Category Archives: Print Media

Image is… a bookshelf?

Here is one more picture post for the year. I decided to see what the top five books for the search “ancient aliens” on Amazon would be and post the results here. Who says you can’t judge a book by it’s cover?

1. ) http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://img1.fantasticfiction.co.uk/images/x0/x4164.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/d/erich-von-daniken/chariots-of-gods.htm&usg=__kTGheuVZU6-FnKfxQXUEV4T4gfQ=&h=475&w=293&sz=34&hl=en&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=zCZoK7YC7Qb-CM:&tbnh=154&tbnw=95&prev=/images%3Fq%3DChariots%2Bof%2Bthe%2BGods%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26sa%3DN%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26biw%3D1360%26bih%3D586%26tbs%3Disch:1&um=1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=128&vpy=41&dur=3063&hovh=286&hovw=176&tx=101&ty=141&ei=v9gGTdbsNMH78Ab4i8XoAg&oei=v9gGTdbsNMH78Ab4i8XoAg&esq=1&page=1&ndsp=22&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0

2.) http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://static.letsbuyit.com/filer/images/uk/products/original/200/97/there-were-giants-upon-the-earth-gods-demigods-and-human-ancestry-the-evidence-of-alien-dna-20097955.jpeg&imgrefurl=http://www.letsbuyit.co.uk/product/27490498/nursery-children-s-wall-decor/aliens-39-giant-wall-stickers&usg=__R73OjUiVqUw9eHBBPymxgin6dJ4=&h=500&w=345&sz=53&hl=en&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=kit-c0xRjBctHM:&tbnh=137&tbnw=95&prev=/images%3Fq%3DThere%2BWere%2BGiants%2BUpon%2Bthe%2BEarth:%2BGods,%2BDemigods,%2Band%2BHuman%2BAncestry:%2BThe%2BEvidence%2Bof%2BAlien%2BDNA%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26sa%3DN%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26biw%3D1360%26bih%3D586%26tbs%3Disch:1&um=1&itbs=1&iact=rc&dur=430&ei=ctgGTb7OH8H98AazsOWBBA&oei=ctgGTb7OH8H98AazsOWBBA&esq=1&page=1&ndsp=27&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0&tx=62&ty=31

3.) http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51Huvn9Yc9L.jpg&imgrefurl=http://mini-polls.com/mini788/buy-your-history-is-wrong-from-amazon/&usg=__3cqKkJ_R_hg1mDdEGK2gj4upcsA=&h=500&w=318&sz=41&hl=en&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=o5rxjAjv2l6BpM:&tbnh=150&tbnw=95&prev=/images%3Fq%3DHistory%2BIs%2BWrong%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26sa%3DN%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26biw%3D1360%26bih%3D586%26tbs%3Disch:1&um=1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=710&vpy=41&dur=65&hovh=282&hovw=179&tx=111&ty=135&ei=DdkGTZovg4HyBqf3vegC&oei=DdkGTZovg4HyBqf3vegC&esq=1&page=1&ndsp=25&ved=1t:429,r:5,s:0

4.) http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.mysteriouspeople.com/Text.htm/images/HHCover.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.mysteriouspeople.com/Hidden-History.htm&usg=__XoL8LoRfJCuNIhKSS6chtGePUZY=&h=355&w=250&sz=71&hl=en&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=ONlAO8F3vxMHhM:&tbnh=149&tbnw=117&prev=/images%3Fq%3DHidden%2BHistory%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26sa%3DN%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26biw%3D1360%26bih%3D586%26tbs%3Disch:1&um=1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=895&vpy=56&dur=21&hovh=268&hovw=188&tx=97&ty=127&ei=O9kGTaiQJc6s8Ab248Av&oei=O9kGTaiQJc6s8Ab248Av&esq=1&page=1&ndsp=21&ved=1t:429,r:4,s:0

