Grace Williams

Dr. S. Smith

Myth & Symbols

November 23, 2010

Ancient Astronaut Theory in American Popular Culture

In April of 2010, The History Channel premiered a documentary series that

explores the various claims of Ancient Astronaut theorists. It was clearly a success, as the

five-episode first season was followed by a second season that began October 28, 2010.

According to The History Channel website, “Ancient alien theorists like Erich von

Däniken believe that, thousands of years ago, extraterrestrials landed on Earth, where

they were hailed as gods and helped shape human civilization” (History.com). The show

features voice-over narration paired with computer recreations and footage of ancient

sites and artifacts, along with interviews with prominent Ancient Astronaut theorists like

von Däniken. What neither the show nor the website mention is that when these theories

were first presented in the late 1960s and early 70s they faced heavy criticism from the

scientific community at large, and that criticism, including specific contradictions of the

examples given in von Däniken’s works, has been constantly levied at Ancient Astronaut

theory over the past 40 years. Despite this criticism thoroughly and soundly debunking

the theories of von Däniken and his peers, the idea of Ancient Astronauts has maintained

believers since it was first popularized, and with the inception of The History Channel

series seems poised for a popular renaissance.

The discussion that follows will explore the historical and sociological context of

the first wave of public interest in Ancient Astronaut theory in the United States and from

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that construct an explanation for the premiere of the related series on The History

Channel earlier this year. Attempting an explanation of any artifact of popular culture

requires some concept of what appeals to the majority of the people participating in that

culture, most powerfully the archetypes and mythic structures that satisfy their

psychological needs. Ancient Astronaut theory, though it can seem so fanciful as to be

comedic to those in academic communities, is not irrelevant. Its success can only be

explained in the sense of its fulfillment of these psychological needs and so the theories

of Joseph Campbell, and to a lesser extent his predecessor Carl G. Jung, will be applied

to Ancient Astronaut theory as it exists in American popular culture. This exploration is a

valid and necessary endeavor as strains of this pseudo-science have permeated American

culture to a point where they can be found, in earnest and in parody, in literature,

entertainment, and religion.

Erich von Däniken catapulted Ancient Astronaut theory, the theory that

extraterrestrial beings visited Earth at some point during antiquity, into American public

awareness with the publication of his first book, Chariots of the Gods? in 1969

(originally published in German in 1968) and its documentary adaptation of the same title

that aired on American television in 1970. Although not the first to suggest that these

visits could explain mysteries of ancient civilizations, Chariots was the first to do so in a

way that garnered a large audience: according to the cover of the 1999 mass-market

paperback edition the book had sold over seven million copies.

Some critics have attributed the popularity of von Däniken’s work to momentum

it gained because of the timing of its publishing: as Curtis Peebles notes 1968 was a year

of extraordinary social and political turmoil for the United States, including the disastrous

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Tet Offensive in the Vietnam War, the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the

subsequent unrest and crime waves in 168 cities, and the assassination of Robert

Kennedy (Peebles 186). Because of the failures of traditional social and political

structures, the radical alternative history in von Däniken’s Chariots may have been

especially appealing. Alternatively, the fantastic sweeping proposals about the

possibilities of the universe and humanity’s place within it could have provided the

escape from current events the public mind was craving because of the upheaval. For

whatever reason, von Däniken’s book and the documentary it inspired ignited the

imagination of Americans and gained a remarkable following in a short period of time.

And though the theory enjoyed its most widespread attention during the 1970s, there

endures to this day a sizeable community of people who support and advocate for

Ancient Astronaut theory.

