"Times of India" Endorses Ancient Astronaut Theory, Says Cave Paintings Show "Aliens and UFOs"7/16/2014 The well-known Times of India newspaper, the largest English-language daily in India, has endorsed the ancient astronaut theory in an article reporting the discovery of cave paintings in the Bastar region of central India. An article by Rashmi Drolia states without qualification that the archaeology department of the Indian state of Chhattisgarh discovered “10,000-year-old rock paintings depicting aliens and UFOs.” According to the article, Indian archaeologist J. R. Bhagat suggested that prehistoric Indians had contact with extraterrestrials. Bhagat told the Times: The findings suggest that humans in prehistoric times may have seen or imagined beings from other planets which still create curiosity among people and researchers. Extensive research is needed for further findings. Chhattisgarh presently doesn't have any such expert who could give clarity on the subject. Bhagat is an actual archaeologist, and he does actual excavation work in India, recently directing excavations of the Tarighat city site. The paintings in question depict what in other contexts archaeologists typically identify as shamanic images of humans, human-animal hybrids, and geometric forms. The image below seems to depict a shamanic figure with a helmet on which are antlers, antennae, or spirit rays—a familiar image in shamanic art. The paper did not indicate why the images were suspected of being 10,000 years old. Bhagat likened the above image to a spacesuit, but it isn’t clear that he actually believes that they were depicting aliens. Instead, there seems to be a translation issue. The English isn’t terribly clear when he says “In few pictures, they are even shown wearing space suits. We can't refute possibility of imagination by prehistoric men but humans usually fancy such things.” It sounds like he’s saying that they look like space suits because humans can only imagine so many forms, but it just isn’t clear enough to understand his intention. His next sentence is less ambiguous: “The fan-like antenna and three legs of vehicle's stand clearly show a similarity to UFO type craft.” But the reporter qualifies it as a “co-incidence,” though it again isn’t clear that she wrote what she meant. Frankly, the “UFO” looks less like a spaceship to me than an owl’s face, like that of the famous Indian eagle-owl. The reporter, however, is certain that these images must be aliens. She relates what she claims to be local folklore about the images, but which seems to be a retelling of a Hollywood movie about little green men in flying saucers: While few worship the paintings, others narrate stories they have heard from ancestors about "rohela people" — the small sized ones — who used to land from sky in a round shaped flying object and take away one or two persons of village who never returned. The only reference I could find to “Rohela” people was to minority Muslims of Uttar-Pradesh to the north of this region, more commonly spelled Rohilla.
It’s rather difficult to give credence to this as a genuine ancient legend since Bhagat himself noted that both Hollywood and Bollywood movies familiar to Indians have used the same imagery for decades. Indeed, it is not uncommon for Hollywood movie plots to be recycled as folklore, as the inclusion of dinosaurs in some Native American myths after exposure to early dinosaur movies suggests. Adrienne Mayor reported on this in her Fossil Legends of the First Americans. India has long been a hotbed of ancient astronaut beliefs, originating with Theosophy’s appropriation of Indian spiritual beliefs in service of their concept of Ascended Masters on other planets. Indians were quick to adopt early twentieth century claims that Sanskrit texts contained references to airplanes (and thus that Indians had invented them), and this transitioned into support for ancient astronaut ideas later in the century, often in service of nationalist claims to ancient Indian greatness.
64 Comments
EP
7/16/2014 07:01:39 am
Oh... wow... this thing's really gone viral...
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Gregor
7/16/2014 07:13:36 am
"Two men under a tent"? Please, it's clearly a force-field being generated by the spiral-thingy in that guy's hand! COULD IT BE ANY MORE CLEAR?! THOSE TENTS WHO FROM THE HEAVENS CAME!!
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EP
7/16/2014 07:15:59 am
I just hope the wackos don't get wind of all the sex scenes depicted in cave art. Otherwise, we'll have another "alien DNA" outbreak on our hands...
