Chariots of the Gods

 

What if some of the greatest mysteries of human history have been misunderstood?

Imagine standing before the Great Pyramid of Egypt, looking up at millions of enormous stones fitted together with remarkable precision. Or imagine seeing the giant statues of Easter Island, the mysterious lines of Nazca, or ancient drawings that seem to show strange machines and flying objects. Who built these things? How did they do it? And where did their ideas come from?

In Chariots of the Gods, Erich von Däniken takes these questions and pushes them in a dramatic direction. His central idea is controversial: perhaps visitors from other worlds came to Earth thousands of years ago, and ancient people misunderstood these visitors as gods.

Von Däniken travels across history looking for clues. He examines ancient monuments, maps, myths, religious stories, and unusual artifacts. He points to places such as the Egyptian pyramids, the Nazca Lines in Peru, Tiahuanaco in Bolivia, Easter Island, and ancient Maya cities. He argues that some of these achievements seem difficult to explain using the technology we normally associate with ancient civilizations.

He also looks at ancient stories. What if descriptions of gods flying through the sky were not stories about supernatural beings—but memories of real visitors arriving in advanced machines? What if ancient pictures that appear to show strange vehicles or figures in unusual clothing were attempts to record encounters with technology people did not understand?

The book's biggest question is simple:
What if the ancient gods were actually visitors from space?

Von Däniken believes that possibility deserves serious investigation. He argues that modern science should be used to examine ancient mysteries instead of automatically accepting traditional explanations. He even points toward the growing scientific search for intelligent life elsewhere in the universe.

But there is another important question for historians:
Does unusual evidence automatically prove an unusual explanation?

It is important to remember that Von Däniken's ideas are controversial. He often presents questions and unusual possibilities as evidence for his theories. Many historians and archaeologists disagree with his conclusions and argue that ancient Egyptians were capable of extraordinary engineering without help from extraterrestrials.

As you read, don't simply ask, “Do I believe Von Däniken?”

Ask the historian's questions:

What is the evidence? What other explanations are possible? Is the evidence being interpreted fairly? What information is missing? And what evidence would convince me that the claim is true—or false?

The mystery is not only what happened in the ancient past.

The mystery is also how we know what we think we know about it.