Ancient Aliens s21e11 Episode Script

1
NARRATOR: Throughout the ancient world,
there is one mysterious figure
that appears again and again
the birdman.
Depictions of birdmen
are found all over the planet.
NARRATOR: In many cultures,
birdlike figures were revered as gods.
HEATHER LYNN: The Sumerians
worshipped Anunnaki, which were
often depicted almost
like a hybrid human and bird.
NARRATOR: And their presence transformed
the development of civilization.
RABBI ARIEL BAR TZADOK:
It is their job to guide
the affairs of human beings.
NARRATOR: Are the so-called
birdmen simply a product
of the imagination, or
could they represent something
far more profound?
GIORGIO A. TSOUKALOS: There
had to have been a spark of inspiration.
Are they physical beings
from another planet?
♪
NARRATOR: America's
largest reservation spans
more than 27,000 square miles,
covering parts of Arizona,
New Mexico, and Utah.
The Navajo people
have inhabited this land
for more than a thousand years,
and they say that,
throughout their history
right up to the present day,
they have had encounters
with an otherworldly being
known as the birdman.
I spent 31 years in law enforcement
with the Navajo Nation Rangers.
In my, uh, career
on the Navajo Reservation
we've had a lot of people report
seeing birdmen figures.
This is a normal theme
for most Native American tribes
in the United States.
Native Americans have a long history
of sky beings coming to them.
And in many cases,
these beings look like humans
with wings.
NARRATOR: While each tribe
has its own unique language
and mythology,
remarkably, many share the tradition
of worshipping a birdman figure.
DOVER: The birdman
figure in Native cultures
are human-shaped people.
Sometimes they're giants.
They are considered
a celestial being of some kind
who has come down from the sky.
In Navajo culture,
they do have magical abilities.
They do heal.
But one of the main aspects
of any figure
is that they impart knowledge.
When Natives see a birdman,
this is a very, very good sign.
Seeing something like that is-is
considered a pretty big thing.
NARRATOR: One of the
most remarkable examples
of birdman worship
in North America can be found
outside of Collinsville, Illinois,
where a series of mysterious
earthen mounds
rise above the plain.
These mounds mark the location
where the Mississippian people
one of the largest ancient civilizations
in North America once flourished.
Near one mound numbered 72
archaeologists found
a curious gravesite,
now known as the "birdman burial."
They found the remains
of a male and female
that were placed on an elevated platform
covered by a bed of more than
10,000 marine shell beads
placed in the shape of a falcon.
The bird's head appeared beneath
and beside the man's head.
And the wings and tail of the bird
were beneath his arms and legs.
This burial reflects the deep reverence
for the birdman in spiritual structures.
ED BARNHART: This arrangement
of shells around the main bodies
makes sense because we know
that the Mississippians
had a supernatural being
who may or may not be a god,
but he's a very powerful creature
that lives up in the sky.
We see depictions
on also stone tablets.
NARRATOR: At a site called Monks Mound,
just a mile from the birdman burial,
archaeologists found a sandstone tablet
that features another human figure
with birdlike attributes.
HUGH NEWMAN: This tablet
appears to have a humanoid figure
with a beak
but also what appears to be
the arms moving forward
in a certain way
to make it look like wings.
NARRATOR: While the
Mississippian people of the Midwest
left behind abundant evidence
of birdman worship,
in the southwest, Native tribes
still carry on the traditions
of the ancient Pueblo people,
performing rituals
to connect with the kachinas.
These otherworldly beings
are often depicted
with birdlike features.
LYNN: The kachinas have
many different features,
but a lot of them look like
birds, winged beings.
They connect the people on Earth to
the celestial gods in the sky.
Many tribes still practice ceremonies
dedicated to the kachinas.
These rituals will include
things like interpretive dancing,
drums, music, and often
the individuals will be wearing
headdresses featuring
vivid colors and feathers.
NARRATOR: Even more curious
than the widespread reverence
for birdman figures throughout
Native American cultures
is the fact that similar half-bird,
half-human hybrids can be found
throughout the ancient world.