Gregor
7/16/2014 07:24:43 am
@EP
EP
7/16/2014 07:42:55 am
Alien penis size not representative. Your experience may vary.
Steve StC
7/16/2014 11:36:36 am
“I think in the next 20 years we will find out we are not alone in the universe,” added NASA astronomer Kevin Hand.
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Gregor
7/16/2014 12:09:05 pm
An interesting read... though it's hardly a scandalous position to hold these days. It's also important to note that they simply address "extra-terrestrial life", not "Nordic aliens from the Pleiades who visit in their space-tubes" or some such thing. The most likely discovery for us to make (at least right off the bat) is finding exo-germs, or other "lower order" life forms. It's possible that sentient life can be discovered, but simply saying "we're not alone" does not, by itself, narrow the definition of exo-life to *just* that.
EP
7/16/2014 12:44:49 pm
Actually, if we do discover extra-solar life, it's likely to be on the level of entire ecosystems. We are nowhere near the stage where we can take a picture of an extra-solar planet's surface. Indirect evidence of life won't let us determine whether lifeforms are micro or macro.
BillUSA
7/16/2014 12:58:21 pm
You fringe theorists can't lose. On one hand, you make your dime pandering to the scientifically-challenged and on the other hand will say "We told you so" if and when so much as a single lichen is found under a rock on some distant planet.
Gregor
7/16/2014 01:29:12 pm
@EP
EP
7/16/2014 01:38:22 pm
@ Gregor: The latter part of my comment was directed at the article. I believe it juxtaposes quotes from two different people (presumably separate interviews and probably both out of context). Concerning the likeliest evidence for exo-life, I was indeed responding to you, though I may have read into what you were saying the implication that we're talking specifically about what we can find through the means discussed in that article.
Gregor
7/16/2014 01:46:38 pm
@EP
Gregor
7/16/2014 07:02:24 am
Well, it certainly is a mess... Rashmi Drolia appears to be a reporter who focuses on local (state-level) stories, though Chhattisgarh State itself did not exist prior to the year 2000. Most of her stories focus on the high level of crime (rape, abduction, unrest, etc.) in the state, but some highlight the apparent penchant for "witchcraft" in the region.
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EP
7/16/2014 07:13:35 am
Gregor, you're mistaken about cave paintings lacking detail and refinment "virtually as a defining characteristic". Even if we ignore more recent cave art (like Buddhist cave paintings in India), some prehistoric examples are quite sophisticated (Lascaux for example).
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Gregor
7/16/2014 07:22:27 am
Some are sophisticated ("quite" is too vague a term), many are not - hence the use of "virtually". Even then, there are multiple artistic methods and theories present in works created today that are absent even from complex examples like Lascaux (such proportion and perspective). My point was *not* to denigrate pre-historic art by comparing it to modern incarnations... in fact just the opposite. These people who make such claims (aliens!) do exactly that. They cite the lack of a "face" as "proof" that it's not just a picture of a man... instead of admitting that it's representative of a large section of pre-historic art. It's the same old, tired "our ancestors were just as smart as we are today, and they drew (exactly) what they saw!! (which was aliens!!!!1!1!!!)" argument.
EP
7/16/2014 07:50:22 am
I'd say "quite" and "virtually" are both quite vague, if only because virtually synonymous :) 7/16/2014 09:12:33 am
" it is not uncommon for Hollywood movie plots to be recycled as folklore, as the inclusion of dinosaurs in some Native American myths after exposure to early dinosaur movies suggests."
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Gregor
7/16/2014 11:53:01 am
Just for clarity's sake:
Reply
7/16/2014 12:43:05 pm
Dragons were proven to Exist when Dinosaur fossils were found. I don't care how much you insist their most the same, Dinosaurs fit the basic definition of what a Dragon is.
