Chariots of the Gods?

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**Title** **Chariots of the Gods?: Unsolved Mysteries of the Past**
Book cover for Chariots of the Gods?
Author	Erich von Däniken
Publisher
Released	1968

Chariots of the Gods?: Unsolved Mysteries of the Past is a book written in 1968 by Erich von Däniken. It is centered on the theory that many ancient civilizations' technologies and religion were given to them by space travelers who were welcomed as gods. The types of evidence he cites can be categorized as follows.

Artifacts have been found which represent higher technological knowledge than is presumed to have existed at times when they were manufactured. Von Däniken maintains that these artifacts were produced either by extraterrestrial visitors or by humans who learned the necessary knowledge from them. Such artifacts include the Egyptian pyramids, Stonehenge, the head statues of Easter Island and the Antikythera mechanism. Further examples include a medieval Turkish map known as the Piri Reis Map, allegedly showing the Earth as it is seen from space, and the Nazca lines in Peru, which he explains as landing strips for an airfield.

In ancient art throughout the world themes can be observed which can be interpreted to illustrate astronauts, air and space vehicles, non-human but intelligent creatures, and artifacts of high technology. Von Däniken also points out details that are similar in art of unrelated cultures.

Origins of religions as reaction to a contact of primitive humans with an alien race. The humans considered the technology of the aliens to be supernatural and the aliens themselves to be gods. According to von Däniken, the oral and literal traditions of most religions contain references to visitors from 'stars' and vehicles travelling through air and space. These, he says, should be interpreted as literal descriptions which have changed during the passage of time and become more obscure, rather than symbolic or mythical fiction. One such is Ezekiel's revelation in Old Testament, which he interprets as a detailed description of a landing spacecraft. As a real-life example, von Däniken uses the "cargo cults" that formed during and after World War II, when once-isolated tribes in the South Pacific mistook the advanced American and Japanese soldiers for gods.

The two most controversial proposals were that Biblical characters were inspired by the extraterrestrials, and humans acquired their superior intelligence by mating with them.

Most scientists and historians did not take the ideas seriously, claiming that the book's conclusions were based on faulty, pseudoscientific evidence, some of which were later demonstrated to be fraudulent and/or fabricated, and often illogical premises. For example, Ronald Story wrote a book rebutting Däniken's ideas in 1976 titled The Space Gods Revealed. A similar book titled Crash Go The Chariots by Clifford Wilson appeared in 1972.

At least one artifact offered as evidence in the book has been disclaimed by Von Däniken himself. Chariots asserts that a non-rusting iron pillar in India was evidence of extra-terrestrial influence, but Von Däniken admitted in a Playboy interview (vol.21, no.8, 1974) that the pillar was man-made and that as far as supporting his theories goes "we can forget about this iron thing." However, neither this nor any other discredited evidence has been removed from subsequent reprints of Chariots of the Gods.

The book was adapted for TV as In Search of Ancient Astronauts. It also served as inspiration for the feature film Stargate, its spinoff TV series, and the TV series Battlestar Galactica. The Ultimate Edition DVD of Stargate contains an interview with Erich von Däniken entitled, "Is There a Stargate?".

The concepts described above were also used in the Alien vs. Predator film, where Predators came to Earth and "taught humans how to build".