At the site of Tiahuanaco in Bolivia,
a giant megalithic doorway
called the Gate of the Sun,
features a carving
of the Inca god Viracocha
flanked by dozens of birdlike figures.
NEWMAN: It is said
that Viracocha himself,
the great god of the Andes,
was actually the person
who instigated the construction
of Tiahuanaco and Puma Punku.
DAVID CHILDRESS: In the middle
of the gate is a depiction of Viracocha,
but on either side of Viracocha
there are these birdmen.
And these famous birdmen,
in my mind, are symbolic
of flight,
and essentially, these birdmen
are men who can fly.
NARRATOR: Another
location where birdman figures
feature prominently is on
the remote Pacific Island
of Rapa Nui, more commonly known
as Easter Island.
While Easter Island is famous
for the towering stone moai statues
that stand along its shoreline,
for centuries the islanders
have also worshipped
an otherworldly being called
Tangata manu, or the birdman.
NEWMAN: All over Easter
Island, we do find depictions
of birdman-type creatures,
which is a reference, really, to
some of the earliest traditions
before humans were even supposed
to exist on the island.
TSOUKALOS: The chief birdman
was a guy called Makemake.
And when he arrived on Easter Island,
he saw how beautiful it was
and he wanted
to populate it with people.
And so he crafted the Easter Islanders
out of Easter Island soil,
and that's how the people
of Easter Island came about.
DOMINIC STEAVU: Across
many different cultures, uh,
this figure of the half-bird,
half-human hybrid
shows up again and again.
Very often what they
have in common is the idea that
human/birds figures,
uh, are capable of flight.
They can travel between different realms
or different planes of existence.
In Japanese folklore, Tengu are these
very powerful, uh, mountain spirits.
All of them are somehow related
to birds or have avian features.
They represent
a higher form of knowledge
that they are known to transmit
to people who are open
to receiving that knowledge from them.
HENRY: Depictions of birdmen
are found all over the planet.
Is it because birds
represent transcendence?
Why are the depictions
so strikingly similar?
TSOUKALOS: It's really
bizarre when you look
at pretty much all cultures
and see that they have
depictions and references
and legends of the so-called
bird people or birdmen.
And so, that illustrates to me
that it had to start somewhere,
or there had to have been
a spark of inspiration.
In the ancient astronaut opinion,
the most important thing
that our ancestors
wanted to convey to us is that
they experienced someone
in physical form that had
the capability of flight.
NARRATOR: What could
be behind the ubiquity
of the birdman iconography
in ancient cultures?
Is it due to some kind of
otherworldly encounter?
Perhaps further clues can be found
by looking to the pages
of the Holy Bible.
NARRATOR: Throughout history,
ancient cultures
across the globe
have portrayed human figures
with birdlike wings.
In the Western world, none
are more well-known than a group
of beings that are described
in Judeo-Christian texts.
HENRY: When you think
about a winged human figure,
you most notably think about angels.
Angels are figures
that intervene in human affairs.
They warn us about coming events
or they-they intervene
in a positive way.
NARRATOR: In the Hebrew
Bible's Book of Genesis,
angels first appear as divine beings
sent to Earth as messengers of God.
TSOUKALOS: Angels are winged beings.
Now, the church, up until about 300 AD
not once mentioned angels.
From about 300 to 400 AD
was when the first references of
angels first entered the Bible.
Before that, it was never "angel,"
but it was always the word "messenger."
And often, "messenger from the sky."
TZADOK: It is their job,
as the heavenly court,
to guide the affairs of human beings,
to speak into the minds of individuals.
But these angels
were not spiritual beings,
they were physical beings.
They're not of this world.
Therefore, they are not terrestrial,
and therefore,
they are extraterrestrial.
NARRATOR: Is it possible
that the angels of the Bible
were physical beings
who came from another world?
Perhaps additional clues
can be found by examining
a controversial text that was stricken
from most versions of the Bible.
Called the Book of Enoch,
it describes in great detail
the first angels to arrive on
Earth, known as the watchers.
TZADOK: It is said in ancient
legend that these watchers
are the ones who observe humanity
and direct human affairs to
influence us in their own ways.
ANDREW COLLINS: The watchers
were said to be these rebel angels
who came down from Heaven
to mix with mortal-kind.
