Erich von Däniken

Erich von Däniken

Erich von Däniken in 2006
Born Erich Anton Paul von Däniken
(1935-04-14) 14 April 1935
Zofingen, Aargau, Switzerland
Occupation Author

Erich Anton Paul von Däniken (/ˈɛrᵻk fɒn ˈdɛnᵻkᵻn/; German: [ˈeːrɪç fɔn ˈdɛːnɪkən]; born 14 April 1935) is a Swiss author of several books which make claims about extraterrestrial influences on early human culture, including the best-selling Chariots of the Gods?, published in 1968. Däniken is one of the main figures responsible for popularizing the "paleo-contact" and ancient astronauts hypotheses. The ideas put forth in his books are rejected by a majority of scientists and academics, who categorize his work as pseudohistory, pseudoarchaeology, and pseudoscience.[1][2][3]

Däniken later became a co-founder of the Archaeology, Astronautics and SETI Research Association (AAS RA). He designed Mystery Park (now known as Jungfrau Park), a theme park located in Interlaken, Switzerland, that opened in May 2003.[4]

Early life

Däniken was born in Zofingen, Aargau. Brought up as a Roman Catholic, he attended the Saint-Michel International Catholic School in Fribourg, Switzerland. During his time at the school he rejected the church's interpretations of the Bible and developed an interest in astronomy and the phenomenon of flying saucers.[5] At the age of 19, he was given a four-month suspended sentence for theft.[5] He left the school and was apprenticed to a Swiss hotelier for a time,[6] before moving to Egypt. In December 1964, Däniken wrote Hatten unsere Vorfahren Besuch aus dem Weltraum? ("Did our Ancestors have a Visit from Space?") for the German-Canadian periodical Der Nordwesten.[7] While in Egypt, he was involved in a jewelry deal which resulted in a nine-month conviction for fraud and embezzlement upon his return to Switzerland.[5]

Following his release, Däniken became manager of the Hotel Rosenhügel in Davos, Switzerland, during which time he wrote Chariots of the Gods? (German Erinnerungen an die Zukunft, which literally translated is "Memories of the Future"), working on the manuscript late at night after the hotel's guests had retired.[8] The draft of the book was turned down by several publishers. Econ Verlag (now part of Ullstein Verlag) was willing to publish the book after a complete reworking by a professional author, Utz Utermann, who used the pseudonym of Wilhelm Roggersdorf. Utermann was a former Schriftleiter of Völkischer Beobachter and had been a Nazi bestselling author.[9] The re-write of Chariots of the Gods? was accepted for publication early in 1967, but not printed until March 1968.[8] Against all expectations, the book gained widespread interest and became a bestseller. Däniken was paid 7 percent of the book's turnover, while 3 percent went to Utermann.[10] In 1970, Der Spiegel stated a hype about Däniken and called it Dänikitis, a pun on Meningitis and other infections.[11]

In November 1968 Däniken was arrested for fraud, after falsifying hotel records and credit references in order to take out loans[8] for $130,000 over a period of twelve years. He used the money for foreign travel to research his book.[5] Two years later,[8] Däniken was convicted for "repeated and sustained" embezzlement, fraud, and forgery, with the court ruling that the writer had been living a "playboy" lifestyle.[12] He unsuccessfully entered a plea of nullity, on the grounds that his intentions were not malicious and that the credit institutions were at fault for failing adequately to research his references,[5][8][12] and on 13 February 1970 he was sentenced to three and a half years imprisonment and was also fined 3,000 francs.[8][13] He served one year of this sentence before being released.[5][14]

His first book, Chariots of the Gods?, had been published by the time of his trial, and its sales allowed him to repay his debts and leave the hotel business. Däniken wrote his second book, Gods from Outer Space, while in prison.[5][12]

Claims of alien influence on Earth

The general claim of Däniken over several published books, starting with Chariots of the Gods? in 1968, is that extraterrestrials or "ancient astronauts" visited Earth and influenced early human culture. Däniken writes about his belief that structures such as the Egyptian pyramids, Stonehenge, and the Moai of Easter Island and artifacts from that period represent higher technological knowledge than is presumed to have existed at the times they were manufactured. He also describes ancient artwork throughout the world as containing depictions of astronauts, air and space vehicles, extraterrestrials, and complex technology. Däniken explains the origins of religions as reactions to contact with an alien race, and offers interpretations of sections of the Old Testament of the Bible (See also Ark of the Covenant and The Spaceships of Ezekiel).