Von Däniken is responsible for the Ancient Astronaut boom of the 1970s, but the

true father of the Ancient Alien theory is American author Charles Hoy Fort. As cultural

critic Andreas Grünschloß points out in “‘Ancient Astronaut’ Narrations,” Fort’s 1919

Book of the Damned was, according to its opening lines, “A procession of the data that

Science has excluded” (Fort, 7). That is to say, Fort outlined a series of theories that were

formed from accepted scientific data though outside of the conventions of “Dogmatic

Science” including the theory that humanity once had contact with some extraterrestrial

creature. As he explained it:

I think we’re property. I should say we belong to something: That once upon a time, this earth was No-man’s Land, that other worlds explored and colonized here, and fought among themselves for possessions, but that now it’s owned by something…

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I accept that, in the past, before proprietorship was established, inhabitants of a host of other worlds have… visited occasionally, have visited periodically… have been unable to stay here, have established colonies here, have been lost here; far-advanced peoples, or things…

(Fort, 156-157)

Though Fort’s theories flavored popular culture in indirect ways (for example, by

influencing H.P. Lovecraft’s fiction [Grünschloß, 4]) he never gained much recognition

of his own. Fort’s theory of these otherworldly creatures is relevant to any investigation

of the Ancient Astronaut theory from an American viewpoint because Fort himself was

an American and his early twentieth century text shows that the first suggestions of alien

contact with early human civilization came from the United States. Thus it is safe to

presume that there is something within the American psyche that is particularly receptive

to the theory.

A significant portion of the criticism targeting Chariots of the Gods? and von

Däniken’s later works were accusations of plagiarism and fabrication of data. For

example, the 1977 Time-Life documentary The Case of the Ancient Astronauts showed

that “von Däniken knowingly suppresses data while knowingly using unreliable and false

data. The clincher is von Däniken’s cavalier admission that he falsifies reports – to

stimulate reader interest” (Green & Justeson, 758). Because so much of von Däniken’s

argument rests on his personal research into the ancient artifacts and sites, when his

integrity comes into question his theories lose much of their credibility.

A more nuanced branch of criticism of Ancient Astronaut theory is that believing

that primitive races would have been unable to produce the artifacts and physical

structures associated with their cultures implies a latent racism. Nearly every prominent

Ancient Astronaut theorist is a white male from the United States or Western Europe, and

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many of the civilizations targeted by these theorists would have been non-white and non-

European. Carl Sagan, an American astronomer, who was a vocal critic of the movement

from its inception, objected to “the underlying assumption that our [human] ancestors

were apparently too stupid to create the monumental architecture of the past” (Huyghe,

77). Charles E. Orser elaborates on this view of the idea: “Along with their tenacious

attachment to nineteenth-century science, many pseudo-archeologists maintain their

belief in nineteenth-century racialist ideas” (Orser, 73). That the theory was most popular

in America during a time of racial and ethnic tension does seem to support Orser and

Sagan’s commentary. And yet, belief in Ancient Astronaut theories are most often

accompanied by a deep-seated mistrust of traditional power structures like the scientific

community or the national government, which seems to contradict that rationalization of

these beliefs (Grünschloß). If an individual’s rejection of mainstream explanation for

myth and artifacts stems from their latent white superiority complex, it could not be

accompanied by a rejection of the communities in which whites are so prominent without

the promotion of an alternative power structure. The findings of sociologist Williams

Bainbridge further cast doubt on this assertion as they show some correlation between

belief in Ancient Aliens and traits that signal perceived belonging to a subculture as per

cultural-deviance theories (“Falling”, 201). In fact, the community of Ancient Astronaut

theorists seems to be one that is supportive and democratic, working towards the defeat

of what Fort called “Dogmatic Science” in favor of a more democratic process that would

take seriously contributions to research made by amateurs.

