21x11 - The Birdman Mystery

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NARRATOR:
Throughout the ancient world,

there is one mysterious figure

that appears again and again--
the birdman.

Depictions of birdmen
are found all over the planet.

NARRATOR:
In many cultures, birdlike
figures were revered as gods.

HEATHER LYNN:
The Sumerians
worshipped Anunnaki, which were

often depicted almost
like a hybrid-- human and bird.

NARRATOR:
And their presence transformed
the development of civilization.

RABBI ARIEL BAR TZADOK:
It is their job to guide

the affairs of human beings.

NARRATOR:
Are the so-called birdmen
simply a product

of the imagination, or
could they represent something

far more profound?

GIORGIO A. TSOUKALOS:
There had to have been
a spark of inspiration.

Are they physical beings
from another planet?

♪ ♪

NARRATOR:
America's largest
reservation spans

more than 27,000 square miles,

covering parts of Arizona,
New Mexico, and Utah.

The Navajo people
have inhabited this land

for more than a thousand years,

and they say that,
throughout their history

right up to the present day,

they have had encounters
with an otherworldly being

known as the birdman.

I spent 31 years
in law enforcement

with the Navajo Nation Rangers.

In my, uh, career
on the Navajo Reservation

we've had a lot of people report
seeing birdmen figures.

This is a normal theme
for most Native American tribes

in the United States.

Native Americans
have a long history

of sky beings coming to them.

And in many cases,
these beings look like humans

with wings.

NARRATOR:
While each tribe

has its own unique language
and mythology,

remarkably,
many share the tradition

of worshipping a birdman figure.

DOVER:
The birdman figure
in Native cultures

are human-shaped people.

Sometimes they're giants.

They are considered
a celestial being of some kind

who has come down from the sky.

In Navajo culture,
they do have magical abilities.

They do heal.

But one of the main aspects
of any figure

is that they impart knowledge.

When Natives see a birdman,
this is a very, very good sign.

Seeing something like that is-is
considered a pretty big thing.

NARRATOR:
One of the most
remarkable examples

of birdman worship
in North America can be found

outside of
Collinsville, Illinois,

where a series of mysterious
earthen mounds

rise above the plain.

These mounds mark the location
where the Mississippian people--

one of the largest
ancient civilizations

in North America--
once flourished.

Near one mound-- numbered 72--

archaeologists found
a curious gravesite,

now known as
the "birdman burial."

They found the remains
of a male and female

that were placed
on an elevated platform

covered by a bed of more than


placed in the shape of a falcon.

The bird's head appeared beneath
and beside the man's head.

And the wings and tail
of the bird

were beneath his arms and legs.

This burial reflects
the deep reverence

for the birdman
in spiritual structures.

ED BARNHART:
This arrangement of shells
around the main bodies

makes sense because we know
that the Mississippians

had a supernatural being
who may or may not be a god,

but he's
a very powerful creature

that lives up in the sky.

We see depictions

on also stone tablets.

NARRATOR:
At a site called Monks Mound,

just a mile
from the birdman burial,

archaeologists found
a sandstone tablet

that features
another human figure

with birdlike attributes.

HUGH NEWMAN:
This tablet appears to have
a humanoid figure

with a beak

but also what appears to be
the arms moving forward

in a certain way
to make it look like wings.

NARRATOR:
While the Mississippian people
of the Midwest

left behind abundant evidence
of birdman worship,

in the southwest, Native tribes

still carry on the traditions
of the ancient Pueblo people,

performing rituals
to connect with the kachinas.

These otherworldly beings
are often depicted

with birdlike features.

LYNN:
The kachinas have
many different features,

but a lot of them look like
birds, winged beings.

They connect
the people on Earth to

the celestial gods in the sky.

Many tribes
still practice ceremonies

dedicated to the kachinas.

These rituals will include

things like
interpretive dancing,

drums, music, and often
the individuals will be wearing

headdresses featuring
vivid colors and feathers.

NARRATOR:
Even more curious than
the widespread reverence

for birdman figures throughout
Native American cultures

is the fact
that similar half-bird,

half-human hybrids can be found
throughout the ancient world.

