In Reseach Of is a podcast I'm very fond. The two hosts (archaeologist Jeb Card and podcaster Blake Smith) rewatch the old Leonard Nimoy TV show In Search of ... and offer sceptically alternative explanations. The pilot episode looks at many of the themes that have been touched on in this long thread. Below is a link to the episode along with a brief write-up of what to expect. So ... since many of us are not going anywhere this weekend, pour yourself a beverage and sit back for an entertaining and sceptical look at the Ancient Aliens topic. If you wish to skip the preliminaries and intro, the episode proper starts at the 021:42 mark. Enjoy! https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/in-research-of/e/64940730?autoplay=true "This is the pilot episode of In Research Of, the show where we watch the original TV show IN SEARCH OF… and consider some of the explanations that the producers chose not to present. In our inaugural episode, we watch the TV Special In Search of Ancient Astronauts, a repackaged cut of a German documentary about Eric Von Daniken's book Chariots of the Gods. We want to thank Rachel and Chris Lackey for the theme music (And Greig Johnson!). They host the excellent show Rachel Watches Star Trek. Also, we want to credit Jason Colavito for his excellent research into this and many adjacent topics around the Ancient Astronauts and Ancient Aliens tropes of the past fifty years, including his book: The Cult of Alien Gods: H. P. Lovecraft and Extraterrestrial Pop Culture (Seriously - check out this link to Jason's article. He gives some great contemporary detail on the impact of this TV special such as "... within 48 hours of the program’s broadcast, Bantam Books had sold 250,000 new copies of Chariots of the Gods." Amazing.) Oh - so as Jeb mentions, Eric Von Daniken is directly mentioned in the brainstorming session with Lucas, Spielberg, and Kasdan! You can check that out here. Walter Conkrite's UFO's Friend, Foe or Fantasy UFO documentary" Show Notes: Dr. Harold P. Klein worked for NASA and was a major figure in the Viking mission. The Baghdad Battery - no reason to believe this was ever used as a battery. More likely a scroll container. (Featured on Episode 16 - season 3 - of Mythbusters) Star Trek Into Darkness (you can watch the clip here) Mesoamerican Sites: Olmec Heads Tula Teotihuacan Chichen Itza Tiwanaku Piri Reis map Wernher Von Braun Stonehenge How did the ancients move stones?
You've been posting lots of good resources lately, @David Atherton. Thank you. (From a former long-time subscriber to Skeptical Inquirer.) Of course you'll never persuade the confirmed crackpots or disturb their houses of cards, but there's always the hope that some of those sitting on the fence -- the ones who say they have an "open mind" -- will actually look at the evidence and come to their senses. Unfortunately, it's very much like arguing with Holocaust deniers. Or, dare I say, anti-vaxxers.
I'm sure there are many; I'd like to think there are lots of them among collectors of ancient coins. Which, after all, I consider a rather intellectual pursuit that attracts people with an academic bent of mind, whether they've been formally educated in ancient history or not. More so, perhaps, than some other areas of coin collecting. Or maybe I'm just a little bit of a snob about ancient coins vs. say, U.S. coins!
Here is a good one: https://archaeology-world.com/the-2...tMMlwSXFkC2Ro0eXJ36GtuRskRodtL0Tw7dzG-WYVDWLQ Another article from the same webpage, relevant to my study of man-animal hybrids: https://archaeology-world.com/skele...at-half-human-now-on-display-in-cairo-museum/
Oh, sure, @David Atherton posts all these links to various websites, but that's because he doesn't want you to know about aliens in ancient Hadrianopolis! It's true! I read it here and here! And you can trust The Sun to be the source of accurate archaeology news!
Lol, now @David Atherton has turned. I have now lost all faith in him... Like I had said earlier, I do not believe in the Alien theories. If there were, the technology to get here would be the same differential as between us and ants. We would had just been squashed. However, I do believe there is life elsewhere in this incredibly vast Universe.
A fascinating interview with the SETI Institute chief astronomer. https://monstertalk.skeptic.com/keep-watching-the-skies
Even IF there is life out there, and it may not be as we know it, what is the point? One or other or both probably be extinct by then and all would be ancient history. So we are on our own anyway due to the speed of light.
LOL... Nice thought, as I am a Beekeeper, but I have too much of an independent streak with freedom as my motivator. I would be a Rebel under that circumstance.