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NARRATOR: It is a book
that caused a global sensation.
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WILLIAM A book
that says aliens visited Earth
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and then helped build
the pyramids
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influences the whole world.
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NARRATOR: It challenged
everything we thought we knew
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about humanity's past.
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Mamma mia!
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It 100% questioned
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orthodox ideas of archaeology.
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A lot of people
violently disagree with you...
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ERICH VON DANIKEN:
It's absolutely normal
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in our society
that I am attacked.
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NARRATOR:
But after five decades
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of scrutiny and investigation,
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how has Erich von Daniken's
controversial theory held up?
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MEGAN FOX: We've had people
that have worked at NASA
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go on the record saying
that of course they believe
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extraterrestrial life exists.
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NARRATOR:
Join the world's prominent
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ancient astronaut theorists...
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- Wow.
- As they separate fact...
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NICK POPE:
Researchers have a whole arsenal
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of tools at their disposal.
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NARRATOR:
from fiction...
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WILLIAM HENRY:
We've seen this new generation
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of ancient astronaut theorists
bringing new facts
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that were
previously unavailable.
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NARRATOR:
and explore what has become
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a worldwide phenomenon.
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ANNOUNCER:
Erich von Daniken.
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DAVID CHILDRESS:
At no time has there ever been
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such a big wave
of people believing
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in alien life.
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NARRATOR:
It's a special
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two-hour Ancient Aliens event.
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Von Daniken's theory
is mesmerizing,
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because nobody knows anything.
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♪ ♪
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*ANCIENT ALIENS*
Season 13 Episode 14
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*ANCIENT ALIENS*
Episode Title: "The Alien Phenomenon"
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♪ ♪
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NARRATOR:
1968.
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It was a year of civil unrest,
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colossal
scientific achievement...
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and of violent opposition
to a war that seemed
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to have no end in sight.
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It was a time
when everything was questioned,
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and people over 30 were
no longer being trusted.
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You had a sociocultural
revolution taking place
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during this decade.
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Vietnam...
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women's lib...
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civil rights...
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and political assassinations.
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This was the time
of terrible world tensions.
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Nuclear annihilation was
on everyone's minds.
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The Soviets had nuclear weapons
and missiles; so did we.
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There was tremendous
social and academic change
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all over the world,
and particularly in the West.
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Young people
were getting their voice.
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The status quo that
had come out of World War II,
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the controlling of us,
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people were rebelling
against that.
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So things were
very much changing.
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(people whistling)
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NARRATOR: In 1962,
America's 35th president,
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John F. Kennedy, announced
his nation's ambitious goal
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of putting a man on the Moon.
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We choose to go to the Moon
in this decade
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and do the other things,
not because they are easy,
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but because they are hard.
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NARRATOR:
Less than six years
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after Kennedy's
audacious proclamation,
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a book appeared
on store shelves.
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Entitled Chariots of the Gods?,
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it threatened to push
the already stretched boundaries
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of America's most established
understandings of history...
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archaeology...
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science...
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and religion.
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The title... complete with
its enigmatic question mark...
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Was as compelling
as its inquisitive premise:
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Did aliens come to Earth
centuries ago?
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Did they leave behind evidence
in the form of pyramids...
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monolithic structures...
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strange carvings...
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and even stranger markings
in the sands?
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And, if so, could this notion
help to explain everything
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from mankind's origins
to the unsolved mysteries
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of the world's
most sacred religions?
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GRAHAM: Chariots of the Gods?
Reinterpreted
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ancient historical texts,
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religious texts, as evidence
of ancient alien visitation.
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It reinterpreted these
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as being something that
was not necessarily divine,
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but rather something
that was extraterrestrial
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nuts-and-bolts technology
from another star system.
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NARRATOR: The author
of Chariots of the Gods?
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Appeared to be
as unthreatening and unlikely
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as the book's title...
A Swiss hotel manager
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by the name
of Erich von Daniken.
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VON DANIKEN: When I wrote
Chariots of the Gods?,
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I was still
the managing director
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of a first-class hotel
in Switzerland.
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I wrote about my ideas.
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This was this
burning fire in me.
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I had to write the book.
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And now all of a sudden,
the people look
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to this hotel manager
completely different.
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In the newspaper, for weeks,
they saw my face every day.
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Many of the people said,
"I had similar ideas,
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but you are the first one
which comes out to public."
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NARRATOR: Having already
been published in Germany,
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the book caused an instant
sensation in the United States.
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Almost overnight,
Erich von Daniken rocketed
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from obscurity
to international fame,
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and what later became known
as ancient astronaut theory
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was officially
on everyone's radar
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and in their living rooms.
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(audience laughter)
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People find this fascinating,
as you know,
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and a lot of people, uh...
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probably violently
disagree with you
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and think this is all
a lot of hogwash
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and it sounds good and
it's interesting to talk about,
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but there's really no, uh,
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what they call hard-core...
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As you know,
I have presented my books
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in a very provocative,
in a very explosive way,
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and, uh, so it's
absolutely normal in our society
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that I am attacked.
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Why should it not be like this?
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- So, but it...
- Any new... any new theories
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usually are, are they not,
if they're far out
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- and far-reaching?
- Yeah.
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People immediately say, "No way."
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It's impossible, it's crazy,"
and so forth.
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- You know Schopenhauer?
- Not personally.
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- But I... But yes. The philosopher?
- Yeah.
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- Yes.
- He said something. Each new theory
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00:06:52,850 --> 00:06:56,483
who finally has bloomed
has three stages to run.
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The first stage,
everybody laughs.
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It's nonsense, crackpot,
forget about it.
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In the second stage, uh,
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people don't want to speak
about it anymore.
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And in the third stage,
the whole world says, "Oh, that?"
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We always said it."
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POPE:
Chariots of the Gods? led
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to a fundamental rethink
about our history,
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our origins and, indeed,
our place in the cosmos.
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The idea that our ancient Gods
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might not be deities at all,
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but extraterrestrial visitors,
was a game changer.
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I mean, it absolutely turned
the orthodoxy on its head
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and opened people up
to whole new ways of thinking.
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RAMY ROMANY: I believe
that Chariots of the Gods?
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Was one of the most impactful
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and most intriguing publications
in the modern history.
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It was full of questions,
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and that was the big difference.
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The questions
made people seek an answer.
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My dad was a machinist
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on the Saturn Vs
that went to the Moon.
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And when he read
Chariots of the Gods?,
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I think it excited him,
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and he knew that it
might also spark something in me
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to do my own type of thinking,
my own investigation.
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And my dad always wanted me
to not take people's word
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for things,
to go figure it out for myself.
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And it is one of the reasons
I became a scientist.
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MICHAEL DENNIN: It was able
to take stories and myths
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and suggest that there was
something real behind it.
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I found that fascinating.
And thinking this way back in the '70s
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helped motivate
and push science a little bit
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to think about things
differently.
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I would think
that von Daniken's theory
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of ancient aliens
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appeals to our sense of mystery.
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Because we're curious.
What's out there?
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What's under there?
What's next?
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NARRATOR: But as popular
as Chariots of the Gods?
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Proved to be
with the book-buying public,
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it was also...
Perhaps not surprisingly...
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Almost entirely dismissed
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by members
of the academic community.
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CHILDRESS:
The early reaction
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to Chariots of the Gods?,
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especially from the academics,
was one of disgust.
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In the late '60s and early '70s,
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it was a time when everyone
just listened to the experts.
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And Erich was
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really just torn to bits.
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People attacked his character.
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They attacked
his research and methods.
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They just didn't like
what was in that book.
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Of course I was attacked.
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After Chariots of the Gods?
First I was crushed down,
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more or less by
the whole scientific community.
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Everyone said, "He's crazy.
What is he talking about?"
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And then
some other critics said,
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"Well, he's just a waiter,"
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because I came
from the hotel business,
203
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so, "How can he come up
with these kind of ideas?"
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"Don't believe him.
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He's just
a science fiction author."
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00:10:04,530 --> 00:10:07,228
NARRATOR: What was lost
on many of the book's critics
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was the fact
that von Daniken never claimed
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00:10:10,377 --> 00:10:12,774
to be an archaeologist
or historian.
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Instead, he wrote
Chariots of the Gods?
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From the perspective
of a curious citizen,
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one who posed
compelling questions,
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but did not presume
to supply the answers.
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VON DANIKEN: In the book,
I had 238 questions.
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00:10:28,769 --> 00:10:33,577
Now, I was not absolutely sure
that in every point,
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00:10:33,642 --> 00:10:35,780
in every object, I was correct.
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I could have been wrong,
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and there could be
other possible answers.
218
00:10:39,713 --> 00:10:43,727
But I was sure
I am on the right track.
219
00:10:45,526 --> 00:10:48,546
NARRATOR: But while those in the
mainstream academic community
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00:10:48,611 --> 00:10:51,914
were busily trying to tear
von Daniken's book apart,
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00:10:52,050 --> 00:10:55,844
the general public found
that they could not put it down.
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00:10:56,122 --> 00:10:58,619
CHILDRESS: To lay people
who were buying his books,
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00:10:58,877 --> 00:11:02,475
they were interested
in what his questions were,
224
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and things changed after that.
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ROMANY:
Everyone needed an answer
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00:11:08,449 --> 00:11:11,104
to all the questions
that the book was giving,
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00:11:11,185 --> 00:11:12,848
and everyone became involved.
228
00:11:12,948 --> 00:11:15,889
Everyone became a part
of the search.
229
00:11:16,801 --> 00:11:18,955
And that opened up
modern science,
230
00:11:19,020 --> 00:11:21,316
and that opened up
modern archeology,
231
00:11:21,393 --> 00:11:23,948
because as a young Egyptologist,
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00:11:24,143 --> 00:11:27,220
as a young archeologist,
having a book like that
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00:11:27,285 --> 00:11:30,729
made me think not everything
has to be set in stone.
234
00:11:30,897 --> 00:11:33,628
I can think outside of the box.
235
00:11:35,004 --> 00:11:38,620
What I think
von Daniken's thesis has done
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00:11:38,738 --> 00:11:43,518
is add imagination and wonder
to the world,
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00:11:43,987 --> 00:11:46,880
given the mystery of space,
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00:11:46,945 --> 00:11:50,417
that everything is possible.
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00:11:51,551 --> 00:11:55,315
TSOUKALOS: It was
the first book that challenged
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00:11:55,386 --> 00:11:59,533
the orthodox ideas
of archaeology
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00:11:59,598 --> 00:12:02,159
that actually caught traction.
242
00:12:02,449 --> 00:12:05,875
And it became one
of the most popular books
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00:12:05,940 --> 00:12:08,203
in the history of publishing.
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00:12:08,276 --> 00:12:10,413
I mean, that first run,
245
00:12:10,478 --> 00:12:13,373
six million copies was sold out
in three weeks
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00:12:13,438 --> 00:12:16,202
or something crazy like this.
247
00:12:17,165 --> 00:12:19,508
NARRATOR: For a culture
at war with itself,
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00:12:19,759 --> 00:12:22,492
Chariots of the Gods?
Posed the questions
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00:12:22,557 --> 00:12:26,492
that most people were thinking
but too afraid to ask.
250
00:12:26,952 --> 00:12:30,147
Questions that seemed well-timed
for a world
251
00:12:30,212 --> 00:12:33,209
that was about to land a man
on the Moon.
252
00:12:41,110 --> 00:12:43,930
NARRATOR:
In April 2018,
253
00:12:44,188 --> 00:12:47,984
editor and ancient astronaut
theorist Giorgio Tsoukalos
254
00:12:48,071 --> 00:12:52,054
joined his longtime friend
and mentor, Erich von Daniken,
255
00:12:52,119 --> 00:12:54,382
in Fribourg, Switzerland.
256
00:12:54,517 --> 00:12:57,367
They came to visit
the Collège Saint-Michel,
257
00:12:57,506 --> 00:13:01,311
the Jesuit school that Erich
attended as a young boy.
258
00:13:01,376 --> 00:13:02,639
It was here,
259
00:13:02,704 --> 00:13:04,687
more than seven decades ago,
260
00:13:04,832 --> 00:13:08,014
that von Daniken first began
to ask the questions
261
00:13:08,079 --> 00:13:10,500
that would forever change
his life.
262
00:13:12,376 --> 00:13:13,609
Home, Giorgio.
263
00:13:13,674 --> 00:13:17,226
- Wow.
- This is the holy place.
264
00:13:17,321 --> 00:13:20,601
- This is where it all begins.
- This is beautiful.
265
00:13:21,173 --> 00:13:24,858
VON DANIKEN: Imagine a young man
praying every day
266
00:13:24,923 --> 00:13:27,458
at least a half an hour
in that church.
267
00:13:27,523 --> 00:13:29,062
You see...
268
00:13:30,219 --> 00:13:32,737
I was watching these ceilings.
269
00:13:32,802 --> 00:13:34,475
Look up there.
270
00:13:35,492 --> 00:13:38,411
TSOUKALOS: Some of the paintings
are really gorgeous.
271
00:13:38,476 --> 00:13:41,154
I mean, with the rays
and the people
272
00:13:41,219 --> 00:13:43,044
descending from the sky.
273
00:13:43,109 --> 00:13:44,766
Very interesting.
274
00:13:44,838 --> 00:13:47,186
VON DANIKEN: It is absolutely
impressive here, really.
275
00:13:47,383 --> 00:13:49,971
And now at the moment
I still have the same feeling
276
00:13:50,043 --> 00:13:52,520
as I had as a 17-year-old.
277
00:13:53,310 --> 00:13:54,924
- Look up there.
- Wow.
278
00:13:54,989 --> 00:13:58,862
All the saints in heaven.
And here I learned
279
00:13:58,927 --> 00:14:02,293
for the first time
that there was a war in heaven.
280
00:14:02,474 --> 00:14:04,252
You know, when I was a boy,
they told me
281
00:14:04,317 --> 00:14:05,651
when you came in heaven,
282
00:14:05,716 --> 00:14:08,026
heaven is the place
of absolute happiness.
283
00:14:08,091 --> 00:14:10,549
In heaven
you are united with God.
284
00:14:10,614 --> 00:14:13,080
If you are happy,
united with God,
285
00:14:13,145 --> 00:14:15,410
then there is no war,
no opposition.
286
00:14:15,569 --> 00:14:16,965
That's what confuses me.
287
00:14:17,037 --> 00:14:19,277
That's how it all started here.
Something was wrong
288
00:14:19,356 --> 00:14:21,621
in my own religious belief here.
289
00:14:21,919 --> 00:14:24,315
TSOUKALOS: So, did you have
any fellow students
290
00:14:24,380 --> 00:14:27,080
that were classmates
that were interested
291
00:14:27,145 --> 00:14:28,690
in the things
that all of a sudden
292
00:14:28,755 --> 00:14:30,411
you were like,
"Hey, look at this.
293
00:14:30,476 --> 00:14:31,869
- "What do you think?"
- Well, of course, you know.
294
00:14:31,934 --> 00:14:33,515
I was always... even as a boy...
295
00:14:33,587 --> 00:14:35,856
I was a so-called alpha animal.
296
00:14:36,006 --> 00:14:39,200
I was always the leading one.
They were listening to me.
297
00:14:39,358 --> 00:14:42,574
Of course, the strong believers
want to have
298
00:14:42,639 --> 00:14:45,363
nothing to do
with Erich's crazy ideas.
299
00:14:45,428 --> 00:14:47,759
But I had these thoughts
in my mind
300
00:14:47,824 --> 00:14:49,917
where I was kneeling here,
and I said
301
00:14:49,982 --> 00:14:51,450
my God was omnipotent.
302
00:14:51,522 --> 00:14:53,363
My God did not need a vehicle
303
00:14:53,428 --> 00:14:55,851
to move from one point "A"
to point "B."
304
00:14:55,916 --> 00:14:59,433
My God was all over,
so all this was confusing.
305
00:14:59,498 --> 00:15:02,089
And it all started
in this church here.
306
00:15:02,154 --> 00:15:06,355
So, amongst your teachers,
did you have a Jesuit priest
307
00:15:06,420 --> 00:15:09,207
who said, "Erich, you know,
if you're interested in this",
308
00:15:09,277 --> 00:15:12,678
- you should go and read this or that"?
- Exactly.
309
00:15:12,743 --> 00:15:16,651
These Jesuit priests
were absolutely not orthodox.
310
00:15:16,716 --> 00:15:20,191
They were absolutely friendly
and helpful.
311
00:15:20,256 --> 00:15:21,316
I remember one,
312
00:15:21,381 --> 00:15:23,605
I talked to him
about my thoughts,
313
00:15:23,670 --> 00:15:26,472
and he said,
"Erich, you should read Enoch."
314
00:15:26,537 --> 00:15:28,074
NARRATOR:
Believed to have been written
315
00:15:28,139 --> 00:15:31,286
by Jewish mystics
in the third century BC,
316
00:15:31,514 --> 00:15:33,238
the Book of Enoch
317
00:15:33,337 --> 00:15:35,121
tells the story
of the archangel Michael
318
00:15:35,232 --> 00:15:37,860
coming to Earth
to take the mortal Enoch
319
00:15:37,925 --> 00:15:40,492
into the heavenly realms.
320
00:15:41,704 --> 00:15:46,570
Once there,
Enoch is educated by the angels.