At the site
of Tiahuanaco in Bolivia,

a giant megalithic doorway
called the Gate of the Sun,

features a carving
of the Inca god Viracocha

flanked by dozens
of birdlike figures.

NEWMAN:
It is said
that Viracocha himself,

the great god of the Andes,
was actually the person

who instigated the construction
of Tiahuanaco and Puma Punku.

DAVID CHILDRESS:
In the middle of the gate
is a depiction of Viracocha,

but on either side of Viracocha
there are these birdmen.

And these famous birdmen,
in my mind, are symbolic

of flight,

and essentially, these birdmen
are men who can fly.

NARRATOR:
Another location
where birdman figures

feature prominently is on
the remote Pacific Island

of Rapa Nui, more commonly known
as Easter Island.

While Easter Island is famous

for the towering
stone moai statues

that stand along its shoreline,

for centuries the islanders
have also worshipped

an otherworldly being called
Tangata manu, or the birdman.

NEWMAN:
All over Easter Island,
we do find depictions

of birdman-type creatures,

which is a reference, really, to
some of the earliest traditions

before humans were even supposed
to exist on the island.

TSOUKALOS:
The chief birdman
was a guy called Makemake.

And when he arrived
on Easter Island,

he saw how beautiful it was

and he wanted
to populate it with people.

And so he crafted
the Easter Islanders

out of Easter Island soil,

and that's how the people
of Easter Island came about.

DOMINIC STEAVU:
Across many
different cultures, uh,

this figure of the half-bird,
half-human hybrid

shows up again and again.

Very often what they
have in common is the idea that

human/birds figures,
uh, are capable of flight.

They can travel
between different realms

or different
planes of existence.

In Japanese folklore,
Tengu are these

very powerful, uh,
mountain spirits.

All of them are somehow related
to birds or have avian features.

They represent
a higher form of knowledge

that they are known to transmit
to people who are open

to receiving
that knowledge from them.

HENRY:
Depictions of birdmen
are found all over the planet.

Is it because birds
represent transcendence?

Why are the depictions
so strikingly similar?

TSOUKALOS: It's really
bizarre when you look

at pretty much all cultures

and see that they have
depictions and references

and legends of the so-called
bird people or birdmen.

And so, that illustrates to me
that it had to start somewhere,

or there had to have been
a spark of inspiration.

In the ancient
astronaut opinion,

the most important thing
that our ancestors

wanted to convey to us is that
they experienced someone

in physical form that had
the capability of flight.

NARRATOR:
What could be behind
the ubiquity

of the birdman iconography
in ancient cultures?

Is it due to some kind of
otherworldly encounter?

Perhaps further clues
can be found

by looking to the pages
of the Holy Bible.

NARRATOR: Throughout history,
ancient cultures

across the globe

have portrayed human figures
with birdlike wings.

In the Western world, none
are more well-known than a group

of beings that are described
in Judeo-Christian texts.

HENRY:
When you think about
a winged human figure,

you most notably think
about angels.

Angels are figures
that intervene in human affairs.

They warn us about coming events

or they-they intervene
in a positive way.

NARRATOR:
In the Hebrew Bible's
Book of Genesis,

angels first appear
as divine beings

sent to Earth
as messengers of God.

TSOUKALOS:
Angels are winged beings.

Now, the church,
up until about 300 AD

not once mentioned angels.

From about 300 to 400 AD

was when the first references of
angels first entered the Bible.

Before that,
it was never "angel,"

but it was always
the word "messenger."

And often,
"messenger from the sky."

TZADOK:
It is their job,
as the heavenly court,

to guide the affairs
of human beings,

to speak into the minds
of individuals.

But these angels
were not spiritual beings,

they were physical beings.

They're not of this world.

Therefore,
they are not terrestrial,

and therefore,
they are extraterrestrial.

NARRATOR:
Is it possible that
the angels of the Bible

were physical beings
who came from another world?

Perhaps additional clues
can be found by examining

a controversial text
that was stricken

from most versions of the Bible.

Called the Book of Enoch,
it describes in great detail

the first angels to arrive on
Earth, known as the watchers.

TZADOK:
It is said in ancient legend
that these watchers

are the ones
who observe humanity

and direct human affairs to
influence us in their own ways.

ANDREW COLLINS:
The watchers were said
to be these rebel angels

who came down from Heaven
to mix with mortal-kind.