5.) http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.ebooknetworking.com/books/093/281/big0932813739.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.ebooknetworking.com/books_detail-0932813739.html&usg=__otDsAUMwd1zbZEmN5GZRZHfgRWU=&h=475&w=309&sz=70&hl=en&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=VSqVNiNu9MkWuM:&tbnh=105&tbnw=67&prev=/images%3Fq%3DTechnology%2Bof%2Bthe%2BGods:%2BThe%2BIncredible%2BSciences%2Bof%2Bthe%2BAncients%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26sa%3DN%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26biw%3D1360%26bih%3D586%26tbs%3Disch:1&um=1&itbs=1&iact=rc&dur=398&ei=WtkGTcWhE4us8AaaqIywCA&oei=WtkGTcWhE4us8AaaqIywCA&esq=1&page=1&ndsp=36&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0&tx=32&ty=63

The late Zecharia Sitchin is the meat in the Erich von Däniken sandwich in the top three. That’s not too surprising considering how famous they both are for their “non-fiction” books. At any rate, these are all good holiday gift ideas for your fringe and family.

References and Links (All on-line information retrieved December 14, 2010)

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_c_2_14?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=ancient+aliens&sprefix=ancient+aliens

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://img1.fantasticfiction.co.uk/images/x0/x4164.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/d/erich-von-daniken/chariots-of-gods.htm&usg=__kTGheuVZU6-FnKfxQXUEV4T4gfQ=&h=475&w=293&sz=34&hl=en&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=zCZoK7YC7Qb-CM:&tbnh=154&tbnw=95&prev=/images%3Fq%3DChariots%2Bof%2Bthe%2BGods%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26sa%3DN%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26biw%3D1360%26bih%3D586%26tbs%3Disch:1&um=1&itbs=1&iact=rc&dur=689&ei=v9gGTdbsNMH78Ab4i8XoAg&oei=v9gGTdbsNMH78Ab4i8XoAg&esq=1&page=1&ndsp=22&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0&tx=38&ty=47

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://static.letsbuyit.com/filer/images/uk/products/original/200/97/there-were-giants-upon-the-earth-gods-demigods-and-human-ancestry-the-evidence-of-alien-dna-20097955.jpeg&imgrefurl=http://www.letsbuyit.co.uk/product/27490498/nursery-children-s-wall-decor/aliens-39-giant-wall-stickers&usg=__R73OjUiVqUw9eHBBPymxgin6dJ4=&h=500&w=345&sz=53&hl=en&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=kit-c0xRjBctHM:&tbnh=137&tbnw=95&prev=/images%3Fq%3DThere%2BWere%2BGiants%2BUpon%2Bthe%2BEarth:%2BGods,%2BDemigods,%2Band%2BHuman%2BAncestry:%2BThe%2BEvidence%2Bof%2BAlien%2BDNA%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26sa%3DN%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26biw%3D1360%26bih%3D586%26tbs%3Disch:1&um=1&itbs=1&iact=rc&dur=430&ei=ctgGTb7OH8H98AazsOWBBA&oei=ctgGTb7OH8H98AazsOWBBA&esq=1&page=1&ndsp=27&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0&tx=62&ty=31

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51Huvn9Yc9L.jpg&imgrefurl=http://mini-polls.com/mini788/buy-your-history-is-wrong-from-amazon/&usg=__3cqKkJ_R_hg1mDdEGK2gj4upcsA=&h=500&w=318&sz=41&hl=en&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=o5rxjAjv2l6BpM:&tbnh=150&tbnw=95&prev=/images%3Fq%3DHistory%2BIs%2BWrong%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26sa%3DN%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26biw%3D1360%26bih%3D586%26tbs%3Disch:1&um=1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=710&vpy=41&dur=65&hovh=282&hovw=179&tx=111&ty=135&ei=DdkGTZovg4HyBqf3vegC&oei=DdkGTZovg4HyBqf3vegC&esq=1&page=1&ndsp=25&ved=1t:429,r:5,s:0

