Erich von Däniken (born April 14, 1935 in Zofingen, Switzerland) is a controversial Swiss author who is best known for authoring works about extraterrestrial influence on human culture since prehistoric times. He is one of the figures responsible for popularizing the paleocontact and ancient astronaut theories. April 14 is the 104th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (105th in leap years). ... 1935 was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Zofingen is a city in the canton of Aargau, Switzerland, with a population of 10092 ( as of 2003). ... Extraterrestrial, as an adjective, refers to something that originates, occurs, or is located outside Earth or its atmosphere. ... Prehistory (Greek words προ = before and ιστορία = history) is the period of human history including all previous history before humans which is prior to the advent of writing (which marks the beginning of recorded history). ... Ancient astronauts are conjectured extraterrestrial visitors to Earth in its distant past, whose existence was advocated by Peter Kolosimo in his 1957 book Il pianeta sconosciuto and later by the better-known Erich von Däniken in his 1968 book Chariots of the Gods and its sequels. ... Ancient astronauts are conjectured extraterrestrial visitors to Earth in its distant past, whose existence was advocated by Peter Kolosimo in his 1957 book Il pianeta sconosciuto and later by the better-known Erich von Däniken in his 1968 book Chariots of the Gods and its sequels. ...

Currently von Däniken is a prominent member of the Archaeology, Astronautics and SETI Research Association (AAS RA), of which he is a co-founder. Von Däniken has developed a theme park called Mystery Park, based in Interlaken, Switzerland. It opened May 23, 2003. A new science fiction television series based upon his books is under production. Ferris wheel Amusement park is the more generic term for a collection of amusement rides and other entertainment attractions assembled for the purpose of entertaining a fairly large group of people. ... A posters advertising an event at the Mystery Park; the sub-title reads Should we re-write history of humankind. As a pre-conditionning of the public, the images links the cosmonaut to a traditional pre-Columbian sculpture, to prepare the idea of Aliens visiting Earth in ancient times. ... Interlaken is a small town in the Canton of Bern in Switzerland. ... May 23 is the 143rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (144th in leap years). ... 2003 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ...

Claims of alien influence on Earth

Building on the earlier works of many others, von Däniken reiterated the theory (already discussed by previous authors) that if intelligent extraterrestrial life exists and has entered the local Solar System in the past, there is the possibility of finding traces of their visits on Earth, on the neighboring planets, or elsewhere in space.

He has also reiterated the theory that human evolution may have been manipulated by means of genetic engineering by extraterrestrial beings. Human evolution is a multidisciplinary scientific inquiry which seeks to understand and describe the origin and development of humanity. ... An iconic image of genetic engineering; this 1986 autoluminograph of a glowing transgenic tobacco plant bearing the luciferase gene of fireflys strikingly demonstrates the power and potential of genetic manipulation. ...

His 26 books have been translated into more than 20 languages, selling more than 60 million copies worldwide, and his documentary TV-shows have been viewed in Germany and the United States. His influence can also be seen in science fiction, the New Age culture and some modern religions like Scientology. Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ... New Age describes a broad movement characterized by alternative approaches to traditional Western culture. ... A Scientology Center in Los Angeles, California. ...

The evidence von Däniken has put forward to support the paleo-contact theories can be categorised 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 have been manufactured either by extraterrestrial visitors or by humans who learned the necessary knowledge from them. Such artifacts include Stonehenge, the head statues of Easter Island and the Antikythera mechanism.
• 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.

Stonehenge Stonehenge is a Neolithic and Bronze Age monument located near Amesbury in the English county of Wiltshire, about 8 miles (13 km) northwest of Salisbury. ... Easter Island and its location Easter Island (Polynesian: Rapa Nui (Great Rapa), Spanish: Isla de Pascua) is an island in the south Pacific Ocean belonging to Chile. ... The Antikythera mechanism is an ancient artifact believed to be an early clockwork mechanism. ... The supernatural (Latin:super- exceeding+nature) refers to a conceptualizaion of forces and phenomenon that cannot be perceived by natural or empirical senses, and whos understanding may be said to lie with religious, magical, or otherwise mysterious explanation —yet remains firmly outside of the realm of science. ... The term God is used to designate a Supreme Being; however, there are countless definitions of God. ... Ezekiel or Yechezkel (יְחֶזְקֵאל God will strengthen, Standard Hebrew Yəḥezqel, Tiberian Hebrew Yəḥezqêl) was a prophet in the Hebrew Bible, commonly regarded as the author of the biblical Book of Ezekiel. ... The Old Testament or the Hebrew Scriptures (also called the Hebrew Bible) constitutes the first major part of the Bible according to Christianity. ...

Criticism

The scientific community has universally dismissed von Däniken's more particular theories, but the scientific community does not outright dismiss the possibility of paleocontact itself. Credited scientists such as Carl Sagan and I. S. Shklovskii have written about possible extra-terrestial visitations to earth in the distant past and even visitations within human memory. Ancient astronauts are conjectured extraterrestrial visitors to Earth in its distant past, whose existence was advocated by Peter Kolosimo in his 1957 book Il pianeta sconosciuto and later by the better-known Erich von Däniken in his 1968 book Chariots of the Gods and its sequels. ... A respected astronomer and dogged critic of pseudoscience, Carl Sagan is best known for his enthusiastic efforts at popularizing science. ... Iosif Samuilovich Shklovsky (Ио́сиф Самуи́лович Шкло́вский) (July 1, 1916 – March 3, 1985) was a Russian astronomer and astrophysicist. ...

