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Sarcophagus lid of Pakal the great, which according to Von D"aniken represents an "ancient astronaut" ascending to the stars in his spaceship.Main article: Erich von D"aniken
Erich von D"aniken was a leading proponent of this theory in the late 1960s and early 1970s, gaining a large audience through the 1968 publication of his best-selling book Chariots of the Gods? and its sequels.
Certain artifacts and monumental constructions are claimed by von D"aniken to have required a more sophisticated technological ability in their construction than that which was available to the ancient cultures who constructed them. Von D"aniken maintains that these artifacts were constructed either directly by extraterrestrial visitors or by humans who learned the necessary knowledge from said visitors. These include Stonehenge, the Moai of Easter Island, the Great Pyramid of Giza, and the ancient Baghdad electric batteries.
Von D"aniken claims that ancient art and iconography throughout the world illustrates air and space vehicles, non-human but intelligent creatures, ancient astronauts, and artifacts of an anachronistically advanced technology. Von D"aniken also claims that geographically separated historical cultures share artistic themes, which he argues imply a common origin. For one such example, is von D"aniken's interpretation of the sarcophagus lid recovered from the tomb of the Classic-era Maya ruler of Palenque, Pacal. Von D"aniken claimed the design represented a seated astronaut, whereas the iconography and accompanying Maya text identifies it as a portrait of the ruler himself with the World Tree of Maya mythology.
The origins of many religions are interpreted by von D"aniken as reactions to encounters with an alien race. According to his view, humans considered the technology of the aliens to be supernatural and the aliens themselves to be gods. Von D"aniken claims that the oral and written traditions of most religions contain references to alien visitors in the way of descriptions of stars and vehicular objects travelling through air and space. One such is Ezekiel's revelation in the Old Testament, which D"aniken interprets as a detailed description of a landing spacecraft.
Von D"aniken's theories became popularized in the U.S. after the NBC-TV documentary In Search Of Ancient Astronauts hosted by Rod Serling and the movie Chariots of the Gods.
Critics argue that von D"aniken misrepresented data, that many of his claims were unfounded, and that none of his core claims has been validated.
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