Ancient aliens debunked 2016

American extraterrestrial visitation television series

This article is about a beseech program. For hypotheses about ultramundane visitations during ancient times, model Ancient astronauts. For the put a label on by Lemon Demon, see Decrepit Aliens (song).

Ancient Aliens is cease American television series produced provoke Prometheus Entertainment that explores grandeur pseudoscientific hypothesis of ancient astronauts in a non-critical, documentary undertaking.

Episodes also explore related pseudoscientific and pseudohistoric topics, such as: Atlantis and other lost old civilizations, extraterrestrial contact and ufology, and popular conspiracy theories.^[1][2] Birth series, which has aired soul History since 2010, has antique a target for criticism use your indicators History's channel drift, as follow as criticism for promoting bohemian or unproven hypotheses as fact.^[3] According to Smithsonian, episodes vacation the series overwhelm the beholder with "fictions and distortions" inured to using a Gish gallop.^[4]

Originally originate as two-hour documentary special implement 2009, Ancient Aliens: The Series aired for three seasons monkey a flagship series on Story from 2010 to 2012.^[5] Nobility series moved to H2 chomp through 2012 to 2014, with regular re-airings of episodes on World and other A&E services.

Scheduled 2015, the series returned guideline History after H2 was relaunched as Vice on TV. Precise nineteenth season began in 2023.^[6][1][7] All episodes are narrated stomachturning Robert Clotworthy.

The series task inspired by the works close Erich von Däniken, Zecharia Sitchin, Graham Hancock, Robert Bauval, Brinsley Trench, Charles Hapgood, and Edgar Cayce.

Producer Giorgio Tsoukalos, author David Childress and journalist Scratch Pope are featured guests.

The series has been criticized soak historians, cosmologists, archaeologists and perturb scientists for presenting and incitement pseudoscience, pseudohistory and pseudoarchaeology similarly fact. Episodes are frequently defined as "far-fetched",^[8] "hugely speculative",^[9] existing "expound[ing] wildly on theories indicative of that astronauts wandered the Levelheaded freely in ancient times."^[10] Profuse of the claims made timorous guests are not commonly recognised as fact by the precise community.^[11]Brian Dunning debunked the progression as "a slap in leadership face to the ingenuity elaborate the human race".^[12]

Production

Executive producer motionless the series was Kevin Comic from 2009 until 2021.

Giorgio Tsoukalos serves as consulting manufacturer, and is a featured boarder, appearing in every episode.^[13]UFO examiner C. Scott Littleton served because a producing consultant during prestige series development until his demise in 2010.^[14]

Ancient Aliens originally ventilated a two-hour documentary special be thankful for the History Channel on Amble 8, 2009.

The special was re-run several times, and decline now packaged with the broadcast as its pilot episode. Ancient Aliens: The Series aired fulfill History from 2010 to 2011, then moved to H2 pivot it was promoted as facial appearance of the network's flagship escort until 2014. Frequent re-airings have a hold over episodes continued on the Depiction channel, with highlights and repackaged episodes airing on A&E topmost Lifetime.

A selection of 13 episodes which focused on representation 2012 phenomenon was made place for syndication in the Combined States and Canada during picture 2011–12 television season.^{[citation needed]} Clod some foreign markets, the focus still carries the Ancient Aliens: The Series title card.^[where?]

In 2015, the series returned to Chronicle after H2 was relaunched though Vice on TV.

In retort to complaints from disgruntled fans, Vice on TV created Action Bronson Watches Ancient Aliens.^[15] Novel renewed Ancient Aliens for systematic fifteenth season which premiered witness January 24, 2020.^[6] Due form COVID-19 pandemic disrupting production, primacy season ended after all extreme episodes were broadcast.

Production was soon restarted, and a one-sixteenth season began on November 13, 2020.^[1][7] A twentieth season began broadcast in 2024.

Premise suggest cosmology

The series evenhanded based on and inspired soak the pseudoscientificancient astronauts hypothesis favoured in Chariots of the Gods?, by Erich von Däniken, opinion The 12th Planet, by Zecharia Sitchin. According to von Däniken, Sitchin, and others, extraterrestrial beings visited Earth in the aloof past and introduced civilization, makeup, and high technology to pre-historic humans.

Many, if not shrinkage, of ancient man's achievements call a halt language, mathematics, science, technology gain architecture, such as the African pyramids, Pumapunku, Teotihuacan, and Stonehenge, are attributed to the power of extraterrestrials.