321
00:15:46,738 --> 00:15:48,701
Enoch is taken up
to the highest,
322
00:15:48,766 --> 00:15:50,233
which is the commander
in spaceship
323
00:15:50,298 --> 00:15:51,327
of the extraterrestrials,
324
00:15:51,392 --> 00:15:53,905
and he learned engineering
and astronomy
325
00:15:53,970 --> 00:15:55,735
from the extraterrestrials.
326
00:15:56,501 --> 00:16:00,336
The commander said,
"Some of our people
327
00:16:00,416 --> 00:16:05,578
"had sex with humans,
and they created giants.
328
00:16:06,056 --> 00:16:10,085
"And we have to destroy humanity
with these giants,
329
00:16:10,150 --> 00:16:13,250
and we can do it
only by a great flood."
330
00:16:14,009 --> 00:16:16,366
The great flood was created
331
00:16:16,431 --> 00:16:18,500
by extraterrestrials on purpose.
332
00:16:18,759 --> 00:16:21,514
In all mythologies,
including the Bible,
333
00:16:21,579 --> 00:16:25,351
some Gods are coming down
and teach the human,
334
00:16:25,416 --> 00:16:28,852
"A great flood will come
and destroy you."
335
00:16:29,517 --> 00:16:30,946
And these Gods,
336
00:16:31,192 --> 00:16:33,241
they knew it long before,
337
00:16:33,306 --> 00:16:35,952
and they knew it
because they themselves
338
00:16:36,017 --> 00:16:38,078
made the great flood.
339
00:16:38,986 --> 00:16:40,533
NARRATOR:
Because the Book of Enoch
340
00:16:40,598 --> 00:16:42,905
was edited out
of the traditional Bible
341
00:16:42,970 --> 00:16:45,196
sometime in the fourth century,
342
00:16:45,322 --> 00:16:48,597
it is considered to be
too far-fetched to be credible
343
00:16:48,662 --> 00:16:50,302
by most people of faith.
344
00:16:50,501 --> 00:16:52,944
But to a young
Erich von Daniken,
345
00:16:53,009 --> 00:16:55,741
the Book of Enoch
represented a gateway
346
00:16:55,813 --> 00:17:00,399
into a world of hidden
and forbidden knowledge.
347
00:17:00,837 --> 00:17:03,383
VON DANIKEN:
After I read Enoch,
348
00:17:03,494 --> 00:17:06,108
I felt myself like an explorer
349
00:17:06,173 --> 00:17:09,245
who goes into a jungle
and sees new flowers.
350
00:17:09,326 --> 00:17:10,796
I said, if Enoch is correct,
351
00:17:10,861 --> 00:17:12,557
then there must be
more information
352
00:17:12,630 --> 00:17:16,561
of old writers, old historian,
so I was always looking,
353
00:17:16,634 --> 00:17:18,374
and there was more
and more coming.
354
00:17:18,439 --> 00:17:20,573
Then this fire in me said,
355
00:17:20,638 --> 00:17:23,101
"Erich, don't write about things
which you don't know.
356
00:17:23,173 --> 00:17:25,103
"Go there, touch them,
357
00:17:25,175 --> 00:17:27,608
smell them,
speak to the people."
358
00:17:27,673 --> 00:17:31,960
I was absolutely sure
not only in my feelings,
359
00:17:32,025 --> 00:17:33,278
but in my knowledge.
360
00:17:33,350 --> 00:17:37,797
I was on the right track,
so I was fighting for it.
361
00:17:38,322 --> 00:17:41,007
So you were never
an armchair researcher.
362
00:17:41,072 --> 00:17:42,499
You were an explorer.
363
00:17:42,564 --> 00:17:44,177
Absolutely, I was an explorer.
364
00:17:44,242 --> 00:17:46,852
One of my best friends
was an Egyptian,
365
00:17:46,973 --> 00:17:50,600
and he invited me...
I was 18 and a half years old...
366
00:17:50,665 --> 00:17:52,945
To Egypt for three weeks.
367
00:17:53,087 --> 00:17:55,998
Climbing up the pyramids,
being under the pyramid
368
00:17:56,063 --> 00:17:58,813
in Saqqara in the Serapeum,
etcetera.
369
00:17:58,884 --> 00:18:01,477
So I knew all this
from a young man.
370
00:18:02,618 --> 00:18:05,625
Of course, I visited in Egypt
the Great Pyramid,
371
00:18:05,749 --> 00:18:08,781
and it impressed me
very, very much.
372
00:18:08,876 --> 00:18:10,499
I always have the feeling
373
00:18:10,564 --> 00:18:14,319
this is not only done by humans.
374
00:18:14,525 --> 00:18:18,155
Especially in Egyptology,
many archeologists,
375
00:18:18,220 --> 00:18:20,570
they believe
that they know everything.
376
00:18:20,681 --> 00:18:24,108
In reality, there are thousands
of open questions,
377
00:18:24,173 --> 00:18:27,102
starting with the builder
of the Great Pyramid.
378
00:18:27,689 --> 00:18:30,344
NARRATOR: Exhilarated
by his trip to Egypt,
379
00:18:30,431 --> 00:18:31,870
Erich spent the next decade
380
00:18:31,955 --> 00:18:36,207
traveling to all of the sites
he'd read about as a boy.
381
00:18:36,890 --> 00:18:39,858
But rather than examining
megalithic structures
382
00:18:39,937 --> 00:18:41,435
and strange carvings
383
00:18:41,500 --> 00:18:44,170
from a traditional,
academic perspective,
384
00:18:44,296 --> 00:18:47,192
he looked at the world
through the eyes of someone
385
00:18:47,257 --> 00:18:50,951
who was open
to bold, new interpretations.
386
00:18:51,228 --> 00:18:53,025
I was not just a young man
387
00:18:53,097 --> 00:18:55,623
jumping
to some archeological place.
388
00:18:55,695 --> 00:19:00,389
Before I went there,
I read the archeological book.
389
00:19:00,554 --> 00:19:04,942
Then I had to go out there,
speak to the people,
390
00:19:05,007 --> 00:19:07,614
ask for their mythology,
for their explanation.
391
00:19:07,679 --> 00:19:09,700
And only when all this
came together,
392
00:19:09,765 --> 00:19:12,830
the scientific information
and the personal information,
393
00:19:12,950 --> 00:19:14,748
then I write about it.
394
00:19:15,179 --> 00:19:18,122
Archeology
is not an exact science.
395
00:19:18,187 --> 00:19:19,561
It's a science
396
00:19:19,640 --> 00:19:23,076
where you assemble things,
and then you make out your mind.
397
00:19:23,203 --> 00:19:26,569
That was my way to try to do it.
398
00:19:27,265 --> 00:19:28,367
NARRATOR:
In Peru,
399
00:19:28,432 --> 00:19:31,730
von Daniken investigated
the famous Nazca Lines,
400
00:19:31,945 --> 00:19:34,900
giant lines and symbols etched
into the Earth
401
00:19:35,000 --> 00:19:38,990
that can only be properly viewed
from high above the ground.
402
00:19:39,700 --> 00:19:42,631
I read about Nazca
in the newspaper.
403
00:19:43,218 --> 00:19:45,592
And I saw a first picture,
only one picture,
404
00:19:45,765 --> 00:19:47,444
which showed a line
in the desert.
405
00:19:47,546 --> 00:19:50,247
Nazca was not known at all
to the public.
406
00:19:50,312 --> 00:19:53,334
So I said, "What is this?
You have to go there."
407
00:19:53,601 --> 00:19:56,412
I suggested
in Chariots of the Gods?
408
00:19:56,492 --> 00:19:59,911
It has something to do
with the extraterrestrials.
409
00:19:59,976 --> 00:20:02,425
In my opinion, our ancestor made
410
00:20:02,490 --> 00:20:04,436
these gigantic signs
in the ground
411
00:20:04,546 --> 00:20:08,006
because they want to signalize
to the beings up there,
412
00:20:08,092 --> 00:20:10,746
"We are here. Come down here."
413
00:20:15,418 --> 00:20:16,792
NARRATOR:
After each trip,
414
00:20:16,911 --> 00:20:19,129
Erich returned
to his regular job
415
00:20:19,224 --> 00:20:22,754
as the manager of a hotel
in Davos, Switzerland.
416
00:20:22,958 --> 00:20:25,784
Once there, he would save
every franc he earned
417
00:20:25,864 --> 00:20:28,252
in order to finance
his next trips.
418
00:20:28,573 --> 00:20:32,297
Eventually,
his globe-trotting paid off
419
00:20:32,362 --> 00:20:35,427
in the form of Erich's
first best-selling book,
420
00:20:35,499 --> 00:20:37,999
Chariots of the Gods?
421
00:20:38,728 --> 00:20:42,295
Did you ever imagine
that your ideas
422
00:20:42,360 --> 00:20:46,771
would become so big
over the decades?
423
00:20:46,836 --> 00:20:47,973
No, not at all.
424
00:20:48,045 --> 00:20:50,452
And in the beginning,
I found no publisher.
425
00:20:50,617 --> 00:20:51,977
Nobody wanted to publish it.
426
00:20:52,259 --> 00:20:55,690
20 publishers rejected it,
and, then, that's another story.
427
00:20:55,925 --> 00:20:57,619
Finally,
the book was on the market.
428
00:20:57,708 --> 00:21:00,720
I was never thinking that this
would create a world...
429
00:21:00,785 --> 00:21:03,901
a storm around the world
of controversy.
430
00:21:04,136 --> 00:21:06,298
Well, this is
incredibly special,
431
00:21:06,363 --> 00:21:08,357
and I feel very honored
that you brought me here,
432
00:21:08,422 --> 00:21:11,675
because this, uh,
this is something else.
433
00:21:11,858 --> 00:21:14,556
The beginning
of Chariots of the Gods?, here.
434
00:21:16,450 --> 00:21:17,476
NARRATOR:
With the publication
435
00:21:17,541 --> 00:21:20,138
of Chariots of the Gods?
In 1968,
436
00:21:20,210 --> 00:21:24,843
what began as the bold notions
of a curious schoolboy
437
00:21:24,915 --> 00:21:27,312
was about to create
a paradigm shift
438
00:21:27,384 --> 00:21:30,546
in the way mankind
would view the universe.
439
00:21:30,611 --> 00:21:33,618
There would be no turning back.
440
00:21:38,428 --> 00:21:41,397
NARRATOR:
June 20, 1969.
441
00:21:41,462 --> 00:21:42,517
(beeping)
442
00:21:42,582 --> 00:21:43,177
MAN:
Okay, Neil,
443
00:21:43,242 --> 00:21:45,839
we can see you
coming down the ladder now.
444
00:21:46,896 --> 00:21:49,927
OK Neil. We're coming down
thro' the lader now.
445
00:21:50,043 --> 00:21:52,391
NARRATOR: American astronaut
Neil Armstrong
446
00:21:52,508 --> 00:21:55,047
becomes the first human
in recorded history
447
00:21:55,112 --> 00:21:57,836
to set foot
on an astronomical body
448
00:21:57,901 --> 00:21:59,693
other than Planet Earth.
449
00:22:07,831 --> 00:22:09,867
NARRATOR:
With one small step,
450
00:22:10,026 --> 00:22:14,285
he becomes our planet's first
official extraterrestrial.
451
00:22:15,271 --> 00:22:16,508
Within an instant,
452
00:22:16,573 --> 00:22:19,450
fanciful notions of aliens
and spaceships
453
00:22:19,515 --> 00:22:22,280
became a sobering reality.
454
00:22:23,561 --> 00:22:24,711
When it happened,
455
00:22:24,776 --> 00:22:29,440
the entire planet erupted
in just absolute ecstasy.
456
00:22:29,505 --> 00:22:31,295
♪ ♪
457
00:22:31,607 --> 00:22:33,547
It was a huge moment
458
00:22:33,619 --> 00:22:35,049
for the human spirit.
459
00:22:35,121 --> 00:22:36,612
It was considered a victory
460
00:22:36,677 --> 00:22:39,164
for all of humanity.
461
00:22:39,394 --> 00:22:43,000
Suddenly,
science fiction became real,
462
00:22:43,977 --> 00:22:47,538
and it opened up
a new age of exploration.
463
00:22:47,606 --> 00:22:49,897
And this prompted many
to question whether or not
464
00:22:49,969 --> 00:22:51,664
we were, in fact, the first
465
00:22:51,738 --> 00:22:54,624
to step on the surface
of the Moon or not.
466
00:22:55,245 --> 00:22:58,999
NARRATOR: Science fiction
had now become science fact.
467
00:22:59,145 --> 00:23:02,758
And books like Erich von
Daniken's Chariots of the Gods?,
468
00:23:02,823 --> 00:23:04,884
though no less controversial,
469
00:23:04,949 --> 00:23:09,077
were gaining wider acceptance
with the general public.
470
00:23:09,281 --> 00:23:12,914
The book also took on
an almost cult status,
471
00:23:12,995 --> 00:23:16,854
with eventual printings
in more than 28 languages.
472
00:23:17,033 --> 00:23:18,808
CHILDRESS: I was in high school
at the time.
473
00:23:18,873 --> 00:23:21,269
And one of the things I liked
was that he was looking
474
00:23:21,334 --> 00:23:25,345
at ancient sites from a
completely different perspective
475
00:23:25,410 --> 00:23:27,783
than other historians.
476
00:23:27,970 --> 00:23:29,459
And here they were,
477
00:23:29,524 --> 00:23:31,733
uh, images of extraterrestrials,
478
00:23:31,899 --> 00:23:34,357
mysterious giant walls.
479
00:23:34,422 --> 00:23:36,911
And I wanted
to go see them myself.
480
00:23:37,521 --> 00:23:39,105
HENRY: I remember looking
through that book
481
00:23:39,170 --> 00:23:41,414
and instantly connecting
with the images.
482
00:23:41,479 --> 00:23:43,280
There was something
very familiar
483
00:23:43,345 --> 00:23:45,152
about some of the pictures
that he showed
484
00:23:45,223 --> 00:23:48,007
of the ancient aliens
on cave walls.
485
00:23:48,084 --> 00:23:49,931
I was instantly hooked.
486
00:23:49,996 --> 00:23:52,986
Since the 1970s,
we've seen a major explosion
487
00:23:53,051 --> 00:23:55,113
in interest in this area.
488
00:23:55,456 --> 00:23:57,873
FOX: I learned
about Chariots of the Gods?
489
00:23:57,938 --> 00:23:59,366
And it blew my mind.
490
00:23:59,465 --> 00:24:01,450
It resonated with me so deeply.
491
00:24:01,515 --> 00:24:03,715
It just sank in
as a truth for me.
492
00:24:03,919 --> 00:24:05,139
LINDA MOULTON HOWE:
That book,
493
00:24:05,211 --> 00:24:07,917
it gave us all permission
to talk
494
00:24:07,982 --> 00:24:10,945
about extraterrestrials
coming to Earth
495
00:24:11,017 --> 00:24:14,345
and that there could be
other explanations
496
00:24:14,410 --> 00:24:19,540
for biblical and religious
literature than angels.
497
00:24:19,909 --> 00:24:23,420
TSOUKALOS: My grandmother
was incredibly open-minded.
498
00:24:23,503 --> 00:24:27,161
And instead of reading
ordinary bedtime stories to me,
499
00:24:27,233 --> 00:24:29,997
she would read Chariotsof the Gods? sometimes.
500
00:24:30,069 --> 00:24:32,474
But I was five, six,
seven years old,
501
00:24:32,609 --> 00:24:36,136
so she is the one
that actually planted the seed.
502
00:24:36,209 --> 00:24:38,160
To all of a sudden suggest
503
00:24:38,225 --> 00:24:41,580
that contact
with extraterrestrials
504
00:24:41,645 --> 00:24:44,392
may have happened
in our remote past,
505
00:24:45,126 --> 00:24:47,081
that was revolutionary.
506
00:24:48,087 --> 00:24:50,017
NARRATOR:
In 1970,
507
00:24:50,089 --> 00:24:53,629
Sun Classic Pictures released
a feature-length documentary
508
00:24:53,694 --> 00:24:56,023
based on von Daniken's book.
509
00:24:56,095 --> 00:24:57,588
ANNOUNCER:
Chariots of the Gods?,
510
00:24:57,653 --> 00:25:00,027
the international best seller
by Erich von Daniken
511
00:25:00,099 --> 00:25:01,425
that shattered
conventional theories
512
00:25:01,490 --> 00:25:03,151
about history and archaeology.
513
00:25:03,216 --> 00:25:06,130
Now Sun International
brings it to the screen
514
00:25:06,195 --> 00:25:07,758
in a startling new film.
515
00:25:08,555 --> 00:25:10,675
NARRATOR:
Originally produced in Germany,
516
00:25:10,740 --> 00:25:12,901
the American language version
of the film
517
00:25:12,966 --> 00:25:15,039
became the ninth
highest grossing movie
518
00:25:15,111 --> 00:25:17,105
in North America that year,
519
00:25:17,170 --> 00:25:20,775
an incredible achievement
for a documentary.
520
00:25:20,840 --> 00:25:23,967
It was even nominated
for an Oscar.
521
00:25:24,988 --> 00:25:28,247
GRAHAM: This was hugely, hugely
popular when it was released.