Criticism

In 1966, when Däniken was writing his first book, scientists Carl Sagan and I. S. Shklovskii wrote about the possibility of paleocontact and extraterrestrial visitation claims in one chapter of their book Intelligent Life in the Universe, leading author Ronald Story to speculate in his book The Space-gods Revealed that this may have been the genesis of Däniken's ideas.[15] Many ideas from this book appeared in different form in Däniken's books.

Prior to Däniken's work, other authors had presented ideas of extraterrestrial contacts. He has failed to credit these authors properly or at all, even when making the same claims using similar or identical evidence.[16] The first edition of Däniken's Erinnerungen an die Zukunft failed to cite Robert Charroux's One Hundred Thousand Years of Man's Unknown History despite making very similar claims, and publisher Econ-Verlag were forced to add Charroux in the bibliography in later editions, to avoid a possible lawsuit for plagiarism.[17]

Logical and factual errors

That writing as careless as von Däniken's, whose principal thesis is that our ancestors were dummies, should be so popular is a sober commentary on the credulousness and despair of our times. I also hope for the continuing popularity of books like Chariots of the Gods? in high school and college logic courses, as object lessons in sloppy thinking. I know of no recent books so riddled with logical and factual errors as the works of von Däniken.[18]
— Carl Sagan, Foreword to The Space Gods Revealed
The iron pillar of Delhi, erected by Chandragupta II the Great

In Chariots of the Gods?, Däniken cited the Iron pillar of Delhi, in India, as a prime example of extraterrestrial influence due to its "unknown origins" and a complete absence of rust despite its estimated 1500 years of continuous exposure to the elements.[19] When informed by an interviewer, in 1974, that the pillar was not in fact rust-free, and that its origin, method of construction, and relative resistance to corrosion were all well understood, Däniken responded that he no longer believed extraterrestrials had been involved in its creation.[20][21]

In The Gold of the Gods, Däniken described an expedition through man-made tunnels within Cueva de los Tayos, a natural cave system in Ecuador, led by a local man named Juan Moricz. He reported seeing mounds of gold, strange statues, and a library containing metal tablets, all of which he considered to be evidence of ancient extraterrestrial visitation. A local priest, Father Crespi, stewarded a collection of the gold extraterrestrial relics, he said, with special permission from the Vatican. Moricz told Der Spiegel that there had been no expedition; Däniken's descriptions came from "a long conversation", and the photos in the book had been "fiddled".[22] During the 1974 interview, Däniken explained that although he had indeed seen the library and the artifacts in the tunnels, he had embellished some aspects of the story to make it more interesting. "In German we say a writer, if he is not writing pure science, is allowed to use some dramaturgisch Effekte — some theatrical effects," he said. "And that's what I have done."[12][23][24] Four years later, he admitted that he had never been inside Cueva de los Tayos, and had fabricated the entire cave adventure.[24] A geologist found no evidence of artificial tunnels in the area.[22] Father Crespi's gold artifacts, according to an archeologist consulted by Der Spiegel, were mostly brass imitations sold locally as tourist souvenirs.[22]

Dr. Samuel Rosenberg said that the Book of Dzyan, referred to by Däniken,[25] was "a fabrication superimposed on a gigantic hoax concocted by Madame Blavatsky." He also says that the "Tulli Papyrus", cited by Däniken in one of his books,[25] is probably cribbed from the Book of Ezekiel, and quoted Dr. Nolli (through Dr. Walter Ramberg, Scientific Attache at the U.S. embassy in Rome), then current Director of the Egyptian Section of the Vatican Museum, as "suspect[ing] that Tulli was taken in and that the papyrus is a fake."[26] According to NYT's Richard R. Lingerman, it is likely that Däniken obtained these references from UFO books that mentioned them as real documents.[25]

