Astronomical Pseudo-Science: A Skeptic's Resource List (Version 3.0; August 2003)

8. Ancient Astronauts and Erich Von Daniken

A convicted Swiss embezzler (who wrote part of his best-selling Chariots of the Gods while in jail), Von Daniken claimed that there is a large amount of archaeological evidence that alien visitors helped us build many of the impressive artifacts that ancient civilizations left behind. (The insulting subtext here is that we needed the aliens' help because we humans were too stupid to build the Nazca lines or the pyramids by ourselves.) In fact, Von Daniken's books involve massive misinterpretations of archaeological data and a great deal of fabrication; the past, as the title of one the best debunking books vividly asserts, is human.

Books

Stiebing, William Ancient Astronauts, Cosmic Collisions. 1984, Prometheus. A good skeptical introduction.

Story, Ronald The Space Gods Revealed. 1976, Harper & Row. Debunks Von Daniken's ideas.

Thiering, Barry & Castel, Edgar, eds. Some Trust in Chariots. 1975, Popular Library. Sixteen skeptical articles.

White, Peter The Past is Human. 1974, Taplinger. An archaeological perspective on Von Daniken's inventions.

Wilson, Clifford Crash Go the Chariots. 1972, Lancer; The Chariots Still Go Crash. 1975, Signet.

Feder, Kenneth Frauds, Myths, and Mysteries: Science and Pseudoscience in Archaeology. 2002, McGraw-Hill.

Articles

Krupp, E. "Observatories of the Gods and Other Astronomical Fantasies" in Krupp, E.C., ed. In Search of Ancient Astronomies. 1977, Doubleday. Debunks von Daniken and Velikovsky's ideas, as well as the Sirius myth.

Lingemann, R. "Erich Von Daniken's Genesis" in the New York Times Book Review, March 30, 1974.

Nickell, J. "The Nazca Drawings Revisited" in Skeptical Inquirer, Spring 1983.

Web Sites:

Science or Charlatanism: http://www.debunker.com/texts/vondanik.html Robert Sheaffer's short article challenges a number of Von Daniken's claims.

Von Daniken's 'Maya Astronaut': http://members.shaw.ca/mjfinley/vondaniken.html Examines the silly claim that a Maya sarcophagus lid shows an astronaut.

The Real Erich Von Daniken: http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/R/real_lives/daniken.html A brief biography.

Skeptic's Dictionary: http://skepdic.com/vondanik.html

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