Most historians regard von Däniken's archaeological claims as pseudoscience, and are of the opinion that he is drawing far-reaching conclusions from little evidence and is disregarding more likely alternative hypotheses, but a large group of followers, some of whom have written books of their own, are of the opinion that his theories are likely to be true. Pseudoscience refers to any body of knowledge or practice which purports to be scientific by the scientific community but which eventually fails to comply with the scientific method. ...

The scientific community's dismay at von Däniken led to the publication of The Space Gods Revealed by Ronald Story in 1976 (ISBN 0060141417 hardback, ISBN 0450033708 paperback). It is a careful refutation of the theories and evidence in von Däniken's most famous work—Chariots of the Gods—almost page by page. 1976 is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Furthermore, some have accused von Däniken of racism or Eurocentrism: Though Europe contains many remarkable, large-scale ancient monuments, von Däniken generally does not suggest these were built with extraterrestrial aid, for example, von Däniken "concedes that Europeans could build the complex cathedrals, but refuses to admit equivalent levels of skill and endeavour in the non-European societies." An African-American drinks out of a water cooler designated for use by colored patrons in 1939 at a streetcar terminal in Oklahoma City. ... Eurocentrism is the practice, conscious or otherwise, of placing emphasis on European (and, generally, Western) concerns, culture and values at the expense of those of other cultures. ... World map showing location of Europe A satellite composite image of Europe Europe is geologically and geographically a peninsula, forming the westernmost part of Eurasia. ... A cathedral is a Christian church building, specifically of a denomination with an episcopal hierarchy (such as the Roman Catholic Church or the Anglican churches), which serves as the central church of a bishopric. ...

Some engineers and academics have written articles and books and given speeches supporting von Däniken's theories, although they are in the minority. See in particular The Manna Machine by George Sassoon and The Spaceships of Ezekiel (1974) by NASA scientist Josef F Blumrich. The Sirius Mystery (1976) by Robert K G Temple presents Temple's own theories on ancient contact.

Von Däniken and forgery

Von Däniken first appeared before a magistrate while still a boy, charged with stealing money from the boy scouts. In the early 1960s, in his mid 20s, he was convicted of defrauding the hotel where he worked and also petty theft, for which he was fined. Polish Boy Scouts fighting in the Warsaw Uprising Boy Scouts originally denoted the organization that developed and rapidly grew up during 1908 in the wake of the publication by Lord Robert Baden-Powell of his book Scouting for Boys. ...

In 1967, at the age of 32, Von Däniken was convicted of a large scale embezzlement, forgery and tax evasion, and spent three and half years in prison. During his time in prison he wrote his second book. 1967 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Forgery is the process of making or adapting objects or documents (see false document), with the intention to deceive (fraud is the use of objects obtained through forgery). ... This article contrasts tax evasion, tax avoidance, tax resistance and tax mitigation. ...

Von Däniken personally denies the various claims of wrongdoing other than the conviction leading to his imprisonment and claims that conviction was the result of a conspiracy against him by members of the Catholic hierarchy in Switzerland, intended to discredit his theories.

Von Däniken has also used photographs of pottery depicting UFOs, claiming that the pottery came from an archaeological dig and dated to biblical times. The television series Nova determined that this was a fraud and located the potter who actually made the pots in question. When confronted with this evidence, Von Däniken argued that the deception was justified because some people would only believe his theories if they saw proof. Nova is a popular science television series produced by the Public Broadcasting Service. ...

See also

• Astroarcheology
• Pseudoscience

Archaeoastronomy (also spelled Archeoastronomy) is, as the name implies, the combination of astronomical and archaeological studies. ... Pseudoscience refers to any body of knowledge or practice which purports to be scientific by the scientific community but which eventually fails to comply with the scientific method. ...

Works

• Chariots of the Gods? (1968)
• Gods from Outer Space (1970)
• The Gold of the Gods (1972)
• In Search of Ancient Gods (1973)
• Miracles of the Gods (1974)
• Signs of the Gods (1979)
• Pathways to the Gods (1981)
• The Eyes of the Sphinx (1996)
• The Return of the Gods - Evidence of Extraterrestrial Visitations. (1997)
• Odyssey of the Gods - An Alien History of Ancient Greece. (2000)

Ancient astronauts are conjectured extraterrestrial visitors to Earth in its distant past, whose existence was advocated by Peter Kolosimo in his 1957 book Il pianeta sconosciuto and later by the better-known Erich von Däniken in his 1968 book Chariots of the Gods and its sequels. ... 1968 was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1968 calendar). ... 1970 was a common year starting on Thursday. ... 1972 was a leap year that started on a Saturday. ... 1973 was a common year starting on Monday. ... 1974 is a common year starting on Tuesday (click on link for calendar). ... 1979 is a common year starting on Monday. ... 1981 is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1996 is a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... 1997 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2000 is a leap year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• Erich von Däniken's homepage (http://www.daniken.com/)
• AAS RA homepage (http://www.legendarytimes.com/)
• SwissInfo.org story about theme park (http://www.swissinfo.org/sen/Swissinfo.html?siteSect=105&sid=1918331)
• The Prophet of the Space Gods (http://www.skepticreport.com/ufo/daniken.htm)
• UK Channel 4 biographical research (http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/R/real_lives/daniken.html)
• UFO Evidence page - both pro and con links (http://www.ufoevidence.org/topics/vonDaniken.htm)
• World Mysteries.com von Daniken page (http://www.world-mysteries.com/pex_3.htm)
• Daniken entry from the Encyclopedia of Astrobiology, Astronomy and Spaceflight (http://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/D/Daniken.html)