Is it merely a tendency towards social deviance that attracts people to Ancient

Astronaut theory? Clearly supporters are not motivated by traditional scientific principles

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or conventions, but neither are they making some implicit or subconscious statement

about the superiority of their race. Inclusion in an alternate community must explain, at

least in part, the popularity of the theory. It is not as though that von Däniken’s books

were bestsellers in mid-twentieth century and were quixotically revived recently. Since

1970 Ancient Astronaut theory has grown a community of avid believers that followed

von Däniken’s lead. Although there was a marked decrease in support for the theory in

the 1980s and 90s (Huyghe, 77), with the advent of the Internet the community has

strengthened, coalesced, and diversified. The History series Ancient Aliens gives a cross

section of this community by incorporating interviews with many of the more prominent

figures, including von Däniken himself along with Giorgio A. Tsoukalos, Director of the

Erich von Däniken Center for Ancient Astronaut Research, and many other self-

proclaimed experts from fields as diverse as engineering, Christian priesthood and

filmmaking (History.com). It seems, in fact, that the only thing these individuals have in

common is a conviction in Ancient Astronaut theory.

So to understand what draws people to this theory a suitably universal explanation

must be found. This theory must encompass the diverse approaches, represented in small

part by the professions mentioned above, through which people find themselves drawn to

Ancient Alien theory. In fact there is no better way to explain this phenomenon than by

searching for the patterns – or archetypes – with which, according to Jungian

psychologists, all people can identify. As Grünschloß states:

“To the student of the religious history of mankind, Ancient Astronaut narrations must therefore be seen as truly mythic – or ‘neo’-mythic’ – activity: they represent a new mythic foundation for modern man and his scientific and technological mode of being in the world”

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(Grünschloß, 14).

Joseph Campbell in Hero with a Thousand Faces posits that there is one mythic structure

that all myths from all cultures have in common, which he calls the “monomyth.” “The

standard path of the mythological adventure of the hero” Campbell elaborates, “is a

magnification of the formula represented in the rites of passage: separation – initiation –

return: which might be named the nuclear of the monomyth” (Campbell, 23). The

narrative presented by the Ancient Astronaut theory, though it explicitly contradicts those

narratives familiar as myths, itself can be seen to follow the path described by Campbell.

The literature and propaganda of the Ancient Astronaut movement encourages

proponents of the theory to see themselves as on a heroic journey or quest for ultimate

truths about humanity and the scope of the universe. This is not the quest for

understanding one’s place within humanity that Campbell and other philosophers of

religion describe as typical for every person through individual religious practice, but

rather one that paints the Ancient Astronaut theorist as a mythic hero in his or her own

right. For there is no official unified theory as such that addresses specifically who or

what these aliens were, or why and when they came and left. Rather the community of

theorists is committed to asking the same questions while proposing radically different

answers, from explaining the Egyptian pyramids as alien power plants to identifying

Jesus Christ as a “star-child,” or human-extraterrestrial crossbreed. Thus for someone to

decide to support and advocate – or perhaps evangelize – acceptance of Ancient

Astronaut theory is to think that he or she has the potential to radically and permanently

alter human history. For all that this belief allows for entry into a community of fellow

believers, the diversity of specific theories indicates that what these theorists have in

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common more than anything else is a yearning for the immortality of a hero of myth, and

a conviction that this immortality is achievable through discovery of heretofore

unrealized truths about the origin of human civilization.

A primary example of this quest narrative is the Legendary Times, the definitive

Ancient Astronaut quarterly magazine published by the Archaeology, Astronautics and

SETI Research Association, which was co-founded by Erich von Däniken. On its

website, the Legendary Times invites readers to:

Embark on a worldwide voyage of discovery, and explore the secrets of the past. Vivid tales of great adventure take you back to the time before history, and offer you, the explorer, research that you were always looking for but were unable to find. (Legendary Times)  

Each believer at some point heard the call to the theory, whether through the Chariots of

the Gods? book or documentary, or later through the Internet or television specials. After

that call, each day of their belief is a trial: they are ridiculed now by popular culture and

summarily rejected by the academic establishment. This trial is made truly challenging

because the believer really does believe that they are right – this leads to a

psychologically exhausting state of being. Of course, their opponents, society at large and

mainstream archeologists in particular, are absolutely unwilling to compromise. The

believer lives in hope, though, of a day when their belief is vindicated and the Ancient

Astronaut theory becomes the mainstream mode of archeological thought. This too comes

directly from the Legendary Times website:

The A.A.S. R.A. is determined to prove, using scientific research methods, but in "layman's terms” as to whether or not extraterrestrials visited Earth in the remote past. If the "visitors-from-space", or Paleo-SETI, hypothesis will be eventually proven and accepted by the larger scientific

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community, we will not only have assisted in bringing this research to the general public but will continue to help incorporate it into our daily lives. (Legendary Times)

Erich von Däniken presents himself as an archetypal hero for the Ancient

Astronaut, which makes taking up his cause seem not only easy, but also right. He is self-

aware of his position as de facto leader of the Ancient Astronaut movement, as he

anticipated being in Chariots of the Gods? as evidenced by his first sentence, which

could be a rallying cry for the movement: “It took courage to write this book, and it will

take courage to read it” (von Däniken, 9). Throughout the more than four decades of his

career, von Däniken has insisted on the veracity of the claims he made in Chariots and

elaborated on in his sixteen subsequent books, as well as through his appearances in

various documentaries and The History Channel’s Ancient Aliens series. In speaking of

his work, though, von Däniken makes clear that he does not just see his personal

reputation at stake, but rather the whole of the Ancient Astronaut movement, often

symbolizing this by speaking in the first person plural about his work and beliefs

(Huyghe, History.com). Because of this, other Ancient Astronaut theorists often cite von

Däniken as a major influence on them, though they rarely say they agree with his specific

theories about when and why extraterrestrials came to Earth. Rather, they follow his lead

as to language patterns in arguments, substituting their own details and specific cultural

examples.

However well the alternative narratives created by Ancient Astronaut theorists

can be, Joseph Campbell more than likely would not advocate a belief in Ancient Aliens

as a viable myth system to nurture an individual’s humanity and meet their psychological

needs. As he explains in The Hero With a Thousand Faces:

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It has always been the prime function of mythology and rite to supply the symbols that carry the human spirit forward, in counteraction to those constant human fantasies that tend to tie it back. In fact, it may well be that the very high incidence of neuroticism among ourselves follows from the decline among us of such effective spiritual aid… Apparently there is something in these initiatory images [found in myth] so necessary to the psyche that if they are not supplied from without, through myth and ritual, they will have to be announced again, through dream, from within… (Campbell, 7-8)

The defining character of myth, then, is not how well it fits Ancient Astronaut theorists

who are suffering from the neuroticism of the modern human condition, and are

instinctively turning to humanity’s past, and humanity’s alleged former extraterrestrial

contacts, for inspiration and solutions. Contemporary culture does not provide the ritual

and symbolism needed to live a meaningful life, but those needs can be met,

superficially, with narratives like the Ancient Alien theory. However, by clinging to the

irrational scientific claims of the Ancient Astronaut theory, believers are completely

losing themselves in the very “human fantasies” that Campbell warns of. For ultimately

pseudo-scientific theories, because of their literal falseness, are unable to fulfill the

emotional function that fictitious myth fulfills; they are unable to provide the flesh and

blood to make the bones of the archetype come alive with meaning for a living human.

This distinction accounts for why only a portion of the population is susceptible to these

theories: whereas myth helps humanity become at peace with the cosmos, Ancient

Astronaut theory combatively labels all mythic systems as lies and pushes adherents to

find literally true explanations, that is, alien influence, for human culture and tradition.

Throughout the Ancient Alien series on History Channel, the various Ancient

Astronaut theorists interviewed repeatedly refer to the gods described in ancient religious

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texts as false and fanciful. Mythic powers are identified as advanced alien technology that

primitive humans were unable to understand, and mysteries of architecture and

symbolism are explained in terms of extraterrestrial influence. But opinions vary on what

role these aliens played in human society. Von Däniken and his associates tend to suggest

that they were teachers and mentors who left with promises to return when human

technology had progressed sufficiently. Other theorists suggest that Earth was merely a

battleground in some alien war and that humans were only involved in terms of suffering

as collateral damage. But in each case, the theorist places huge importance on the textual

and artistic artifacts from antiquity. They view these as being true, more literally true than

any psychologist or religious philosopher would claim but with more scientific basis than

most religions suggest. Thus it can be seen that to be an Ancient Astronaut theorist one

must find humanity’s myths and traditions deeply compelling.