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.mysteriouspeople.com/Text.htm/images/HHCover.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.mysteriouspeople.com/Hidden-History.htm&usg=__XoL8LoRfJCuNIhKSS6chtGePUZY=&h=355&w=250&sz=71&hl=en&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=ONlAO8F3vxMHhM:&tbnh=149&tbnw=117&prev=/images%3Fq%3DHidden%2BHistory%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26sa%3DN%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26biw%3D1360%26bih%3D586%26tbs%3Disch:1&um=1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=895&vpy=56&dur=21&hovh=268&hovw=188&tx=97&ty=127&ei=O9kGTaiQJc6s8Ab248Av&oei=O9kGTaiQJc6s8Ab248Av&esq=1&page=1&ndsp=21&ved=1t:429,r:4,s:0

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.ebooknetworking.com/books/093/281/big0932813739.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.ebooknetworking.com/books_detail-0932813739.html&usg=__otDsAUMwd1zbZEmN5GZRZHfgRWU=&h=475&w=309&sz=70&hl=en&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=VSqVNiNu9MkWuM:&tbnh=105&tbnw=67&prev=/images%3Fq%3DTechnology%2Bof%2Bthe%2BGods:%2BThe%2BIncredible%2BSciences%2Bof%2Bthe%2BAncients%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26sa%3DN%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26biw%3D1360%26bih%3D586%26tbs%3Disch:1&um=1&itbs=1&iact=rc&dur=398&ei=WtkGTcWhE4us8AaaqIywCA&oei=WtkGTcWhE4us8AaaqIywCA&esq=1&page=1&ndsp=36&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0&tx=32&ty=63

Posted in Print Media

(mis)UNDER(stood) GROUND!

Apr 20

Posted by ancientaliensinmassmedia

This post is a short review of the book Under Ground! The Disinformation Guide to Ancient Civilizations, Astonishing Archaeology and Hidden History, edited by Preston Peet. This book touches on several hot topics in Pseudoarchaeology and Pseudo History including my personal favorite: ancient aliens. In this entry, I’ll look at Preston Peet’s introduction and the article, “The Giant Flying Turtles of Guatemala” by Giorgio A. Tsoukalos which can be found on pages 220-226. You can read the complete introduction and the majority of Tsoukalos’ contribution for free at Google Books.

Of course, I take several issues with the introduction. The gist of it is that the archaeological record is incomplete and therefore open to all kinds of crackpot interpretation because of this. One of the many goals of science is bridging these gaps in knowledge and wild assumptions are a poor substitute for the application of the scientific method. Mr. Peet asserts that one does not have to be a “professional” to make contributions to knowledge. I completely agree, depending on the quality of the contribution made. However, Peet makes a classic and overt pseduoscientist move displaying his mistrust of scholars in this quote from page 12:

“The study of archaeology is rife with misinterpretation and dogmatic insistence on one view of history, that human beings have only been civilized for the briefest span of time, and that only accredited “professional” archaeologists are able to reach conclusions that are worth consideration when it comes to our ancient past – and even then the professional label doesn’t help.”

Mr. Peet goes on to try to justify the belief in ill-informed theories, making the case that they are no better or worse (or in his view: essentially better) than established theories based on real science. It’s a little like saying: sure you can drive a car to get from point A to point B, but this pogo stick is just as practical. After all, they are both “forms” of transportation and the pogo stick is a better workout…