They were said to have
revealed the arts and sciences
of Heaven, and this allowed us
the rudiments of civilization.
We are told that they could fly
through the air like birds or eagles.
NARRATOR: Is it possible
that the account of the watchers
described in the Book of Enoch
is based on real historical events?
LYNN: The Book of
Enoch was a biblical story
that was taken out
of the Bible completely.
It isn't included,
except for in the Coptic faith.
They still include the Book
of Enoch as part of their canon.
But many people suggest that
the reason the Book of Enoch
was omitted from the Bible
is because these entities
hold some deeper truth.
NARRATOR: Mainstream scholars believe
the Book of Enoch was written sometime
around the 3rd or 4th century BC,
but the stories contained
within it may be much older.
And ancient astronaut theorists suggest
the watchers were first described
more than a thousand years
earlier by the Sumerians.
HENRY: The Sumerians
were the first known civilization.
They have the distinction
of being the first
to discover writing,
agriculture, astronomy,
all of these first technologies.
The ancient Sumerian texts
tell us that these
winged figures with birdlike heads
originally brought
this knowledge to humanity.
LYNN: The Sumerians worshipped Anunnaki,
which are beings
that came down from the sky.
They were depicted as chimeric beings,
almost like a hybrid, human and bird.
AMIR HUSSAIN: For the Sumerians,
their knowledge wasn't self-derived.
Their inventions, their great things
were not of their own design.
They were taught by the gods.
The Anunnaki show human beings
how to use technology,
how to create this technology.
NARRATOR: Like the watchers,
there was a specific group
of the Anunnaki
who were tasked
with influencing human affairs.
The Sumerians also revered Apkallu,
which were a little bit
lesser Anunnaki beings,
but very important as well.
They were also birdmen figures.
They had wings, feathers,
and often were depicted even with beaks.
Their role was to act
as intermediaries between
the kings and the gods.
TSOUKALOS: One of the basic propositions
of the ancient astronaut theory
is that these birdmen signified flight.
The idea was never to suggest
that the Anunnaki themselves
actually had wings
sprouting from their back,
but rather that our ancestors
tried to depict that the Anunnaki
had the capability
of flying or of flight.
NARRATOR:
Is it possible that the stories
of the watchers
and the Anunnaki are true?
Could these birdlike beings
have once walked the Earth
alongside humans in the distant past?
Perhaps further clues can be found
by examining curious carvings
at one of the world's
most mysterious ancient sites.
Here, atop a flat limestone plateau,
stand the oldest known
megalithic structures in the world.
Adorning many of the
monolithic stone pillars
are intricate carvings of both
human and animal figures.
ROBERT SCHOCH: At Göbekli Tepe,
what we find are beautifully
carved limestone pillars,
long, narrow, high, and they
weigh up to ten or 15 tons.
Some of them are 15 or 18 feet tall.
NARRATOR: Radiocarbon
dating of artifacts unearthed
at Göbekli Tepe suggest the site
is over 12,000 years old,
predating the Sumerians
by at least 5,000 years.
But some researchers have noticed
a curious connection
between the two cultures.
HENRY: At Göbekli
Tepe, there's a carving
of these three handbags that appear
above this birdlike creature.
What's fascinating about
finding these handbag symbols
at Göbekli Tepe is that,
just 400 miles to the south in Sumeria,
you find exactly the same symbolism,
and these handbags are being held
by winged figures with birdlike heads.
NARRATOR: Is it possible that
the birdmen figures at Göbekli Tepe
not only represent
otherworldly visitors,
but the very same visitors described
by the Sumerians as the Anunnaki
and detailed in the Book
of Enoch as the watchers?
Could the carvings provide evidence
that these mysterious beings
were present on Earth
as much as 12,000 years ago?
Ancient astronaut theorists say yes
and point to further evidence
in ancient Egypt
and accounts of
a bird-headed god called Thoth.
NARRATOR: According to
ancient hieroglyphic writing
known as the Pyramid Text,
before the age of the pharaohs,
humans lived side by side with the gods.
HENRY: Before 3000 BC,
you have this age known as
Zep Tepi, or "the first time."
