
01:14:01,646 --> 01:14:05,774
It is odd
that many of the descriptions
1224
01:14:05,858 --> 01:14:08,860
of aliens are
effectively humanoid,
1225
01:14:08,861 --> 01:14:12,697
and this raises
an interesting possibility.
1226
01:14:12,824 --> 01:14:15,408
One idea that's been
put forward is that, uh,
1227
01:14:15,493 --> 01:14:17,577
these are not
extraterrestrials at all,
1228
01:14:17,662 --> 01:14:20,872
but they're time travelers
from the future.
1229
01:14:20,873 --> 01:14:23,208
They could be us
from a thousand,
1230
01:14:23,292 --> 01:14:25,877
2,000, 10,000 years from now.
1231
01:14:25,878 --> 01:14:29,714
Let's assume for a moment
that 10,000 years from now
1232
01:14:29,841 --> 01:14:31,883
on this planet,
if we all survive,
1233
01:14:31,884 --> 01:14:34,886
that time travel was created;
they've invented it.
1234
01:14:34,887 --> 01:14:37,848
Just like the time machine
of H.G. Wells' days,
1235
01:14:37,890 --> 01:14:40,851
they can go back
or they can go forward.
1236
01:14:40,893 --> 01:14:43,895
So let's assume,
10,000 years from now,
1237
01:14:43,980 --> 01:14:46,982
we decide to come back
to see us.
1238
01:14:47,066 --> 01:14:49,901
Maybe they have
changed physically.
1239
01:14:49,902 --> 01:14:53,613
They look like the alien grays
or whoever they may be.
1240
01:14:55,408 --> 01:14:58,618
It could well be that ancient
astronauts might not be
1241
01:14:58,703 --> 01:15:00,912
creatures from
other planets at all,
1242
01:15:00,997 --> 01:15:05,250
but time travelers
from 2720 in a time machine.
1243
01:15:08,921 --> 01:15:11,089
NARRATOR: Time travel
is an essential concept
1244
01:15:11,215 --> 01:15:14,759
for science fiction,
but would it be possible
1245
01:15:14,886 --> 01:15:16,303
for flesh-and-blood humans
1246
01:15:16,429 --> 01:15:18,221
to find a way
to transport themselves
1247
01:15:18,306 --> 01:15:21,933
through time
with current technology?
1248
01:15:21,934 --> 01:15:25,228
Would this enable us to cover
the vast distances of space?
1249
01:15:27,064 --> 01:15:28,940
If I could travel
close to the speed of light,
1250
01:15:29,066 --> 01:15:32,110
I could reach the year 3000,
say, in a couple of years.
1251
01:15:32,236 --> 01:15:35,071
Have to get very close to
the speed of light for that,
1252
01:15:35,156 --> 01:15:37,949
but it's doable, and we know
that this isn't a theory,
1253
01:15:37,950 --> 01:15:39,534
this is, this is real physics;
1254
01:15:39,660 --> 01:15:42,370
we could demonstrate
these time-warping effects.
1255
01:15:44,373 --> 01:15:46,333
So you can reach
the future quicker
1256
01:15:46,459 --> 01:15:49,377
by traveling
close to the speed of light.
1257
01:15:49,503 --> 01:15:52,923
NARRATOR: The concept of
time travel was first proposed
1258
01:15:52,965 --> 01:15:55,800
by Albert Einstein in 1905,
1259
01:15:55,927 --> 01:15:59,930
when he published his
Theory of Special Relativity.
1260
01:15:59,972 --> 01:16:02,974
Ancient astronaut theory
says that astronauts visited us
1261
01:16:02,975 --> 01:16:04,768
a long time ago
from somewhere else.
1262
01:16:04,894 --> 01:16:07,103
The technology involved
in doing that,
1263
01:16:07,188 --> 01:16:09,397
we would assume would be similar
to what we understand now.
1264
01:16:09,523 --> 01:16:11,816
I mean, we know special
relativity is a law of physics.
1265
01:16:11,943 --> 01:16:14,527
It holds anywhere
in the universe.
1266
01:16:14,612 --> 01:16:17,072
Ancient astronauts would come
all the way here and travel
1267
01:16:17,156 --> 01:16:19,616
these large distances
and not age that much,
1268
01:16:19,742 --> 01:16:21,534
relative to their home planet.
1269
01:16:21,619 --> 01:16:23,787
Because if you’re going close
enough to the speed of light,
1270
01:16:23,913 --> 01:16:27,582
you will have slowed down time
enough that when you get back,
1271
01:16:27,708 --> 01:16:29,751
hundreds, thousands,
or even millions of years
1272
01:16:29,835 --> 01:16:31,836
could have passed.
