Ancient Astronauts
Introduction
Much has been written and discussed about the possibility or otherwise that alien beings have visited Earth since time immemorial. Books, social media and TV shows/documentaries purport to cover the subject in depth, albeit with evidence based on supposition rather than pure fact. However, the case is not helped by the fact that the ancient texts are visible and understood by only a few, and can no doubt also be misunderstood by the untrained eye.
So, to start 2023 rolling, why not have a brief look at this remarkable phenomenon without bias and with an aim to inform – if that is at all possible. But first of all, let me make it clear that I have no particular views either way on this subject, other than snippets for Science Fiction stories, of course.
The Annunaki
Rather than delve into the myriad of theories on this subject, perhaps it would be sensible to have a brief look at what is written about the Annunaki. The Anunnaki are a group of deities of the ancient Sumerians, Akkadians, Assyrians and Babylonians. They are descendants of An and Ki, the god of the heavens and the goddess of earth, and their primary function was to decree the fates of humanity.
After the kingship descended from heaven, the kingship was in Eridug [Southern Mesopotamia]. In Eridug, Alulim became king; he ruled for 28,800 years. Alaljar [his successor] ruled for 36,000 years. So, these two kings ruled for 64,800 years. Alulim is the first king whose name appears on numerous versions of the Sumerian King List.
Such life spans are not credibly human so maybe they also ruled elsewhere!
No representations of the Anunnaki as a complete group have yet been discovered, although a few depictions of two or three individual members together have been identified. Deities in ancient Mesopotamia were almost exclusively anthropomorphic [as having human attributes]. They were thought to possess extraordinary powers and were often envisioned as being of tremendous physical size. The deities typically wore melam, an ambiguous substance which covered them in terrifying splendor.
Pseudoarcheology
With ancient text fodder like the above perhaps it is not surprising that theories of explanation started to emerge.
In his book The Twelfth Planet, author Zecharia Sitchin claimed that the Anunnaki were actually an advanced humanoid extraterrestrial species from the undiscovered planet Nibiru. They came to Earth around 500,000 years ago and constructed a base of operations in order to mine gold after discovering that the planet was rich in the precious metal. According to Sitchin, the Anunnaki hybridized their species and Homo erectus via in vitro fertilization to create humans as a slave species for mining. Sitchin claimed that the Anunnaki were forced to temporarily leave Earth’s surface and orbit the planet when Antarctic glaciers melted, causing the Great Flood, which also destroyed the Anunnaki’s bases on Earth. These had to be rebuilt, and the Anunnaki, needing more humans to help in this massive effort, taught mankind agriculture.
The story goes on, of course, but it is interesting that the Anunnaki gathered the gold for technical reasons, not because it was deemed precious.
Sitchin’s writings have been universally rejected by mainstream historians, who have labelled his books as pseudoarcheology, asserting that Sitchin seems to deliberately misrepresent Sumerian texts by quoting them out of context, truncating quotations, and mistranslating Sumerian words to give them radically different meanings from their accepted definitions.
Summary
Delving into the past and interpreting with a contemporary eye is fraught with difficulty.
If aliens visited Earth in the past, could they make an appearance in the future? For ancient alien theorists, they believe by sharing their views with the world, they can help prepare future generations for the inevitable encounter that awaits them. All I know is that mankind should view the possibility of contemporary alien contact with some seriousness and give it due attention. After all, universal creation is somewhat huge, and infinitely mysterious. And who knows where humankind fits into the overall picture.
No doubt hypothesizing about the past is fascinating, but it is the future that interests me most of all. Much of the past lies buried, while the future can be investigated sensibly – if we wish to do so, of course.
References
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anunnaki
The Annunaki: Ancient Sumerian Gods and Their Legacy on Earth
https://www.simonandschuster.com.au/books/The-Anunnaki-Chronicles
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