522
00:25:28,312 --> 00:25:30,634
The impact of that documentary
can't be understated,
523
00:25:30,699 --> 00:25:32,240
nor of the book.
524
00:25:32,305 --> 00:25:34,525
The notion
of ancient alien visitation
525
00:25:34,598 --> 00:25:37,562
went from being discussed
on the fringes,
526
00:25:37,634 --> 00:25:40,122
uh, within
the ufological subculture
527
00:25:40,187 --> 00:25:41,642
to being something
that was discussed
528
00:25:41,707 --> 00:25:44,081
around the water cooler
at work, for example.
529
00:25:44,961 --> 00:25:46,617
NARRATOR:
But while many believed
530
00:25:46,682 --> 00:25:48,872
that Erich von Daniken
had introduced them
531
00:25:48,937 --> 00:25:51,568
to a new way
of interpreting humanity's past,
532
00:25:51,706 --> 00:25:54,601
there were others, particularly
those in the religious
533
00:25:54,666 --> 00:25:56,467
and academic communities,
534
00:25:56,602 --> 00:25:59,306
who believed Chariotsof the Gods? was an attack
535
00:25:59,371 --> 00:26:03,064
on established spiritual
and archaeological narratives.
536
00:26:03,216 --> 00:26:05,772
They criticized
von Daniken's methods
537
00:26:05,916 --> 00:26:07,682
and brutally dismissed his book
538
00:26:07,747 --> 00:26:10,655
as nothing more
than pseudoscience.
539
00:26:10,826 --> 00:26:13,498
If you think of these claims,
540
00:26:13,563 --> 00:26:16,490
if only they were true, they
would be amazingly interesting,
541
00:26:16,555 --> 00:26:19,493
that we have been visited
by beings from elsewhere
542
00:26:19,558 --> 00:26:22,863
who not only have created
our civilization for us
543
00:26:22,928 --> 00:26:25,602
but mated with human beings.
544
00:26:25,674 --> 00:26:29,154
It's, in my view, much more
likely to successfully mate
545
00:26:29,219 --> 00:26:31,966
with a petunia
than an extraterrestrial.
546
00:26:32,821 --> 00:26:34,778
NARRATOR:
But, to the surprise of many,
547
00:26:34,850 --> 00:26:37,447
von Daniken was not offended
by his critics.
548
00:26:37,519 --> 00:26:39,783
Instead, he welcomed them.
549
00:26:40,087 --> 00:26:42,140
He believed
that his book was meant
550
00:26:42,205 --> 00:26:44,015
to ask profound questions,
551
00:26:44,080 --> 00:26:45,733
not give answers.
552
00:26:45,815 --> 00:26:48,998
Criticism, especially
constructive criticism,
553
00:26:49,063 --> 00:26:51,725
he argued, would make
his findings stronger
554
00:26:51,790 --> 00:26:54,093
and even more convincing.
555
00:26:54,172 --> 00:26:55,972
In Delhi, in India,
556
00:26:56,037 --> 00:26:58,520
there is a temple
and there is an iron pillar.
557
00:26:58,655 --> 00:27:01,810
I was there
as a 22-year old man,
558
00:27:01,875 --> 00:27:04,641
and this iron pillar
did not rust.
559
00:27:04,727 --> 00:27:07,617
I was touching it,
and the local priest said,
560
00:27:07,682 --> 00:27:09,676
"This is here since centuries
and centuries
561
00:27:09,741 --> 00:27:12,410
and there's not rust,"
so I speculated
562
00:27:12,475 --> 00:27:13,616
in Chariots of the Gods?
563
00:27:13,688 --> 00:27:16,696
Maybe it's
an extraterrestrial connection.
564
00:27:16,885 --> 00:27:19,389
In the meantime,
this damn thing is rusting.
565
00:27:19,506 --> 00:27:20,995
So what can you do?
566
00:27:21,060 --> 00:27:23,993
You-you were simply wrong,
so you accept this.
567
00:27:24,065 --> 00:27:27,887
I was too young.
I was not self-critical enough.
568
00:27:27,952 --> 00:27:31,030
I had to learn that sometime
the critics were right
569
00:27:31,095 --> 00:27:32,302
and I was wrong,
570
00:27:32,374 --> 00:27:34,797
but that's a process
of learning.
571
00:27:35,467 --> 00:27:39,486
Given the mystery of space
and the...
572
00:27:39,975 --> 00:27:43,646
fantastic things that we're
beginning to see in quantum,
573
00:27:43,718 --> 00:27:45,515
everything is possible.
574
00:27:45,587 --> 00:27:48,017
There's so much that is bizarre
575
00:27:48,089 --> 00:27:51,012
that we can
scientifically examine.
576
00:27:51,216 --> 00:27:53,833
I mean, we're trying
to find an explanation
577
00:27:53,899 --> 00:27:57,245
why the universe is expanding
when it should be contracting,
578
00:27:57,327 --> 00:28:00,335
and we apply some theory to it.
579
00:28:01,051 --> 00:28:04,410
Why not have ancient aliens
come to Earth
580
00:28:04,541 --> 00:28:06,466
and build the pyramids,
581
00:28:06,531 --> 00:28:08,694
even though it's bizarre.
582
00:28:09,673 --> 00:28:11,135
Bizarre is good,
583
00:28:11,425 --> 00:28:15,445
uh, because it stirs us up.
584
00:28:16,815 --> 00:28:20,023
FOX:
I think people resist
585
00:28:20,088 --> 00:28:23,478
anything that challenges the
current paradigm quite often.
586
00:28:23,543 --> 00:28:26,186
And people also don't want
their life's work challenged.
587
00:28:26,251 --> 00:28:28,398
So if someone
is that person who's put forth
588
00:28:28,463 --> 00:28:30,049
the theory that's been accepted,
589
00:28:30,114 --> 00:28:31,861
they don't want you
to take that from them
590
00:28:32,006 --> 00:28:33,596
by producing new evidence.
591
00:28:33,864 --> 00:28:35,071
NARRATOR:
Ironically,
592
00:28:35,136 --> 00:28:37,934
one of von Daniken's
most ardent defenders
593
00:28:38,013 --> 00:28:41,837
started out as one
of his most outspoken critics.
594
00:28:41,945 --> 00:28:46,915
While making a presentation
in Huntsville, Alabama, in 1972,
595
00:28:47,024 --> 00:28:49,129
von Daniken relayed his theory
596
00:28:49,194 --> 00:28:50,944
that the Bible's
Book of Ezekiel,
597
00:28:51,009 --> 00:28:53,947
rather than describing
an encounter with an angel,
598
00:28:54,012 --> 00:28:58,488
was actually the story of
an extraterrestrial visitation.
599
00:29:01,234 --> 00:29:03,456
In the account,
the prophet Ezekiel
600
00:29:03,521 --> 00:29:08,097
describes a flying chariot
drawn by four living creatures.
601
00:29:08,404 --> 00:29:11,108
Each creature is flanked
by a metallic object,
602
00:29:11,173 --> 00:29:13,147
a wheel within a wheel,
603
00:29:13,230 --> 00:29:15,683
that Ezekiel observes
as it descends,
604
00:29:15,748 --> 00:29:18,675
making a tremendous amount
of noise.
605
00:29:22,301 --> 00:29:23,947
During his speech,
606
00:29:24,033 --> 00:29:26,481
Erich talked about Ezekiel
607
00:29:26,546 --> 00:29:28,573
and the wheel that he witnessed
608
00:29:28,706 --> 00:29:33,797
and also that he was taken up
in this "glory of the Lord,"
609
00:29:33,862 --> 00:29:36,189
as it is described in the Bible,
610
00:29:36,254 --> 00:29:40,196
and likened it
to a type of spaceship.
611
00:29:40,365 --> 00:29:44,910
NARRATOR: In the audience was
NASA engineer Josef Blumrich,
612
00:29:44,975 --> 00:29:46,666
who conducted design research
613
00:29:46,731 --> 00:29:49,646
for the Saturn V rocket
and Skylab.
614
00:29:49,711 --> 00:29:51,784
As a spacecraft designer,
615
00:29:51,876 --> 00:29:54,174
he was certain
that he could easily refute
616
00:29:54,239 --> 00:29:57,146
this interpretation
of Ezekiel's wheel.
617
00:29:57,218 --> 00:29:59,816
TSOUKALOS: After the lecture,
Blumrich goes up to Erich
618
00:29:59,888 --> 00:30:02,182
and he says,
"You know, this was interesting,
619
00:30:02,247 --> 00:30:04,008
"but I will defy you.
620
00:30:04,073 --> 00:30:06,351
"I will go
and read the Bible tonight
621
00:30:06,416 --> 00:30:08,443
"and I will then write a thesis
622
00:30:08,508 --> 00:30:12,128
how what you said tonight
is total nonsense."
623
00:30:12,200 --> 00:30:14,838
NARRATOR:
But after painstaking research,
624
00:30:14,903 --> 00:30:18,043
Blumrich was shocked
to find himself agreeing
625
00:30:18,116 --> 00:30:19,840
with Erich von Daniken.
626
00:30:19,905 --> 00:30:22,846
He became convinced
that the Book of Ezekiel
627
00:30:22,911 --> 00:30:25,815
was indeed describing
some sort of spacecraft,
628
00:30:25,880 --> 00:30:29,045
and he was able to design
a practical landing module
629
00:30:29,211 --> 00:30:33,149
using the description
found in the biblical texts.
630
00:30:33,543 --> 00:30:35,488
In 1974,
631
00:30:35,590 --> 00:30:37,583
he published his findings
in his book.
632
00:30:37,648 --> 00:30:40,543
The Spaceships of Ezekiel.
633
00:30:41,262 --> 00:30:44,694
Now, what's so fascinating
is that, to this day,
634
00:30:44,766 --> 00:30:47,844
Blumrich and NASA hold a patent
635
00:30:47,987 --> 00:30:50,840
for an omnidirectional wheel,
636
00:30:50,905 --> 00:30:54,319
a wheel
that actually goes forward
637
00:30:54,419 --> 00:30:56,359
and also goes sideways
638
00:30:56,468 --> 00:31:00,222
without having
to have a steering movement.
639
00:31:00,287 --> 00:31:03,574
The omnidirectional wheel
is a common technology
640
00:31:03,639 --> 00:31:06,802
used today
in many, many forklifts,
641
00:31:06,902 --> 00:31:11,090
because it allows you
to get underneath the product
642
00:31:11,155 --> 00:31:15,327
without having to move
in a obstructive way.
643
00:31:15,392 --> 00:31:18,859
And the omnidirectional wheel
today exists
644
00:31:18,990 --> 00:31:22,722
because of
an Old Testament reference
645
00:31:22,840 --> 00:31:27,201
that Blumrich found in none
other than the Book of Ezekiel.
646
00:31:29,463 --> 00:31:31,246
NARRATOR:
Ancient astronaut theory
647
00:31:31,338 --> 00:31:35,752
had found its first champion
in the scientific community.
648
00:31:35,817 --> 00:31:38,081
But perhaps even more impactful
649
00:31:38,153 --> 00:31:39,846
would be the author's influence
650
00:31:39,911 --> 00:31:42,752
on a younger
and more open-minded generation
651
00:31:42,849 --> 00:31:46,581
of scholars, intellectuals
and creative artists.
652
00:31:47,072 --> 00:31:50,633
A creative community
that included filmmakers
653
00:31:50,698 --> 00:31:53,188
who would soon create
the most influential
654
00:31:53,253 --> 00:31:58,257
and successful science fiction
films of all time.
655
00:32:01,941 --> 00:32:05,306
NARRATOR:
1975 saw the publication
656
00:32:05,371 --> 00:32:08,205
of Erich von Daniken's
fifth best-selling book,
657
00:32:08,270 --> 00:32:10,062
Miracles of the Gods,
658
00:32:10,233 --> 00:32:12,497
in which
the increasingly prolific author
659
00:32:12,567 --> 00:32:16,006
examines miracles
and other paranormal phenomena
660
00:32:16,071 --> 00:32:18,634
through the prism
of what was now being called
661
00:32:18,706 --> 00:32:20,670
ancient astronaut theory.
662
00:32:21,222 --> 00:32:22,869
The success of the book led
663
00:32:22,934 --> 00:32:25,575
to yet another
cinematic adaptation.
664
00:32:25,716 --> 00:32:27,745
Originally produced in Germany,
665
00:32:27,916 --> 00:32:31,514
Mysteries of the Gods
was hosted by William Shatner.
666
00:32:31,725 --> 00:32:35,054
As Captain Kirk,
and with the rest of the crew
667
00:32:35,119 --> 00:32:37,820
of the USS Enterprise,
we made many wondrous voyages
668
00:32:37,926 --> 00:32:40,189
into the future,
but that was fiction.
669
00:32:40,261 --> 00:32:42,589
I'd like to take you along
on another kind of voyage,
670
00:32:42,654 --> 00:32:44,494
but this is based on reality.
671
00:32:44,599 --> 00:32:46,382
NARRATOR:
Like Chariots of the Gods?,
672
00:32:46,447 --> 00:32:49,706
it chronicled many of von
Daniken's more recent topics,
673
00:32:49,771 --> 00:32:53,144
including crystal skulls,
tribal rituals
674
00:32:53,209 --> 00:32:55,606
and UFO encounters.
675
00:32:56,734 --> 00:32:58,541
What is NASA's opinion
676
00:32:58,613 --> 00:33:00,783
of the possibility
of life in outer space?
677
00:33:00,848 --> 00:33:04,447
We have concluded that, uh, you
can create life-building blocks
678
00:33:04,512 --> 00:33:06,521
in the laboratory,
which could mean
679
00:33:06,586 --> 00:33:08,892
that it's just as easy
out in the universe.
680
00:33:08,957 --> 00:33:11,408
Do you think
extraterrestrial beings
681
00:33:11,473 --> 00:33:13,086
could have come here
5,000 years ago?
682
00:33:13,151 --> 00:33:14,790
Definitely possible.
683
00:33:15,640 --> 00:33:20,184
Being part of that film
and reading the book,
684
00:33:21,230 --> 00:33:24,207
I would think
that von Daniken's theory
685
00:33:24,272 --> 00:33:29,238
of ancient aliens also represent
a yearning for somebody higher,
686
00:33:29,310 --> 00:33:32,708
a daddy figure
to take care of us.
687
00:33:32,814 --> 00:33:35,323
(theme to Star Wars plays)
688
00:33:35,831 --> 00:33:39,177
NARRATOR:
May 25, 1977.
689
00:33:39,312 --> 00:33:42,251
(applause and cheering,
whistling)
690
00:33:42,323 --> 00:33:43,900
♪ ♪
691
00:33:43,992 --> 00:33:48,370
Star Wars opens in limited
release across America.
692
00:33:52,133 --> 00:33:54,363
They're coming in too fast!
693
00:33:56,333 --> 00:33:58,256
- I got him!
- Great, kid!
694
00:33:58,321 --> 00:34:00,349
- Don't get cocky.
- (whooshing)
695
00:34:00,775 --> 00:34:03,105
NARRATOR: Written and directed
by George Lucas...
696
00:34:03,178 --> 00:34:05,074
- (chirping)
- Don't you call me a mindless
697
00:34:05,146 --> 00:34:07,276
philosopher,
you overweight blob of grease!
698
00:34:08,283 --> 00:34:10,731
NARRATOR: it tells the story
of a farm boy...
699
00:34:10,796 --> 00:34:11,754
She's beautiful!
700
00:34:11,819 --> 00:34:13,790
NARRATOR: who grows
up on a distant planet...
701
00:34:13,855 --> 00:34:15,585
I'm Luke Skywalker.
I'm here to rescue you.
702
00:34:15,690 --> 00:34:17,920
- (weapons firing)
- This is some rescue!
703
00:34:18,026 --> 00:34:20,063
Somebody has to save our skins.
704
00:34:20,128 --> 00:34:21,924
NARRATOR:
and finds himself caught up
705
00:34:22,030 --> 00:34:23,656
in a galactic rebellion.
706
00:34:23,721 --> 00:34:25,635
Now I am the master.
707
00:34:25,700 --> 00:34:27,823
Only a master of evil, Darth.
708
00:34:27,888 --> 00:34:28,952
(weapons firing)
709
00:34:29,017 --> 00:34:31,035
This is Red Five. I'm going in.
710
00:34:33,749 --> 00:34:36,763
You're all clear, kid! Now let's
blow this thing and go home.
711
00:34:36,828 --> 00:34:39,402
NARRATOR:
Its impact...
712
00:34:39,885 --> 00:34:41,811
- is explosive.
- (exhales)
713
00:34:41,883 --> 00:34:44,177
OBI-WAN KENOBI:
The Force will be with you.
714
00:34:44,242 --> 00:34:46,252
Always.
715
00:34:48,670 --> 00:34:50,850
NARRATOR: But among the elements
that make the movie
716
00:34:50,915 --> 00:34:53,796
and its equally successful
sequels distinctive
717
00:34:53,861 --> 00:34:56,689
from previous science fiction
offerings is the line
718
00:34:56,754 --> 00:35:00,296
that greets audiences
at the very start of the film:
719
00:35:06,482 --> 00:35:09,979
It is a line that could have
only made sense to people
720
00:35:10,044 --> 00:35:13,908
who were familiar with Erich von
Daniken's Chariots of the Gods?
