| The claim of ancient astronauts was made popular by Erich von Daniken in books like Chariots of the Gods. According to von Daniken, ancient astronauts were thought to have visited planet Earth in the distant past. They are responsible for such ancient wonders of the world, like the pyramids in Egypt, the Nazca lines in South America, and more. It was only through the advanced technologies that alien civilizations brought to Earth that the humans of prehistoric times could construct such marvels. The claims of ancient astronauts have since been taken further to create a grand cosmic plan with "evidence" to be found throughout the universe. Because the engineering feats of ancient times seem so mysterious to people in our times and because our understanding of ancient civilizations was relatively non-existent until the discoveries of archaeologists and anthropologists, the claims of ancient astronauts became popular for several decades after WWII. Through exploration and discovery in science, however, we have now improved our understanding of our ancestors. The construction of the pyramids has now been explained in intricate detail and even reproduced by employing known technologies and knowledge in ancient Egypt. The development of the pyramidal structure has also been described. As with alien visitations claimed to have occurred in recent time, the ideas associated with ancient astronauts lack evidence and are theoretically implausible based on the understanding we have reached to explain the mysteries of the past, through scientific investigation. |
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