A golden age in which
the gods walked on the Earth,
which the gods ruled.
NARRATOR: During
this so-called golden age,
Egypt was ruled by the god-king Horus,
who was depicted with a human-like body
and the head of a falcon.
PAMELA SMITH: In Egyptian mythology,
Horus is the son of Isis and Osiris.
Horus was one of the gods
who helped people transition
between different states of being.
Like, you know, life and death
and rebirth, et cetera,
so is seen often as a guardian
and also as a protector
to keep the evil gods
from hurting humans.
RAMY ROMANY: Horus was the
king on Earth, but the god in sky.
He had wings. He could fly.
He can protect his own people.
NARRATOR: All of the human
pharaohs who came after Horus
were said to embody his power
and received communication
from the gods.
But why did the ancient Egyptians,
like so many other early cultures,
depict this prominent deity
with birdlike features?
TSOUKALOS: We know that
Horus was a celestial sky god.
Horus did not originate here on Earth,
and ancient Egyptians
were very, very concise
in stating that he was a physical being
that came from the stars.
NARRATOR: Are Horus's
birdlike features meant to indicate
that he was a being
who came down from the sky?
Ancient astronaut theorists say yes
and point to the fact that, in Egypt,
bird-headed figures were often linked
to contact with a higher realm.
Like the bird-headed god Thoth.
SMITH: Thoth was, uh,
human from the shoulders down,
and his head was an ibis,
which is a bird with a sharp beak.
In Egyptian mythology,
Thoth was the god of literacy,
of writing, of science, and of magic,
and brought all those things to humans.
Thoth was the Egyptian god
of knowledge who invented
and taught the Egyptians
to write with hieroglyphics.
There was no known language
prior to hieroglyphics.
So, he is the giver of language
to the Egyptian people.
ROMANY: God Thoth was an
extremely important god in ancient Egypt.
He is the one
that had all the information.
Every time a pharaoh or an engineer
would talk about how
he was able to create something,
he would say, "I was given
this information by god Thoth."
NARRATOR: According to
mainstream archaeologists,
the oldest pyramid in Egypt is
the Step Pyramid of King Djoser.
Constructed in the 27th century BC,
the six-tier, four-sided structure
was designed by a mysterious
figure named Imhotep.
ROMANY: Imhotep, who was a commoner,
became the high engineer,
the main architect,
and he came out of nowhere.
Ancient Egyptians
believed that god Thoth
actually told Imhotep
how to build the pyramid.
NARRATOR: Remarkably, the iconic pyramid
was not Imhotep's only accomplishment
that was credited
to the influence of Thoth.
ROMANY: Imhotep, he
also was a high priest.
He also was a high physician.
The most ancient medical
document known to humanity
was written by Imhotep himself.
He had a lot of knowledge
that he claims
was given by his god Thoth.
NARRATOR:
According to Egyptian mythology,
Thoth established a school
to spread knowledge
throughout the region.
HENRY: For more than 3,000
years, the Egyptian mystery school
sustained and preserved and amplified
the mystic wisdom of the ancients.
The mystery schools
were started by Thoth.
And it was believed
that the mystery school actually
operated in Memphis,
which Thoth is believed
to have built himself.
The mystery schools were attended
by some of the most illustrious
figures in history.
The Book of Acts, for instance, tells us
that Moses was trained in all
the wisdom of the Egyptians.
This is a reference
to the Egyptian mystery schools.
Moses became a magi
performing supernatural feats,
including miracles,
and even talking with God
in the burning bush.
Also, Pythagoras studied
in the Egyptian mystery schools
for 22 years where he learned
that all the planets
in our galaxy are inhabited.
NARRATOR: Is it possible
that the secret wisdom taught
at the Egyptian
mystery schools was provided
by birdlike beings
who descended from the sky?
Curiously, in China,
there are similar traditions
of important leaders
who were also part-bird and part-human.
These figures were not only seen
as capable of communicating
with higher beings, but were
often given secret knowledge.
STEAVU: In early forms of Daoism,
the expression "winged transformation"
refers to, uh, becoming an immortal
or being on the path
to becoming an immortal.