Giorgio A. Tsoukalos, whom is a protégé of Erich von Däniken, tells of an experience in “The Giant Flying Turtles of Guatemala” about being shown two perfect replicas of recovered Mayan turtle sculptures, one “ordinary” turtle and another which he describes as having a humanoid head and an aerodynamically formed shell. According to Tsoukalos, this “unusual” turtle replica must be a depiction of a spaceman in a turtle-shaped UFO! This is definitely a case of examining an artifact with no regard to cultural context. He further contends it must also be a true representation of an actual object. Ancient astronaut theorists are among some of the most creative people in the world (this is not a complement), but they have got to be the least receptive to the concept of artistic license. Since it was so “difficult” as Tsoukalos believes to paint, sculpt or write in the ancient world, civilizations would never waste their time and resources depicting anything, but “actual” monumental historic events such as close encounters with friendly aliens. Unfortunately, there are no photographs of the turtle replicas in the article, so I have to use my imagination even more than Tsoukalos here: this Turtle/Man/UFO is obviously a baseball catcher! The Mayans invented baseball, or better yet were taught about baseball from the aliens. Sadly, this makes about as much since as Mr. Tsoukalos’ reasoning. Later in the article, he is kind enough to provide us with several interesting examples of three-legged turtles and flying turtles in mythology that must be evidence of alien interaction from around the ancient world. There is no explanation of how these are connected to the his flying turtles from Guatemala and really just suggest that his ancient aliens must of had more than one research site.

Giorgio A. Tsoukalos is much involved with the new History Channel’s Ancient Aliens regular TV series that begins tonight and yes, I’m DVR-ing it. This is a spin-off of the infamous TV special Ancient Aliens. I’ll be back later in the month with my thoughts on it and a review of an older and slightly better documentary that the National Geographic Chanel aired called “Is it Real?”

References and Links (All on-line information retrieved April 20, 2010)

http://www.amazon.com/UNDER-GROUND-DISINFORMATION-CIVILIZATIONS-ASTONISHING/dp/B000N7IAH0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1271805998&sr=1-1

http://www.drugwar.com/PrestonPeetIndex.shtm

http://www.legendarytimes.com/giorgio/

http://books.google.com/books?id=9nNGMjm8VmgC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Underground!:+The+Disinformation+Guide+to+Ancient+Civilizations,+Astonishing+Archaeology+and+Hidden+History&source=bl&ots=m7jgY9eCOp&sig=72850fjHGG1HTU0J3kcsbrSppNs&hl=en&ei=vxReS72iO4yKNs2S2PsO&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CBsQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q&f=false

http://www.history.com/shows/ancient-aliens

http://shop.history.com/detail.php?p=86706&v=history&ecid=PRF-2101726&pa=PRF-2101726

http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/series/is-it-real/2701/Overview

Posted in Print Media

4 Comments

Tags: Ancient Aliens: The Series, ancient astronaut theory, Giorgio A. Tsoukalos, Preston Peet, Pseudo History, Pseudoarchaeology, The Giant Flying Turtles of Guatemala, Under Ground! The Disinformation Guide to Ancient Civilizations Astonishing Archaeology and Hidden History

From Bat Boy to Martian Traders

Oct 22

Posted by ancientaliensinmassmedia

Okay, this is an easy one. Everyone knows that the Weekly World News is as fake as professional wrestling, but it has contributed a lot to ancient astronaut theory in popular culture over the years. No longer the stand alone tabloid it was from 1979-2007, the Weekly World News is still alive as an insert in the Sun tabloid and maintains a website dedicated to its fictional and often humorous “news.” As a teenager, I read the Weekly World News on my lunch breaks at my after school job. I would laugh out loud (in a time before LOL) like a crazy person at the bizarre stories. It was fun and a cheap laugh at $1.25 an issue or whatever the cost was back then. I had a two year collection of this tabloid, but stopped reading it because I noticed that they would reprint old stories as new ones or make slight changes to story details like names and locations. I guess they didn’t expect anyone to read it as seriously as I did?

However, I am glad that the tabloid still exists in some fashion, the paranormal ideas illustrated in the Weekly World News cater to believers and non-believers alike. It doesn’t really matter how far-fetched an article may seem to one reader, if there is at least one person that believes it to any degree. These ideas are out there in various forms of media and the Weekly World News is just one of them. Below is a link to the results page of my search request for “ancient astronaut theory.” Most of the alien related posts are by some one named “Erik Von Datiken” or a person photographed in an alien mask named “Mygar”… that’s already a little funny.

http://weeklyworldnews.com/tag/ancient-astronaut-theory/

My favorite story from looking around the site is MARS TRADED WITH ANCIENT EGYPT. Here the Weekly World News links the cultural practices of ancient Egypt to Mars without explanation, cites misinterpreted tomb objects, somehow connects the myth of Atlantis to all of this and employs a lot of creativity to present this piece of “news.” These stories are entertaining, but not informative even in the realm of pseudoscience.

