The ancient astronaut theory is among the most well known and discussed “theories” of pseudoarchaeology, if only for the platform given to it by the so-called History Channel. When we look at their claims, we can see the erroneousness of them and can quite easily debunk them with effort. For example, in the case of Aliens introducing technologies to the human race as the means of our advancement, we must firstly recognize the massive leap to conclusion this hypothesis entails. “Humans have advanced in a highly exponential way since the advent of agriculture, ergo this can only have been given to them by extraterrestrial entities”. One way of looking into this claim alone is to take stock of historical records and archaeological findings of technology in the past in relation to the technologies that were present in societies preceding and succeeding to them. If there is a large and stark contrast to the technologies before or after their presence in the historical record, then indeed this could be an issue worth investigating for potential “intervention” from other non-human sources. As of yet, we’ve seen no evidence of this phenomenon. Human development has been substantial in the last 10,000 years, but nothing has truly been a huge leap that Ancient Astronaut theorists have proposed.

In another episode of Ancient Aliens titled “Closer Encounters”, it is posited that not only were extraterrestrials present in the ancient world, they fought nuclear wars there. Specifically in the case of the Bible and the Hindu text, the Mahabharata, the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and the heavenly weaponry wielded by the devas are seen as evidence of nuclear weaponry being wielded by Gods-That-Are-Really-Aliens in a conflicts beyond human comprehension. The literary records are seen as “misinterpretations” of technologies beyond the pale for humans understanding at the time, and suppositions are made about the destruction of sites like Mohenjo Daro. Beyond the fact that such wars would have, had they really happened as described, left much of the world uninhabitable for generations…we see no evidence for such explosions taking place (a global spike in Carbon 14 would be apparent, at the very least). Occam’s razor can easily be applied to these myths, because they both serve spiritual purposes as guides for morality for the people that follow them. The Story of Sodom and Gommorah instills the idea of the obedience and fear of God. The cities were destroyed for their sins, and Lot’s wife was turned to a pillar of salt for her disobedience of divine command. The Bhagavad Gita, specifically used as evidence for these “historical” nukings, is a religious allegory meant to explain why the world is the way it is, not how. Life, Destruction, and Rebirth are a fundamental aspects of Hindu belief. The destruction caused in these texts is context for that cycle.