721
00:35:13,973 --> 00:35:15,236
DAVID CHILDRESS:
Science fiction
722
00:35:15,301 --> 00:35:18,655
up to that time had always been
things happening in the future.
723
00:35:18,720 --> 00:35:20,957
But when Star Wars came out,
suddenly,
724
00:35:21,022 --> 00:35:24,325
here was science fiction
happening in the remote past.
725
00:35:24,390 --> 00:35:27,780
This was exactly what Erich
von Daniken was writing about
726
00:35:27,845 --> 00:35:29,659
in Chariots of the Gods?
727
00:35:29,731 --> 00:35:31,731
♪ ♪
728
00:35:33,935 --> 00:35:37,233
NARRATOR: Close on the heels of
Star Wars' phenomenal success
729
00:35:37,367 --> 00:35:39,611
was a small-screen
space adventure
730
00:35:39,676 --> 00:35:42,138
that owed even more
to von Daniken's vision.
731
00:35:42,203 --> 00:35:44,040
(weapons firing)
732
00:35:44,112 --> 00:35:45,645
Launch.
733
00:35:45,747 --> 00:35:48,344
NARRATOR:
Released to television in 1978,
734
00:35:48,463 --> 00:35:51,582
Battlestar Galactica
told the story of a group
735
00:35:51,647 --> 00:35:55,635
of extraterrestrial exiles
looking for a promised land.
736
00:35:56,378 --> 00:35:58,092
With costumes and art direction
737
00:35:58,157 --> 00:36:00,228
that looked distinctly Egyptian,
738
00:36:00,293 --> 00:36:01,864
the series suggested
739
00:36:01,929 --> 00:36:04,924
that the characters in the story
most likely found a home
740
00:36:04,989 --> 00:36:07,196
on Earth in the distant past.
741
00:36:09,270 --> 00:36:14,210
Another ancient astronaut-based
film that rivaled Star Wars
742
00:36:14,275 --> 00:36:17,740
in both box office success
and cultural impact
743
00:36:17,812 --> 00:36:22,144
was Steven Spielberg's CloseEncounters of the Third Kind.
744
00:36:23,234 --> 00:36:25,581
The film's depiction
of extraterrestrials
745
00:36:25,646 --> 00:36:28,424
as both benign and benevolent
owed much
746
00:36:28,489 --> 00:36:32,054
to von Daniken's theory
that aliens are just as curious
747
00:36:32,168 --> 00:36:36,175
about us as we are about them.
748
00:36:36,964 --> 00:36:42,105
The cultural impact of Chariotsof the Gods? remains immense.
749
00:36:42,170 --> 00:36:45,331
Everything
from Star Trek, to The X-Files,
750
00:36:45,396 --> 00:36:47,333
to the Alien franchise
751
00:36:47,398 --> 00:36:49,779
has kind of incorporated
752
00:36:49,844 --> 00:36:52,241
these ancient astronaut ideas.
753
00:36:52,313 --> 00:36:54,374
HENRY: Chariots of the Gods?
Has enabled
754
00:36:54,439 --> 00:36:57,113
creative types,
from across the board...
755
00:36:57,185 --> 00:37:00,783
In films, in television shows,
in novels...
756
00:37:00,855 --> 00:37:03,816
To-to really explore
this ultimate question of
757
00:37:03,881 --> 00:37:05,421
where did we come from?
758
00:37:05,526 --> 00:37:06,996
And that is, I think,
759
00:37:07,061 --> 00:37:09,265
what ultimately
drives this phenomenon.
760
00:37:09,330 --> 00:37:11,293
Deep within us,
we're almost programmed
761
00:37:11,366 --> 00:37:13,929
to answer that question
in a creative way.
762
00:37:15,926 --> 00:37:18,077
To come up with a book
763
00:37:18,142 --> 00:37:21,731
that says aliens visited Earth,
and then to have movies
764
00:37:21,848 --> 00:37:24,262
and television
and radio and-and newspapers
765
00:37:24,327 --> 00:37:28,284
and-and comic books
deliver that message,
766
00:37:28,349 --> 00:37:32,442
uh, has to affect generations,
absolutely.
767
00:37:34,255 --> 00:37:36,883
NARRATOR: But as science fiction
buffs will tell you,
768
00:37:36,948 --> 00:37:39,989
the idea of intelligent aliens
coming to Earth
769
00:37:40,061 --> 00:37:42,855
and shaping its future
thousands of years ago
770
00:37:42,920 --> 00:37:45,481
was not entirely a new one.
771
00:37:46,475 --> 00:37:51,817
In 1961, Russian physicist and
mathematician Matest Agrest
772
00:37:52,039 --> 00:37:54,520
published a controversial paper
proposing
773
00:37:54,585 --> 00:37:57,122
that extraterrestrials
had visited.
774
00:37:57,187 --> 00:37:59,994
Earth's ancient civilizations.
775
00:38:00,381 --> 00:38:03,045
Stanley Kubrick's 1968 film
776
00:38:03,272 --> 00:38:06,670
2001: A Space Odyssey was based
777
00:38:06,735 --> 00:38:09,198
on Arthur C. Clarke's book
The Sentinel,
778
00:38:09,329 --> 00:38:12,217
written more
than a decade earlier.
779
00:38:12,912 --> 00:38:15,531
So you had a number of films
that began to tap very directly
780
00:38:15,596 --> 00:38:18,102
into ancient astronaut lore.
781
00:38:18,550 --> 00:38:22,469
In 1980, you had the release
of a film called Hangar 18.
782
00:38:22,647 --> 00:38:26,305
It concerns attempted reverse
engineering of alien technology.
783
00:38:26,441 --> 00:38:30,046
Moving into the 1990s,
you had the film Stargate,
784
00:38:30,111 --> 00:38:31,571
which was directed
by Roland Emmerich.
785
00:38:31,636 --> 00:38:33,876
Roland Emmerich has made
no secret of the fact
786
00:38:33,948 --> 00:38:37,044
that he was very directly
inspired by Erich von Daniken.
787
00:38:37,109 --> 00:38:40,620
Other examples would include
the 2011 film Cowboys & Aliens,
788
00:38:40,685 --> 00:38:42,692
which was produced
by Steven Spielberg;
789
00:38:42,757 --> 00:38:44,654
the Marvel production of Thor,
790
00:38:44,865 --> 00:38:46,950
which concerns
ancient Norse Gods
791
00:38:47,015 --> 00:38:49,045
being actually
extraterrestrials;
792
00:38:49,186 --> 00:38:51,871
and Ridley Scott's
Prometheus from 2012.
793
00:38:52,005 --> 00:38:53,960
During the promotional campaign
for that,
794
00:38:54,025 --> 00:38:55,707
he was very open
about the fact
795
00:38:55,772 --> 00:38:58,311
that he was directly influenced
by Erich von Daniken.
796
00:38:58,888 --> 00:39:01,067
FOX: I do feel like
it permeates pop culture
797
00:39:01,132 --> 00:39:05,828
to the point now where, if you
took a survey of young adults,
798
00:39:05,919 --> 00:39:08,901
I would assume the majority
of them are probably very open
799
00:39:08,966 --> 00:39:10,733
to the idea
that extraterrestrials
800
00:39:10,798 --> 00:39:15,263
have visited us at some point,
present, or in the distant past.
801
00:39:18,159 --> 00:39:21,184
NARRATOR: But why is it that
the public seems more open now
802
00:39:21,249 --> 00:39:23,542
to Erich von Daniken's ideas
803
00:39:23,607 --> 00:39:26,271
than at the time when the book
was first written?
804
00:39:26,390 --> 00:39:28,840
COLLINS:
The question comes of
805
00:39:28,905 --> 00:39:30,902
are we being influenced
806
00:39:31,195 --> 00:39:35,271
from some kind
of non-terrestrial source?
807
00:39:35,343 --> 00:39:38,481
Is it possible that perhaps
808
00:39:38,546 --> 00:39:43,810
cosmic beings, extraterrestrials
are influencing certain people
809
00:39:43,875 --> 00:39:48,208
to externalize
our alien origins?
810
00:39:50,373 --> 00:39:52,764
POPE: Science fiction
may be entertainment,
811
00:39:52,829 --> 00:39:56,097
but when you look
at Hollywood blockbusters,
812
00:39:56,162 --> 00:39:59,084
so many of them relate to
813
00:39:59,149 --> 00:40:02,824
how we interact with
other species in the universe.
814
00:40:02,925 --> 00:40:04,291
Why is that?
815
00:40:04,392 --> 00:40:08,293
Perhaps this is hard-wired
into us.
816
00:40:08,602 --> 00:40:11,567
We know that this was our past,
817
00:40:11,718 --> 00:40:15,047
and we know
that it will be our future.
818
00:40:15,211 --> 00:40:18,042
There has never been
a time in history
819
00:40:18,107 --> 00:40:20,504
when humanity was more prepared
820
00:40:20,582 --> 00:40:23,046
for the appearance
of these extraterrestrials.
821
00:40:23,134 --> 00:40:26,826
Through our modern science, our
understanding of space travel,
822
00:40:26,891 --> 00:40:29,438
coupled with our entertainment
and our culture
823
00:40:29,503 --> 00:40:32,501
that's been preparing us for the
existence of extraterrestrials,
824
00:40:32,757 --> 00:40:35,394
we are now absolutely more ready
825
00:40:35,459 --> 00:40:38,172
than ever for the appearance
of these beings.
826
00:40:39,995 --> 00:40:41,875
NARRATOR:
Is it possible that there was
827
00:40:41,940 --> 00:40:46,038
an extraterrestrial inspiration
behind Chariots of the Gods?
828
00:40:46,510 --> 00:40:50,286
And if so, are we being prepared
for a reconnection
829
00:40:50,351 --> 00:40:53,814
with the same beings that,
according to Erich von Daniken,
830
00:40:53,923 --> 00:40:57,353
visited Earth
thousands of years ago?
831
00:40:58,124 --> 00:41:01,023
Ancient astronaut theorists
say yes,
832
00:41:01,095 --> 00:41:03,689
and suggest
further evidence can be found
833
00:41:03,754 --> 00:41:07,062
by examining the vast influence
the book has had,
834
00:41:07,272 --> 00:41:12,398
and continues to have,
all across the world.
835
00:41:15,755 --> 00:41:18,697
During the decades
that followed the publication
836
00:41:18,762 --> 00:41:20,666
of Chariots of the Gods?,
837
00:41:20,731 --> 00:41:24,783
ancient astronaut theory
was becoming a movement.
838
00:41:25,257 --> 00:41:26,861
Growing millions of people
839
00:41:26,926 --> 00:41:29,611
were now increasingly open
to the idea
840
00:41:29,717 --> 00:41:33,448
that not only are humans
not alone in the universe,
841
00:41:33,554 --> 00:41:35,906
but that intelligent aliens
continue
842
00:41:35,971 --> 00:41:38,224
to monitor their progress.
843
00:41:38,688 --> 00:41:40,125
HOWE:
And so something
844
00:41:40,190 --> 00:41:43,701
began to turn
in the entire American psyche.
845
00:41:43,888 --> 00:41:48,630
People are asking
very intelligent questions.
846
00:41:50,168 --> 00:41:51,914
NARRATOR:
Although still rejected
847
00:41:51,979 --> 00:41:54,609
by mainstream scholars
and archaeologists,
848
00:41:54,735 --> 00:41:57,048
it was attracting a growing army
849
00:41:57,131 --> 00:42:00,659
of researchers,
writers and journalists.
850
00:42:01,617 --> 00:42:06,336
Erich was making these places
very exciting and fascinating.
851
00:42:06,627 --> 00:42:08,246
And for me, it was exciting
852
00:42:08,311 --> 00:42:11,191
that, wow,
all these places were out there.
853
00:42:11,256 --> 00:42:13,853
They can be seen.
They're real.
854
00:42:13,918 --> 00:42:17,091
So I really have
to give him the credit
855
00:42:17,214 --> 00:42:20,936
because it helped me
travel around the world.
856
00:42:21,670 --> 00:42:26,579
Reading Erich's books gave me
a whole new view on the past.
857
00:42:27,139 --> 00:42:28,906
HENRY:And I remember
looking through that book,
858
00:42:28,971 --> 00:42:30,562
and I was instantly hooked.
859
00:42:30,627 --> 00:42:34,176
And really just started diving
deep into this whole idea,
860
00:42:34,241 --> 00:42:38,481
this theory that humans
had long ago interacted with,
861
00:42:38,546 --> 00:42:43,550
and been incredibly altered by,
extraterrestrial beings.
862
00:42:43,989 --> 00:42:45,573
NARRATOR:
Fueling the growing army
863
00:42:45,638 --> 00:42:47,561
of ancient astronaut theorists
864
00:42:47,626 --> 00:42:50,599
were exciting new
archaeological discoveries,
865
00:42:50,717 --> 00:42:54,367
like Gobekli Tepe,
a series of stone monoliths
866
00:42:54,432 --> 00:42:59,642
found buried in the plains near
Sanliurfa, Turkey in 1996.
867
00:43:00,213 --> 00:43:02,361
According to radiocarbon dating,
868
00:43:02,426 --> 00:43:06,337
the structures could be
as much as 12,000 years old,
869
00:43:06,558 --> 00:43:08,455
more than 5,000 years older
870
00:43:08,520 --> 00:43:12,285
than the earliest known
civilization in Mesopotamia.
871
00:43:13,329 --> 00:43:16,242
PAUL BAHN: The site of
Gobekli Tepe in Southeast Turkey
872
00:43:16,307 --> 00:43:18,525
very rapidly became
one of the most important
873
00:43:18,590 --> 00:43:20,263
archeological sites
in the world,
874
00:43:20,549 --> 00:43:23,828
because we'd never before
known or imagined, even,
875
00:43:23,980 --> 00:43:26,198
that simple hunter-gatherers
could produce
876
00:43:26,263 --> 00:43:28,618
such spectacular
monumental structures
877
00:43:28,724 --> 00:43:30,787
as are found at Gobekli Tepe.
878
00:43:30,893 --> 00:43:34,263
These limestone pillars
are up to 18 feet high.
879
00:43:34,328 --> 00:43:36,337
They're beautifully dressed
and smoothed.
880
00:43:36,428 --> 00:43:39,722
We've never seen work like that
from that period before.
881
00:43:40,508 --> 00:43:44,514
And the geomagnetic analyses
that have been done
882
00:43:44,579 --> 00:43:46,589
of what's under the surface
seem to indicate
883
00:43:46,654 --> 00:43:49,697
that there are at least
20 major circular structures
884
00:43:49,762 --> 00:43:50,924
in this mound.
885
00:43:50,989 --> 00:43:54,480
And so far they've
dug up to half of them,
886
00:43:54,545 --> 00:43:56,802
but there's still
an awful lot of work to go.
887
00:43:57,527 --> 00:43:59,533
CHILDRESS:
Erich had theorized
888
00:43:59,598 --> 00:44:01,895
that these
ancient civilizations,
889
00:44:02,000 --> 00:44:06,105
many of them in contact or
developed by extraterrestrials,
890
00:44:06,170 --> 00:44:07,719
were destroyed...
891
00:44:07,784 --> 00:44:12,103
in a cataclysm like
the biblical flood of the Bible.
892
00:44:13,136 --> 00:44:17,233
Gobekli Tepe was built
over 12,000 years ago,
893
00:44:17,349 --> 00:44:21,183
and we have no records
of it being built
894
00:44:21,248 --> 00:44:22,710
or who built it.
895
00:44:22,845 --> 00:44:24,742
So you have to ask yourself:
were the people
896
00:44:24,856 --> 00:44:29,117
who built Gobekli Tepe
destroyed in a great flood
897
00:44:29,182 --> 00:44:31,712
like was depicted in the Bible?
898
00:44:33,031 --> 00:44:36,365
FOX: The theory
that I gravitate to the most
899
00:44:36,430 --> 00:44:38,360
is just that there was a...
900
00:44:38,704 --> 00:44:41,825
a pre-flood
advanced civilization
901
00:44:41,890 --> 00:44:45,089
that was almost entirely
eradicated at some point.
902
00:44:45,154 --> 00:44:48,179
And the idea of that being
connected to the Younger Dryas,
903
00:44:48,244 --> 00:44:50,100
because there do seem to be
904
00:44:50,165 --> 00:44:53,344
a lot of these
megalithic structures
905
00:44:53,409 --> 00:44:55,143
that were erected
around the same time.
906
00:44:55,208 --> 00:44:57,288
Like you have Robert Schoch,
who's dated the Sphinx,
907
00:44:57,353 --> 00:44:58,910
I think, to 12,000 years ago.
908
00:44:58,975 --> 00:45:02,694
And we have Gobekli Tepe, which
turned everything on its head.
909
00:45:02,995 --> 00:45:04,928
♪ ♪
910
00:45:05,063 --> 00:45:07,524
NARRATOR: Another,
even more recent, discovery
911
00:45:07,589 --> 00:45:10,594
that has added fuel to
the ancient astronaut argument
912
00:45:10,720 --> 00:45:13,600
was made in West Java,
Indonesia.