Däniken brought the Nazca Lines to public prominence in Chariots of the Gods?[27] with his proposal that the lines were built on instructions from extraterrestrial beings as airfields for their spaceships.[28] In his 1998 book Arrival of The Gods, he added that some of the pictures depicted extraterrestrials.[28] The idea did not originate with Däniken; it began after people who first saw the lines from the air made joking comparisons to Martian "canals",[27] and had already been published by others.[29] Descriptions of some Nazca line photos in Chariots of the Gods? contain significant inaccuracies. One, for example, purporting to demonstrate markings of a modern airport, was actually the knee joint of one of the bird figures, and was quite small in size. Däniken said that this was an "error" in the first edition, but it has not been corrected in later editions.[27][30]

Consensus among archeologists is that the Nazca lines were created by pre-Columbian civilizations for cultural purposes, and they have not made any efforts to refute fringe theories such as Däniken's.[28] Silverman and Proulx have said that this silence from archaeologists has harmed the profession, as well as the Peruvian nation.[28] Däniken's books attracted so many tourists to the Nazca region that researcher Maria Reiche had to spend much of her own time and money preserving the lines.[31]

Däniken wrote in Chariots of the Gods? that a version of the Piri Reis map depicted some Antarctic mountains that were and still are buried in ice, and could only be mapped with modern equipment. His theory relies on the book of Maps of the Ancient Sea Kings by Charles Hapgood. A. D. Crown, in Some Trust in Chariots, explains how this is simply wrong. The map in Däniken's book only extends five degrees south of the equator, ending in Cape São Roque, which means that it doesn't extend to Antarctica. Däniken also said that the map showed some distortions that would only happen if it was an aerial view taken from a spaceship flying above El Cairo, but in fact it doesn't extend far enough to the South to cause visible distortions in an aerial view. Däniken also asserts the existence of a legend saying that a god gave the map to a priest, the god being an extraterrestrial being. But Piri Reis said that he had drawn that map himself using older maps, and the map is consistent with the cartographic knowledge of that time.[32] Also, the map is not "absolutely accurate" as claimed by Däniken, since it contains many errors and omissions;[33] a fact that Däniken did not correct when he covered the map again in his 1998 book Odyssey of the Gods.[34] Other authors had already published this same idea, a fact that Däniken did not recognize until 1974 in an interview with Playboy magazine.[35]

The Nova documentary The Case of the Ancient Astronauts shows that all the claims made by von Däniken about the Pyramid of Cheops were wrong in all accounts. The technique of construction is well understood, scholars know perfectly what tools were used, the marks of those tools in the quarries are still visible, and many tools are preserved in museums. Däniken claims that it would have taken them too long to cut all the blocks necessary and drag them to the construction site in time to build the Great Pyramid in only 20 years, but Nova shows how easy and fast it is to cut a block of stone, and shows the rollers used in transportation. He also claims that Egyptians suddenly started making pyramids out of nowhere, but there are several pyramids that show the progress made by Egyptian architects while they were perfecting the technique from simple mastabas to later pyramids. Däniken claims that the height of the pyramid multiplied by one million was the distance to the Sun, but the number falls too short. If it were true, it would make the pyramid 93 miles high... He also claims that Egyptians could not align the edges so perfectly to true North without advanced technology that only aliens could give them, but Egyptians knew of very simple methods to find North via star observation, and it is trivial to make straight edges.[36]