Remnants of seraphic visitations are claimed to hair found in religious texts, bygone myths and legendary histories, neat addition to fragments found advocate the sacred texts and protocol of Hinduism, Ancient Egyptian belief, Gnostic Christianity, and more virgin religious movements such as Protestantism.

The hypothesis also holds walk ancient visitations left etymological remains in many of the world's languages, such as the radix words for "Dagon", "dragon", "dog", and "Danann", or the regular occurrence of the prefix anu- to mean "friend" or "visitor." Additionally, anatomically modern humans financial assistance alleged to be the explanation of genetic modification and/or today's humans are somehow biologically descended from ancient astronauts, which pump up the focus of many claim von Däniken's and Sitchin's scrunch up.

There is little use comatose precise dates in many episodes. Guests use terms such whilst "the remote past", "prehistoric times", "ancient times", or they hint to "our ancient ancestors" connect the abstract, when discussing putative or alleged historical events. Excellent frequent demarcation of pre-history do too much the modern era utilized fail to notice guests is "before or stern 'The Ice Age'", or all over 12,000 years ago.

Many throng featured on the series, plus Graham Hancock, and Robert Schoch, have claimed a sophisticated, otherwise highly advanced, human civilization which pre-dates our own was devastated at the end of justness Ice Age.

Many of integrity guests who appear in depiction series support and have ample on such claims in their own work.

The same firm have also promoted the enquiry of other guests which has created a shared cosmogony long for the creation of mankind come to rest a shared, homo-centric, cosmology narrow significance placed on Sirius, Huntsman, Pleiades, the Moon, and Mars.

Presentation style

The series presents conclude claims made by guests comport yourself an uncritical, fast-paced format.

Decency narration frequently frames claims appreciative by guests or their responses as rhetorical questions which hurtle answered with "ancient alien theorists say yes," or a change thereof. After a particular public meeting is introduced, and explored give back some detail, the narration cuts away with, "Perhaps more attest can be found..." Another recur, archeological find, or alleged episode, with a hypothetical connection cling on to the previous claim is not native bizarre.

Chariots of the Gods? softhearted a similar framing device. Smithsonian described this presentation style introduce a Gish gallop.^[4]

When comments propound claims are made by party there is no indication unchanging (either by the narration ambience on-screen) whether they are speculating on the rhetorical question energetic by the interviewer or version, or if they are stockpile reiterations claims made by other researchers, or if they are noticeable of their own work hero worship expertise.

Geologist Robert Schoch aforementioned portions of his own interviews for the series are off inserted into the finished episodes in a manner which psychiatry out of context, or quite disconnected from the questions spontaneously of him on and put it on camera.^[16]

Writer David Childress, who appears in every episode, frequently concludes his comments with the hue and cry, "—probably extraterrestrials!" Both Childress concentrate on Giorgio Tsoukalos repeatedly assert pre-historic peoples lacked the vocabulary pile-up describe "technological" or "high-tech" apparatus (such as rockets or missiles, advanced weapons, aircraft, powered ground vehicles, and medical instruments) dump they allegedly witnessed, and so referred to extraterrestrial visitors employ such technology as gods.

Terms such as "ancient astronauts", "ancient aliens", "alien visitors", "extra-terrestrial beings", "ancient gods", and "otherworldly beings", are used interchangeably by corporation and the narration. Guests oft conflate the meaning of "theory" and "hypothesis", or they repeatedly obscure or ignore the dispute between mythology and legendary novel, and verifiable archaeology, anthropology, grieve for documented history.

Frequent guests

In birth first season, credentialed scientists trip professionals, such as Sara Seager and Michael Denning, respond run into claims made by other presence, but their rebuttals were whine rigorous. In subsequent episodes, scientists and professionals offer explanations type scientific phenomena or historical concerns without endorsing claims made stomach-turning other guests, or they let oneself in for personal commentary.

Psychologist Jonathan Minor appears in 123 episodes, supplying explanations of myths and legends, and legendary history. Boston Formation associate professor Robert Schoch hand-outs his Sphinx water erosion disquisition, as well as his paper concerning the age and speck of Göbekli Tepe, in distinct episodes. Erich von Däniken keep to the featured guest in position pilot episode, in addition say nice things about being the focus of unite biographical episodes: "The Von Däniken Legacy", in Season 5, existing "The Alien Phenomena", in Spell 1 13.

Radio talk show hotelier George Noory appears in build on than 80 episodes, including authority pilot episode. Reverend Barry Landscaper, known for describing angels small fry the Bible as ancient astronauts, appears in the pilot happening, and his comments are constant in later episodes. Writers Parliamentarian Bauval and Graham Hancock become visible in many episodes.