EP
7/16/2014 12:46:37 pm
Gregor, why do you even bother? :)
Gregor
7/16/2014 01:10:45 pm
@EP
EP
7/16/2014 01:15:02 pm
"the basic definition of what a dragon is":
Gregor
7/16/2014 01:31:56 pm
@EP 7/16/2014 01:44:08 pm
The basic definition of a Dragon, as the Ancients themselves would have defined it, are Large Lizards. Exactly hat Dinosaur means. if your using any definition that's different, that's conflating of the meaning. 7/16/2014 01:54:49 pm
"Dragon" is a catch-all term for many different imaginary creatures, but the word itself comes from the Latin "draco," from the Greek "drakon," meaning serpent or snake. Dragons were envisioned as giant snakes down to Late Antiquity, when they started to sprout wings and feet. Needless to say, dinosaurs were not giant snakes.
EP
7/16/2014 01:59:03 pm
Also, it's worth mentioning that the Northern European word for dragon is the same as for worm ('wyrm'). I believe Tolien, whose works our friend JaredMITHRANDIR must have heard of, uses it to refer to dragons in the Sylmarillion.
EP
7/16/2014 02:10:36 pm
I mean 'Tolkien' and 'Silmarillion'. I swear it's my keyboard's fault! :) 7/16/2014 05:26:41 pm
Those Greco-Romans creatures were clearly based on Dinosaurs too.
Gregor
7/16/2014 05:56:10 pm
@JaredMithrandir
EP
7/16/2014 06:32:40 pm
I actually liked the recent Beowulf movie. I don't care what anyone says.
Only Me
7/16/2014 07:27:28 pm
How you go from Grendel and his mother, alleged monstrous descendants of Cain, unable to approach the throne of Hrothgar because it's protected by God to Smaug and his Middle Earth kin is incredible. And you base this connection on dinosaurs, backed up by a creationist wiki.
Only Me
7/16/2014 11:08:35 pm
Upon further thought, let me clarify my last comment.
Drew
7/17/2014 01:02:17 am
Also, Smaug was inspired by Fafnir, the dwarf who turned into a dragon to jealously guard a treasure hoard. So if dragon = dinosaur then, uh, dwarves = baby dinosaurs? Zeta Reticulans who genetically engineered dinosaurs into dragons?
.
7/17/2014 04:47:31 am
My local PBS station is replaying NOVA's four part geological
Only Me
7/17/2014 06:32:33 am
A 23' long prehistoric monitor lizard is impressive, but being in southern Australia 30-40K years ago has no bearing on European dragons.
EP
7/16/2014 01:33:00 pm
A curious detail about J. R. Bhagat's excavation Jason mentions. Bhagat is reported as saying that the Tarighat settlement bears signs of "having been "completely devastated by a huge fire".
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Gregor
7/16/2014 01:43:07 pm
Well obviously the aliens - who from the heavens came - laid waste to the village of Tarighat, took all the attractive womens, then flew away and the few males who survived drew pictures of the yellow-ochre aliens on the nearest cave wall. 1743 BCE: NEVER FORGET!
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EP
7/16/2014 01:51:07 pm
Pseudoscience of all stripes is pervasive in India. Also, there are all kinds of political and elementary business pressures (tourism, etc.). I'm merely wondering whether Mr. Bhagat is angling for a piece of that delicious ancient astronauts publicity pie. Given that earlier stories (at first glance, mind you) don't seem to mention the minor detail of THE SETTLEMENT BEING DESTROYED BY A HUGE FIRE, which, I suspect, isn't hard to see right away, and given that the fire story is followed by the transparently ridiculous claims of alien cave art, the question does suggest itself... (Can't wait for another round of the Brahmastra nonsense...)
Gregor
7/16/2014 01:58:55 pm
Yeah...
EP
7/16/2014 02:06:19 pm
It's really sad. There are parts of India where you can just point at random and start digging - and you're likely to find something incredibly interesting. But lack of funding, social and political stupidity of various kinds, as well as notoriously disorganized institutions are preventing it from happening most of the time.
Gregor
7/16/2014 02:36:12 pm
That's where things get tricky for me, personally. On the one hand I support claims to national heritage, and the argument that it's not "right" for foreign powers (notably the US and Europe) to effectively collect the relics and histories of other peoples - even under the guise of protecting said relics and histories.
