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Ignatius Donnelly, a populist politician from Minnesota, published the book "Atlantis: The Antediluvian World." In which he proposed that all civilization was the devolved version of an original, perfect, Atlantean civilization. Melton, J. G. (ed). (2001). Encyclopedia of Occultism & Parapsychology.
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Charles Fort, proposes that humanity, and the earth as a whole, is the colony of an omnipotent extraterrestrial force, and that knowledge has routinely been disseminated to humanity from "esoteric ones" Grünschloss, A. (2007). 'Ancient Astronaut' Narrations: A Popular Discourse on Our Religious Past. Fabula, Vol. 48(3).
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Alexander Braghine writes the book "The Shadow of Atlantis," in which he credits visitors from Atlantis with, to name a few, teaching Indigenous peoples of the Americas agriculture, constructing the Meso-American Pyramids, and forming the basis of the Aztec god Quetzalcoatl. Melton, J. G. (ed). (2001). Encyclopedia of Occultism & Parapsychology.
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Harold T. Wilkins, a self-described journalist and treasure hunter, accepted the belief that people from Atlantis were responsible for most cultural accomplishments of the Indigenous peoples of the Americas. Wilkins proposed that the Atlanteans had in fact, been chosen by extraterrestrials and given their technology and knowledge to disseminate. Melton, J. G. (ed). (2001). Encyclopedia of Occultism & Parapsychology.
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Robert Charroux completes the work "One Hundred Thousand Years of Man's Unknown History," in which he claims that aliens were responsible for atomic wars in Vedic India and various biblical miracles. Grünschloss, A. (2007). 'Ancient Astronaut' Narrations: A Popular Discourse on Our Religious Past. Fabula, Vol. 48(3).
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Erich von Däniken, convicted fraudster, publishes "Chariots of the Gods?" (credit to him for the question mark), which proposes that varying technologies, from the Giza Pyramids, to Stonehenge, and the Maoi of Easter Island, were produced by aliens, or by humans who learned the technology from the aforementioned extraterrestrial visitors. Similaritites to Charroux are noted but not dwelled on. Rathje, W. (1978). The Ancient Astronaut Myth. Archaeology, 31.
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A film adaptation of "Chariots of the Gods" is released. Rathje, W. (1978). The Ancient Astronaut Myth. Archaeology, 31.
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Zecharia Sitchin writes "The Twelfth Planet," which suggests that humans were created by an alien race called the Anunnaki. Sitchin based his writings on Sumerian mythology. Grünschloss, A. (2007). 'Ancient Astronaut' Narrations: A Popular Discourse on Our Religious Past. Fabula, Vol. 48(3).
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Graham Hancock publishes "Fingerprints of the Gods," which proposes that all human civilization comes from an advanced civilization which existed in prehistory and lived on Antarctica. Grünschloss, A. (2007). 'Ancient Astronaut' Narrations: A Popular Discourse on Our Religious Past. Fabula, Vol. 48(3).
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The History Channel takes a wild leap away from history wuth the release of their show "Ancient Aliens." Wade, L. (2019). Beliefs in aliens, Atlantis are on the rise. Science, 364.
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In 2019, the Survey of American Fears by Chapman University found that 41% of Americans believed that aliens had visited in the past, and 57% said they believed that Atlantis or other ancient civilizations existed. Wade, L. (2019). Beliefs in aliens, Atlantis are on the rise. Science, 364.