They were said to have
revealed the arts and sciences

of Heaven, and this allowed us

the rudiments of civilization.

We are told that they could fly

through the air
like birds or eagles.

NARRATOR:
Is it possible that
the account of the watchers

described in the Book of Enoch

is based on real
historical events?

LYNN:
The Book of Enoch
was a biblical story

that was taken out
of the Bible completely.

It isn't included,
except for in the Coptic faith.

They still include the Book
of Enoch as part of their canon.

But many people suggest that
the reason the Book of Enoch

was omitted from the Bible

is because these entities
hold some deeper truth.

NARRATOR:
Mainstream scholars believe

the Book of Enoch
was written sometime

around the 3rd
or 4th century BC,

but the stories contained
within it may be much older.

And ancient astronaut
theorists suggest

the watchers
were first described

more than a thousand years
earlier by the Sumerians.

HENRY:
The Sumerians were
the first known civilization.

They have the distinction
of being the first

to discover writing,
agriculture, astronomy,

all of these first technologies.

The ancient Sumerian texts
tell us that these

winged figures
with birdlike heads

originally brought
this knowledge to humanity.

LYNN:
The Sumerians
worshipped Anunnaki,

which are beings
that came down from the sky.

They were depicted
as chimeric beings,

almost like a hybrid,
human and bird.

AMIR HUSSAIN:
For the Sumerians,

their knowledge
wasn't self-derived.

Their inventions,
their great things

were not of their own design.

They were taught by the gods.

The Anunnaki show human beings
how to use technology,

how to create this technology.

NARRATOR:
Like the watchers,

there was a specific group
of the Anunnaki

who were tasked
with influencing human affairs.

The Sumerians
also revered Apkallu,

which were a little bit
lesser Anunnaki beings,

but very important as well.

They were also birdmen figures.

They had wings, feathers,

and often were depicted
even with beaks.

Their role was to act
as intermediaries between

the kings and the gods.

TSOUKALOS:
One of the basic propositions
of the ancient astronaut theory

is that these birdmen
signified flight.

The idea was never to suggest

that the Anunnaki themselves
actually had wings

sprouting from their back,

but rather that our ancestors

tried to depict
that the Anunnaki

had the capability
of flying or of flight.

NARRATOR:
Is it possible that the stories

of the watchers
and the Anunnaki are true?

Could these birdlike beings
have once walked the Earth

alongside humans
in the distant past?

Perhaps further clues
can be found

by examining curious carvings

at one of the world's
most mysterious ancient sites.

Here, atop a flat
limestone plateau,

stand the oldest known

megalithic structures
in the world.

Adorning many of the
monolithic stone pillars

are intricate carvings of both
human and animal figures.

ROBERT SCHOCH:
At Göbekli Tepe,

what we find are beautifully
carved limestone pillars,

long, narrow, high, and they
weigh up to ten or 15 tons.

Some of them
are 15 or 18 feet tall.

NARRATOR:
Radiocarbon dating
of artifacts unearthed

at Göbekli Tepe suggest the site

is over 12,000 years old,

predating the Sumerians
by at least 5,000 years.

But some researchers
have noticed

a curious connection
between the two cultures.

HENRY:
At Göbekli Tepe,
there's a carving

of these three handbags
that appear

above this birdlike creature.

What's fascinating about
finding these handbag symbols

at Göbekli Tepe is that,

just 400 miles to the south
in Sumeria,

you find exactly
the same symbolism,

and these handbags
are being held

by winged figures
with birdlike heads.

NARRATOR:
Is it possible that the
birdmen figures at Göbekli Tepe

not only represent
otherworldly visitors,

but the very same
visitors described

by the Sumerians as the Anunnaki

and detailed in the Book
of Enoch as the watchers?

Could the carvings
provide evidence

that these mysterious beings
were present on Earth

as much as 12,000 years ago?

Ancient astronaut theorists
say yes

and point to further evidence
in ancient Egypt

and accounts of
a bird-headed god called Thoth.

NARRATOR: According to
ancient hieroglyphic writing

known as the Pyramid Text,

before the age of the pharaohs,

humans lived side by side
with the gods.