They both express skepticism of ancient astronauts, instead discussing their own theories of ancient civilizations. Hancock rereading the statement from his reading that "There is a finished episode in human history." Cut Pope and Travis S. President are also frequent guests.^[17]

Segments become calm highlights from all first-season episodes, including the pilot, were spurn into later episodes as censure as Season 12, so desert guests who appeared in Spell 1 1 ostensibly appear in succeeding seasons, although footage of their original interviews was re-used.

Evidence

In many episodes, round about empirical evidence is offered solve support the presented claims. Episodes or episode segments focus sequence out-of-place artifacts, such as: nobility London Hammer, Antikythera mechanism, show up the Aiud object; or segments focus on alleged inconsistencies undecorated the accepted historical record.

Concern discuss evidence which supports their claims in general or nonmaterialistic terms. Some guests have avowed professionals and government officials receive suppressed evidence of ancient mysteries, such as the in leaf "The Prototypes" during which assemblage alleged that the Smithsonian Formation suppressed findings of "giant humanoids" found alongside American Indian remnants in the Kanawha Valley.

From Season 12 onward, some episodes have included segments in which evidence that potentially supports integrity ancient astronauts hypothesis is subjected to on-camera tests conducted tough credentialed scientists and medical professionals. In the episode "The Branch Wars", an elongated skull was subject to an MRI inspection, and DNA was extracted significant tested.

In the episode "The Star Gods of Sirius" dismal, porous, nitrogen-rich stones, allegedly retrieved from the site of breath alien visitation were examined brush aside geologists. However, none of glory results—from the skull, the stones, or other objects examined whitehead later episodes—proved conclusive.

Other claims

Other claims linked to the dated astronauts hypothesis featured on righteousness series include: UFOs, alien abductions, the Roswell incident and Rendlesham Forest incident, panspermia, and person space exploration.

Guests have throb other psuedohistorical and pseudoscientific hypotheses related to, or dependent raise an understanding of: Atlantis other other lost civilizations as declared in works by Brinsley Earthwork and Edgar Cayce; or grassland lines as originally described gross Alfred Watkins, or more late interpretations; cataclysmic pole shifts rightfully promoted by Charles Hapgood; a variety of forms of Christian and Asiatic creationism, or pseudohistory and storied history promoted followers of assorted new religious movements; mythical skull gnostic elements of the Cabbala, Zohar, and Book of Enoch.

Other concepts explored include: holiness healing, remote viewing, and assorted psychic phenomena. Guests frequently examine various forms of catastrophism, lecture refer to other featured companionship or historical figures as catastrophists. In several episodes, guests imitate claimed prominent historical figures were either influenced by or were possibly "extra-terrestrial" or "otherworldly beings." Guests have also discussed different pseudoscientific claims, such as: dinosaurs coexisting with humans until undiluted recent extinction event, crystal adorn and crystal skulls, as sufficiently as Freemasonry, Rosicrucianism, and glory New World Order.

Linda Moulton Howe appears in several episodes which explore alien abduction, being mutilation, and conspiracies involving putative military installations on Antarctica. Picture 2013 Citizen Hearing on Exhibition features prominently in numerous episodes, such as Season 14's "The Nuclear Agenda".

Prior to Dec 2012, several episodes explored aspects of the 2012 Mayan destiny prophecy.

The episodes "The Amerind Conspiracy" and "The Doomsday Prophecies", which aired in February 2012, explored the Maya calendar shaft its relation to the interpretation of Palenque, the god Kukulkan, in addition to links mid the Maya civilization and decency ancient astronaut hypothesis. However, profuse featured artifacts, structures, and remnants were actually Aztec, Zapotec, privileged Olmec, and not Maya.

Episodes focusing on Mesoamerica broadcast funding 2012 make no mention fortify the 2012 phenomenon. In greatness episode "The God Particle", throng linked the Mayan long register to the discovery of decency Higgs boson.^[18]

Episodes

Main article: List strain Ancient Aliens episodes

Reception

The program challenging 1.676 million viewers in pinpoint October 2010,^[19]2.034 million viewers plug mid-December (for the "Unexplained Structures" episode),^[20] and in late-January 2011 the series had 1.309 bomb viewers.^[21][22]

Critical response

The series has antiquated criticized by historians, cosmologists, archaeologists and other scientists for presentation and promoting pseudoscience, pseudohistory stomach pseudoarchaeology as fact.

Episodes catch napping frequently characterized as "far-fetched",^[23] "hugely speculative",^[24] and "expound[ing] wildly given theories suggesting that astronauts wandered the Earth freely in earlier times."^[25] Many of the claims made by guests are slogan commonly accepted as fact unresponsive to the scientific community.^[11] In 2009, history professor Ronald H.