1273
01:16:38,010 --> 01:16:41,179
NARRATOR: One limitation
to this method of travel
1274
01:16:41,305 --> 01:16:44,349
is that,
because a spacecraft has mass,
1275
01:16:44,433 --> 01:16:49,020
it theoretically cannot reach
the exact speed of light.
1276
01:16:49,021 --> 01:16:51,398
The resulting reduction
in velocity
1277
01:16:51,524 --> 01:16:53,608
would then dramatically increase
1278
01:16:53,734 --> 01:16:58,363
the amount of time needed
to cross the vast universe.
1279
01:16:58,447 --> 01:17:01,366
NOORY: Well, there's definitely
many theories about
1280
01:17:01,450 --> 01:17:03,743
how extraterrestrials got here,
1281
01:17:03,828 --> 01:17:07,622
how their propulsion system
got them to planet Earth.
1282
01:17:07,748 --> 01:17:11,042
They're surely not coming here
the way we go out into space.
1283
01:17:11,043 --> 01:17:12,460
They'd never get here.
1284
01:17:12,586 --> 01:17:14,337
They are finding different ways.
1285
01:17:14,422 --> 01:17:17,257
They have either developed
a new form of propulsion,
1286
01:17:17,383 --> 01:17:19,384
or they're able
to travel through--
1287
01:17:19,468 --> 01:17:21,052
what I've always believed--
1288
01:17:21,053 --> 01:17:23,763
wormholes throughout
the universe
1289
01:17:23,848 --> 01:17:26,850
that would instantaneously
put them here.
1290
01:17:29,603 --> 01:17:34,065
NARRATOR: The idea of wormholes
was first proposed in 1935
1291
01:17:34,066 --> 01:17:35,817
by Albert Einstein
1292
01:17:35,901 --> 01:17:39,571
and his longtime collaborator
Nathan Rosen.
1293
01:17:39,655 --> 01:17:43,575
They began to explore the
possibility that space and time
1294
01:17:43,659 --> 01:17:47,912
could literally be bent to
create a time travel shortcut.
1295
01:17:50,624 --> 01:17:52,083
DENNIN: Wormholes have
not been detected.
1296
01:17:52,168 --> 01:17:55,837
They are a postulated
structure in space
1297
01:17:55,921 --> 01:17:57,714
that involve actually taking--
1298
01:17:57,840 --> 01:17:59,841
if you want to think of
a sheet of paper--
1299
01:17:59,925 --> 01:18:02,302
bending it in half
and connecting the two pieces
1300
01:18:02,428 --> 01:18:04,095
that you get together.
1301
01:18:04,096 --> 01:18:06,181
A wormhole is thought to do
something like that.
1302
01:18:06,265 --> 01:18:09,100
Space gets warped,
and it connects
1303
01:18:09,101 --> 01:18:11,061
between two different
parts of space.
1304
01:18:11,103 --> 01:18:13,021
You know, there's predictions
about what they would look like;
1305
01:18:13,105 --> 01:18:15,231
there's theories about them,
but we haven't detected one yet.
1306
01:18:15,316 --> 01:18:17,067
You're not actually ever
traveling faster
1307
01:18:17,109 --> 01:18:20,487
than the speed of light;
you're just cutting corners.
1308
01:18:20,613 --> 01:18:23,239
You don't actually
have to go light speed
1309
01:18:23,324 --> 01:18:25,909
and travel for light-years
to someplace.
1310
01:18:26,035 --> 01:18:28,870
You literally go there through a
wormhole and through hyperspace,
1311
01:18:28,954 --> 01:18:30,288
and bang, you're there.
1312
01:18:30,414 --> 01:18:33,875
DAVIES: If you can have
a wormhole in space,
1313
01:18:33,959 --> 01:18:37,670
then it can be turned, in
principle, into a time machine.
1314
01:18:37,755 --> 01:18:41,966
And so travel back in time
as well as forward in time
1315
01:18:42,093 --> 01:18:43,301
would then be possible.
1316
01:18:43,427 --> 01:18:45,887
The problem is:
where do you get your wormhole?
1317
01:18:45,971 --> 01:18:48,139
Uh, it's not inconceivable
1318
01:18:48,224 --> 01:18:50,266
that wormholes were made
in the Big Bang,
1319
01:18:50,351 --> 01:18:52,143
coughed out along with
everything else;
1320
01:18:52,144 --> 01:18:55,105
there might be one out there
in the universe we could harvest
1321
01:18:55,147 --> 01:18:58,149
and adapt to form
a time machine.
