What does Eric von Daniken say about ancient aliens' lifespans in his 1977 book entitled "According to the Evidence"?
In his 1977 book "According to the Evidence," Erich von Däniken does **not** explicitly state the specific lifespans of ancient aliens. However, he makes several arguments suggesting that these beings possessed significantly extended lifespans compared to humans. He implies that they achieved this through advanced technology and possibly genetic manipulation, leading to near-immortality or very long lives.
Von Däniken's arguments and implications about ancient aliens' lifespans throughout the book are:
* **Their prolonged influence:** He argues that ancient astronauts visited Earth and influenced human civilization for extended periods. This suggests they possessed long lives to oversee and guide humanity's development over centuries or millennia.
* **Their perception as gods:** He interprets many ancient myths and legends about gods as descriptions of ancient aliens. Gods, in many cultures, are portrayed as immortal or having extremely long lifespans.
* **Their superior technology:** Von Däniken suggests that their advanced technology allowed them to overcome the limitations of human biology, potentially extending their lifespans or achieving a form of immortality.
While he doesn't give specific numbers, the overall tone of the book implies that these beings lived for extremely long durations, long enough to be perceived as immortal by early humans. This extended lifespan is, according to his interpretations, a key factor in their ability to influence and shape human history and culture.
What exactly does Von Daniken say about lifespans of Sumerian Kings in his 1977 book "According to the Evidence"? How did ancient aliens measure time?
In Erich von Däniken's 1977 book, "According to the Evidence," he discusses the incredibly long lifespans attributed to the Sumerian kings in the Sumerian King List as evidence of extraterrestrial influence or intervention. Here's a breakdown of what he says and his interpretation:
**Von Däniken's Claims about Sumerian King Lifespans:**
* **Impossible Lifespans:** He points out that the Sumerian King List attributes reigns of tens of thousands of years to the earliest kings. He argues that such lifespans are biologically impossible for humans and cannot be explained by any known scientific or historical understanding.
* **Evidence of Extraterrestrial Interference:** He suggests that these impossibly long reigns could be the result of advanced alien technology, perhaps genetic manipulation, or even the actual presence of extraterrestrials acting as rulers. He posits that these long-lived individuals might have been either:
* Aliens themselves who lived much longer.
* Humans whose lifespans were artificially extended by alien technology.
* **Decline in Lifespans:** He often highlights that as the King List progresses towards more recent times, the reigns become shorter and more believable. He interprets this as a gradual decline in the influence or involvement of the extraterrestrials. As the connection between humans and aliens weakens, the lifespans returned to normal human lengths.
**Von Däniken's Speculation on Ancient Alien Time Measurement:**
Von Däniken does not directly address how the Aliens measured time, however, in his earlier books he has made claims about the sexagesimal system used by the Sumerians.
* **Sexagesimal System:** He speculates that the sexagesimal system (base-60) used by the Sumerians, which is different from our decimal system (base-10), might have been a legacy from their extraterrestrial teachers. He speculates that the Sumerian's system for measuring time may have been influenced by extraterrestrials with a different system or perspective on the concept of time.
**Important Considerations and Criticisms:**
It's crucial to understand that Von Däniken's interpretations are highly controversial and widely rejected by mainstream scholars, historians, and archaeologists for the following reasons:
* **Literal Interpretation of Mythology:** He tends to take ancient myths and legends literally, ignoring the possibility of symbolic, metaphorical, or allegorical meanings. The Sumerian King List is not a scientific document, but a complex text with political, religious, and literary dimensions.
* **Lack of Evidence:** He often presents speculation as fact and relies on circumstantial evidence to support his claims. There is no concrete archaeological or scientific evidence to support the existence of extraterrestrial intervention in ancient Sumerian civilization.
* **Misinterpretations and Selective Use of Data:** Critics accuse him of misinterpreting ancient texts and artifacts and of selectively choosing data to fit his preconceived theories while ignoring contradictory evidence.
* **Occam's Razor:** The simplest explanation is usually the best. Mainstream scholars propose that the long reigns in the Sumerian King List are likely due to a combination of mythological, symbolic, and political factors, rather than alien intervention.
In summary, Von Däniken uses the long lifespans of Sumerian kings as "evidence" of extraterrestrial involvement, suggesting that aliens either ruled directly or influenced human lifespans with advanced technology. He also speculates that alien time measurement may be linked to the Sumerian sexagesimal system. However, his theories are largely dismissed by mainstream scholars due to a lack of evidence, misinterpretations, and a tendency to take mythology literally.
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