HENRY:
Before 3000 BC,

you have this age known as
Zep Tepi, or "the first time."

A golden age in which
the gods walked on the Earth,

which the gods ruled.

NARRATOR:
During this so-called
golden age,

Egypt was ruled
by the god-king Horus,

who was depicted
with a human-like body

and the head of a falcon.

PAMELA SMITH:
In Egyptian mythology,

Horus is the son
of !sis and Osiris.

Horus was one of the gods
who helped people transition

between different
states of being.

Like, you know, life and death
and rebirth, et cetera,

so is seen often as a guardian
and also as a protector

to keep the evil gods

from hurting humans.

RAMY ROMANY:
Horus was the king on Earth,
but the god in sky.

He had wings. He could fly.
He can protect his own people.

NARRATOR:
All of the human pharaohs
who came after Horus

were said to embody his power

and received communication
from the gods.

But why did
the ancient Egyptians,

like so many
other early cultures,

depict this prominent deity
with birdlike features?

TSOUKALOS:
We know that Horus
was a celestial sky god.

Horus did not originate
here on Earth,

and ancient Egyptians
were very, very concise

in stating that
he was a physical being

that came from the stars.

NARRATOR:
Are Horus's birdlike features
meant to indicate

that he was a being
who came down from the sky?

Ancient astronaut theorists
say yes

and point to the fact that,
in Egypt,

bird-headed figures
were often linked

to contact with a higher realm.

Like the bird-headed god Thoth.

SMITH:
Thoth was, uh, human
from the shoulders down,

and his head
was an ibis,

which is a bird
with a sharp beak.

In Egyptian mythology,
Thoth was the god of literacy,

of writing,
of science, and of magic,

and brought
all those things to humans.

Thoth was the Egyptian god
of knowledge who invented

and taught the Egyptians
to write with hieroglyphics.

There was no known language
prior to hieroglyphics.

So, he is the giver of language
to the Egyptian people.

ROMANY:
God Thoth was an extremely
important god in ancient Egypt.

He is the one
that had all the information.

Every time a pharaoh
or an engineer

would talk about how
he was able to create something,

he would say, "I was given
this information by god Thoth."

NARRATOR:
According to mainstream
archaeologists,

the oldest pyramid in Egypt is
the Step Pyramid of King Djoser.

Constructed
in the 27th century BC,

the six-tier,
four-sided structure

was designed by a mysterious
figure named Imhotep.

ROMANY:
Imhotep, who was a commoner,

became the high engineer,
the main architect,

and he came out of nowhere.

Ancient Egyptians
believed that god Thoth

actually told Imhotep
how to build the pyramid.

NARRATOR:
Remarkably, the iconic pyramid

was not Imhotep's
only accomplishment

that was credited
to the influence of Thoth.

ROMANY:
Imhotep, he also
was a high priest.

He also was a high physician.

The most ancient medical
document known to humanity

was written by Imhotep himself.

He had a lot of knowledge

that he claims
was given by his god Thoth.

NARRATOR:
According to Egyptian mythology,

Thoth established a school

to spread knowledge
throughout the region.

HENRY:
For more than 3,000 years,
the Egyptian mystery school

sustained and preserved
and amplified

the mystic wisdom
of the ancients.

The mystery schools
were started by Thoth.

And it was believed
that the mystery school actually

operated in Memphis,
which Thoth is believed

to have built himself.

The mystery schools
were attended

by some of the most illustrious
figures in history.

The Book of Acts,
for instance, tells us

that Moses was trained in all
the wisdom of the Egyptians.

This is a reference
to the Egyptian mystery schools.

Moses became a magi
performing supernatural feats,

including miracles,
and even talking with God

in the burning bush.

Also, Pythagoras studied
in the Egyptian mystery schools

for 22 years where he learned

that all the planets
in our galaxy are inhabited.

NARRATOR:
Is it possible
that the secret wisdom taught

at the Egyptian
mystery schools was provided

by birdlike beings
who descended from the sky?

Curiously, in China,

there are similar traditions
of important leaders

who were also part-bird
and part-human.

These figures were not only seen
as capable of communicating

with higher beings, but were
often given secret knowledge.

STEAVU:
In early forms of Daoism,

the expression
"winged transformation"

refers to, uh,
becoming an immortal

or being on the path
to becoming an immortal.