In the mid 1960s Joseph L. Henderson, an associate of psychologist Carl Jung,

wrote “The ancient history of man is being meaningfully rediscovered today in the

symbolic images and myths that have survived the ancient man” (Henderson, pg. 97).

Henderson would undoubtedly been disapproving of the alternative myth system

proposed by believers in Ancient Aliens, with its emphasis on reinterpreting history

through literal interpretations of sacred texts and renewed explorations of ancient sites. It

is a strange coincidence, though, that less than a decade after psychotherapists began

calling for a turn back to the ancient traditions of mythology for their symbolic import,

Ancient Astronaut theorists propounded a more tangible return to antiquity to reevaluate

physical evidence for proof of extraterrestrial technology. For an average American

viewer at home, though, it is easy to guess which will be a more attractive solution for the

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deciphering of ancient artifacts: because Ancient Astronaut theory can produce

(convincing, if not entirely accurate) neat answers to the unsolved questions of

archaeology then the theory will always be able to garner supporters from television

viewers.

Although the appeal of the show to the general American audience can be

understood in terms of Campbellian motifs, the question remains as to the motivation of

History for airing it. Programming on the station, and on the other stations owned by its

parent A&E Television Networks, which in turn is operated jointly by “The Hearst

Corporation, Disney-ABC Television Group and NBC Universal” with the stated mission

of “offering consumers a diverse communications environment… as well as supporting

nationwide educational initiatives” (AETN.com), does not seem to indicate a serious

agenda of supporting pseudo-scientific conspiracy theories. Furthermore, the production

company responsible for Ancient Aliens, Prometheus Entertainment, is similarly free

from any obvious anti-establishment motivation; its other successful shows are Food

Paradise, which features different restaurants across America, and Girls Next Door, a

reality television series that follows Playboy founder and Editor-in-chief Hugh Hefner’s

three girlfriends. One can assume that, elaborate conspiracy theories aside, a company

with this portfolio is a typical production company, without any eccentric subculture

agendas to force onto American TV watchers.

Simply put, History as a television station and Prometheus Entertainment as a

production company, like any other businesses, are motivated by its bottom line. To make

a profit, a TV station must provide to its customer, the viewer, a product that the

consumer wants, that is, a show that they want to watch. There is no better way to satisfy

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a customer, and ensure their continued patronage, than by offering a product that satisfies

the deepest psychological urges; thus it stands to reason that a TV station will work to

offer shows that will appeal to the public’s psychological needs. Though characterized by

shoddy scholarship, weak logic, and in some cases by blatant lies, Ancient Astronaut

theory gives a convenient replacement for the myths that it rejects. Furthermore, Ancient

Astronaut theorists present themselves and their theories in a way that resonates with the

most basic archetypes recognized by the human subconscious. As long as the public is

willing to accept this fulfillment of archetypes in this way there will be an ample supply,

such as the History Chanel series Ancient Aliens.

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Bibliography

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“About Prometheus.” Prometheus Entertainment. Web. Nov. 2010.

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G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1968. Print. ------------ 1999 edition via Amazon.com “Falling for the Ancient Astronaut Story.” Science News 115.13 (1979): 201. Fort, Charles H. Book of the Damned. New York: Boni and Liveright (1919). Via Google

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Ancient Astronauts.” American Anthropologist 80.3 (1978): 758. Grünschloß, Andreas. “‘Ancient Astronaut’ Narrations: A Popular Discourse on Our

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Theory of Extraterrestrial Gods.” Omni 16.8 (1994): 77. Jung, C. G., ed. “Ancient Myths and Modern Man.” Man and His Symbols. By Joseph L.

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