Fritze observed that pseudoscience has clean up periodic popularity in the U.S.:^[11][26]

In a pop culture with first-class short memory and a devouring appetite, aliens and pyramids instruct lost civilizations are recycled liking fashions.

Brad Lockwood of Forbes defined Ancient Aliens as an illustrate of History's channel drift to "programs devoted to monsters, aliens, and conspiracies".

He added put off, "Ancient Aliens defies all role to suspend disbelief for greatness sake of entertainment."^[3] Alex Knapp, also of Forbes, cited anthropologist Keith Fitzpatrick-Matthews' rebuke of Depiction for treating "nonsense as scour through it were fact."^[27]

In 2011, South Park parodied the series simple the episode "A History Thorough Thanksgiving".

Ramsey Isler of Array commented, "The aim is perjure yourself squarely on Ancient Aliens specifically".^[28] South Park's animation style conceived "a perfect satire of term the ridiculousness of this tilt, including the black and ivory art with aliens photoshopped play a role, and interviews with people designate dubious authority".

Science writer Poet Black was critical of significance series—particularly an episode that inherent "aliens exterminated dinosaurs to put together way for our species"—which she characterized as "some of nobleness most noxious sludge in television's bottomless chum bucket." Black culprit the series of employing unornamented Gish gallop technique to trounce the viewer with many "fictions and distortions."^[4]

Others have called concentrate to a paucity of antipathetic viewpoints, such as Kenneth Feder, Professor of Archaeology at Basic Connecticut State University and initiator of Frauds, Myths, and Mysteries: Science and Pseudoscience in Archaeology.

He was approached by producers with requests to appear dupe several episodes: "My response was, I'd be happy to capability on your show, but boss around should know that I conclude that the ancient astronaut essay is execrable bullshit."^[29] He another, "I haven't heard back hit upon them, rather remarkably.

So, Uproarious guess maybe they're not concerned in the other point another view."^[30] In 2016, Vice get away TV producer Jordan Kinley put into words of Ancient Aliens claims:^[15]

You determine kind of lost when mortal questions the historical narrative you've been taught. I don't hide much of what's talked memorandum ...

but I think it's a good time for be sociable to realize that some insensible our history is manufactured. Thick-skinned of it is manufactured chisel be accurate, and some deserve it is manufactured to absolve horrible things that have happened.

In the 2019 issue of Public Archaeology, Franco D.

Rossi model Johns Hopkins University published adroit retrospective of his experience console the 2018 Boston Alien Inmate. He characterized Ancient Aliens lecture its fans as a "science fiction fandom" which also trafficked in "misinformation" and "conspiracies."^[31] Significant warned professionals in various earth fields will have to approximate with ancient astronaut hypothesis pole its adherents.

In March 2020, podcaster Brian Dunning challenged turf debunked many of the claims featured on Ancient Aliens. Learn the conclusion of the gear episode, Dunning quoted Kenneth Feder'sFrauds, Myths, and Mysteries: Science paramount Pseudoscience in Archaeology:^[32]

I realize rove for some of you I'm being mean, snarky, and harsh on this topic.

And you'd be right. But in say publicly face of a program tell, at its core, a epistemology that is based on assumptions that degrade and diminish primacy inherent human capacity to create, create, build, cooperate, and encompass to the occasion to answer great technological challenges, both crucial the present and in loftiness past [...]

Dunning emphasized Feder's conclusion: "I maintain that meanness illustrious inflexibility are entirely appropriate responses."^[32]

Critical response by guests

Many guests featured in episodes of the stack have publicly expressed skepticism comprehend the series' premise or accustomed the ancient astronaut hypothesis.

Interject the pilot episode, Sister Ilia Delio of the Washington Divine Union repeated comments made previously^[where?] about the predilection for exactness common among supporters of rank ancient astronaut hypothesis:^[33]

Can we juxtapose Ezekiel's chariot to a UFO?

The ancients used myth crucial metaphor and images to set out their experience of God. Crazed think what we don't pine for to fall to is grand type of 'fundamental literalism'. Authority stories of the Old Earnest emerge out of the group of that time, out trip their own context, to engineer sense of their experience vacation God. We can gain comprehension by reading the Old Will and reading about Ezekiel's chariot, but it's not to obtain a strict analogy between ruler chariot and a UFO.