Däniken claimed that the Sarcophagus of Palenque depicted a spaceman sitting on a rocket-powered spaceship, wearing a spacesuit. However, archaeologists see nothing special about the figure, a dead Mayan monarch wearing traditional Mayan hairdo and jewellery, surrounded by Mayan symbols that can be observed in other Mayan drawings. The right hand is not handling any rocket controls, but simply making a traditional Mayan gesture, that other figures in the sides of the lid also make, and is not holding anything. The rocket shape is actually two serpents joining their heads at the bottom, with the rocket "flames" being the beards of the serpents. The rocket motor under the figure is the face of a monster, symbol of the underworld.[37]

Däniken put forward photographs of ancient stones in Peru, with carvings of men using telescopes, detailed world maps, and advanced medical operations, all beyond the knowledge of ancient Peruvians. But the PBS television series Nova determined that the stones were modern, and located the potter who made them. This potter makes stones daily and sells them to tourists. Däniken had visited the potter and examined the stones himself, but he didn't mention this in his book. He says that he didn't believe the potter when he said that he had made the stones. Däniken says that he asked Doctor Cabrera, a local surgeon who owns the museum, and Cabrera had told him that the potter's claims were a lie and that the stones were ancient. But the potter had proof that Cabrera had thanked him for providing the stones for the museum. Däniken claimed that the stones at the museum were very different from those made by the potter, but the Nova reporters oversaw the manufacturing of one stone and confirmed that it was very similar to those in the museum.[38]

Kenneth Feder accused Däniken of European ethnocentrism,[39] while John Flenley and Paul Bahn suggested that views such as his interpretation of the Easter Island statues "ignore the real achievements of our ancestors and constitute the ultimate in racism: they belittle the abilities and ingenuity of the human species as a whole."[40]

Ronald Story published The Space Gods Revealed: A Close Look At The Theories of Erich Von Däniken in 1976, written in response to the evidence presented in Däniken's Chariots of the Gods?. It was reviewed as "a coherent and much-needed refutation of Von Däniken's theories".[41] Archeologist Clifford Wilson wrote two books similarly debunking Daniken: Crash Go the Chariots in 1972 and The Chariots Still Crash in 1975.

A 2004 article in Skeptic Magazine states that Däniken took many of the book's concepts from The Morning of the Magicians, that this book in turn was heavily influenced by the Cthulhu Mythos, and that the core of the ancient astronaut theory originates in H. P. Lovecraft's short stories "The Call of Cthulhu" written in 1926, and "At the Mountains of Madness" written in 1931.[42]

Speaking in a 2001 documentary, Däniken said that although he could not conclusively prove to the scientific community that any of the items in his archive were of alien origin, he felt that "today's science" would not accept such evidence, as "the time is simply not right". He argued that it was first necessary to "prepare" mankind for a "wonderful new world". It is also mentioned that he jumped from Hotel Manager to "expert on the ancient world."[43]

Popularity

According to Däniken, subsequent books in his series have been translated into 32 languages and together have sold more than 63 million copies.[44]

Jungfrau Park located near Interlaken, Switzerland, was opened as the Mystery Park in 2003. Designed by Däniken, it explored several great "mysteries" of the world.[45]

Ridley Scott said that his film Prometheus is related to some of Däniken's ideas regarding early human civilization.[46]

Reviewing the two-disc DVD release of Roland Emmerich's film Stargate, Dean Devlin referred to the "Is There a Stargate?" feature where "author Erich von Däniken discusses evidence he has found of alien visitations to Earth."[47]

Däniken is an occasional presenter on the History Channel and H2 show Ancient Aliens, where he talks about aspects of his theories as they pertain to each episode.

Däniken is a member of the Swiss Writers Association, the German Writers Association and the International PEN Club. He was awarded with an honorary doctorate by the La Universidad Boliviana. He received the Huesped Illustre award from the cities of Ica and Nazca in Peru. In Brazil he received the Lourenco Filho award in Gold and Platinum, and in Germany he was awarded with the Order of Cordon Bleu du Saint Esprit (together with the German astronaut Ulf Merbold). In 2004, he was awarded the Explorers Festival prize.

