Episode Guide

Forbidden Caves

In July 2014, archaeologist J.R. Bhagat examined prehistoric cave paintings in Charama, India, dating back as far as 10,000 years, discovering imagery that *Ancient Aliens* theorists suggest may depict extraterrestrial beings—figures without discernible noses or mouths standing beside three-legged disc-shaped objects. The episode proposes that caves worldwide have served as sacred sites for human-alien contact, pointing to similar anomalous cave art from Australia's Wondjina paintings to petroglyphs in Algeria's Hoggar Mountains and the American Southwest. Ancient astronaut proponents argue these underground spaces functioned as "liminal points" where humans recorded encounters with otherworldly visitors, with the Charama paintings specifically echoing Hindu texts like the Mahabharata that describe flying machines and local legends of the "rohela"—sky beings who abducted villagers.

Mysteries of the Sphinx

This episode examines the Great Sphinx of Giza through the lens of geological anomalies and proportional inconsistencies that some researchers believe challenge the conventional timeline. Ancient astronaut theorists, citing water erosion patterns on the monument, argue the Sphinx could date to 10,000 years ago rather than the traditionally accepted 2500 BC construction under Pharaoh Khafra. The episode explores claims that the head appears disproportionately small for the body, suggesting it may have been re-carved from an original form, and presents theories about a possible second sphinx that has been hidden or destroyed. Proponents like Giorgio Tsoukalos propose the original statue may have depicted an extraterrestrial visitor from this earlier epoch.

Aliens Among Us

"Aliens Among Us" connects modern surveillance technology with ancient texts describing divine overseers, proposing that extraterrestrials have guided humanity's technological evolution from antiquity to the present. Giorgio Tsoukalos and David Childress point to the Book of Enoch's "Watchers"—divine entities who descended to monitor and aid human advancement—as well as cultural figures like the Incan god Viracocha, Maya deity Kukulkan, and Chinese ruler Huang Di, all credited with teaching astronomy, mathematics, writing, and agriculture. The episode argues that our current interconnectedness through computers, smartphones, and the Internet represents the fulfillment of an ancient extraterrestrial plan, with beings still observing us today just as the Watchers allegedly did millennia ago. The NSA surveillance revelations by Edward Snowden serve as a jumping-off point for questions about who—or what—might be watching humanity.

The Genius Factor

"The Genius Factor" explores whether history's greatest minds—from Dmitri Mendeleyev, who reported seeing the Periodic Table in a dream, to the Code of Hammurabi's claim of divine inspiration—were tapping into an extraterrestrial source of knowledge. Ancient Astronaut theorists like David Childress propose that "higher beings" have guided human intellectual leaps throughout history. The episode examines cases like Jason Padgett, a man from Tacoma, Washington, who gained the ability to hand-draw complex fractals after a traumatic brain injury in 2002, and other acquired savants whose sudden genius emerged from head trauma. Theorists suggest these cases demonstrate that genius isn't solely genetic, and that moments of inspiration—Einstein's relativity, Edison's inventions—might come from an external, possibly alien, intelligence that ancient cultures understood as being "possessed" by genius rather than possessing it.

Secrets of the Mummies

"Secrets of the Mummies" explores why cultures across every continent developed elaborate mummification practices, proposing that ancient peoples may have been imitating extraterrestrial technology they witnessed firsthand. Ancient astronaut theorists, examining everything from Egyptian sarcophagi to Japanese Buddhist self-mummification rituals, suggest these preservation techniques weren't merely spiritual customs but attempts to recreate a form of biological hibernation or suspended animation used by alien visitors for space travel. The episode points to the Inca practice of consulting mummified kings on matters of state and the Egyptian conviction that the dead would literally reawaken as evidence that preservation served a tangible, physical purpose—possibly preparing bodies for DNA extraction by returning extraterrestrials or enabling reunion with the "gods" who founded these civilizations.

Alien Resurrections

This episode explores whether ancient resurrection accounts and modern near-death experiences might point to extraterrestrial intervention in human mortality. The central case is Pam Reynolds, who underwent a revolutionary 1991 surgery in Phoenix where doctors drained her blood, stopped her heart, and flatlined her brain activity for nearly an hour—yet she reported vivid memories of an afterlife encounter with deceased relatives. Ancient astronaut theorists including David Childress suggest that advanced alien technology could explain biblical resurrections like those of Jesus and Elijah, Haitian zombie traditions described by folklorist Tok Thompson, and Egyptian mummification practices that William Henry characterizes as "soul technology." Oxford physicist Roger Penrose and University of Arizona's Stuart Hameroff propose that quantum particles in brain microtubules might constitute consciousness that persists after death, potentially offering a scientific framework for resurrection claims.