And part of that process
involved sprouting feathers

on one's body, growing wings
from one's back,

and becoming, essentially,
a type of bird-human hybrid.

NARRATOR:
For ancient astronaut theorists,

the ubiquity
of birdlike figures

in art and mythology reveals
extraterrestrial contact

throughout the ancient world.

And as further evidence,
they point

to a centuries-old ritual
in modern-day Mexico

called the Dance of the Flyers.

NARRATOR:
Every year,
the people of this city

gather to watch
a breathtaking ceremony

called Danza de los Voladores,

or the Dance of the Flyers.

HENRY:
These acrobatic figures

will scale this


and there's a fifth person
that's waiting there

with them called the "Carpola,"

and he starts playing a flute,
playing a drum,

and the four other people that
are with him-- the acrobats--

tie their ankles to the tower,

and they suddenly start swinging
around the tower.

TSOUKALOS:
In 52 rotations

they descend down to Earth.

In my opinion, what we have here

is called living mythology.

Because, when you ask
these Voladores,

"What are you doing?"

they say, "We are commemorating
the arrival of our ancient gods

who descended from the sky."

NARRATOR:
According to tradition,
the five dancers on the pole

are said to represent birdmen.

Some scholars believe
the ritual honors

the Mayan god
of creation, Itzamna,

who could transform into a bird.

But ancient astronaut theorists
suggest this ritual

reveals a more profound
connection with the heavens.

HENRY:
From an ancient astronaut
perspective,

are they actually
witnessing the descent

of extraterrestrials?

And they're recreating
that original scene

that they saw long, long ago?

NARRATOR:
Is it possible that
the Dance of the Flyers

is not a portrayal
of mythological gods

descending from the heavens,

but of otherworldly visitors
coming to Earth in spacecraft?

Perhaps further clues
can be found by examining

a flying feathered deity

known to the Aztecs
as Quetzalcoatl.

Quetzalcoatl supposedly came
from someplace far away

and taught
the people agriculture,

writing, astronomy,

and a lot of
the finer arts of living.

TSOUKALOS:
Quetzalcoatl was a sky god,

and allegedly, he descended
from the sky in physical form

and taught the local populations

in different
scientific disciplines.

And the interesting part
about that is,

is that you have the Aztecs,
you have the Olmecs,

you have the Toltecs,
you have the Maya.

And their main celestial deity
is Quetzalcoatl.

NARRATOR: Curiously,
Quetzalcoatl is depicted

by various Mesoamerican cultures

both as a flying serpent
and as a human-like figure.

And as far as
ancient astronaut theorists

are concerned,
the most intriguing depiction

of this god is also the oldest,

a nearly 3,000-year-old carving
made by the Olmecs.

BARNHART:
It depicts a person
who's kind of sitting swayback

inside the body
of a curving snake.

The tail is in front of him and
the head comes up over his head.

And some people think
it's, uh, it's an image

of some sort of vehicle
that he's driving.

It is such an interesting
and evocative piece of art

that it's gotten a ton of names.

One of them is the rocket man.

CHILDRESS:
He's seated inside of a dragon

that's encircling him.

So, here we have to wonder

if it's depicting, perhaps,

extraterrestrial technology,
like a spacecraft.

NARRATOR:
Could this artwork
reveal that Quetzalcoatl

was a human-like being who was
seen piloting a spaceship?

For ancient astronaut theorists,

this carving contains
another intriguing detail

that suggests Quetzalcoatl
was not a fictional deity,

but an extraterrestrial visitor.

HENRY:
It portrays Quetzalcoatl

holding what appears
to be a handbag.

It is one of the primary
identifying symbols of the gods.

JASON MARTELL:
Now, we know from
the Sumerian mythologies

that the Anunnaki
also are carrying this bag.

We seem to notice
that this bag crosses cultures

as possibly
some type of artifact.

It raises the question of

is this possibly
extraterrestrial in origin.

TSOUKALOS:
This handbag is identical
to what you can find

in the Middle East,

which is very strange because

why would they have
the same symbolism?

Well, the idea is that
the same teacher people

not only went to Sumeria
and Göbekli Tepe,

but also they went
to Central and South America.

