To test the hypothesis: The prehistoric record contains evidence of enormous and unexpected leaps forward in science and technology (agriculture, pyramid building writing, and so on). These leaps are evidence of the introduction of such innovations by extra terrestrial aliens. I would begin by searching for explanations for these extraordinary feats that are known by archeologists. An example of this would be the Stone of the Pregnant Woman Baalbek, Lebanon. Some people would argue that this stone is a landing strip for an aircraft or spaceship which would indicate extraterrestrials had helped or inspired the building of that large stone. Archeologists know that the Stone of the Pregnant Woman was made by people by carving it out of a hill to make a monument and that at some point it had fallen over. There are some cases of innovations made by ancient people that archaeologists still are not completely sure how they achieved them. This does not mean that extra terrestrial aliens are the explanation. It just means we are not sure yet. Pseudo archeologists will also claim that an artifact reflects extra terrestrial alien presents because the way it looks could be interpreted as such without the context of the culture. One example of this can be seen in Chariots of the Gods by Erich Von Daniken is the Nazca Geoglyphs in Peru. Erich Von Daniken claims that the size of these geoglyphs implies that they were meant to be seen by people in the air because of how large they are. With the reasoning that the Nazca Geoglyphs were meant to be seen from above and the fact that humans had not  invented any means of air transportation when they were made, he concluded that the only explanation for the Nazca Geoglyphs being made was that it was for extraterrestrial aliens to see from their spaceships. To deconstruct this claim one only has to state another possible reason for the construction of such large geoglyphs. The Nazca Geoglyphs could be seen by a human while standing on the ground if they walked up a large hill. This completely ruins Erich Von Daniken’s claim that there was extra terrestrial alien involvement in the decision to construct these geoglyphs because all of his reasoning lied under the claim that the Nazca Geoglyphs could only be seen by an aircraft. A similar example to this can be found in the History Channel series, Ancient Aliens, season 10 episode 8. There is a Mayan carving that the show claims to show is a depiction of an astronaut wearing a backpack and helmet and floating in space. This is taken out of context of the culture of the Mayan people and the significance of where this carving was found. This carving is on top of the lid of Pakal’s Tomb. Archeologists believe that the carving is actually “a depiction of the king suspended over the jaws of the underworld (above). On the lid, as in his tomb, Pakal is positioned in an intermediary space, between the heavens—symbolized by the world tree and bird above him—and Xibalba, the Maya underworld.” (Jimenez, 2017). With the context of this carving being on a tomb, the idea that it is a carving of an astronaut feels far-fetched and out of place.

Jimenez, Maya. “Palenque (Classic Period) (Article) | Maya.” Khan Academy, Khan Academy, 

2017, https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/art-americas/early-cultures/maya/a/palenque-classic-period