Alien Messages

This episode investigates whether ancient monuments and religious texts contain encrypted messages left by extraterrestrial visitors to guide or test humanity. Central to the argument is the Great Sphinx of Giza, fully excavated by French engineer Emile Baraize between 1925 and 1936, which ancient astronaut theorists propose may be far older than conventionally dated and may conceal hidden chambers containing knowledge about human origins. The Dream Stele—a tablet placed between the Sphinx's paws by Pharaoh Thutmose IV around 1400 BC—describes the Sphinx communicating with the future king and references a "flashing eye of the Lord," which proponents like those featured interpret as possible extraterrestrial technology rather than mythological imagery. The episode suggests these cryptic communications across civilizations might encode geometric, numerological, or geological puzzles designed by alien ancestors, with humanity's ability to decode them potentially serving as a test of our evolutionary readiness.

The Great Flood

This episode explores whether the flood myths found in roughly 1,200 cultures worldwide—from the biblical Noah to the Sumerian Gilgamesh, Hindu teachings, and Plato's Atlantis—point to a real cataclysmic event, possibly caused or survived with extraterrestrial intervention. Ancient astronaut theorists, including Kathleen McGowan Coppens, argue that the sheer number and geographic spread of these stories suggests a planetary-scale disaster rather than isolated regional floods. The Holocene Impact Working Group claims physical evidence exists in the form of an 18-mile-wide crater on the Indian Ocean floor, roughly 900 miles southeast of Madagascar, where they propose an asteroid struck thousands of years ago, triggering massive tsunamis that would have seemed like divine punishment to ancient populations. The episode also references a worldwide ash layer and even alleged remnants of Noah's gravesite as supporting evidence.

Aliens and the Civil War

This episode explores whether extraterrestrial beings may have influenced the outcome of the American Civil War, drawing on accounts of prophetic visions and mysterious battlefield encounters. Ancient astronaut theorists point to Joseph Smith's 1832 prophecy—allegedly delivered by the luminous figure Moroni, whom some researchers identify as an extraterrestrial from the Pleiades—which predicted war would begin with South Carolina's rebellion nearly three decades before Fort Sumter. The episode also examines George Washington's reported 1777 encounter with a "luminous being" at Valley Forge who supposedly foresaw future American conflicts, Union officer Ambrose Bierce's writings about disappearances and interdimensional travel, and reports that hundreds of soldiers witnessed a ghostly image of Washington at Gettysburg, prompting an official investigation. Theorists argue these incidents suggest extraterrestrial observers—or active participants—working to preserve American democracy during its greatest crisis.

Hidden Pyramids

"Hidden Pyramids" argues that 21st-century technology is revealing a global network of pyramids that may point to extraterrestrial influence on ancient civilizations. The episode highlights infrared satellite imagery detecting buried pyramids in Egypt, airborne laser sensors uncovering structures beneath Central American jungles, and newly surveyed sites like Indonesia's Gunung Padang, which some theorists claim could be a step pyramid built 20,000 years ago by a lost civilization. Ancient astronaut proponents, including the show's regular contributors, suggest that recently excavated pyramids in Peru—potentially predating Egypt's monuments—indicate that pyramid construction wasn't an independent cultural development but evidence of a shared extraterrestrial blueprint given to Earth's earliest inhabitants.

The Vanishings

"The Vanishings" explores the ancient astronaut theory that mass disappearances throughout history—from the Anjikuni Inuit village in Canada's Nunavut Territory to the Classic Maya and Anasazi civilizations—may be linked to extraterrestrial intervention. Ancient astronaut theorists including Linda Moulton Howe and David Childress point to the 1930 case of an empty Anjikuni village, where fur trapper Joe Labelle reportedly found food still cooking, graves opened and emptied, and no sign of the estimated 25 inhabitants, while witnesses including Royal Canadian Mounted Police claimed to see strange blue lights in the sky. The episode argues that such vanishings, including the abandonment of entire cities discovered at sites like Guanghan, China in 1986, share unexplained elements that conventional archaeology cannot fully account for, suggesting these populations may have been "taken off planet" as part of an otherworldly harvest or experiment.

The Alien Agenda

This episode argues that extraterrestrials have actively manipulated human progress throughout history, intervening at crucial moments to either advance or restrain our development. Ancient Astronaut theorists point to the biblical Tower of Babel in Mesopotamia—described as a 300-foot structure meant to bridge heaven and Earth—as an early example of alien interference, with God's confounding of languages reinterpreted as extraterrestrial sabotage of unified human achievement. The episode features testimony from the 2013 Citizen Hearing on Disclosure in Washington, D.C., where former Canadian Defense Minister Paul Hellyer told Congress members that "UFOs are as real as the airplanes flying overhead" and that some alien civilizations withhold technology from humanity out of concern we'll misuse it. Retired military officials including Air Force Captain Robert Salas claim UFOs have demonstrated detailed knowledge of our nuclear arsenals and the ability to shut down missile systems at will, suggesting ongoing extraterrestrial monitoring of our most dangerous technologies.