And part of that process
involved sprouting feathers
on one's body, growing wings
from one's back,
and becoming, essentially,
a type of bird-human hybrid.
NARRATOR:
For ancient astronaut theorists,
the ubiquity of birdlike figures
in art and mythology reveals
extraterrestrial contact
throughout the ancient world.
And as further evidence, they point
to a centuries-old ritual
in modern-day Mexico
called the Dance of the Flyers.
NARRATOR: Every
year, the people of this city
gather to watch a breathtaking ceremony
called Danza de los Voladores,
or the Dance of the Flyers.
HENRY: These acrobatic figures
will scale this 100-foot-tall pole,
and there's a fifth person
that's waiting there
with them called the "Carpola,"
and he starts playing a flute,
playing a drum,
and the four other people that
are with him the acrobats
tie their ankles to the tower,
and they suddenly start swinging
around the tower.
TSOUKALOS: In 52 rotations
they descend down to Earth.
In my opinion, what we have here
is called living mythology.
Because, when you ask these Voladores,
"What are you doing?"
they say, "We are commemorating
the arrival of our ancient gods
who descended from the sky."
NARRATOR: According to
tradition, the five dancers on the pole
are said to represent birdmen.
Some scholars believe the ritual honors
the Mayan god of creation, Itzamna,
who could transform into a bird.
But ancient astronaut theorists
suggest this ritual
reveals a more profound
connection with the heavens.
HENRY: From an ancient
astronaut perspective,
are they actually witnessing the descent
of extraterrestrials?
And they're recreating
that original scene
that they saw long, long ago?
NARRATOR: Is it possible
that the Dance of the Flyers
is not a portrayal of mythological gods
descending from the heavens,
but of otherworldly visitors
coming to Earth in spacecraft?
Perhaps further clues
can be found by examining
a flying feathered deity
known to the Aztecs as Quetzalcoatl.
Quetzalcoatl supposedly came
from someplace far away
and taught the people agriculture,
writing, astronomy,
and a lot of the finer arts of living.
TSOUKALOS: Quetzalcoatl was a sky god,
and allegedly, he descended
from the sky in physical form
and taught the local populations
in different scientific disciplines.
And the interesting part about that is,
is that you have the Aztecs,
you have the Olmecs,
you have the Toltecs, you have the Maya.
And their main celestial deity
is Quetzalcoatl.
NARRATOR: Curiously,
Quetzalcoatl is depicted
by various Mesoamerican cultures
both as a flying serpent
and as a human-like figure.
And as far as
ancient astronaut theorists
are concerned,
the most intriguing depiction
of this god is also the oldest,
a nearly 3,000-year-old carving
made by the Olmecs.
BARNHART: It depicts a person
who's kind of sitting swayback
inside the body of a curving snake.
The tail is in front of him and
the head comes up over his head.
And some people think
it's, uh, it's an image
of some sort of vehicle
that he's driving.
It is such an interesting
and evocative piece of art
that it's gotten a ton of names.
One of them is the rocket man.
CHILDRESS:
He's seated inside of a dragon
that's encircling him.
So, here we have to wonder
if it's depicting, perhaps,
extraterrestrial technology,
like a spacecraft.
NARRATOR: Could this
artwork reveal that Quetzalcoatl
was a human-like being who was
seen piloting a spaceship?
For ancient astronaut theorists,
this carving contains
another intriguing detail
that suggests Quetzalcoatl
was not a fictional deity,
but an extraterrestrial visitor.
HENRY: It portrays Quetzalcoatl
holding what appears to be a handbag.
It is one of the primary
identifying symbols of the gods.
JASON MARTELL: Now, we
know from the Sumerian mythologies
that the Anunnaki
also are carrying this bag.
We seem to notice
that this bag crosses cultures
as possibly some type of artifact.
It raises the question of
is this possibly
extraterrestrial in origin.
TSOUKALOS: This handbag
is identical to what you can find
in the Middle East,
which is very strange because
why would they have the same symbolism?
Well, the idea is that
the same teacher people
not only went to Sumeria
and Göbekli Tepe,
but also they went
to Central and South America.