EP
7/16/2014 03:42:11 pm
The more I read about it, the dodgier the whole thing appears... For starters, J. R. Bhagat may be an "actual archeologist", but he is also a government official and doesn't seem to have academic publications (at least not in English). Then, he is reported as saying that the Tarighat excavation is a result of his "personal visit" to the area, during which he made "a chance discovery" of "some old coins, beads, pottery items, bones and some structural features"... Unless we're dealing with poor translation or misreporting, the implications are really alarming... (Also, he is quoted as saying: "For excavation, we would have to dig about 20 feet and few patches have been marked in the region where we expect to find more precious elements." Note the words "expect" and "precious" - remind you of anything?)
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Gregor
7/16/2014 04:27:13 pm
I said all this!! ;)
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EP
7/16/2014 04:49:50 pm
He's the Deputy Director of the State Department of Archaeology, apparently. I strongly suspect that he doesn't answer to anyone other than the Chhattisgarh State government.
Gregor
7/16/2014 05:20:15 pm
Hmm...could be (about the blogspot thing). When I simply google the name, the same webpage comes up as ".com". It also links to a facebook page of the same name (and goodie! they're reposting the "UFO" story!). The facebook version, at least, wasn't created until November of 2013 (~13 years after Chhattisgarh's creation)
EP
7/16/2014 05:56:20 pm
Carbon dating?! They don't even have a local expert who could explain to them that the cave art doesn't depict aliens and isn't from 10,000 years ago!
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Gregor
7/16/2014 06:03:30 pm
Well, I suppose there is *some* leniency to be granted seeing as though English is clearly not the "native tongue" of Chhattisgarh State. Still, as far as content goes... I wouldn't even have given it a "B".
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EP
7/16/2014 06:15:24 pm
You mean, stuff like:
Gregor
7/16/2014 06:23:56 pm
It is, as you say, the yes.
EP
7/16/2014 06:28:55 pm
Things like that just serve to suppress the Truth. Of Aliens.
Only Me
7/16/2014 07:20:09 pm
Not according to Scott Wolter. I'm eagerly awaiting news of the Bollywood-produced India Unearthed.
Gregor
7/16/2014 07:39:55 pm
@Only Me
EP
7/16/2014 07:43:51 pm
As long as we get to watch Tsoukalos in a sari singing an 11-minute love song while dancing around a tree, I don't care who produces it.
Only Me
7/16/2014 07:49:26 pm
I don't follow the film industry in India, but thanks for the tidbit. You learn something new every day!
Gregor
7/16/2014 07:49:45 pm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcJ31-D_Iwk
EP
7/16/2014 07:52:59 pm
Was expecting the condom song. How disappointing.
Gregor
7/16/2014 08:18:13 pm
I really don't know much about Indian culture today, much less in the past. However, in my very limited experience, turbans are more often worn by Sikhs rather than Hindus. As I mentioned before, "Bhagat" is (apparently) a term for Sikh holy men...
.
7/17/2014 04:58:55 am
if y'all totally want to actually meet G.T and politely "raspberry"
Reply
.
7/17/2014 05:14:19 am
lets think over the play OUR TOWN by Thornton Wilder and
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.
7/17/2014 05:32:19 am
letz go from a microcosm to a macrocosm, and get millennial.
Reply
9/11/2014 05:49:15 am
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/blogs/physics/2014/09/quantum-harmonies-modern-physics-and-music/
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Goofy
11/11/2016 08:42:23 am
Jason, why do you think there is a translation error? Are you aging that Bhagat made his comments in another language and the Times of India translated them into English? How do you know?
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John Chitty
4/24/2018 10:46:37 am
"The Broken Bible: Picking Up The Extraterrestrial Pieces" (See amazon.com)
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AuthorI am an author and researcher focusing on pop culture, science, and history. Bylines: New Republic, Esquire, Slate, etc. There's more about me in the About Jason tab. Newsletters
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