I've never seen anything convincing.  Some ancient stuff is strange, no doubt, but you have to try pretty hard to make aliens the most likely explanation.

Whoa brian, that's a little deep even for me lol.

I'm not completely on the bandwagon with the ancient alien theory here. I'm no conspiracy theorist. And I definitely don't buy into the whole "aliens planting the seeds of life" bit. But I also can't say that its impossible that aliens have visited earth in the past.

There's a few things that make me question whether it happened or not. The pyramid building theory is one of the big ones but I'm not talking about the fact that they were an engineering feat to accomplish. I'm talking about how before anyone from egypt or the eastern hemisphere ever knew of the new world, the aztecs and the mayans were building pyramids at roughly the same time (I may be wrong on exact time frames. If anyone knows the exact time periods, please correct me). Its amazing to me how different cultures had no ability to communicate between each other, yet they were building very similar structures.

The nazca lines are something else. Now a lot of people will say that they were made in honor of their gods and I can't say that they're wrong. But some of the lines do resemble modern day run ways and the human figure on the mountain side. Just because they resemble modern run ways doesn't mean that I believe that's what they are. I'm just saying.

There have been a lot of events that ancient people documented describing them the best they could, but when analyzed by modern historians, they can replace what is being described with modern machinery and it fit perfectly.

Don't think me some weird alien fanatic or conspiracy theorist with this. But it does kinda make sense to me.

The only reason I say it is likely that some sort of life exists in the universe is likely is the same way I would say that there is more than one sperm in a male load. That does not mean all the sperm will get an egg pregnant. Or that the sperm have the ability to communicate with each other.

It is only because we know that the atoms that make up our earth and our life are not pre packaged and exist elsewhere, just like we can observe a star(sun) then biological life existing elsewhere, even if we never find it, is a statistical likely hood even if we never find it.

What I object to in life, beyond the issue of "aliens" or religion or anything for that matter, is when someone states a claim and by proxy of naked assertion they are right by default.

I have no doubt, that since we have found water even on other planets in our own solar system, it would not shock me if some bacteria or single sell organism existed within our solar system.

What I DO object to is this idea that the universe is a highway that "they" or us can travel to the same way you and I can travel to flying from Japan to New York.

I get a lip twitch when sci fi fans suggest that the transporter from star trec is a possibility.

Out of all the series the original was the worst. I liked the Next Generation and Voyager equally. Sorry for my typo.

I don't know, you have to love in the Original series how they all flew around the bridge in a big battle because no one had thought to install seat belts. Of course, I watched it when I was 7 and easily amused. 

  Their is a very simple explanation for this.  Pyramids are the easiest and strongest way to build up (cones aswell perhaps).  Ancient man didn't have the technology to build that high without making the base huge and the structure smaller as it gets taller, leaving you with basic pyramid shapes.  It was simple logical engineering, start big, get smaller, the base will hold the weight.   Now, with our advanced steel structural engeneering we can really build any skyskcraper design we dream up.  In those days they didn't have many choices and so design was limited, if you wanted to build high, that was the way to go.   Their are many differences in the design of the structures throughout the various civilizations who built pyramids, just as much as you would expect there would be in seperate civilizations designing around there limitations (large base-smaller to top)  Ledges, windows, bridges, stairs etc... All are unique. 

  What is a runway exactly?  A stripe?  Are you saying this and that particular patch in the ground resembles a stripe?  Figure in the mountain head, yes.  Also animals, a cow and frog I believe (not sure).  I have seen the nasca lines, looks like large scale artwork to me.  Are they runways and pictures of aliens (or whatever)?  Maybe.  Or it is more likely it was just people doing what people do?  People get together, build things, draw things, paint on rocks, believe in spooks and build/draw/paint things in their honor.  It is what people did and still do.  Which is more likely:

(1)-Advanced aliens who can either (a)-break the laws of physics and travel hundreds and thousands of times the speed of light, or (b) live millions of years, spent those years flying through space to get to earth to teach primates how to build primitive structures and worship them.  Or

(2)-People doing what people do.   

  I believe their is a good chance life exists elsewhere.  Probably in very basic forms.  Inteligent life may exist, perhaps even life more advanced than ourselves.  However if it does (as brian so colorfully pointed out) it would most likely be to far to ever reach us.  Unless of course the life span of the alien is incredibly long, long enough that it wouldn't really make sense, or the aliens travelled impossible speeds.  Sadly it seems impossible that we could travell anywhere significant into space, 80 years just ain't enough, it is nothing.  We would have to live thousands of years travelling at impossible speeds to get anywhere.  