And so, this motif that
these handbags exist worldwide
is not a coincidence.
NARRATOR: According to
ancient astronaut theorists,
it is also no coincidence that,
in culture after culture,
we find gods depicted with wings.
TSOUKALOS: The truth of the
matter is that these birdmen depictions
and references exist
in almost every ancient culture.
The reason why
I think that this is important
is because our ancestors
wanted to commemorate
that they experienced someone
in physical form
that had the capability of flight.
MARTELL: These gods
depicted clearly with wings
or having coming down
on some type of a winged object.
The comparisons between
these ancient cultures seem
to tell me that ancient man
was witnessing something
in the sky that, to them,
represented the power of flight.
NARRATOR: Could it
be that ancient cultures
often depicted their gods with wings
not only to signify that these beings
had descended from the sky
but also to indicate that they
traveled in flying vehicles?
Perhaps further clues can be found
by examining Hindu accounts
of a birdman who was also
a chariot of the gods.
NARRATOR: In the heart
of this modern metropolis,
on an island in the Chao Phraya River,
stands the opulent grounds
of the Grand Palace.
This complex of buildings and temples
has been the official residence
for the kings of Thailand
since 1782.
Here, adorning the Temple
of the Emerald Buddha,
are more than 100 mysterious
golden statues
of a birdlike deity named Garuda.
HENRY: In Hindu and Buddhist
symbolism, Garuda is part-human.
It's got a torso of a human,
it's got the head and beak
and claws of an eagle.
The Garuda is a sort of
protector in Hindu
and-and Buddhist symbolism.
The Garuda is also seen
stomping out the Nagas,
which are the serpent beings,
which are representative
of negative energies or forces.
So, in this case, the Garuda
becomes a sort of protector in Hindu
and-and Buddhist symbolism.
NARRATOR: According
to ancient Hindu texts,
Garuda served as the chariot
for the powerful god Vishnu.
In Hindu mythology, Garuda is probably
the most famous flying deity,
and he is often the carrier,
the mount of Vishnu.
And Vishnu in the triumvirate
of the Hindu mythology is the sustainer,
the one who is protecting
and upholding what is going on.
STEAVU: Garuda is the
national emblem of Thailand,
or, uh, at least of its royal family,
and it's closely associated
with a divine kingship.
So, Garuda is the mount of Vishnu.
And the kings of Thailand
have historically
seen themselves
as incarnations of Vishnu.
So, having Garuda as an emblem
of their government
kind of projects this image in which
the kingship is connected
to this divine source.
NARRATOR: The earliest account of
Garuda can be found in the Rigveda,
a Sanskrit text written
more than 3,500 years ago.
As far as ancient astronaut
theorists are concerned,
the text details an encounter
with otherworldly technology.
TSOUKALOS: Legend says
that Vishnu traveled inside Garuda
from place to place.
And when Garuda landed, his belly opened
and Vishnu would walk out
and give instruction
or educate the people.
Well, what bird opens its belly
and lets people in and out?
I'll tell you want bird,
passenger planes.
But if you've never seen
a passenger plane before,
how would you describe it?
Well, you describe it with terminology
that you're familiar with.
NARRATOR: Could it
be that stories of Garuda
are actually eyewitness accounts
of an extraterrestrial machine
that flew through the sky like a bird?
Ancient astronaut theorists suggest
further evidence for this notion
can be found
at a recently excavated site
that was dedicated to a bird deity.
Archaeologists from the British Museum
complete a seven-year excavation
of the ancient site of Girsu
and uncover the ruins
of ancient Sumerian walls.
The walls are found to be part
of a temple
built 4,500 years ago to honor
the Sumerian god Ningirsu.
NEWMAN: A few years
ago, a very interesting temple
in Iraq was uncovered.
And eventually,
they realized that this temple
within this larger complex related
to what was known
as the white thunderbird.
The whole thunderbird mythos
is related to Ningirsu.
That was like the avatar
of this great god.
NARRATOR: The story of
the thunderbird god Ningirsu
comes from a firsthand account
of Sumerian King Gudea.
Written on large cuneiform
cylinders found at the site,
King Gudea described that
the giant winged god Ningirsu
appeared before him.