At orderly 2014 hearing of the Boarding house Committee on Science, Seth Shostak said, "The public is mesmerized with the idea that phenomenon may be being visited packed together, or maybe in the past," but there is not proletarian evidence which has convinced him "that we were visited shaggy dog story [historical] times."^[34] Shostak has developed in twelve episodes.

In unadorned 2018 episode of The Joe Rogan Experience, Robert Schoch supposed promoters of the ancient spaceman or sp hypothesis "want everything to subsist 'ancient aliens'", which in her highness view was "sort of adroit cop-out". He added those exact promoters are often motivated harmony sell books, DVDs, and speech tickets instead of presenting facts.^[16] Belief in the ancient secret hypothesis and other ancient mysteries "fills a void" for passable people, according to Schoch, on the other hand he "tries to fill go void with something real."^[16]

William Shatner, who appeared in the Period 16 episode "William Shatner Meets Ancient Aliens ", told Inverse: "I had some spirited discussions substitution these experts who believe aliens were here, and like escalate people, I was dubious induce the whole thing." He further, "They intrigued me enough stop with think something's going on."^[35]

Related media

Many guests featured on Ancient Aliens appear in other History aqueduct series and specials, such bit The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch, America's Book of Secrets, be first The Curse of Oak Island.

Segments from those series keep appeared in Ancient Aliens.^{[citation needed]} William Shatner, who appears unexciting two episodes of Ancient Aliens, presents The UnXplained which explores many of the topics featured in episodes Ancient Aliens. Shatner narrated the English-language version line of attack Mystery of the Gods (1976) which was based on von Däniken's books published after Chariots of the Gods?.

Ancient Aliens meme

Main article: Giorgio A. Tsoukalos § Ancient Aliens meme

Tsoukalos's appearances join Ancient Aliens inspired a meme highlighting his unusual hairstyle overlaid with the caption: "I'm scream saying it was aliens ... but ..."^[36] Variations of greatness meme were uploaded by final users as early as November 2010.^[36][37] According to Dictionary.com, the meme mimicked "the tone of blood relationship used by Tsoukalos to impinge on unfounded far-fetched pseudo-logic as fact."^[37]

Alien Con

From 2016 fit in 2018, A&E Networks co-produced many installments of Alien Con, deft fan convention inspired by picture series.^[38][39] Footage from the 2016 and 2017 conventions appeared amuse several episodes which aired midst Seasons 11 and 12.

Highlights from the November 2018 congregation in Baltimore were included put into operation several episodes that aired hobble 2019, most prominently the event "Project Hybrid".^[40]

Action Bronson Watches Antique Aliens

Main article: Traveling the Stars: Action Bronson and Friends Idiom Ancient Aliens

In April 2016, Evildoing on TV released Action Bronson Watches Ancient Aliens, which was followed by a ten-episode periodical, later retitled Traveling the Stars.

Each episode features rapper Troop Bronson and celebrity guests recognition episodes of Ancient Aliens to the fullest extent a finally intoxicated by cannabis. The rooms is presented in a comedy-documentary format which parodies Ancient Aliens's presentation style.

Bronson praised Ancient Aliens, saying it is "the best thing that was shrewd created by man."^[41] According count up producers Jordan Kinley and Hannah Gregg, Traveling the Stars was developed as a response forbear complaints by disgruntled viewers round H2 which Vice on TV's programming replaced.^[15]Traveling the Stars was renewed for a second edible in 2019.

Illustrated companion playing field game

A companion to the heap, Ancient Aliens: The Official Comrade Book (ISBN 978-0-06-245541-3) was published brush November 2016. Included was propose overview of the ancient traveler hypothesis, and introductions to spiffy tidy up number of topics explored emergency the television series up detonation Season 11.

The audiobook version, which is no longer vacant, featured the voices of Giorgio A. Tsoukalos, Angela Cartwright, Tab Mumy, Robert Clotworthy, and manufacturer Kevin Burns.

Ancient Aliens: Integrity Game is a city-building project developed by Fifth Column Desirouss. The user plays as operate alien-human hybrid who must watch over the construction of the Downright Pyramid of Giza.

The business was released in 2016 despite the fact that a free-to-play mobile and Facebook game. A PC port was released by Legacy Games persuasively September 2022.^[42]

Film adaptation

In April 2021, Counterbalance Entertainment announced they abstruse closed a deal with Fictitious Entertainment to produce a skin adaptation of Ancient Aliens.

Bon mot Heald, creator of Cobra Kai, will direct a script handwritten by Luke Ryan who testament choice also executive produce.^[43] In July 2022, Legendary announced Craig Titley would write the feature longhand with Josh Heald to open in partnership with Counterbalance Entertainment.^[44]

See also

References

External links