913
00:45:14,149 --> 00:45:15,650
In 2011,
914
00:45:15,902 --> 00:45:19,036
archaeologists began
a formal excavation of a site
915
00:45:19,101 --> 00:45:22,853
known as Gunung Padang,
or "Mountain of Light."
916
00:45:24,416 --> 00:45:27,714
Gunung Padang is a megalithic
917
00:45:28,022 --> 00:45:30,891
pyramid hill in Java.
918
00:45:32,172 --> 00:45:36,030
A Javanese geologist
by the name of Danny Hilman
919
00:45:36,095 --> 00:45:39,641
has led a team to investigate
the deeper levels of the site.
920
00:45:39,821 --> 00:45:42,996
And he's found
indisputable evidence
921
00:45:43,352 --> 00:45:47,834
that it goes back
to at least 8000 BC.
922
00:45:48,057 --> 00:45:49,933
And, indeed, in the center of it
923
00:45:49,998 --> 00:45:52,572
is what appears to be
a lava tube,
924
00:45:52,675 --> 00:45:55,341
and that has given
dating evidence
925
00:45:55,447 --> 00:45:59,328
that suggests that
there was human activity there
926
00:45:59,393 --> 00:46:03,071
as early as 25000 BC.
927
00:46:04,056 --> 00:46:06,891
NARRATOR:
25000 BC?
928
00:46:07,125 --> 00:46:11,023
Could this pyramid-shaped hill
really be hiding a structure
929
00:46:11,088 --> 00:46:12,622
that ancient humans built
930
00:46:12,687 --> 00:46:16,865
20,000 years before
the first known civilization?
931
00:46:17,399 --> 00:46:19,747
Utilizing
ground-penetrating radar
932
00:46:19,812 --> 00:46:22,082
and seismic tomographic scans,
933
00:46:22,243 --> 00:46:25,579
geologists discovered
that concealed beneath the Earth
934
00:46:25,644 --> 00:46:30,562
is a step pyramid
that is over 300 feet tall.
935
00:46:31,374 --> 00:46:35,078
Gunung Padang is, of course,
linked to local mythology.
936
00:46:35,143 --> 00:46:39,746
And in local mythology, it
means the "Mountain of Light."
937
00:46:39,834 --> 00:46:41,708
In Indonesian star lore,
938
00:46:41,927 --> 00:46:45,221
there's a constellation
of particular interest.
939
00:46:45,797 --> 00:46:47,661
They call it Vendum Viduk.
940
00:46:47,726 --> 00:46:49,309
We call it Ursa Major.
941
00:46:49,501 --> 00:46:52,209
It is thought that it is
the shape of a boat,
942
00:46:52,274 --> 00:46:54,657
and that the original craft,
943
00:46:54,722 --> 00:46:58,468
the original starship
carrying the people,
944
00:46:58,533 --> 00:47:02,075
came from this place
to their land.
945
00:47:02,578 --> 00:47:05,675
Their houses, the longhouses,
the community structures,
946
00:47:05,740 --> 00:47:08,320
are built
in the shape of a boat,
947
00:47:08,385 --> 00:47:10,957
always facing northward,
948
00:47:11,022 --> 00:47:14,301
in honor of the place
of their origins.
949
00:47:14,714 --> 00:47:18,042
These star travelers
are said to have started
950
00:47:18,212 --> 00:47:20,593
the original royal family.
951
00:47:20,699 --> 00:47:22,778
The name of the people, Toraja,
952
00:47:22,843 --> 00:47:26,712
means "those who come
from the stars."
953
00:47:27,464 --> 00:47:29,384
NARRATOR:
Adding to the compelling notion
954
00:47:29,521 --> 00:47:32,071
of "star travelers"
are the ever-increasing number
955
00:47:32,144 --> 00:47:35,108
of archaeological discoveries
that feature carvings
956
00:47:35,213 --> 00:47:38,091
of what appear to be spacemen.
957
00:47:38,330 --> 00:47:41,806
Although many earlier examples
had already been chronicled
958
00:47:41,871 --> 00:47:43,855
in von Daniken's early books,
959
00:47:43,920 --> 00:47:46,159
the sheer number
of recent finds...
960
00:47:46,224 --> 00:47:49,185
And the global nature of them...
Has helped to undermine
961
00:47:49,250 --> 00:47:51,563
the notion that
these ancient petroglyphs
962
00:47:51,628 --> 00:47:54,367
are entirely based on myth.
963
00:47:54,900 --> 00:47:58,273
CHILDRESS: There is
a vast number of ancient images
964
00:47:58,338 --> 00:48:02,249
that appear to be people
in space suits.
965
00:48:02,583 --> 00:48:06,693
Some of these are in remote
places, like southern Algeria,
966
00:48:06,811 --> 00:48:10,356
where even archeologists
have given names
967
00:48:10,422 --> 00:48:12,414
to these people in space suits,
968
00:48:12,479 --> 00:48:15,651
like "the Martian God"
and things like that.
969
00:48:17,088 --> 00:48:20,505
Many of the petroglyphs
at Nine Mile Canyon in Utah
970
00:48:20,570 --> 00:48:22,443
are very strange.
971
00:48:22,548 --> 00:48:25,412
At the Family Panel,
we see what appears to be
972
00:48:25,485 --> 00:48:28,112
a man and a woman
standing there.
973
00:48:28,177 --> 00:48:32,778
They seem to have space helmets
on their heads with antenna.
974
00:48:33,079 --> 00:48:38,047
The Navajos themselves
claim that these petroglyphs
975
00:48:38,164 --> 00:48:42,003
were from people
who were before the flood,
976
00:48:42,068 --> 00:48:45,565
before this cataclysm
had come to the Earth.
977
00:48:45,665 --> 00:48:48,091
And they maintain
that these images
978
00:48:48,156 --> 00:48:51,205
were many thousands
of years old.
979
00:48:52,427 --> 00:48:55,269
NARRATOR: But rock carvings
and ancient monoliths
980
00:48:55,335 --> 00:48:58,213
are not the only recent
discoveries that have helped
981
00:48:58,278 --> 00:49:01,285
build upon Erich von Daniken's
original theory.
982
00:49:01,921 --> 00:49:05,434
There are some made
of flesh and bone,
983
00:49:05,777 --> 00:49:07,700
and where
the scientific evidence
984
00:49:07,765 --> 00:49:11,841
of ancient astronauts
might be... indisputable.
985
00:49:18,721 --> 00:49:20,337
NARRATOR:
Paracas, Peru.
986
00:49:20,402 --> 00:49:23,464
February 2018.
987
00:49:23,529 --> 00:49:26,297
In his ongoing search
for further evidence
988
00:49:26,362 --> 00:49:29,660
that ancient aliens came
to Earth centuries ago,
989
00:49:29,732 --> 00:49:33,768
Erich von Daniken travels
to the Paracas History Museum
990
00:49:33,833 --> 00:49:36,300
to meet with the museum's
assistant director,
991
00:49:36,524 --> 00:49:38,074
Brien Foerster.
992
00:49:38,139 --> 00:49:41,052
Foerster has promised
to give him an up-close look
993
00:49:41,117 --> 00:49:43,551
at a remarkable collection
of skulls...
994
00:49:43,616 --> 00:49:45,842
Skulls which
von Daniken believes
995
00:49:46,055 --> 00:49:49,320
- are not of human origin.
- FOERSTER: These were all found
996
00:49:49,385 --> 00:49:53,016
in the same tomb, and so they
were members of the same family.
997
00:49:53,312 --> 00:49:54,792
NARRATOR:
Over the years,
998
00:49:54,857 --> 00:49:58,160
hundreds of strangely
elongated human-like skulls
999
00:49:58,269 --> 00:50:00,515
have been found
all over the world...
1000
00:50:00,580 --> 00:50:03,620
From Australia, where
the skulls were estimated to be
1001
00:50:03,685 --> 00:50:06,326
at least 10,000 years old,
1002
00:50:06,577 --> 00:50:09,430
to the Ukraine, where they
were found in catacombs
1003
00:50:09,495 --> 00:50:13,646
that are known to date back
at least 5,000 years.
1004
00:50:14,042 --> 00:50:17,614
Because throughout history
various cultures have engaged
1005
00:50:17,679 --> 00:50:20,803
in the ritual practice
of artificially elongating
1006
00:50:20,868 --> 00:50:24,272
the skulls of infants
by tightly wrapping their heads,
1007
00:50:24,337 --> 00:50:26,624
most members
of both the scientific
1008
00:50:26,689 --> 00:50:29,931
and academic communities
have dismissed the skulls
1009
00:50:29,996 --> 00:50:31,752
found in Peru
as having been created
1010
00:50:31,817 --> 00:50:33,768
by using the same method.
1011
00:50:34,019 --> 00:50:35,435
But Brien Foerster is
1012
00:50:35,500 --> 00:50:38,473
one of a growing handful
that does not agree.
1013
00:50:38,625 --> 00:50:40,897
According to his years
of research,
1014
00:50:40,970 --> 00:50:44,453
a number of the skulls on
display at the Paracas museum
1015
00:50:44,787 --> 00:50:47,935
exhibit other characteristics
that cannot be explained
1016
00:50:48,000 --> 00:50:50,808
by the native practice
of head-binding.
1017
00:50:51,333 --> 00:50:53,568
What's controversial about
the elongated skulls is that,
1018
00:50:53,633 --> 00:50:56,503
in many cases,
the cranial capacity
1019
00:50:56,568 --> 00:50:58,911
is larger than a normal human.
1020
00:50:59,154 --> 00:51:02,149
And therefore, they
would not simply be examples
1021
00:51:02,214 --> 00:51:04,037
of cranial deformation,
1022
00:51:04,175 --> 00:51:08,342
but possibly a separate
subspecies of humanity,
1023
00:51:08,526 --> 00:51:09,892
or more.
1024
00:51:10,760 --> 00:51:12,141
Now...
1025
00:51:12,219 --> 00:51:13,930
- Oh, wow, wow, wow.
- Yeah.
1026
00:51:14,003 --> 00:51:16,433
At least 20, if not more,
I would suggest here.
1027
00:51:16,505 --> 00:51:19,228
Mm-hmm. This is
the main display case.
1028
00:51:19,293 --> 00:51:21,546
This is a normal-looking
human skull
1029
00:51:21,611 --> 00:51:23,224
from the Inca time period.
1030
00:51:23,289 --> 00:51:24,701
This was a farmer.
1031
00:51:24,766 --> 00:51:27,118
But then you see
the variation in shapes.
1032
00:51:27,206 --> 00:51:29,843
You have ones which are
horizontally elongated,
1033
00:51:29,908 --> 00:51:30,973
like that one.
1034
00:51:31,038 --> 00:51:34,185
And then you have
the classic vertical elongation.
1035
00:51:34,250 --> 00:51:36,693
And notice the size
of the eye sockets.
1036
00:51:36,758 --> 00:51:40,565
The eye sockets are,
in some cases, 50% larger
1037
00:51:40,630 --> 00:51:41,964
than a normal human being.
1038
00:51:42,105 --> 00:51:44,861
VON DANIKEN:
Wow. Absolutely incredible.
1039
00:51:44,926 --> 00:51:48,759
You have two possibilities.
Are we humans
1040
00:51:48,839 --> 00:51:50,461
made the change?
1041
00:51:50,526 --> 00:51:52,166
Artificially,
we pressed the head together,
1042
00:51:52,231 --> 00:51:53,577
- the bones together.
- Mm-hmm.
1043
00:51:53,642 --> 00:51:56,370
Or we have to do, again,
with extraterrestrials.
1044
00:51:56,435 --> 00:51:59,705
FOERSTER: Very unlikely that
it's simple cranial deformation.
1045
00:51:59,858 --> 00:52:01,623
I think, genetically,
1046
00:52:01,688 --> 00:52:04,627
this person may have been born
with an elongated skull.
1047
00:52:04,692 --> 00:52:06,571
What can you explain me
to this here?
1048
00:52:06,636 --> 00:52:10,070
Well, I want you
to go ahead and hold this.
1049
00:52:10,818 --> 00:52:12,335
Mamma mia!
1050
00:52:12,449 --> 00:52:14,931
That's a classic
Paracas elongated skull.
1051
00:52:14,996 --> 00:52:17,127
Yes, except for there is
no fontanel. I see nada.
1052
00:52:17,199 --> 00:52:19,496
Exactly. The sagittal
suture is missing.
1053
00:52:19,568 --> 00:52:22,170
Something is wrong here.
1054
00:52:22,913 --> 00:52:25,235
NARRATOR:
Missing the sagittal suture?
1055
00:52:26,770 --> 00:52:30,068
The fibrous tissue joint
found on every human skull
1056
00:52:30,234 --> 00:52:33,975
connecting the two large bones
that protect the brain?
1057
00:52:34,083 --> 00:52:36,279
But how could it be missing?
1058
00:52:38,191 --> 00:52:39,857
FOERSTER:
And so medical professionals
1059
00:52:39,922 --> 00:52:42,900
are absolutely dumbfounded
when they see it.
1060
00:52:43,649 --> 00:52:45,538
It doesn't...
1061
00:52:45,603 --> 00:52:49,216
fit in with...
a normal human skull.
1062
00:52:49,458 --> 00:52:51,052
Incredible.
1063
00:52:51,542 --> 00:52:53,664
NARRATOR: Eight years
after Erich von Daniken
1064
00:52:53,750 --> 00:52:55,591
wrote Chariots of the Gods?,
1065
00:52:55,656 --> 00:52:58,230
author and researcher
Zecharia Sitchin
1066
00:52:58,296 --> 00:53:01,714
began publishing his
Earth Chronicles book series,
1067
00:53:01,820 --> 00:53:04,254
which also proposed
that ancient aliens
1068
00:53:04,336 --> 00:53:08,411
had a hand in the creation
and development of humankind.
1069
00:53:08,590 --> 00:53:10,960
In There Were GiantsUpon the Earth,
1070
00:53:11,025 --> 00:53:14,410
Sitchin suggested
that extraterrestrial DNA
1071
00:53:14,502 --> 00:53:16,563
still exists in humans,
1072
00:53:16,863 --> 00:53:19,089
and that the proof
might be found
1073
00:53:19,154 --> 00:53:21,439
by closely examining
the ancient skull
1074
00:53:21,504 --> 00:53:26,103
of a Sumerian queen who ruled
sometime around 2500 BC
1075
00:53:26,301 --> 00:53:28,348
and which is
currently being stored
1076
00:53:28,413 --> 00:53:31,413
at the Natural History Museum
in London.
1077
00:53:31,767 --> 00:53:33,679
One of the greatest researchers
of our time
1078
00:53:33,744 --> 00:53:36,291
in the ancient astronaut theory,
Zecharia Sitchin,
1079
00:53:36,402 --> 00:53:39,744
who passed away in 2010,
had one last wish,
1080
00:53:39,982 --> 00:53:42,012
closing out
his legacy of research,
1081
00:53:42,110 --> 00:53:45,710
which was to test
the remains of Queen Puabi.
1082
00:53:48,157 --> 00:53:50,617
Sitchin spent 50 years
of research
1083
00:53:50,682 --> 00:53:55,432
looking into Sumerian cuneiform,
and putting forth the idea
1084
00:53:55,497 --> 00:53:58,928
that the Anunnaki,
these extraterrestrial Gods,
1085
00:53:59,168 --> 00:54:01,239
visited ancient Sumer.
1086
00:54:01,539 --> 00:54:03,383
And what's
really interesting is that
1087
00:54:03,448 --> 00:54:05,857
she was actually known
as Nin-Puabi,
1088
00:54:05,974 --> 00:54:09,304
with the "Nin" actually
representing the term "Goddess"
1089
00:54:09,369 --> 00:54:10,941
in the Sumerian language.
1090
00:54:11,013 --> 00:54:13,288
So Zecharia Sitchin felt
very strongly
1091
00:54:13,353 --> 00:54:14,998
that if
the Natural History Museum
1092
00:54:15,063 --> 00:54:17,403
were to do genetic testing
on Queen Puabi,
1093
00:54:17,603 --> 00:54:20,310
that we would find that there
are parts of her DNA
1094
00:54:20,412 --> 00:54:22,246
that are extraterrestrial.
1095
00:54:22,750 --> 00:54:25,648
It's said that she had
an elongated head,
1096
00:54:26,322 --> 00:54:30,524
as many of the kings and queens
and royalty of Sumeria had,
1097
00:54:30,589 --> 00:54:32,541
as did the Anunnaki.
1098
00:54:33,001 --> 00:54:36,663
And some say that she had
more teeth in her mouth
1099
00:54:36,728 --> 00:54:38,670
than a normal human.
1100
00:54:39,314 --> 00:54:43,913
If they won't test these
remains, you have to ask why.
1101
00:54:44,236 --> 00:54:48,952
Is there some secret
encoded in that DNA
1102
00:54:49,017 --> 00:54:50,953
that they don't want to hear?
1103
00:54:51,018 --> 00:54:55,083
Might it be that the remains
of Queen Puabi could prove
1104
00:54:55,209 --> 00:54:58,338
for once and for all that
ancient astronaut theory
1105
00:54:58,403 --> 00:55:01,077
isn't theory after all?
1106
00:55:01,396 --> 00:55:03,303
NARRATOR:
Is it possible that proof
1107
00:55:03,368 --> 00:55:07,337
of humanity's extraterrestrial
origins actually exists?