1322
01:18:58,150 --> 01:18:59,943
DENNIN:
If you end up discovering
1323
01:19:00,069 --> 01:19:02,278
that you could make wormholes,
then that increases the range
1324
01:19:02,363 --> 01:19:04,906
that you can explore in space
and that increases
1325
01:19:04,990 --> 01:19:07,158
the likelihood
of having two civilizations
1326
01:19:07,159 --> 01:19:09,369
at the same time
with the right technology
1327
01:19:09,495 --> 01:19:11,329
to communicate with each other.
1328
01:19:13,332 --> 01:19:15,667
NARRATOR:
While theoretically possible,
1329
01:19:15,751 --> 01:19:18,962
traveling through wormholes
or at the speed of light
1330
01:19:19,088 --> 01:19:22,173
is currently impossible for us
here on Earth.
1331
01:19:27,138 --> 01:19:32,183
Using modern propulsion methods,
it would take 70,000 years
1332
01:19:32,268 --> 01:19:34,561
to reach the nearest star.
1333
01:19:34,687 --> 01:19:36,980
Our fastest rockets
are totally puny.
1334
01:19:37,106 --> 01:19:38,815
It's really pathetic.
1335
01:19:38,941 --> 01:19:41,985
So we're talking about .01%
1336
01:19:42,111 --> 01:19:44,487
of the speed of light,
if you’re lucky.
1337
01:19:44,572 --> 01:19:47,282
Any object that we can fire
out of the solar system
1338
01:19:47,366 --> 01:19:49,617
is going to take
tens of thousands of years
1339
01:19:49,743 --> 01:19:51,744
to reach the nearest star.
1340
01:19:55,207 --> 01:19:59,210
NARRATOR: Believe it or not,
at 4.6 billion years old,
1341
01:19:59,336 --> 01:20:03,798
our solar system is one of
the youngest in the universe.
1342
01:20:03,924 --> 01:20:07,385
But if civilizations exist
in other galaxies,
1343
01:20:07,511 --> 01:20:09,971
is it possible
that they are more advanced
1344
01:20:10,055 --> 01:20:11,848
than those on Earth?
1345
01:20:11,974 --> 01:20:14,934
And if so, could they be
ahead of us in their ability
1346
01:20:15,019 --> 01:20:17,020
to travel through
space and time?
1347
01:20:19,023 --> 01:20:20,732
CHILDRESS:
For extraterrestrials
1348
01:20:20,816 --> 01:20:24,819
to come here, through the vast
reaches of space to our planet,
1349
01:20:24,945 --> 01:20:27,238
they clearly
have to have technology
1350
01:20:27,239 --> 01:20:31,201
that's way in advance
of what we have today.
1351
01:20:31,243 --> 01:20:33,536
To go from solar system
to solar system,
1352
01:20:33,621 --> 01:20:36,998
rather than going warp speed,
like in Star Trek,
1353
01:20:37,082 --> 01:20:40,043
you're really going to travel,
as they do in Star Wars,
1354
01:20:40,169 --> 01:20:42,545
where you're jumping
through hyperspace.
1355
01:20:42,630 --> 01:20:47,258
Going from a solar system to
solar system is no time at all.
1356
01:20:52,264 --> 01:20:56,684
Just because we can't travel
from star to star does not mean
1357
01:20:56,810 --> 01:21:00,355
another more advanced society
can't do it either.
1358
01:21:00,439 --> 01:21:04,567
I think that's the height
of human arrogance to say,
1359
01:21:04,652 --> 01:21:07,278
"Just because
we can't do it, another
1360
01:21:07,279 --> 01:21:10,490
more advanced civilization
can't do it either."
1361
01:21:10,616 --> 01:21:13,910
So, you know, we have to stop
looking at us that we are
1362
01:21:14,036 --> 01:21:16,287
the pinnacle of creation,
'cause we're not.
1363
01:21:20,042 --> 01:21:23,670
NARRATOR:
Celestial beings.
1364
01:21:23,796 --> 01:21:27,382
Visitors from the skies.
1365
01:21:27,466 --> 01:21:32,262
Deities descending from the
heavens to interact with man.
1366
01:21:32,304 --> 01:21:35,390
Could these worldwide stories
be the foundation
1367
01:21:35,474 --> 01:21:38,142
for the prevailing belief
that something
1368
01:21:38,269 --> 01:21:42,230
greater than ourselves,
from beyond our world,
1369
01:21:42,314 --> 01:21:45,316
created the universe
as we know it?
