Who really built them?

This article gives you a quick overview of some of the alternate theories and authors who’ve proposed them.

Conventional wisdom and mainstream science indicate the first human civilization began in Sumer (modern Iraq) or perhaps the Indus valley about 4000 B.C.E. This currently accepted theory describes humans living as hunter-gathers for hundreds of thousands of years then suddenly (and nearly simultaneously) developing agriculture, written language, metallurgy, religion, architecture and labor specialization – the hallmarks of what is known as civilization.

For most people who were educated in modern Western countries, this development is presented as a natural, almost inevitable evolution of mankind. However, some scholars suggest that humankind had a little help in the rapid progression towards civilization from beings that came from the stars, thousands of years ago.

Erich von Daniken first posited the “Ancient Astronauts” theory in 1968 in the best-selling (and now somewhat disputed) book Chariots of the Gods. Von Daniken explores the connections between the physical evidence left behind by ancient civilizations – most notably the massive pyramids of Egyptian and Mesoamerican cultures. Enormous controversy surrounds von Daniken’s supposition that the bronze-age cultures could not have built such precise and enduring monuments. Modern efforts to duplicate the task using the technology of the time have either failed outright or succeeded only in marginal areas.

Read complete article here. {via The Examiner}