1108
00:55:07,402 --> 00:55:11,506
And if so, could it currently
be sitting... unexamined...
1109
00:55:11,627 --> 00:55:14,391
On a shelf in a London museum?
1110
00:55:14,653 --> 00:55:17,452
Ancient astronaut theorists
say yes,
1111
00:55:17,517 --> 00:55:19,864
but believe equally
compelling evidence
1112
00:55:19,929 --> 00:55:23,398
can also be found,
and on a much larger scale,
1113
00:55:23,608 --> 00:55:26,193
hiding in plain sight.
1114
00:55:36,597 --> 00:55:39,986
NARRATOR:
July 20, 1969.
1115
00:55:40,304 --> 00:55:44,182
Apollo 11 astronauts
Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong
1116
00:55:44,247 --> 00:55:47,144
plant an American flag
on the Moon.
1117
00:55:47,396 --> 00:55:50,491
It is the commemoration
of an historic moment,
1118
00:55:50,682 --> 00:55:54,180
as two humans become the first
alien visitors from Earth
1119
00:55:54,314 --> 00:55:57,434
to land on another
celestial body.
1120
00:55:57,578 --> 00:56:00,324
In his book
Chariots of the Gods?,
1121
00:56:00,429 --> 00:56:01,989
Erich von Daniken suggested
1122
00:56:02,054 --> 00:56:04,960
that not only did
extraterrestrial visitors
1123
00:56:05,035 --> 00:56:08,112
from other planets come to Earth
in the distant past,
1124
00:56:08,255 --> 00:56:11,209
but that they,
like the American astronauts,
1125
00:56:11,274 --> 00:56:13,434
also commemorated their visits
1126
00:56:13,499 --> 00:56:17,712
in the form of mysterious
carvings and structures.
1127
00:56:18,090 --> 00:56:21,263
VON DANIKEN: These visitors
did not plant a flag.
1128
00:56:21,458 --> 00:56:26,167
They have left proof,
definitive proof.
1129
00:56:26,918 --> 00:56:28,546
COLLINS:
All the way around the world
1130
00:56:28,611 --> 00:56:30,421
we find ancient monuments
1131
00:56:30,486 --> 00:56:34,735
that have some kind of
relationship to the stars.
1132
00:56:34,800 --> 00:56:37,828
Whether they reflect
the astronomical positions
1133
00:56:37,900 --> 00:56:40,117
of a particular star group
1134
00:56:40,208 --> 00:56:42,530
or they are aligned
with precision
1135
00:56:42,595 --> 00:56:45,880
towards the rising
or setting of a star.
1136
00:56:46,024 --> 00:56:47,435
Now what does this mean?
1137
00:56:47,500 --> 00:56:49,873
Is it possible
that they are places
1138
00:56:49,979 --> 00:56:52,313
of origins of cosmic beings?
1139
00:56:52,648 --> 00:56:55,915
It's their flag.
"Yes, we were here."
1140
00:56:57,095 --> 00:56:59,272
NARRATOR: In the decades since
the publication
1141
00:56:59,337 --> 00:57:02,660
of Chariots of the Gods?,
ancient astronaut theorists
1142
00:57:02,725 --> 00:57:04,251
have looked for other examples
1143
00:57:04,316 --> 00:57:07,057
of alien architecture
here on Earth.
1144
00:57:07,795 --> 00:57:10,204
One location
of particular interest
1145
00:57:10,364 --> 00:57:12,896
is the Giza Plateau in Egypt.
1146
00:57:13,429 --> 00:57:15,206
In the late 1980s,
1147
00:57:15,271 --> 00:57:18,569
author and ancient Egyptian
researcher Robert Bauval
1148
00:57:18,674 --> 00:57:21,757
introduced his
Orion correlation theory.
1149
00:57:22,031 --> 00:57:25,172
It suggested that the pyramids
of Giza were built
1150
00:57:25,237 --> 00:57:28,684
to align with
the belt stars of Orion.
1151
00:57:28,802 --> 00:57:31,289
ROBERT BAUVAL: Orion's Belt is
made up of three bright stars.
1152
00:57:31,354 --> 00:57:35,186
There's two bright stars
and a third dimmer star,
1153
00:57:35,269 --> 00:57:37,782
which is offset a bit
to the left.
1154
00:57:38,038 --> 00:57:40,154
It's exactly what you see
on the ground,
1155
00:57:40,219 --> 00:57:42,426
two large pyramids in alignment
1156
00:57:42,531 --> 00:57:45,039
with a third pyramid offset.
1157
00:57:47,274 --> 00:57:49,804
NARRATOR: Similar pyramid
alignments to the belt stars
1158
00:57:49,884 --> 00:57:53,372
of Orion were also discovered
halfway around the world
1159
00:57:53,463 --> 00:57:57,274
at the ancient Aztec pyramid
complex of Teotihuacan,
1160
00:57:57,380 --> 00:58:00,099
just outside of Mexico City.
1161
00:58:01,562 --> 00:58:05,346
The central road of Teotihuacan,
the Avenue of the Dead,
1162
00:58:05,411 --> 00:58:07,951
connects three massive
pyramids.
1163
00:58:08,057 --> 00:58:10,217
Not only are
these structures aligned
1164
00:58:10,282 --> 00:58:12,456
with the three stars
of Orion's belt,
1165
00:58:12,561 --> 00:58:14,188
but the Avenue
of the Dead, itself,
1166
00:58:14,253 --> 00:58:17,868
points towards
the Pleiades star cluster.
1167
00:58:18,688 --> 00:58:22,261
There was a tremendous amount
of discussion about this,
1168
00:58:22,326 --> 00:58:25,447
starting in the late '80s
to the '90s.
1169
00:58:25,573 --> 00:58:29,753
And what it did was make us all
start thinking
1170
00:58:29,818 --> 00:58:35,145
about the surface of the Earth
in relationship to the stars
1171
00:58:35,251 --> 00:58:38,988
and other intelligences
that would come here.
1172
00:58:39,713 --> 00:58:42,349
NARRATOR: A similar celestial
alignment is seen
1173
00:58:42,414 --> 00:58:45,122
on the Mediterranean island
of Sardinia,
1174
00:58:45,263 --> 00:58:47,974
where an ancient culture
known as the Nuraghe
1175
00:58:48,039 --> 00:58:50,744
built megalithic towers.
1176
00:58:51,567 --> 00:58:55,029
Santu Antine is one of the
largest Neolithic sites
1177
00:58:55,094 --> 00:58:57,029
on Sardinia.
1178
00:58:57,267 --> 00:59:00,378
What's very interesting about it
is that, when we look at it,
1179
00:59:00,443 --> 00:59:03,204
along with the seven other
structures, it is patterned
1180
00:59:03,269 --> 00:59:05,709
after the star cluster
the Pleiades.
1181
00:59:05,818 --> 00:59:07,518
What does this tell us?
1182
00:59:07,583 --> 00:59:09,510
Well, it tells us that
it's possible that
1183
00:59:09,575 --> 00:59:12,116
the inhabitants of Sardinia
were actually in contact
1184
00:59:12,236 --> 00:59:14,410
with beings from the Pleiades,
1185
00:59:14,484 --> 00:59:17,604
and that they created this
incredible Neolithic structure
1186
00:59:17,670 --> 00:59:20,190
to commemorate, perhaps,
a visitation,
1187
00:59:20,296 --> 00:59:24,818
or perhaps a desire to travel
to the Pleiades.
1188
00:59:24,900 --> 00:59:28,177
The fact that so many
of these structures
1189
00:59:28,269 --> 00:59:30,929
do align to the Pleiades
1190
00:59:31,212 --> 00:59:34,670
is perhaps a clue that the
Pleiades are hugely important.
1191
00:59:36,147 --> 00:59:38,596
Hermes Trismegistus,
who is the Greek name
1192
00:59:38,661 --> 00:59:40,274
for the Egyptian God Thoth,
1193
00:59:40,339 --> 00:59:43,747
said that "Egypt is the mirror
of the heavens."
1194
00:59:44,007 --> 00:59:45,716
And, based on that,
1195
00:59:45,821 --> 00:59:47,615
ancient Egyptians had
this belief
1196
00:59:47,680 --> 00:59:51,152
that the earthly Nile was
a mirror of the heavenly Nile,
1197
00:59:51,217 --> 00:59:52,492
the Milky Way.
1198
00:59:52,557 --> 00:59:55,154
The ancient Egyptians placed
their pyramids
1199
00:59:55,331 --> 00:59:57,068
in specific places
1200
00:59:57,133 --> 01:00:00,365
so that they could ultimately
unite ancient Egypt
1201
01:00:00,430 --> 01:00:01,997
with the stars.
1202
01:00:02,805 --> 01:00:05,313
All of these alignments
are so precise
1203
01:00:05,465 --> 01:00:08,405
and align with the Milky Way
as it would have been seen
1204
01:00:08,511 --> 01:00:12,891
in the night sky
around 11000 BC.
1205
01:00:13,053 --> 01:00:15,799
What you can do with
astronomical programs is
1206
01:00:15,864 --> 01:00:17,114
to sort of rewind the clock.
1207
01:00:17,186 --> 01:00:20,070
You can look back and say, okay,
when was there a time
1208
01:00:20,135 --> 01:00:22,419
when there was a star
in this exact position
1209
01:00:22,525 --> 01:00:24,154
and all the other
pyramids also align
1210
01:00:24,230 --> 01:00:26,297
with different stellar
configurations?
1211
01:00:26,362 --> 01:00:29,290
And what that would mean is that
ancient Egyptian civilization
1212
01:00:29,355 --> 01:00:33,065
went back far farther into
the past than we believe today.
1213
01:00:33,431 --> 01:00:37,422
POPE: These structures are like
"X marks the spot."
1214
01:00:37,592 --> 01:00:41,281
What they say, perhaps,
is "We were here."
1215
01:00:41,472 --> 01:00:44,532
That's what civilizations do.
That's what people do.
1216
01:00:44,597 --> 01:00:47,422
When they visit something,
they leave something.
1217
01:00:48,130 --> 01:00:50,454
NARRATOR: In recent years,
a growing number
1218
01:00:50,519 --> 01:00:53,647
of ancient astronaut theorists
have suggested that
1219
01:00:53,712 --> 01:00:57,161
not only did extraterrestrials
influence our ancestors
1220
01:00:57,226 --> 01:01:00,512
as to the precise positioning
of important structures,
1221
01:01:00,691 --> 01:01:03,290
but they did so in a way
that was designed
1222
01:01:03,355 --> 01:01:06,571
to tap into the Earth's
natural energy.
1223
01:01:06,902 --> 01:01:09,863
There are various places
around our planet
1224
01:01:09,928 --> 01:01:12,636
that are said to be
power places;
1225
01:01:12,741 --> 01:01:16,180
places of vortex energy.
1226
01:01:16,245 --> 01:01:21,144
And they are all connected
to this worldwide energy grid
1227
01:01:21,238 --> 01:01:23,247
that surrounds our planet
1228
01:01:23,312 --> 01:01:28,420
and that these places are areas
where energy lines cross.
1229
01:01:29,007 --> 01:01:32,058
It might be that
extraterrestrials are also
1230
01:01:32,123 --> 01:01:35,538
tapping into this worldwide
energy grid.
1231
01:01:35,995 --> 01:01:39,663
NARRATOR: Curiously, at many
mysterious sites worldwide,
1232
01:01:39,768 --> 01:01:43,430
researchers have noted yet
another peculiar connection.
1233
01:01:43,495 --> 01:01:46,477
Many early depictions
of the so-called "Gods"
1234
01:01:46,542 --> 01:01:49,037
have been immortalized carrying
what appears to be
1235
01:01:49,102 --> 01:01:51,181
a type of handbag.
1236
01:01:52,114 --> 01:01:54,306
CHILDRESS:
These mysterious handbags
1237
01:01:54,371 --> 01:01:57,969
are held by the Sumerian Gods.
1238
01:01:58,684 --> 01:02:02,440
We find it in Mexico
with the Olmecs.
1239
01:02:03,225 --> 01:02:06,523
We find it in Mongolia, as well.
1240
01:02:06,889 --> 01:02:08,872
We find it in Colombia.
1241
01:02:09,442 --> 01:02:14,636
It may be some type of
misunderstood technology.
1242
01:02:14,762 --> 01:02:18,409
Perhaps it was some type
of a tool bag,
1243
01:02:18,474 --> 01:02:22,414
or some type of, maybe,
a breathing apparatus
1244
01:02:22,479 --> 01:02:24,324
for extraterrestrials,
1245
01:02:24,389 --> 01:02:28,039
because it doesn't look like
a fashion item.
1246
01:02:28,104 --> 01:02:30,834
It looks more like
a transmitter,
1247
01:02:31,011 --> 01:02:34,644
an old cell phone, a computer.
1248
01:02:35,726 --> 01:02:38,612
If you look at our astronauts
as they're walking
1249
01:02:38,677 --> 01:02:41,865
from the launch tower
into the spacecraft,
1250
01:02:41,930 --> 01:02:44,194
they carry a suitcase system.
1251
01:02:44,423 --> 01:02:46,893
That's their temporary
life-support system.
1252
01:02:47,025 --> 01:02:51,259
It's very possible that
this is something similar.
1253
01:02:51,663 --> 01:02:54,384
NARRATOR: Ancient astronaut
theorists have also noted
1254
01:02:54,449 --> 01:02:57,223
that there appears to be
a common narrative thread
1255
01:02:57,288 --> 01:03:00,644
amongst the cultures where
the depictions are present.
1256
01:03:01,142 --> 01:03:03,413
As we begin to trace
this handbag symbol,
1257
01:03:03,519 --> 01:03:06,068
we see that it appears
at Gobekli Tepe,
1258
01:03:06,160 --> 01:03:09,429
where there is this sudden spike
in civilization.
1259
01:03:09,597 --> 01:03:12,923
It reappears in Sumeria,
where we suddenly have
1260
01:03:13,028 --> 01:03:15,599
this infusion of knowledge.
1261
01:03:16,272 --> 01:03:19,596
Same thing virtually every place
this handbag appears,
1262
01:03:19,702 --> 01:03:23,941
we find this sudden spike,
or infusion, of new knowledge.
1263
01:03:25,063 --> 01:03:29,098
There are tales in ancient
Mesopotamia of a figure
1264
01:03:29,163 --> 01:03:31,942
thought of as
the bringer of civilization,
1265
01:03:32,253 --> 01:03:35,876
sometimes called Adapa,
or Dagan, or Oannes,
1266
01:03:35,941 --> 01:03:40,565
sometimes described as
fish-tailed or bird-headed,
1267
01:03:40,636 --> 01:03:44,200
and this character is
carrying a bag.
1268
01:03:44,280 --> 01:03:48,228
And in that bag, all of the
learning, all of the sciences,
1269
01:03:48,293 --> 01:03:52,283
all of the imagination
that humanity will ever need.
1270
01:03:54,007 --> 01:03:58,776
There's a theory that
they had the ability
1271
01:03:58,841 --> 01:04:02,171
to levitate through energy that
might have been given to us
1272
01:04:02,236 --> 01:04:03,698
by a-an alien.
1273
01:04:03,846 --> 01:04:06,793
I mean, it's
a science fiction concept,
1274
01:04:06,858 --> 01:04:08,455
but we don't know for sure.
1275
01:04:08,574 --> 01:04:12,214
Although we know that the Aztecs
and the Egyptians
1276
01:04:12,279 --> 01:04:14,451
and the people that
came before them did have
1277
01:04:14,523 --> 01:04:18,039
some technology, we don't even
know how much technology
1278
01:04:18,104 --> 01:04:19,553
they might have had.
1279
01:04:19,618 --> 01:04:23,634
That's why von Daniken's theory
is possible.
1280
01:04:23,699 --> 01:04:25,996
NARRATOR:
Is Erich von Daniken,
1281
01:04:26,101 --> 01:04:27,883
and those that have
followed him,
1282
01:04:27,948 --> 01:04:31,467
simply inspired by
individual curiosity,
1283
01:04:31,680 --> 01:04:34,974
or is there some other,
even more profound, reason
1284
01:04:35,110 --> 01:04:38,473
why ancient astronaut theory
has become more popular
1285
01:04:38,538 --> 01:04:41,493
and more widely accepted
than ever?
1286
01:04:41,819 --> 01:04:44,141
Perhaps the answer can be found
1287
01:04:44,258 --> 01:04:46,346
by returning to one
of the places
1288
01:04:46,411 --> 01:04:48,247
von Daniken first visited
1289
01:04:48,312 --> 01:04:51,154
more than 50 years ago.
1290
01:04:55,622 --> 01:04:57,034
NARRATOR:
Peru.
1291
01:04:57,099 --> 01:05:00,007
February 2018.
1292
01:05:00,153 --> 01:05:03,222
50 years after the publication
of his first book,
1293
01:05:03,287 --> 01:05:06,502
Chariots of the Gods?,
Erich von Daniken
1294
01:05:06,567 --> 01:05:09,037
returns to one of the sites
that helped
1295
01:05:09,103 --> 01:05:13,273
inspire him,
the mysterious Nazca plateau.
1296
01:05:15,726 --> 01:05:20,292
Joining him is ancient astronaut
researcher Brien Foerster.