1370
01:21:56,662 --> 01:22:00,164
Almost all of the great
world faiths are based on
1371
01:22:00,291 --> 01:22:03,501
stories of celestial beings
who visit Earth.
1372
01:22:03,627 --> 01:22:06,879
Many millions of people
accept these legends
1373
01:22:06,964 --> 01:22:09,132
as part of their core beliefs.
1374
01:22:15,347 --> 01:22:18,349
And from the earliest
cave drawings
1375
01:22:18,350 --> 01:22:22,895
to images at Roswell,
we see artists' interpretations
1376
01:22:22,980 --> 01:22:27,358
of extraterrestrials or gods
coming to our planet.
1377
01:22:29,987 --> 01:22:34,699
YOUNG: In many traditions, there
is something coming from above.
1378
01:22:34,783 --> 01:22:38,202
There's a stairway to heaven
or there's a whirlwind
1379
01:22:38,329 --> 01:22:40,872
or an angel descends.
1380
01:22:40,956 --> 01:22:43,374
Sometimes the encounter
is quite dangerous.
1381
01:22:43,375 --> 01:22:46,210
(thunder rumbles)
1382
01:22:46,337 --> 01:22:49,088
As would be appropriate to
something awesome and larger
1383
01:22:49,173 --> 01:22:50,923
and more powerful than we are.
1384
01:22:51,008 --> 01:22:52,383
Usually, it is memorable.
1385
01:22:58,891 --> 01:23:00,391
CHILDRESS:
Many of the myths
1386
01:23:00,392 --> 01:23:05,355
are much more specific,
and they really talk about gods
1387
01:23:05,397 --> 01:23:08,399
physically coming to Earth--
1388
01:23:08,400 --> 01:23:14,238
landing, doing miracles, and
showing the people how to live.
1389
01:23:17,409 --> 01:23:21,412
NARRATOR: If visitors did come
from the stars, is it possible
1390
01:23:21,538 --> 01:23:25,208
that they actually changed
the way ancient people thought?
1391
01:23:27,211 --> 01:23:29,420
Did they provide
an intellectual spark
1392
01:23:29,421 --> 01:23:32,840
to prehistoric civilizations?
1393
01:23:32,966 --> 01:23:36,511
Could that be the reason
why so many different cultures
1394
01:23:36,595 --> 01:23:40,431
could build such large
and lasting monuments?
1395
01:23:42,434 --> 01:23:44,435
NOORY: It's almost
as if primitive man
1396
01:23:44,436 --> 01:23:46,270
woke up one morning and went,
1397
01:23:46,397 --> 01:23:49,232
"Hey, I've got this knowledge
and I know how to make tools
1398
01:23:49,358 --> 01:23:52,360
and I'm gonna go
and build all these things."
1399
01:23:52,444 --> 01:23:54,445
Nah, I don't think
it happened that way.
1400
01:23:54,571 --> 01:23:58,449
I think others came down to
this planet and started teaching
1401
01:23:58,450 --> 01:24:01,536
other people, uh, that were
beginning to evolve.
1402
01:24:03,539 --> 01:24:08,042
But the one thing I truly
do not believe is that
1403
01:24:08,168 --> 01:24:11,671
modern cavemen at the time
basically created
1404
01:24:11,797 --> 01:24:13,881
all this knowledge
out of thin air.
1405
01:24:18,178 --> 01:24:19,470
TSOUKALOS:
All around the world,
1406
01:24:19,471 --> 01:24:24,434
we have concise descriptions
in ancient texts
1407
01:24:24,476 --> 01:24:30,189
which say, word for word,
that some beings
1408
01:24:30,274 --> 01:24:33,484
came from the sky.
1409
01:24:33,485 --> 01:24:37,905
So it's as if this
intellectual Big Bang
1410
01:24:38,031 --> 01:24:42,493
or this
Big Bang of knowledge occurred
1411
01:24:42,494 --> 01:24:45,496
in various periods of time.
1412
01:24:45,497 --> 01:24:49,667
And those various
periods of time most concisely
1413
01:24:49,793 --> 01:24:54,672
always correlate with
some type of description
1414
01:24:54,798 --> 01:24:58,801
of gods descending from the sky.
1415
01:25:05,517 --> 01:25:07,810
HANCOCK: I do think of that
as a very significant
1416
01:25:07,895 --> 01:25:10,480
before-and-after moment
in the human story.