TSOUKALOS: The archaeologists
themselves say that this temple was built
due to a vision that a man had
where a gigantic man
with the wings of a gigantic thunderbird
descended from the sky,
and he was the first bringer
of knowledge in that area.
We've heard these stories before
because, in North America,
many First Nation myths
begin with thunderbirds,
out of which
the so-called kachinas came,
and the kachinas were
the first bringers of knowledge,
physical beings.
Also, in ancient India, you have stories
of thunderbirds,
and in ancient Japan.
A thunderbird has always
been considered this thing
that flies across the sky very fast
and also very, very loud
with noise, thunder.
And sometimes, these thunderbirds landed
and the bellies opened
and people walked out.
That, to me, is what I refer to
as misunderstood technology
where they would describe
a technological thing
with the terms that they knew about.
NARRATOR: As far as ancient
astronaut theorists are concerned,
stories of thunderbirds,
along with Hindu accounts of Garuda,
clearly indicate that ancient people
witnessed flying craft
coming down from the sky.
And incredibly, while
the White Thunderbird temple
in Southern Iraq dates back 4,500 years,
other birdman imagery has been found
that is far, far older.
NARRATOR:
Here, within the Lascaux caves,
are some of the best-preserved
examples of ancient rock art.
Discovered in 1940,
the walls and ceilings
of the caves are adorned
with more than 600 paintings.
Archaeologists believe
the artwork could be
as much as 22,000 years old.
COLLINS: The most
important of the chambers
is what's known as the well shaft.
This is a, uh, deep sunken pit
on the wall of which are some
very interesting images.
One of them shows a birdman
that seems to be falling backwards.
Professor Michael Rappenglueck
of Munich University
concluded that these
different images represented
the constellation of Cygnus,
the celestial bird,
and other stars in that same vicinity,
and that the position
of the birdman was exactly
in line with where you would see
the constellation of Cygnus
if you were above the surface.
NARRATOR: For decades,
researchers believed
this was the oldest example
of a birdman.
But in 2019, a team of archaeologists
exploring a cave in Indonesia
discovered a painting
that was at least twice as old,
dating back roughly 44,000 years.
HENRY: Archaeologists made a
startling discovery when they found
the birdman among
this collection of figures.
And according to neuroscience,
we only just began making
human art at this time.
So, this means that
one of the very first examples
of human art was the birdman.
NARRATOR: Why is it that the
oldest cave art ever discovered,
which contains mostly mundane imagery,
features a hybrid creature
that's part-human and part-bird?
Do the exceptionally ancient
cave paintings in Indonesia
and France present some of
the most compelling evidence
of all that the birdman figures
represent alien visitors
that our ancestors saw
with their own eyes?
Certainly, birdmen
have been depicted in,
you know, ancient cave paintings
and by civilizations
all around the world.
We have to just wonder, do these birdmen
actually fly with their wings?
I mean, we think of extraterrestrials
as coming in vehicles.
And to me, that's what
birdmen are about.
Depictions of birdmen
are found all over the planet,
from ancient Egypt to the Greeks,
to the early Christian
and-and Jewish tradition.
Is it because birds
represent transcendence
and entering into the-the higher worlds?
Are they alien-human hybrids
portrayed as part-human, part-bird?
We don't really know, but
the final line of speculation
is that these birdmen
were extraterrestrial beings
who were visiting these various
cultures around the planet
throughout time.
TSOUKALOS:
Pretty much all ancient cultures
have depictions and legends
of the so-called birdmen.
There had to have been
a spark of inspiration.
They are commemorating
the arrival of ancient gods
who descended from the sky.
This is what the ancient
astronaut theory teaches,
that our ancestors were all visited
by flesh and blood extraterrestrials
whom our ancestors
misinterpreted as gods.
NARRATOR: Do the countless depictions
of half-bird, half-human figures
found throughout the world
provide a historical record
of extraterrestrial visitation
in humankind's ancient past?
Could it be that rituals and iconography
that have survived to the present day
have a far more profound meaning
behind them than we are aware?
Perhaps the proof
of our alien origins is hiding
in plain sight.
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