Chariot of the Gods?
History and historical sites/ artifacts all have one thing in common: direct source proof. In Chariots of the Gods? It is said that our past come from indirect knowledge but that’s not always the case. Plenty of Historians live to tell important aspects of history learned from direct and credible sources. Erich Von Daniken claims that it is possible for aliens in space crafts to have helped past ancient societies create some of the things we’ve discovered today. People in those times believed in multiple Gods as a part of their culture and to make such outrageous claims is insulting to such cultures. These fictional claims are truly just saying that these types of civilizations weren’t advanced enough, like European colonizers, to build the structures they give Extraterrestrials the credit for. Not only does he not give credit where credit is due, but he does it over so many different cultures. Claiming they needed to be guided to get to some ideas. Promoting this racist and utterly untrue pseudoscience is baffling to me, seeing that this man most likely hasn’t done much research on most of the sites mentioned. He discredits famous and intelligence archeologists and historians with no clear evidence. In this post I will discuss his take on the Egyptians, as I find their civilization and culture very beautiful.
When looking at the Egyptians he states how research on their civilization, probably done by professionals with trusted work, can’t be followed and accepted because it doesn’t make sense that a civilization with beautiful sculptures, tombs, and drainage systems could exist without transition. I understand how it could seem that way, but perhaps there are very little discovered records of early Egyptians. Egyptian historians may not have details from every point in the early existence of them. It is a fairytale that Gods would descend to create civilizations, and with no physical evidence.
Daniken also states they have little evidence of Egyptian work in astronomy, which is apparently how the pyramids were laid out, but continues to talk about their calendar based on the star Sirius. The calendar was apparently very accurate and gave annual cycles upward of 32,000 years. Next of course, he questions the integrity of it, saying while people back then may have had time to sit and watch the stars and map them, it was bizarre to not base it on the sun and moon. There may not be clear reasonings as to why some civilizations did certain things, but nothing gives the indication of aliens.
Clearly, Daniken needed to do more research before publishing something like this. Its racist, and almost embarrassing how false some of his statements are. People other than those of European decent are capable enough build momentous societies, without the guidance of unproven extraterrestrials. The Egyptians were one of the most advanced and magnificent civilizations. Their culture still impacts modern society in many ways today, and to credit it all to alien beings is disrespectful. Luckily, his ramblings probably won’t carry too far
Your blog post is very well written! I thoroughly enjoyed reading the points you made and the topics you brought up. I specifically liked that you brought up points regarding the alternative “theories” insulting the culture of the ancient civilizations. It is degrading to their cultures by excusing their incredible discoveries to fairytale stories that have no backing evidence. I also appreciate the fact that you brought up that when people like Erich Von Daniken, who discredit societies due to their own racist beliefs, promote this pseudoscience with no actual proof they are also discrediting the countless real archaeologists and scientist that have present factual evidence on the civilizations. This is important because years of evidence and research are just being ignored by the very people claiming these outlandish “theories”. Like you had it really is baffling how ignorant some “scientists” can be to real science. The rest of the points you laid out in your blog regarding the egyptian civilization were very interesting and important aspects to the debate. I really enjoyed reading your section on Erich Von Daniken’s view on the ancient egyptian society, and how you incorporated many different components to the arguments being made. I also appreciated how you mentioned that you would like to discuss Erich Von Daniken’s view on the Egyptians due to your admiration for their civilization and culture. They were a very intelligent and interesting civilization and it is too bad that they are most known for many pseudoscientific stereotypes such as ancient alien astronauts, mummies, and other bizarre stories.
I completely agree that Daniken’s assessment of Egypt’s contribution and competence in regards to its construction projects is completely off and indeed racist in nature. Such is a common theme with many of these pseudoarchaeological theories. When it comes to “Aliens building pyramids everywhere”, people apparently seem to lump all pyramids together as if they hold common functions across time, geography, and cultures. This is a false notion, and one easily disabused with even a cursory knowledge of ancient cultures.
As for the Egyptian pyramids, while they are indeed a marvel in both their impact, antiquity (The Great Pyramids were already 2,500 years old by the time the last Pharoah ruled) and construction, they aren’t unprecedented at all. Egyptologists have studied and shown the development of Egyptian Pyramid construction for decades. From Pre-Dynastic mastabas to Djoser’s Step-Pyramid, to the Great Pyramids at Giza. The Egyptians didn’t just throw up these perfect geometric shapes (See: Sneferu), they worked at and improved upon them over the centuries.