And so, this motif that
these handbags exist worldwide

is not a coincidence.

NARRATOR:
According to
ancient astronaut theorists,

it is also no coincidence that,
in culture after culture,

we find gods
depicted with wings.

TSOUKALOS:
The truth of the matter is that
these birdmen depictions

and references exist
in almost every ancient culture.

The reason why
I think that this is important

is because our ancestors
wanted to commemorate

that they experienced someone
in physical form

that had
the capability of flight.

MARTELL:
These gods depicted clearly
with wings

or having coming down
on some type of a winged object.

The comparisons between
these ancient cultures seem

to tell me that ancient man
was witnessing something

in the sky that, to them,
represented the power of flight.

NARRATOR:
Could it be that
ancient cultures

often depicted
their gods with wings

not only to signify
that these beings

had descended from the sky

but also to indicate that they
traveled in flying vehicles?

Perhaps further clues
can be found

by examining Hindu accounts

of a birdman who was also
a chariot of the gods.

NARRATOR:
In the heart
of this modern metropolis,

on an island
in the Chao Phraya River,

stands the opulent grounds
of the Grand Palace.

This complex of buildings
and temples

has been the official residence
for the kings of Thailand

since 1782.

Here, adorning the Temple
of the Emerald Buddha,

are more than 100 mysterious
golden statues

of a birdlike deity
named Garuda.

HENRY:
In Hindu and Buddhist symbolism,
Garuda is part-human.

It's got a torso of a human,
it's got the head and beak

and claws of an eagle.

The Garuda is a sort of
protector in Hindu

and-and Buddhist symbolism.

The Garuda is also seen
stomping out the Nagas,

which are the serpent beings,
which are representative

of negative energies or forces.

So, in this case, the Garuda

becomes a sort of
protector in Hindu

and-and Buddhist symbolism.

NARRATOR:
According to ancient
Hindu texts,

Garuda served as the chariot
for the powerful god Vishnu.

In Hindu mythology,
Garuda is probably

the most famous flying deity,

and he is often the carrier,

the mount of Vishnu.

And Vishnu in the triumvirate

of the Hindu mythology
is the sustainer,

the one who is protecting
and upholding what is going on.

STEAVU:
Garuda is the national emblem
of Thailand,

or, uh, at least
of its royal family,

and it's closely associated
with a divine kingship.

So, Garuda
is the mount of Vishnu.

And the kings of Thailand
have historically

seen themselves
as incarnations of Vishnu.

So, having Garuda as an emblem
of their government

kind of projects
this image in which

the kingship is connected
to this divine source.

NARRATOR:
The earliest account of Garuda
can be found in the Rigveda,

a Sanskrit text written
more than 3,500 years ago.

As far as ancient astronaut
theorists are concerned,

the text details an encounter

with otherworldly technology.

TSOUKALOS:
Legend says that Vishnu
traveled inside Garuda

from place to place.

And when Garuda landed,
his belly opened

and Vishnu would walk out
and give instruction

or educate the people.

Well, what bird opens its belly

and lets people in and out?

I'll tell you want bird,
passenger planes.

But if you've never seen
a passenger plane before,

how would you describe it?

Well, you describe it
with terminology

that you're familiar with.

NARRATOR:
Could it be
that stories of Garuda

are actually eyewitness accounts
of an extraterrestrial machine

that flew through the sky
like a bird?

Ancient astronaut
theorists suggest

further evidence for this notion

can be found
at a recently excavated site

that was dedicated
to a bird deity.

Archaeologists
from the British Museum

complete a seven-year excavation

of the ancient site of Girsu

and uncover the ruins
of ancient Sumerian walls.

The walls are found to be part
of a temple

built 4,500 years ago to honor
the Sumerian god Ningirsu.

NEWMAN:
A few years ago,
a very interesting temple

in Iraq was uncovered.

And eventually,
they realized that this temple

within this
larger complex related

to what was known
as the white thunderbird.

The whole thunderbird mythos
is related to Ningirsu.

That was like the avatar
of this great god.

NARRATOR:
The story of the
thunderbird god Ningirsu

comes from a firsthand account
of Sumerian King Gudea.

Written on large cuneiform
cylinders found at the site,

King Gudea described that
the giant winged god Ningirsu

appeared before him.

