Erich von Däniken

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.

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 extraterrestrial visitations to earth in the distant past and even visitations within human memory.

Related Topics:
Paleocontact - Carl Sagan - I. S. Shklovskii - Extraterrestrial

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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.

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The scientific community's dismay at von Däniken led to the publication of The Space Gods Revealed by Ronald Story in 1976. 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.

Related Topics:
The Space Gods Revealed - Ronald Story - 1976

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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."

Related Topics:
Racism - Eurocentrism - Europe - Cathedral

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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.

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