Ancient Astronaut theorists argue that encounters with extraterrestrial visitors didn't end in antiquity—they continued well into America's Wild West. The episode centers on four cases: an 1897 airship crash in Aurora, Texas, where locals reportedly buried a non-human pilot in the town cemetery; Utah petroglyphs depicting humanoid figures in what resembles protective suits; 19th-century rancher accounts of a strange creature at California's Elizabeth Lake; and cowboys in Tombstone, Arizona, who claimed to have fired at a massive metallic flying object. Proponents like those featured in the episode point to the Aurora incident as particularly compelling because it predates the Wright Brothers' first flight by six years, raising questions about what kind of aircraft could have existed in 1897. The episode asks whether these frontier reports represent genuine contact with beings from beyond Earth, preserved in an era before such stories became cultural clichés.
Mainstream historians and folklorists note that the 1890s saw a wave of "airship" sightings across America, typically explained as a mix of misidentified weather phenomena, hoaxes, and tall tales that spread through newspaper culture of the era—the Aurora story itself appeared in a local paper known for colorful reporting. Petroglyphs interpreted as "space-suited" figures are generally understood by archaeologists as ceremonial or shamanic imagery common across Indigenous rock art traditions. Yet the episode offers an intriguing look at how UFO mythology intersects with American frontier history, and how pre-aviation accounts challenge easy dismissal, inviting viewers to consider what 19th-century witnesses might actually have seen.
Aurora Cemetery
United States · American (19th century)
Ancient Astronaut theorists point to local claims that Aurora, Texas cemetery holds the body of an alien whose spacecraft crashed there in 1897. They suggest this incident represents documented extraterrestrial visitation to the American West.
Aurora, Texas UFO Crash Site
United States · Modern
In 1897, a UFO allegedly crashed near Aurora, Texas, with the body of an alien reportedly buried in the local cemetery. Ancient Astronaut theorists believe this represents documented evidence of extraterrestrial visitation in the American Old West.
Elizabeth Lake
United States · American (19th century)
Ancient Astronaut theorists cite 19th century rancher reports of an otherworldly creature emerging from Elizabeth Lake in southern California. They suggest this may represent an encounter with an extraterrestrial visitor.
Elizabeth Lake, California
United States · Modern
Nineteenth-century ranchers in southern California reported seeing an otherworldly creature emerge from Elizabeth Lake. Ancient Astronaut theorists consider this a potential close encounter with an extraterrestrial being.
Hill Cumorah
United States · Modern
Ancient astronaut theorists argue that the angel Moroni — who directed Joseph Smith to the golden plates buried at Hill Cumorah near Palmyra, New York — was in fact an extraterrestrial Star Being from the Pleiades, passing down advanced knowledge of the mound builders. Mainstream Mormon theology and historians treat the event as a religious vision and the hill as the site where Smith recovered sacred scripture that became the Book of Mormon.
O.K. Corral
United States · American (19th century)
Ancient Astronaut theorists reference claims that Tombstone, Arizona cowboys at the O.K. Corral shot at a giant metallic bird, suggesting possible extraterrestrial aircraft encountered during the Old West era.
Parowan Gap Petroglyphs
United States · Native American
Ancient astronaut theorists point to the petroglyphs at Parowan Gap in Utah as depictions of spacemen, spacecraft, and suited beings with antennae — evidence that Native Americans recorded contacts with extraterrestrial visitors thousands of years ago. Mainstream archaeologists interpret these rock carvings as the work of ancient indigenous peoples recording cosmological, ritual, or everyday imagery.
Tombstone, Arizona
United States · Modern
In Tombstone, home of Wyatt Earp and the O.K. Corral gunfight, cowboys reported shooting at a giant metallic bird. Ancient Astronaut theorists suggest this could represent an alien craft or probe in the Old West era.
Upper Missouri River / Great Falls area (1865 UFO crash site)
United States · American (19th century)
Ancient astronaut theorists cite an 1865 Missouri Democrat report of a fur trapper finding a hollow, cracked stone with interior chambers and hieroglyphic markings embedded in a mountainside along the upper Missouri River as one of the earliest documented UFO crash accounts in the American West, coinciding with Blackfoot legends of sky beings descending in aerial vehicles. Mainstream historians and skeptics attribute the account to frontier-era newspaper sensationalism or misidentification of a meteorite.
Ur / Ancient Mesopotamia
Iraq · Sumerian
Sumerian texts describe the Anunnaki — gods who came from the sky and created humanity through genetic engineering
Utah Petroglyph Sites
United States · Native American
Petroglyphs in Utah depict strange beings wearing what appear to be space suits. Ancient Astronaut theorists suggest these carvings represent encounters with extraterrestrial visitors.
Utah Petroglyphs
United States · Native American
Ancient Astronaut theorists claim petroglyphs in Utah depict strange beings wearing what appear to be space suits, suggesting Native Americans witnessed or recorded alien contact.