TSOUKALOS:
The archaeologists themselves
say that this temple was built

due to a vision that a man had

where a gigantic man

with the wings
of a gigantic thunderbird

descended from the sky,

and he was the first bringer
of knowledge in that area.

We've heard these stories before
because, in North America,

many First Nation myths
begin with thunderbirds,

out of which
the so-called kachinas came,

and the kachinas were
the first bringers of knowledge,

physical beings.

Also, in ancient India,
you have stories

of thunderbirds,

and in ancient Japan.

A thunderbird has always
been considered this thing

that flies across the sky
very fast

and also very, very loud
with noise, thunder.

And sometimes,
these thunderbirds landed

and the bellies opened
and people walked out.

That, to me, is what I refer to
as misunderstood technology

where they would describe
a technological thing

with the terms
that they knew about.

NARRATOR:
As far as ancient astronaut
theorists are concerned,

stories of thunderbirds,

along with Hindu accounts
of Garuda,

clearly indicate
that ancient people

witnessed flying craft
coming down from the sky.

And incredibly, while
the White Thunderbird temple

in Southern Iraq
dates back 4,500 years,

other birdman imagery
has been found

that is far, far older.

NARRATOR:
Here, within the Lascaux caves,

are some of the best-preserved
examples of ancient rock art.

Discovered in 1940,
the walls and ceilings

of the caves are adorned
with more than 600 paintings.

Archaeologists believe
the artwork could be

as much as 22,000 years old.

COLLINS:
The most important
of the chambers

is what's known
as the well shaft.

This is a, uh, deep sunken pit

on the wall of which are some
very interesting images.

One of them shows a birdman

that seems to be
falling backwards.

Professor Michael Rappenglueck
of Munich University

concluded that these
different images represented

the constellation of Cygnus,
the celestial bird,

and other stars
in that same vicinity,

and that the position
of the birdman was exactly

in line with where you would see

the constellation of Cygnus
if you were above the surface.

NARRATOR:
For decades,
researchers believed

this was the oldest example
of a birdman.

But in 2019,
a team of archaeologists

exploring a cave in Indonesia

discovered a painting
that was at least twice as old,

dating back
roughly 44,000 years.

HENRY:
Archaeologists made a startling
discovery when they found

the birdman among
this collection of figures.

And according to neuroscience,

we only just began making
human art at this time.

So, this means that
one of the very first examples

of human art was the birdman.

NARRATOR:
Why is it that the oldest
cave art ever discovered,

which contains
mostly mundane imagery,

features a hybrid creature
that's part-human and part-bird?

Do the exceptionally ancient
cave paintings in Indonesia

and France present some of
the most compelling evidence

of all that the birdman figures
represent alien visitors

that our ancestors saw
with their own eyes?

Certainly, birdmen
have been depicted in,

you know, ancient cave paintings

and by civilizations
all around the world.

We have to just wonder,
do these birdmen

actually fly with their wings?

I mean, we think
of extraterrestrials

as coming in vehicles.

And to me, that's what
birdmen are about.

Depictions of birdmen
are found all over the planet,

from ancient Egypt
to the Greeks,

to the early Christian
and-and Jewish tradition.

Is it because birds
represent transcendence

and entering
into the-the higher worlds?

Are they alien-human hybrids

portrayed as part-human,
part-bird?

We don't really know, but
the final line of speculation

is that these birdmen
were extraterrestrial beings

who were visiting these various
cultures around the planet

throughout time.

TSOUKALOS:
Pretty much all ancient cultures

have depictions and legends
of the so-called birdmen.

There had to have been
a spark of inspiration.

They are commemorating
the arrival of ancient gods

who descended from the sky.

This is what the ancient
astronaut theory teaches,

that our ancestors
were all visited

by flesh and blood
extraterrestrials

whom our ancestors
misinterpreted as gods.

NARRATOR:
Do the countless depictions

of half-bird,
half-human figures

found throughout the world

provide a historical record

of extraterrestrial visitation
in humankind's ancient past?

Could it be
that rituals and iconography

that have survived
to the present day

have a far more profound meaning
behind them than we are aware?

Perhaps the proof
of our alien origins is hiding

in plain sight.