Ancient Astronauts

Ancient astronaut theories or paleocontact are various proposals that intelligent extraterrestrial beings (called ancient astronauts or ancient aliens) have visited Earth and that this contact is linked to the origins or development of human cultures, technologies, and/or religions.

Some of these theories suggest that deities from most—if not all—religions are actually extraterrestrials, and their technologies were taken as evidence of their divine status.

Ancient astronaut theories have not received support within the scientific community, and have garnered little—if any—attention in peer-reviewed studies from scientific journals. These theories have been popularized, particularly in the latter half of the 20th century, by writers Erich von Däniken, Zecharia Sitchin and Robert K.G. Temple.

Ancient astronaut theories have been widely used in science fiction.