1297
01:05:20,441 --> 01:05:23,339
So this is the first time
you're flying from Ica?
1298
01:05:23,714 --> 01:05:25,103
I was here,
1299
01:05:25,168 --> 01:05:29,701
but I was flying over Nazca,
I think, at least 50 times.
1300
01:05:30,992 --> 01:05:32,221
FOERSTER:
There's always more
1301
01:05:32,327 --> 01:05:34,423
to see every time you fly over.
1302
01:05:34,554 --> 01:05:36,467
It's very, very impressive.
1303
01:05:36,598 --> 01:05:38,065
FOERSTER:
It was Erich von Daniken,
1304
01:05:38,130 --> 01:05:39,645
with his book
Chariots of the Gods?,
1305
01:05:39,710 --> 01:05:42,734
who exposed the Nazca lines
and figures to the world.
1306
01:05:42,799 --> 01:05:45,773
And to actually fly
over Nazca with him
1307
01:05:45,873 --> 01:05:47,947
is something
I will never forget.
1308
01:05:48,199 --> 01:05:50,174
NARRATOR:
Erich and Brien's flight path
1309
01:05:50,239 --> 01:05:53,597
takes them over the lesser-known
area called Palpa,
1310
01:05:53,662 --> 01:05:57,891
which is situated between
the cities of Paracas and Nazca.
1311
01:05:58,209 --> 01:06:02,665
There they will investigate
evidence of a new discovery.
1312
01:06:03,095 --> 01:06:04,688
FOERSTER:
There are at least a thousand
1313
01:06:04,753 --> 01:06:06,622
geoglyphs in this area.
1314
01:06:06,687 --> 01:06:10,591
And very few people fly
over Palpa, which is a-a shame,
1315
01:06:10,778 --> 01:06:14,566
because we can see
figure after figure now here.
1316
01:06:14,820 --> 01:06:17,935
Yeah, Palpa has a lot
of very bizarre designs.
1317
01:06:18,000 --> 01:06:20,441
Almost, uh, anthropomorphic.
1318
01:06:21,042 --> 01:06:23,947
Crosses between a human
and an insect.
1319
01:06:24,012 --> 01:06:26,988
We're basically in the middle
of nowhere, more or less.
1320
01:06:27,053 --> 01:06:28,776
This is complete desert.
1321
01:06:28,841 --> 01:06:31,293
So why so many lines
and geoglyphs
1322
01:06:31,386 --> 01:06:34,253
in such an obscure location?
1323
01:06:34,579 --> 01:06:37,286
VON DANIKEN: Look.
One of the long lines crossing
1324
01:06:37,392 --> 01:06:39,497
- over the hills over there.
- Oh, yeah.
1325
01:06:39,562 --> 01:06:42,222
- Which is another mystery here.
- It is.
1326
01:06:42,887 --> 01:06:45,825
NARRATOR: According
to mainstream archaeologists,
1327
01:06:45,890 --> 01:06:47,682
the ancient Nazca culture
1328
01:06:47,747 --> 01:06:49,426
created these mysterious lines
1329
01:06:49,491 --> 01:06:52,332
between the first
and eighth century AD,
1330
01:06:52,504 --> 01:06:56,302
although no one knows exactly
why they were created.
1331
01:06:56,435 --> 01:06:59,015
It is also believed
that the images,
1332
01:06:59,080 --> 01:07:02,821
which cover an area
of over 170 square miles,
1333
01:07:02,895 --> 01:07:06,179
were produced by manually
scraping away the top layer
1334
01:07:06,244 --> 01:07:08,038
of reddish iron-rich soil
1335
01:07:08,134 --> 01:07:10,922
in order to create designs out
of the lighter,
1336
01:07:10,987 --> 01:07:13,342
yellowish ground underneath.
1337
01:07:13,677 --> 01:07:15,694
VON DANIKEN: By the way,
I hear from a local...
1338
01:07:15,790 --> 01:07:19,375
The pilot here,
the longest of the small lines
1339
01:07:19,440 --> 01:07:23,603
goes over 23 kilometers
straight ahead,
1340
01:07:23,668 --> 01:07:27,387
over hills, mountains,
and then crossing the desert.
1341
01:07:27,548 --> 01:07:29,280
FOERSTER:
I'm seeing a lot more today
1342
01:07:29,345 --> 01:07:30,695
than I've ever seen before.
1343
01:07:30,760 --> 01:07:34,469
Here are at least 20 lines
under me.
1344
01:07:34,646 --> 01:07:36,576
Really fantastic.
1345
01:07:36,759 --> 01:07:40,044
NARRATOR: As their flight enters
into the Nazca city limits,
1346
01:07:40,109 --> 01:07:42,405
they are greeted
by what Erich regards
1347
01:07:42,513 --> 01:07:44,835
as a friendly
and familiar figure.
1348
01:07:44,936 --> 01:07:46,976
- There he is.
- Yeah.
1349
01:07:47,395 --> 01:07:50,392
VON DANIKEN: They call
this figure El Astronauta,
1350
01:07:50,465 --> 01:07:52,027
- the Astronaut.
- Right.
1351
01:07:52,100 --> 01:07:53,325
VON DANIKEN:
It looks like an astronaut,
1352
01:07:53,390 --> 01:07:55,730
- like a helmet on, et cetera.
- Yeah.
1353
01:07:55,795 --> 01:07:57,685
It must come to the world
1354
01:07:57,750 --> 01:08:01,832
that this is a mystery made
for flying machines,
1355
01:08:01,897 --> 01:08:04,392
made for so-called Gods who fly.
1356
01:08:04,479 --> 01:08:06,606
The natives want
to give them sign.
1357
01:08:06,671 --> 01:08:08,047
"Hey, look at us.
Come down.
1358
01:08:08,112 --> 01:08:09,948
"Make a stop over here.
1359
01:08:10,046 --> 01:08:12,118
"We are here.
We are waiting for you.
1360
01:08:12,183 --> 01:08:14,572
We have offerings for you.
We have food for you."
1361
01:08:14,637 --> 01:08:17,260
I am absolutely convinced.
I have no doubt.
1362
01:08:17,325 --> 01:08:18,888
I know too much about it.
1363
01:08:18,960 --> 01:08:21,422
There were extraterrestrials
on this planet
1364
01:08:21,487 --> 01:08:23,637
some thousands of years ago.
1365
01:08:24,319 --> 01:08:26,562
NARRATOR: In the 50 years
since the publication
1366
01:08:26,634 --> 01:08:28,430
of Chariots of the Gods?,
1367
01:08:28,503 --> 01:08:30,408
many other large-scale
earth markings
1368
01:08:30,473 --> 01:08:33,637
have been found to exist
throughout the planet,
1369
01:08:33,868 --> 01:08:37,738
including recent discoveries
across Saudi Arabia,
1370
01:08:37,971 --> 01:08:41,122
Syria, Jordan
1371
01:08:41,288 --> 01:08:44,152
and the Ural Mountains
in Russia.
1372
01:08:44,605 --> 01:08:46,185
In 2011,
1373
01:08:46,364 --> 01:08:49,072
archaeologist Sarah Parcak
announced
1374
01:08:49,137 --> 01:08:52,986
that she had located
17 potentially unknown pyramids,
1375
01:08:53,084 --> 01:08:54,957
more than 1,000 tombs
1376
01:08:55,022 --> 01:08:57,835
and some 3,000
ancient human settlements
1377
01:08:57,900 --> 01:09:00,052
buried under the sands of Egypt.
1378
01:09:00,117 --> 01:09:03,481
She was able to accomplish
this unprecedented feat
1379
01:09:03,651 --> 01:09:06,149
by utilizing
a revolutionary new tool
1380
01:09:06,264 --> 01:09:08,811
known as space archaeology.
1381
01:09:08,885 --> 01:09:10,955
TSOUKALOS:
She found 3,000 structures
1382
01:09:11,020 --> 01:09:13,203
just by looking
at satellite imagery.
1383
01:09:13,268 --> 01:09:15,675
That is extraordinary,
something that,
1384
01:09:15,740 --> 01:09:17,596
ten or 20 years ago,
1385
01:09:17,661 --> 01:09:19,783
was absolute science fiction.
1386
01:09:21,852 --> 01:09:24,750
NARRATOR: The use
of infrared satellite technology
1387
01:09:24,846 --> 01:09:27,110
is also revolutionizing
the world
1388
01:09:27,175 --> 01:09:30,260
of ancient astronaut
exploration.
1389
01:09:31,245 --> 01:09:33,689
Cairo has
the Great Pyramids of Giza.
1390
01:09:33,758 --> 01:09:38,125
Luxor has all these ancient
Egyptian temples and tombs.
1391
01:09:38,451 --> 01:09:40,035
But what you don't know
1392
01:09:40,187 --> 01:09:43,138
is that more than 90% percent
1393
01:09:43,211 --> 01:09:46,094
is still hidden
under the sands of Egypt.
1394
01:09:46,159 --> 01:09:50,954
Archaeology has probably only
uncovered around ten percent,
1395
01:09:51,019 --> 01:09:52,352
maybe even less,
1396
01:09:52,476 --> 01:09:54,524
of the ruins
1397
01:09:54,589 --> 01:09:58,162
and evidence
of past civilizations.
1398
01:09:58,259 --> 01:10:00,496
And it may well be the case
1399
01:10:00,561 --> 01:10:03,623
that in some of these ruins
may be the evidence
1400
01:10:03,688 --> 01:10:06,010
that we require to show
1401
01:10:06,075 --> 01:10:10,593
that extraterrestrials visited
the Earth back at that time.
1402
01:10:12,607 --> 01:10:14,670
NARRATOR:
In 2015,
1403
01:10:14,775 --> 01:10:18,188
NASA scientists working on
the International Space Station
1404
01:10:18,321 --> 01:10:22,563
released photos of a group
of more than 200 giant circles,
1405
01:10:22,660 --> 01:10:25,951
lines and rings formed
by dirt mounds
1406
01:10:26,016 --> 01:10:28,864
in the Turgai area
of Northern Kazakhstan
1407
01:10:28,929 --> 01:10:32,994
that are believed
to date back to 6000 BC.
1408
01:10:33,627 --> 01:10:36,448
TSOUKALOS: When you're
on the ground in Kazakhstan,
1409
01:10:36,520 --> 01:10:40,046
all you see is a couple of dots.
1410
01:10:40,198 --> 01:10:43,896
But up in the sky...
And the higher you go...
1411
01:10:44,027 --> 01:10:47,852
You can see
the full extent of everything.
1412
01:10:47,917 --> 01:10:51,247
But the fact that
they can only be appreciated
1413
01:10:51,312 --> 01:10:53,840
from a high distance,
up in the air,
1414
01:10:53,905 --> 01:10:57,372
illustrates to me
that perhaps our ancestors
1415
01:10:57,504 --> 01:11:01,756
tried to communicate
with someone up there.
1416
01:11:02,759 --> 01:11:05,333
With the advent
of new technology,
1417
01:11:05,398 --> 01:11:08,231
especially in correlation
with space archaeology
1418
01:11:08,296 --> 01:11:11,593
or satellite technology
that now allows us
1419
01:11:11,666 --> 01:11:13,241
to look underneath the sand,
1420
01:11:13,306 --> 01:11:15,611
I can't even imagine
1421
01:11:15,676 --> 01:11:18,611
what else there will be
that we will discover.
1422
01:11:18,723 --> 01:11:20,602
FOX: Science is always evolving
and changing,
1423
01:11:20,675 --> 01:11:22,841
just like any other practice,
just like archaeology.
1424
01:11:23,007 --> 01:11:25,364
Once upon a time, if you got
in your little rowboat
1425
01:11:25,429 --> 01:11:27,242
and rowed far enough,
you were gonna go off the edge
1426
01:11:27,307 --> 01:11:28,796
of the Earth.
1427
01:11:28,861 --> 01:11:31,125
That wasn't real.
That wasn't true.
1428
01:11:31,327 --> 01:11:33,996
Let's cut to 200 years
in the future and see
1429
01:11:34,061 --> 01:11:35,576
what we understand
at that point.
1430
01:11:35,664 --> 01:11:38,428
I just don't think you can
ever say the science is settled.
1431
01:11:38,693 --> 01:11:42,491
I'm of the opinion
that all scientific theory
1432
01:11:42,568 --> 01:11:45,086
is in the midst of big changes.
1433
01:11:45,151 --> 01:11:49,474
We're walking around
with certain theses in mind.
1434
01:11:49,539 --> 01:11:52,928
And, yes, if you drop an apple,
it falls to the ground.
1435
01:11:53,028 --> 01:11:54,803
We don't understand gravity.
1436
01:11:54,875 --> 01:11:56,730
Dark matter and dark energy.
1437
01:11:56,900 --> 01:12:00,166
The mystery of the theory
of black holes.
1438
01:12:00,231 --> 01:12:01,710
We don't understand it.
1439
01:12:01,775 --> 01:12:03,388
People who look
through telescopes,
1440
01:12:03,453 --> 01:12:05,791
people who look
through microscopes...
1441
01:12:05,883 --> 01:12:08,664
We're all making it up
as we go along.
1442
01:12:08,913 --> 01:12:11,876
Nobody knows for sure.
1443
01:12:12,727 --> 01:12:14,539
NARRATOR:
In recent years,
1444
01:12:14,604 --> 01:12:18,108
breakthroughs in archaeology
and genetic research
1445
01:12:18,253 --> 01:12:21,737
have made the questions first
raised in Chariots of the Gods?
1446
01:12:21,802 --> 01:12:25,886
Seem less audacious
and closer to being answered.
1447
01:12:25,960 --> 01:12:27,944
And joining Erich von Daniken
1448
01:12:28,009 --> 01:12:31,106
is a growing army
of like-minded individuals
1449
01:12:31,275 --> 01:12:34,139
not only comprised
of ancient astronaut theorists
1450
01:12:34,235 --> 01:12:37,870
but scientists,
world leaders, scholars
1451
01:12:37,935 --> 01:12:40,398
and billionaire entrepreneurs.
1452
01:12:40,545 --> 01:12:43,625
More and more, the door
that Erich von Daniken opened
1453
01:12:43,690 --> 01:12:46,611
50 years ago
has opened much wider
1454
01:12:46,676 --> 01:12:50,265
than the Swiss author
ever could have imagined.
1455
01:12:57,449 --> 01:12:59,372
NARRATOR:
Pasadena, California.
1456
01:12:59,650 --> 01:13:03,188
June 17, 2018.
1457
01:13:03,345 --> 01:13:06,792
Thousands gather at
the Pasadena Convention Center
1458
01:13:06,857 --> 01:13:10,576
for AlienCon, a three-day
convention to explore
1459
01:13:10,641 --> 01:13:12,824
the mysteries
of ancient civilization,
1460
01:13:12,889 --> 01:13:14,946
extraterrestrial existence,
1461
01:13:15,011 --> 01:13:18,457
and the unexplained phenomena
of our universe.
1462
01:13:19,384 --> 01:13:21,296
I am about to
1463
01:13:21,361 --> 01:13:24,699
introduce you to a man
1464
01:13:25,059 --> 01:13:27,449
that, in 1968,
1465
01:13:27,611 --> 01:13:31,310
published a book by the name
of Chariots of the Gods?
1466
01:13:31,382 --> 01:13:34,313
The legend, Erich von Daniken.
1467
01:13:34,385 --> 01:13:35,836
(cheering)
1468
01:13:37,487 --> 01:13:39,695
NARRATOR: Erich von Daniken
takes the stage
1469
01:13:39,760 --> 01:13:43,218
before an audience
of 3,500 people,
1470
01:13:43,283 --> 01:13:45,780
men and women who are convinced
1471
01:13:45,900 --> 01:13:48,784
that mankind's past
and its future
1472
01:13:48,899 --> 01:13:51,837
is more extraordinary
and more hopeful
1473
01:13:51,902 --> 01:13:55,701
than they had been led to
believe by mainstream science.
1474
01:13:55,988 --> 01:13:57,733
MAN:
I would like to say that,
1475
01:13:57,798 --> 01:14:00,903
over the course of history
on Planet Earth,
1476
01:14:00,968 --> 01:14:02,841
we've seen great men.
1477
01:14:03,080 --> 01:14:05,200
Moses being one of those,
1478
01:14:05,265 --> 01:14:07,902
Abraham Lincoln being another.
1479
01:14:08,079 --> 01:14:11,626
I'd like to honor you
in that same group of men.
1480
01:14:11,691 --> 01:14:13,859
- Oh. -(chuckles)
- (cheering and applause)
1481
01:14:13,924 --> 01:14:16,210
VON DANIKEN: Thank you very
much. That's very kind of you.
1482
01:14:16,275 --> 01:14:19,299
It all started because
of religious doubts.
1483
01:14:19,397 --> 01:14:23,067
That was the-the power in me,
to find out what is God.
1484
01:14:23,242 --> 01:14:26,296
By the way, I still am
a deep believer in God.
1485
01:14:26,361 --> 01:14:29,392
So, simply, I had doubts
in my own religion.
1486
01:14:29,464 --> 01:14:31,878
In the meantime,
I'm 83 years old.
1487
01:14:31,943 --> 01:14:34,684
- The Gods love me. (chuckles)
- (chuckles)
1488
01:14:34,835 --> 01:14:37,832
(laughter)
1489
01:14:38,082 --> 01:14:40,686
Since 1968...
