Brian, you ask a great question! I have wondered about this myself. The real kicker for me is knowing about what the Japanese believe about their Emperor...they claim that the Original Emperor came down from Heaven long ago, and is therefore "otherworldly". How could such a rational race as the Japanese continue to trust this if it wasn't in some way absolutely true? Then there are those huge drawn creations down in Central America...which can only be seen from high in the sky! The list goes on and on.

"Erich Anton Paul von Däniken (born 14 April 1935 in Zofingen, Aargau) is a Swiss author best known for his controversial claims about extraterrestrial influences on early human culture, in books such as Chariots of the Gods, published in 1968. Däniken is one of the main figures responsible for popularizing the "paleo-contact" and ancient astronaut hypotheses.

Däniken is a co-founder of the Archaeology, Astronautics and SETI Research Association (AAS RA), and designed the theme park, Mystery Park in Interlaken, Switzerland, that first opened on 23 May 2003.His 26 books have been translated into more than 20 languages, selling more than 60 million copies worldwide, and his documentary TV shows have been viewed around the world.

His ideas are largely rejected by scientists and academics, who categorize his work as pseudohistory and pseudoarchaeology..."(quoted from Wikipedia)

Obviously, Brian, we are not alone in our questions about this! I think Daniken has a good point, and apparently, a whole bunch of folks around the world agree: We Had Visitors...and Maybe They Made Us What We Are Today!!!!

Great question.

Blessings, Jaianniah

The (positive) answer to this question is almost the exclusive lifework of Russian scholar Dr Immanuel Velikovsky. He wasn't so much into ancient aliens though, but rather into the aspect of why we treat ancient historic facts as myths and legends.

As a studied psychoanalyst, he explains that similar to individuals tending to repress traumata they have experienced, we collectively as a human race do the same with catastrophes that happened in our history. We cope with them by transfiguring them into myths and legends, a "cultural amnesia". An example would be the Great Flood.

Velikovsky was an advocate of Plasma Cosmology. In this model, it is explainable that large comets or meteors are indeed able to stir up the order of our solar system quite much.

That's how Velikovsky can go as far as claiming that the image of the mythic God Zeus/Jupiter throwing thunderbolts around literally came from our ancestors watching the actual planet Jupiter in a cataclysmic time, when that planet was in an out-of-control orbit close to Earth featuring intimidating flashes of electric discharge.

That sounds gross but apparently these theories enabled Velikovsky to make correct predictions about some of our planets' properties.

Or the question could ask, how can we prove it as a fact, since we do not have the capacity to know the whole truth as it stands, we can therefore draw our own conclusions, in respect to how we feel about this matter, facts or fiction, but in theory it remains a story to be told, and if necessary it can be determine one way or another.

Reality, if rightly interpreted, is grander than fiction.There is an objective reality out there, but we view it through the spectacles of our beliefs, attitudes, and values. What happens to the wide-eyed observer when the window between reality and unreality breaks and the glass begins to fly? Fiction reveals truths that reality obscures.

Experience and enjoy.

it is a question that each should research for themselves
and then determine if life waves from outside planet earth have quickened human evolution.
much information is availabe and easily accessed by/with computer technology