Books

German language

Films

See also

Further reading

References

  1. ↑ Fagan, Brian M. (2000). In the beginning: an introduction to archaeology (10th ed.). Prentice-Hall. pp. 17–18. ISBN 978-0-13-030731-6. … Flamboyant pseudoarchaeology of the type espoused by von Däniken and Hancock will always appeal to people who are impatient …
  2. ↑ Orser, Charles E. (2003). Race and practice in archaeological interpretation. University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 73. ISBN 978-0-8122-3750-4.
  3. ↑ Fritze, Ronald H. (2009). Invented Knowledge: False History, Fake Science and Pseudo-religions. Reaktion Books. pp. 13, 200, 201. ISBN 978-1-86189-430-4.
  4. ↑ "Mystery Park, Interlaken". Switzerland Flexitours. 8 April 2010. Retrieved 18 April 2010.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Playboy, August 1974 (volume 21, number 8)
  6. ↑ Story(1976), p1
  7. ↑ Peter Krassa, Disciple of the Gods: A Biography of Erich von Däniken (W. H. Allen & Co., Ltd, 1976, ISBN 0-352-30262-3), p. 74
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Story, Ronald (1976). The space-gods revealed: a close look at the theories of Erich von Däniken. New York: Harper & Row. ISBN 0-06-014141-7.
  9. ↑ "Wilhelm Utermann" (in German), Eintrag im Lexikon westfälischer Autorinnen und Autoren.
  10. ↑ Der Spiegel, 5202660, Wie es unser Explorand sehr schön zeigt, by Gerhard Mauz, 1970, Nr.7, 1970-02-09, page 98
  11. ↑ Der Spiegel 44418148 Gläubige Gemeinde, 1970, Nr. 40, 1970-09-28, page 214
  12. 1 2 3 4 Lingeman, Richard R. (31 March 1974). "Erich von Daniken's Genesis". The New York Times. p. 6.
  13. ↑ Däniken's side of the story is given in Krassa, pages 96–107.
  14. ↑ Transcripts of Däniken's letters to his wife Elizabeth (whom he married in 1959), during this period are provided in Krassa, pages 130–135.
  15. ↑ Story 1980, pp. 3–5
  16. ↑ Story 1980, pp. 5–6
  17. ↑ Story 1980, pp. 5
  18. ↑ Story 1980, pp. xi-xiii foreword written by Carl Sagan
  19. ↑ Däniken, Erich von: Chariots of the Gods?, p. 94.
  20. ↑ Playboy magazine, page 64, Volume 21 Number 8, 1974
  21. ↑ Story 1980, pp. 88–89
  22. 1 2 3 Story 1980, pp. 78–82
  23. ↑ Däniken continued to maintain that he had been inside the caves, " ... but not at the place where the photographs in the book were taken, not at the main entrance. I was at a side entrance." He said Moricz's expedition crew had been forced by some unknown entity to sign a "pledge of silence", which explained Moricz's refusal to corroborate his account. Later, he said, a "leading German archaeologist", dispatched to Ecuador to verify his claims, could not locate Moricz. (Playboy, p. 58)
  24. 1 2 "The Case of the Ancient Astronauts". Horizon. 3 August 1978. Event occurs at 41:15-42:20. BBC.
  25. 1 2 3 Lingeman, Richard R. (31 March 1974). "Erich von Daniken's Genesis". The New York Times. p. 6. A lot of ingredients go into that blender, including (...) apocryphal lore. He refers to "The Book of Dzyan", for example, which he helpfully adds is to be found in "The Secret Doctrine" of Mme. Blavatsky (...) "The Book of Dzyan" exists only in her astral thoughts. (...) Actually, both of these documents have a way of turning up repeatedly in books on flying saucers, which is probably where Däniken found them.
  26. ↑ Edward Uhler Condon, "Scientific Study of Unidentified Objects", Bantam, 1969, cited by the 1974 NYT article "Erich von Däniken's genesis"
