The subject of flying objects and supernatural beings is one of those that we find numerous references in mythology and archaeological evidence. All these myths and legends, along with rock paintings, have given rise to the "ancient astronauts" theme, which claims that extraterrestrial beings visited Earth and came into contact with humans in antiquity and prehistoric times, influencing the development of human cultures, technologies and religions.
Evidence for the existence of UFOs can be found in some of the earliest human records, including cave paintings in various countries that depict humanoid figures next to flying ships. One of them, dating back over 20,000 years, found at Palatki, near Sedona (Arizona), clearly shows a humanoid figure wearing some sort of helmet and an airplane-like ship above it.
Petroglyphs Palatki.
The earliest texts, including the Sumerian ones, which are more than 5,000 years old, also mention aircraft and their pilots. The Kebra Negast, written in the 13th century, mentions flying machines, as in the ancient Indian texts "Mahabharata" written between 540-300 BC. e., and "Vymaamika Shaastra" (the science of aerodynamics), written in the 4th century BC. e.
During the reign of the Egyptian Pharaoh Thutmose III, a report of bright objects in the sky was left over 3500 years ago. At first, one object was observed, but after a few days there were many of them. The event is depicted on papyrus and is known today.
Flying machines.
Some of the images are simply “inexplicable,” and many of the records that exist from our ancient past are certainly intriguing, like the prehistoric cave painting, which bears similarities to the images painted centuries later in the 16th century Summer's Triumph Tapestry.
Virgin cave painting.
Promotional video:
Tapestry * Summer's Triumph Tapesty *.
A fragment of a medieval painting depicts, apparently, a man in some kind of aircraft, looking back:
None of these ancient images, by themselves, can be considered convincing evidence of the existence of extraterrestrial life. But they at least point to the possibility that extraterrestrial beings - "ancient astronauts" did indeed visit Earth, and that just as people today regularly report sightings of unidentified objects in the sky, so perhaps our ancient ancestors encountered objects that they could neither identify nor explain.
UFOs in art: * Battesimo di Cristo * (1710); Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge.