  Just to play the alien game: If it is true, a being can live this long, or travel impossibly fast, do you really think it would look like anything we portray as aliens (bodies, legs, a head), or care about a species as primitive as us.  Do you think an entity like that would come to earth to tell monkeys how to build something 6 year old kids figure out how to do with lego (big base, smaller as you go up, stagger joints, make strong).  I would love there to be alien visitation, bring it on, it would be the most exciting thing to witness.  Sadly it seems improbable if not impossible, and if it is possible and they did/do visit, it is very likely they would see us as gerbils and pass on by, or just take our planet for its resourses *snap* just like that.  It is unlikely they would feel any emotional connection to us in any way.     

that there are some amazing builds from Ancient times - the Mayans, Egyptians and Angkor Wat spring to mind. But I can't help thinking that these projects represent the complete outpouring of a nation's efforts. They were the entire infrastructure effort of the people. The Egyptians were pretty amazing with their stone cutting and whatnot. Gaia knows how they did it. But they certainly did do it. I can't rule out life on other planets but they'd be constrained by distance in the same way we are, you'd think?

The guys who built Angkor Wat, which I have personally visited, (as well as the Pyramids in Egypt), didn't even use the arch, that had first appeared in Mesopotamia 3000 years earlier.

Sort of argues against any world-wide ancient knowledge...

I am not aiming this particular post at any of the above, but would like to point something out. All too often times, it seems that the people that wish for something extraordinary do not give any credit or wish to give any credit to humanity and the human race at all.

In other words, the logic is often 

This is awesome = Man could never have accomplished this on his own.

I wonder why ? Is it really so hard to believe that an ancient society of people could have constructed such wonders without the aid of anything other than their own genius ?

Isn't it really possible to imagine that wonder can exist because of the fact that humanity, when put to the test, can go far above the limits of anything that it could ever dream of ?

Alot of the people that I encounter that wish for the extraordinary seem to think that my being an Atheist equals that I have no sense of mystery and wonder. How do they figure that ? There is wonder and mystery in the microscopes, the telescopes, the progress of medicine, the genius of architecture, the emotion of arts and music etc. etc.

The human race has alot of destructive tendencies, but it also has some of the most amazing capabilities.

Theists often call me cynical, despairing and without a meaningful life because of my views. But I never get an answer to this question : Which is more positive ?  To give humanity great credit for the potentials that it can over exceed ? Or to believe that humanity is just somehow plain bad, evil and destructive without something way more advanced and powerful guiding it ?

A bit off topic with the ancient aliens theory, but just something I have noticed.

We also tend to overlook that the Egyptians began with a basic ziggurat design that was created in Mesopotamia some 1.5 thousand years earlier (which in turn are predated by the raised platform altars of the Ubaid period, again demonstrating a steady progression of engineering ability) and expanded upon it’s humble step pyramid origin in the production of different experimental pyramid designs in what would eventually evolve architecturally to what we call the Great Pyramid. The Bent pyramid is a perfect example of how pyramid construction was a learning process, not the result of technology suddenly dropped in our laps. 

I share harleysportster’s sentiments. Give our ancestors credit for their achievements. They lacked our cumulative knowledge, but they were by no means incapable of remarkable feats of engineering.
 

And time dilates with speed. Now, either the fundamental medium that maintains momentum in all things made of matter -time, basically-  is not dimension-like at all (a particle, or some such); OR time is just like it's close sibling, space.

The latter is much more probable than the former. If time is dimension-like, and time can be warped (or "dilated&quot in the right circumstances, than so can space be warped.

 "Ancient Aliens"...

 I cannot bare to watch the tv's version of "Ancient Aliens" (on H.I.) even if I am honestly forced to.

  Adherents are almost dumb (in general). Believers completely distort the archeology (or have no knowledge of it).  From dead religions, They cherry pick only the religions' notions /ideas able to be tortured into their major re~interpretation. Ignoring more likely origins and the weight of the bulk of the materials they cite from. >Consistently, They seem to hugely insult the abilities of ancient man.   HMMMM   That's off the top of my head.

This I clearly say:  Irrevocable-damage  was done  to the History Channel for ever airing it.

   Yeah, The History Channel, Nat Geo, even The Discovery Channel have all dumbed their content waaaay down.   I refer to that effect as the Jerry Springer Syndrome,   increase ratings by appealing to the lowest common denominators in society.  Perhaps next these television producers could create the Bingo Channel so that all those morbidly obese shut-ins could still follow the excitement from home....

Robotech?..love it..Oh wait thread jack...

Im of the opinion, that for us to truly explore off our planet, we are going to need the cooperation of the human race as a whole.  With  a world infested with narrow minded religions, this will be be impossible until they are gone. So I'm with you on the out of the way thing.  May not be anywhere near my life time, but I hope our future generations get their heads out of their collective asses.