  27. 1 2 3 Joe Nickell (2005), Unsolved history: investigating mysteries of the past (illustrated ed.), University Press of Kentucky, p. 9, ISBN 978-0-8131-9137-9, It is difficult to take Von Däniken seriously, especially since his "theory" is not his own and it originated in jest. Wrote Paul Kosok, the first to study the markings: "When first viewed from the air, [the lines] were nicknamed prehistoric landing fields and jokingly compared with the so-called canals of Mars"
  28. 1 2 3 4 Helaine Silverman, Donald Proulx (2008), "The "Mythological" History of the Geoglyphs", The Nasca, Peoples of America, John Wiley & Sons, pp. 167–171, ISBN 978-0-470-69266-0, (...) many speculative explanations have been proposed for the function of the geoglyphs. The most notorious among these was put forth by Erich von Däniken (...)
  29. ↑ Robert Todd Carroll (2003), The skeptic's dictionary: a collection of strange beliefs, amusing deceptions, and dangerous delusions (illustrated ed.), John Wiley and Sons, p. 248, ISBN 978-0-471-27242-7, Erich von Däniken thinks that the Nazca lines formed an airfield for ancient astronauts, an idea first proposed by James W. Moseley in the October 1955 issue of Fate and made popular in the early 60's by Louis Pauwels and Jacques Bergier in The Mornings of the Magicians.
  30. ↑ "The Case of the Ancient Astronauts". Horizon. 3 August 1978. Event occurs at 33:10-34:45. BBC.
  31. ↑ Clieve Riggles (12 November 1987), "Tribute to Maria Reiche. Review of The Mystery of Nazca Lines by Tony Morrison", New Scientist, 116 (1586), p. 62
  32. ↑ "Report No. 83-205 SPR The UFO Enigma, Marcia S. Smith, 20 June 1983, Congressional Research Service, Appendix B, pages 127-130, quoting "Some trust in chariots: sixteen views on Erich von Däniken's Chariots of the gods", editors Thiering, Barry and Edgar Castle, West Books, 1972
  33. ↑ Fritze 2009, p. 208, Story 1980, pp. 29–31
  34. ↑ Fritze 2009, p. 208
  35. ↑ Story 1980, pp. 32
  36. ↑ "The Case of the Ancient Astronauts". Horizon. 3 August 1978. Event occurs at 07:20-17:05. BBC.
  37. ↑ "The Case of the Ancient Astronauts". Horizon. 3 August 1978. Event occurs at 17:20-25:25. BBC.
  38. ↑ "The Case of the Ancient Astronauts". Horizon. 3 August 1978. Event occurs at 42:15-47:20. BBC.
  39. ↑ Feder, Kenneth L. Frauds, Myths, and Mysteries: Science and Pseudoscience in Archaeology Mayfield Publishing Company 1990 3rd ed. ISBN 0-7674-0459-9 p. 195
  40. ↑ Flenley, John; Bahn, Paul G. The Enigmas of Easter Island, Oxford University Press 2003 ISBN 978-0-19-280340-5 p.114
  41. ↑ R.Z. Sheppard (2 August 1976). "Books: Worlds in Collusion". Time. Retrieved 21 January 2012.
  42. ↑ Jason Colavito (2004). "An investigation into H.P. Lovecraft and the invention of ancient astronauts. As seen in Skeptic magazine". Skeptic (10.4).
  43. ↑ Director: Ralph Lee (3 February 2001). Loving The Alien: The Real Erich von Däniken.
  44. ↑ Kenneth Feder, Encyclopedia of Dubious Archaeology: From Atlantis to the Walam Olum, page 267 (Greenwood Publishing Group, 2010). ISBN 978-0-313-37918-5
  45. ↑ Sue Atwood, "Switzerland: Journey into the unknown" The Daily Telegraph, 29 December 2003.
  46. ↑ McClellan, Jason (25 November 2011). "Ridley Scott's alien movie 'Prometheus' inspired by Erich von Däniken". OpenMinds. Retrieved 18 December 2011.
  47. ↑ Billboard, 22 February 2003, page 31.
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