References and Links (All on-line information retrieved October 22, 2009)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weekly_World_News

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun_%28supermarket_tabloid%29

http://weeklyworldnews.com/tag/ancient-astronaut-theory/

http://weeklyworldnews.com/alien-alert/8218/mars-traded-with-ancient-egypt/

Posted in Print Media

The Eternals, Confusion and Terminology

Sep 27

Posted by ancientaliensinmassmedia

The first issue of Marvel's The Eternals in 1976. (http://marvel.wikia.com/wiki/File:Eternals_Vol_1_1.jpg)

What does a comic book from the seventies have to do with ancient astronaut theory in mass media today? More than you might think. Created by Jack Kirby, the Eternals seem to have been influenced by Erich von Däniken’s 1968 book, Chariots of the Gods. Mr. Kirby acknowledged that the comic actually owed a creative debt to Arthur C. Clarke’s 1953 science fiction novel, Childhood’s End . Maybe von Däniken owes a similar debt to Arthur C. Clarke as well? Considering that Clarke’s work predates von Däniken’s by at least fifteen years. The premise of the Eternals is that a group of space gods called the Celestials came to earth millions of years ago and conducted genetic experiments with early humans. The result was two races of superhuman beings, the Eternals (the good guys) and the Deviants (you guessed it, the bad guys.) Humanity is caught in the middle of the struggle between these two powerful groups. More details on the plot, the characters and the history of the comic can be found at Marvel.com or at the Eternals profile on About.com. The series ran for nineteen issues before being discontinued. The end.

Or was it? This series as been rewritten, tweaked and re-tweaked at least four times since then. The most recent run of The Eternals ended in March of this year! I chose this example in part to illustrate that much like the Eternals, ancient astronaut theory is a survivor and dare I say, eternal. Ancient astronaut theory keeps coming back, just like the Eternals. From the short time period mention above you can see the idea being kicked around in 1953, 1968 and 1976 in only three selected examples. This mingling of fiction + twisted facts + more fiction probably has confused many readers over the years. Imagine a kid reading the Eternals at anytime in the past 33 years, then encountering the seemingly factual Chariots of the Gods in book or documentary form and starting to question the validity of historical and archaeological evidence based on unfounded fantastic claims by suspect non-scientists. Imagination is a great thing, but not the same thing as an explanation. The one-sided arguments of ancient astronaut theory do not offer a fair investigation of archaeology, but clings to conspiracy theories to foster its fantasies.

I also chose this example and cover art because of the use of the term “space gods.” I think that would be a more fitting term for ancient astronaut theory or ancient alien theory. Space god theory sums the idea up pretty well and exposes the silliness of the concept. The argument could be made, “They weren’t gods, they were advanced aliens…” Gods to us at the time by comparison. I think that’s fair. Below are a few of the hypothetical scientific fields now linked to ancient astronaut theory and probably better suited for science fiction. Most of them sound very “science-y”:

Paleocontact – alien contact with prehistoric mankind (ancient astronaut theory)
Xenoarchaeology – archaeology involving alien cultures
Xenoliguistics – linguistics of alien languages
Extraterrestrial Archaeology – Xenoarchaeology

None of the above words appear in the on-line version of the Merriam-Webster dictionary, so the validity of these terms are highly questionable given the magnitude, history and progressiveness of the publication. However, these words do appear at wikipedia.org and are referenced as being hypothetical and primarily used in works of science-fiction.

Lastly, here is a picture of the cover of the second issue of the Eternals from Marvel Comics in 1976. Note the reference/claim to the lower left of the title.