1490
01:14:40,751 --> 01:14:42,329
It's been 50 years...
1491
01:14:42,474 --> 01:14:44,641
How has the reception
1492
01:14:44,755 --> 01:14:47,176
of the ancient astronaut theory,
1493
01:14:47,241 --> 01:14:50,309
in your opinion,
changed over 50 years?
1494
01:14:50,374 --> 01:14:53,382
It was an immediate best seller
in Germany and in Switzerland.
1495
01:14:53,467 --> 01:14:55,223
Then it was sold
to the United States.
1496
01:14:55,288 --> 01:14:56,458
It was a best seller here.
1497
01:14:56,523 --> 01:14:58,070
And soon as it was
a best seller,
1498
01:14:58,135 --> 01:14:59,898
I was, of course, attacked.
1499
01:15:00,027 --> 01:15:01,516
I was crushed down
1500
01:15:01,590 --> 01:15:03,938
practically
by every scientific community,
1501
01:15:04,003 --> 01:15:06,889
by every scientist,
by newspapers. They all thought,
1502
01:15:06,977 --> 01:15:10,375
"This is nonsense, what this
young Swiss fellow is writing.
1503
01:15:10,448 --> 01:15:11,672
This is garbage."
1504
01:15:11,737 --> 01:15:12,931
So I was attacked.
1505
01:15:12,996 --> 01:15:14,511
And I'm not the one
who gives up.
1506
01:15:14,576 --> 01:15:16,742
So I started to fight
and fight and fight.
1507
01:15:16,807 --> 01:15:19,864
So, in total,
I have written 41 titles.
1508
01:15:19,929 --> 01:15:24,476
Roughly 76 million copies
in 32 languages.
1509
01:15:24,541 --> 01:15:25,904
Not bad. Yeah.
1510
01:15:28,615 --> 01:15:31,169
TSOUKALOS:
In the 50 years since Chariots,
1511
01:15:31,234 --> 01:15:34,484
what do you think are some
of the best pieces of evidence
1512
01:15:34,572 --> 01:15:36,218
that have come forward
that have...
1513
01:15:36,283 --> 01:15:39,511
That you did not cover
in Chariots?
1514
01:15:39,576 --> 01:15:41,559
Well, of course,
all these years,
1515
01:15:41,738 --> 01:15:43,790
always new material has come.
1516
01:15:43,855 --> 01:15:46,577
And we know so much more
about the Great Pyramid.
1517
01:15:46,642 --> 01:15:48,231
We detected rooms,
1518
01:15:48,296 --> 01:15:50,578
shafts, corridors, things inside
1519
01:15:50,681 --> 01:15:54,528
which I never knew in 1966 when
I made Chariots of the Gods?
1520
01:15:54,593 --> 01:15:56,316
Now the sequel
of Chariots of the Gods?
1521
01:15:56,381 --> 01:15:58,599
Is already on the market,
and there is, of course,
1522
01:15:58,664 --> 01:16:00,643
material in there
which you have never seen
1523
01:16:00,708 --> 01:16:03,416
and you would not believe
on this planet.
1524
01:16:03,891 --> 01:16:06,186
- (cheering)
- NARRATOR: For Erich von Daniken,
1525
01:16:06,251 --> 01:16:08,964
the reception he received
at AlienCon
1526
01:16:09,096 --> 01:16:10,682
was both overwhelming
1527
01:16:10,841 --> 01:16:12,670
and gratifying.
1528
01:16:13,031 --> 01:16:15,414
But equally gratifying
is the fact
1529
01:16:15,479 --> 01:16:20,006
that since Chariots of the Gods?
Was first published in 1968,
1530
01:16:20,071 --> 01:16:22,635
a growing number
of ancient astronaut theorists
1531
01:16:22,720 --> 01:16:26,542
and researchers have joined him
in his life's mission,
1532
01:16:27,057 --> 01:16:29,233
that of opening the mind
of the world
1533
01:16:29,298 --> 01:16:32,879
to the very real likelihood
that aliens exist
1534
01:16:32,944 --> 01:16:37,097
and have been visiting the Earth
for thousands of years.
1535
01:16:37,354 --> 01:16:43,959
So, Erich,
did you ever imagine this?
1536
01:16:44,074 --> 01:16:47,115
- No, I did not.
- (laughter)
1537
01:16:48,023 --> 01:16:50,223
We've seen
a fundamental change
1538
01:16:50,288 --> 01:16:53,357
in the way that this subject has
been handled.
1539
01:16:53,422 --> 01:16:56,969
And we're right on...
I think we're right on the cusp
1540
01:16:57,034 --> 01:16:59,251
of something important here.
1541
01:16:59,366 --> 01:17:03,565
Most people do not realize,
from a biblical point of view,
1542
01:17:03,939 --> 01:17:07,055
how valid many
of his opinions really are.
1543
01:17:07,140 --> 01:17:09,017
And I believe
it's very important.
1544
01:17:09,082 --> 01:17:10,605
It's validating for me
1545
01:17:10,670 --> 01:17:12,228
that I've been given
this opportunity,
1546
01:17:12,293 --> 01:17:16,039
that I can share these things
from the authentic sources.
1547
01:17:16,240 --> 01:17:19,101
TAYLOR: A friend of mine
that works for NASA
1548
01:17:19,166 --> 01:17:21,820
asked me several times,
"How can you go and do
1549
01:17:21,885 --> 01:17:24,060
these UFO things that you do?"
1550
01:17:24,171 --> 01:17:25,522
And so on, and I-I tell him
1551
01:17:25,587 --> 01:17:28,426
as a scientist,
if you close yourself off
1552
01:17:28,491 --> 01:17:32,343
to only looking under
the streetlamp for your keys,
1553
01:17:32,623 --> 01:17:35,584
you're never gonna find
your damn keys.
1554
01:17:35,649 --> 01:17:37,656
(laughter)
1555
01:17:41,417 --> 01:17:43,347
We should learn
to become humble.
1556
01:17:43,480 --> 01:17:46,811
We are wonderful humans,
intelligent beings,
1557
01:17:46,971 --> 01:17:50,119
but there are fantastic
other beings out there.
1558
01:17:50,331 --> 01:17:52,168
This will be the new science.
1559
01:17:52,233 --> 01:17:53,640
The new world.
1560
01:17:53,710 --> 01:17:56,965
- (cheering)
- Thank you.
1561
01:18:08,402 --> 01:18:12,119
NARRATOR:
Antalya, Turkey. 2017.
1562
01:18:12,501 --> 01:18:15,253
Officials at Akdeniz University
1563
01:18:15,318 --> 01:18:16,694
announce they have added
1564
01:18:16,759 --> 01:18:19,576
a new curriculum
to their program.
1565
01:18:19,917 --> 01:18:23,152
Entitled
"Ufology and Exopolitics,"
1566
01:18:23,262 --> 01:18:25,438
it is designed
to focus on the search
1567
01:18:25,503 --> 01:18:27,249
for extraterrestrial life
1568
01:18:27,314 --> 01:18:29,706
and galactic diplomacy.
1569
01:18:30,622 --> 01:18:35,132
At the University of Edinburgh's
U.K. Centre for Astrobiology,
1570
01:18:35,197 --> 01:18:37,326
a course designed
to teach students
1571
01:18:37,391 --> 01:18:39,137
how to search for aliens
1572
01:18:39,202 --> 01:18:41,894
will include
an introduction to astrobiology
1573
01:18:41,959 --> 01:18:45,140
and the search
for extraterrestrial life.
1574
01:18:45,487 --> 01:18:47,917
And at Eastern Washington
University
1575
01:18:48,016 --> 01:18:50,635
in Cheney, Washington,
is a course
1576
01:18:50,770 --> 01:18:54,281
that examines ancient astronaut
theory to see if it can help
1577
01:18:54,346 --> 01:18:59,151
explain the missing chapters
in mankind's history.
1578
01:18:59,455 --> 01:19:04,940
There are college courses today
being taught in exopolitics.
1579
01:19:05,029 --> 01:19:08,460
It's supposed to be
the new frontier of diplomacy.
1580
01:19:08,548 --> 01:19:12,441
There's a whole generation
of young people now growing up
1581
01:19:12,506 --> 01:19:15,696
not with the question
"Is there life out there?"
1582
01:19:15,761 --> 01:19:17,650
but with the kind of issue
1583
01:19:17,715 --> 01:19:20,466
of "What do we do
when it gets here?"
1584
01:19:21,595 --> 01:19:22,982
HENRY:
It's tremendously exciting
1585
01:19:23,047 --> 01:19:25,474
that universities around
the world, we're starting to see
1586
01:19:25,539 --> 01:19:28,080
courses taught
on ancient astronaut theory.
1587
01:19:28,186 --> 01:19:30,115
There's a demand for it.
1588
01:19:30,353 --> 01:19:33,419
The students want to know more,
they want to discuss it,
1589
01:19:33,491 --> 01:19:34,550
they want to debate it,
1590
01:19:34,615 --> 01:19:36,963
they want to be part
of the revolution.
1591
01:19:37,185 --> 01:19:40,305
Just in the past ten years,
we've seen this generation,
1592
01:19:40,370 --> 01:19:43,368
new generation of ancient
astronaut theorists come along.
1593
01:19:43,591 --> 01:19:47,423
They're bringing fresh insight,
they're bringing new facts
1594
01:19:47,488 --> 01:19:49,290
that were previously
unavailable.
1595
01:19:49,355 --> 01:19:52,328
And what that's gonna do
is just ultimately open up
1596
01:19:52,393 --> 01:19:55,227
the imagination of humanity,
and ultimately help us
1597
01:19:55,292 --> 01:19:58,654
to recover answers to those
vital questions: "Who are we?"
1598
01:19:58,834 --> 01:20:00,212
"Where did we come from?"
1599
01:20:00,343 --> 01:20:02,597
And "Where do we go from here?"
1600
01:20:02,940 --> 01:20:04,991
NARRATOR:
Today, more than 50 years
1601
01:20:05,056 --> 01:20:07,820
after the publication
of Chariots of the Gods?,
1602
01:20:08,009 --> 01:20:10,797
the questions posed
by Erich von Daniken
1603
01:20:10,862 --> 01:20:14,020
are being asked
by a growing number of people...
1604
01:20:14,173 --> 01:20:17,193
People who are more eager
and more ready
1605
01:20:17,258 --> 01:20:20,678
to receive the answers
than ever before.
1606
01:20:21,395 --> 01:20:26,972
At no time has there ever been
such a big wave of people
1607
01:20:27,078 --> 01:20:30,027
believing in alien life,
1608
01:20:30,388 --> 01:20:33,925
that extraterrestrials could've
come here in the past,
1609
01:20:33,990 --> 01:20:36,703
that we're not alone,
that we're being visited
1610
01:20:36,768 --> 01:20:39,168
and have been visited
in the past.
1611
01:20:39,257 --> 01:20:42,187
And so it's a time of change
right now.
1612
01:20:42,260 --> 01:20:45,305
And in many ways,
the ancient astronaut theory
1613
01:20:45,449 --> 01:20:47,848
is leading this change.
1614
01:20:49,346 --> 01:20:51,555
HENRY:In the past 50 years,
we've undergone
1615
01:20:51,620 --> 01:20:55,097
a global cultural
paradigm shift.
1616
01:20:55,440 --> 01:20:58,369
50 years ago, if you were
talking about extraterrestrials,
1617
01:20:58,434 --> 01:21:01,214
other dimensions,
travel by stargates,
1618
01:21:01,279 --> 01:21:03,572
people would have thought
you were crazy or something.
1619
01:21:03,637 --> 01:21:07,412
But now, this idea
is everywhere in our culture.
1620
01:21:07,486 --> 01:21:08,888
It's in our media.
1621
01:21:08,953 --> 01:21:11,190
Huge numbers of people
around the world,
1622
01:21:11,255 --> 01:21:13,218
both spiritual
and nonspiritual people,
1623
01:21:13,291 --> 01:21:14,687
are beginning to accept the idea
1624
01:21:14,759 --> 01:21:16,855
that we are definitely
not alone.
1625
01:21:17,469 --> 01:21:20,425
TSOUKALOS: Erich von Daniken,
for the past 50 years,
1626
01:21:20,490 --> 01:21:24,383
has suggested that if we don't
familiarize ourselves
1627
01:21:24,448 --> 01:21:27,566
with the possibility
of extraterrestrial life,
1628
01:21:27,894 --> 01:21:31,197
if and when they show up,
mankind will have
1629
01:21:31,262 --> 01:21:34,886
what he refers to
as a shock of the Gods.
1630
01:21:35,021 --> 01:21:39,185
So I think it's very beneficial
for people
1631
01:21:39,250 --> 01:21:43,818
to start embracing the idea
of extraterrestrials.
1632
01:21:45,056 --> 01:21:46,953
YOUNG:
This is a huge movement.
1633
01:21:47,018 --> 01:21:50,149
Chariots of the Gods?
Is a mythology for our time.
1634
01:21:51,011 --> 01:21:53,906
There are certain themes
of visitation
1635
01:21:53,971 --> 01:21:56,015
from a celestial location
1636
01:21:56,262 --> 01:21:58,774
that happen throughout
world mythology and religion,
1637
01:21:59,040 --> 01:22:01,840
and it is there,
it's there in a slightly new way
1638
01:22:01,905 --> 01:22:04,574
that speaks to our age,
and the response
1639
01:22:04,639 --> 01:22:07,149
is nothing short of religious.
1640
01:22:07,365 --> 01:22:10,555
The people are longing
for something extraordinary,
1641
01:22:10,620 --> 01:22:13,150
and Erich von Daniken
has given it to them.
1642
01:22:13,215 --> 01:22:18,480
I do think that the human
collective consciousness
1643
01:22:18,545 --> 01:22:19,852
is shifting.
1644
01:22:19,917 --> 01:22:25,850
And people are more open to
accepting some of these ideas.
1645
01:22:26,063 --> 01:22:28,935
We've had people that have
worked at NASA go on the record
1646
01:22:29,000 --> 01:22:30,919
as saying that of course
they believe
1647
01:22:30,984 --> 01:22:33,258
extraterrestrial life exists.
"How could it not?"
1648
01:22:33,371 --> 01:22:36,067
We've even had people at NASA
say "How could there not be"
1649
01:22:36,132 --> 01:22:37,621
some sort of an architect
to all of this?"
1650
01:22:37,686 --> 01:22:39,261
"How could this be random?"
1651
01:22:39,361 --> 01:22:41,774
If we were to really have
proof of aliens,
1652
01:22:41,846 --> 01:22:44,036
it changes everything
that we've ever been taught,
1653
01:22:44,101 --> 01:22:45,207
and there's something scary
about that,
1654
01:22:45,272 --> 01:22:48,185
but there's also something
infinitely exciting about that.
1655
01:22:48,259 --> 01:22:50,012
The billions of galaxies
1656
01:22:50,077 --> 01:22:51,796
that exist in the universe,
1657
01:22:51,861 --> 01:22:55,603
mathematically,
there has to be life everywhere.
1658
01:22:55,745 --> 01:22:59,339
Fervent, passionate life
everywhere.
1659
01:22:59,864 --> 01:23:04,322
In my mind, there's no question
that aliens exist.
1660
01:23:04,425 --> 01:23:06,342
(cheering)
1661
01:23:06,670 --> 01:23:09,665
NARRATOR: For Erich von Daniken
and the millions of people
1662
01:23:09,730 --> 01:23:13,655
he has inspired, the notion of
whether or not extraterrestrials
1663
01:23:13,720 --> 01:23:15,772
came to Earth
in the distant past
1664
01:23:15,837 --> 01:23:18,678
is a question
they can easily answer.
1665
01:23:19,006 --> 01:23:21,847
For them,
the proof is everywhere:
1666
01:23:21,919 --> 01:23:27,083
in ancient architecture,
on the walls of caves,
1667
01:23:27,148 --> 01:23:32,265
on stone blocks
and even in human DNA.
1668
01:23:32,521 --> 01:23:35,124
But the questions
that are harder to answer
1669
01:23:35,189 --> 01:23:37,890
have to do
with mankind's future.
1670
01:23:37,991 --> 01:23:42,030
What next?
Where do we go from here?
1671
01:23:42,799 --> 01:23:47,039
And are we on the verge of
uncovering the ultimate proof,
1672
01:23:47,111 --> 01:23:51,848
by finally coming face-to-face
with our alien ancestors?
1673
01:23:52,226 --> 01:23:54,276
The theory of ancient astronauts
1674
01:23:54,341 --> 01:23:57,382
will not use 50 years
to be proven.
1675
01:23:57,455 --> 01:24:00,385
Within the next ten years,
we will have contact
1676
01:24:00,458 --> 01:24:03,152
with extraterrestrials,
and we will ask them.
1677
01:24:03,217 --> 01:24:06,402
"Were you or your forefathers
here on our planet?"
1678
01:24:06,467 --> 01:24:08,397
and they will tell us,
"Of course."
1679
01:24:08,494 --> 01:24:12,927
We definitely have our destiny
to return to the stars.
1680
01:24:13,304 --> 01:24:15,771
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1681
01:24:15,836 --> 01:24:17,794
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