1417
01:25:10,522 --> 01:25:14,275
And it is not a moment that is
linked to physical evolution.
1418
01:25:14,359 --> 01:25:16,235
We've already got the hardware.
1419
01:25:16,320 --> 01:25:18,613
It's as though something
happened to our software
1420
01:25:18,697 --> 01:25:21,741
around about that time, and
I think it's a very intriguing
1421
01:25:21,867 --> 01:25:23,868
moment in the human story.
1422
01:25:27,915 --> 01:25:30,541
NARRATOR: For supporters
of ancient alien theory,
1423
01:25:30,542 --> 01:25:33,544
the verdict is already in.
1424
01:25:33,670 --> 01:25:35,838
They believe that aliens visited
1425
01:25:35,923 --> 01:25:40,968
many of Earth's earliest
cultures thousands of years ago.
1426
01:25:41,094 --> 01:25:43,262
But is it possible?
1427
01:25:43,347 --> 01:25:46,098
Are extraterrestrials
responsible for the sacred
1428
01:25:46,183 --> 01:25:49,936
creation myths of
the first human civilizations?
1429
01:25:50,062 --> 01:25:53,940
Might they have tampered
with our DNA?
1430
01:25:54,066 --> 01:25:57,276
Are humans themselves aliens
from another planet
1431
01:25:57,361 --> 01:26:01,739
in the heavens
or even from another time?
1432
01:26:01,865 --> 01:26:04,700
While man continues to search
for these answers,
1433
01:26:04,785 --> 01:26:07,495
the questions remain.
1434
01:26:07,579 --> 01:26:11,582
If they came here,
what was their mission?
1435
01:26:11,583 --> 01:26:16,587
We call Earth home, but with
perfect conditions for life,
1436
01:26:16,588 --> 01:26:18,923
could it be a beacon,
1437
01:26:19,007 --> 01:26:21,884
calling out to
other intelligent civilizations
1438
01:26:21,969 --> 01:26:24,512
that may exist in the universe?
1439
01:26:28,100 --> 01:26:30,726
CARGILL: I think there is life,
simple life, bacterial life,
1440
01:26:30,811 --> 01:26:32,979
microbial life on other planets.
1441
01:26:33,105 --> 01:26:34,897
I think
we're going to find that.
1442
01:26:34,982 --> 01:26:36,524
And who knows?
1443
01:26:36,608 --> 01:26:39,443
Maybe one day we'll find
some other planet
1444
01:26:39,570 --> 01:26:41,612
that's capable
of sustaining life,
1445
01:26:41,613 --> 01:26:44,615
that has evolved people
over a long period of time,
1446
01:26:44,741 --> 01:26:47,827
that are also looking up
at the stars wondering:
1447
01:26:47,953 --> 01:26:50,329
is there anybody else out there;
are we the only ones?
1448
01:26:50,414 --> 01:26:54,166
HELDMANN: What bigger question
could we ask about ourselves
1449
01:26:54,251 --> 01:26:55,626
and our place in the universe?
1450
01:26:55,711 --> 01:26:57,795
You know, is there life
elsewhere in the universe,
1451
01:26:57,921 --> 01:26:59,630
or are we it?
1452
01:26:59,715 --> 01:27:02,592
I mean, I think it's one of
the most fascinating questions,
1453
01:27:02,634 --> 01:27:05,011
and we're fortunate enough
to live in a time when we can
1454
01:27:05,137 --> 01:27:07,263
address this question
scientifically
1455
01:27:07,389 --> 01:27:09,348
and really try
and get at some answers.
1456
01:27:11,143 --> 01:27:13,644
NOORY: You can then come up with
a conclusion that something,
1457
01:27:13,645 --> 01:27:18,399
one, very strange is happening
on this planet, and two,
1458
01:27:18,483 --> 01:27:22,361
if it's coming from
outside of this system,
1459
01:27:22,446 --> 01:27:24,280
then we're being visited
by something
1460
01:27:24,406 --> 01:27:26,449
that has some intelligence
behind it.
1461
01:27:28,493 --> 01:27:32,455
TSOUKALOS:
In the end, the truth wins.
1462
01:27:32,581 --> 01:27:34,999
And we've seen this in history,
1463
01:27:35,083 --> 01:27:39,295
where scientific theories
or ideas
1464
01:27:39,421 --> 01:27:44,967
that have been deemed impossible
turned out to be true.
1465
01:27:45,052 --> 01:27:49,221
And so it is my firm conviction
1466
01:27:49,306 --> 01:27:53,601
that the same will count
for the ancient alien theory.120819
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