Since the beginning of humanity, people have invented explanations for things they don’t understand. The culprits for the unexplained have evolved from gods and demons, to ghosts and spirits, to extraterrestrials. A recent study showed that almost 1 in 4 Americans believe that, at least some of the reported UFO’s, are actually spacecraft from other worlds. Many people believe space aliens have visited Earth in the past – if they’re not here right now. Of course the vast majority of “evidence” of extraterrestrials have simple (albeit WAY less exciting) explanations. Here are 10 man-made things falsely attributed to extraterrestrial influence. Enjoy.

人类诞生以来，人们总是对于他们不理解的事情提供附会的解释。无法解释现象的始作俑者从最初的神魔，到后来的鬼怪，最后发展到了外星人。最新的一项研究表明，每4个美国人中就有1个人相信，在报道的UFO中至少有部分实际上是来自其他星球的飞船。许多人相信，外星人过去曾经造访过地球--即便他们目前不在地球上。当然，绝大多数有关“地外生命”的证据都有简单(而远没那么令人兴奋)的解释。以下是10项人造的东西，它们被错误地归因于地外生命的影响。请欣赏。

10Ancient Cave Paintings

Discoveries of ancient artwork depicting mysterious figures have helped give rise to the “Ancient Astronaut Theory”, which claims that alien beings visited prehistoric humans, possibly interacting and sharing knowledge with them. Advocates of this theory usually point to specific examples, such as a particular rock carving in the Val Camonica site in Italy, as well as the Wandjina Petroglyph (above) sites in Australia. Using these examples as evidence reaches unsturdy ground when held up to scientific scrutiny. The popular image of two “alien” figures in Val Camonica was picked out of over 200,000 drawings – a pretty clear sign of confirmation bias. Testing at the Wandjina site showed some drawings had been repainted numerous times over, with the images evolving over time at the artists’ discretion, rendering the original artwork unknown.

10 古代洞穴壁画

描述神秘人物的古代美术作品的发现引起了“古代宇航员理论”的产生，该理论称，外星人造访过史前人类，可能曾与他们互动并分享知识。该理论的拥护者常常举出特定的例子，如意大利卡摩尼加(Val Camonica)现场的特殊石雕以及澳大利亚的旺吉纳岩石壁画(Wandjina Petroglyph) 现场(上图)。但若以科学方法来检验这些例子，它们就站不住脚了。卡摩尼加的两个热门“外星人”形象是从200,000多幅画中挑选出来的--非常明显的确认偏颇迹象。而在旺吉纳现场的实验表明，有些壁画已经被重画过无数次了，随着时间的推移，这些画按照艺术家的想法而演变，从而产生了未知的原创美术作品。

9Egyptian Carvings

According to many UFO enthusiasts, the Temple of Osiris at Abydos contains definitive proof of advanced ancient technology. The glyphs seem to include depictions of a helicopter, a jet plane and some sort of flying saucer. Unfortunately for believers, the glyphs are a result of erosion and actual replacement and re-carving of hieroglyphics. The original text is part of the titulary of Seti I, that had been changed to reference Ramsses II. Modifying and defacing inscriptions was common in ancient Egypt’s history, and in this case yielded some strange-looking results. Even stranger, UFO enthusiasts do not find it odd that there are no other examples like this in the thousands of hieroglyphs discovered elsewhere, nor is there any mention of flying machines anywhere in Egyptian literature.

9 埃及雕刻

据许多UFO迷称，位于埃及阿比多斯的奥西里斯庙(Temple of Osiris)中藏有古代发达科技的确凿证据。庙里的符号似乎包含有关直升飞机、喷气式飞机及某种飞碟的描述。但对相信此理论者来说不幸的是，这些符号只不过是腐蚀作用的结果，实际上是象形文字被替换和重新雕刻而形成的。原来的文字是塞提一世称号(该称号后已改为拉美西斯二世)的一部分。在古埃及历史上，修改和涂掉刻字是常见现象，在这种情况下，就会产生一些看上去奇怪的符号。更奇怪的是，在其他地方发现的数以千计的象形文字中并没有其他像这样的例子，所有埃及文献中也从没有提及过任何飞行的机器，而UFO迷们却对此熟视无睹。

8Nazca Lines

The Nazca Lines are a series of hundreds of ancient geoglyphs located in Peru. These include depictions of animals, birds, fish and humans, along with simple lines and geometric shapes. Some of them are over 600ft. across and can only be viewed properly from the air. This has led to speculation by the Ancient Astronaut crowd that the ancient Peruvians were capable of advanced flight, or were trying to communicate with beings that were. Scientists have claimed the lines were of a spiritual significance, possibly pertaining to the availability of water. Also, historians have since recreated similar lines using primitive techniques without aerial assistance.

8 纳斯卡线

纳斯卡线是位于秘鲁的一系列数以百计的古代人形石刻。这些线条组成的图案有动物、鸟类、鱼类及人类的形象，由简洁的线条和几何形状组成。有些图案宽达600多英尺，只有从空中才能完整观看。这引起了古代宇航员理论拥护者的猜测：古代秘鲁人掌握了先进的飞行技术，或曾试图与掌握这些技术的生物交流。科学家们声称，这些线条具有精神上的意义，可能与水利有关。同时，历史学家也采用原始技术在没有航空手段辅助的情况下重新创作了一些类似的线条。

7Antikythera Mechanism

The Mechanism is a clock-like instrument from around 85 BC, that was discovered in 1900 near Antikythera, Greece. It was used aboard ships as a navigation tool because it could accurately predict locations of the sun, moon and the 5 known planets, at any given date. The device contained a complex system of gears, built with sophisticated technology, that rivaled that of 14th century clocks. Because of the precision involved in it’s construction, it’s almost exact predictions of cosmic bodies, and the apparent 1300 year gap in technology, UFO enthusiasts have cited this as evidence of alien contact, as humans could have never figured it’s complex technology out that early. However, if aliens were to blame, they would have probably told the Greeks about more than just five planets, or at least given them a magnetic compass. Of course ancient Greek literature mentions mechanisms like this one without mentioning other-worldly visitors.

7 安蒂基西拉装置

该装置是一个钟型的仪器，制作于公元前85年左右，1900年在希腊的安蒂基西拉附近被发现。该装置在船上被用作导航工具，因为它能精确地预测任何给定一天的太阳、月亮以及5大已知行星的位置。该装置包含一套以精密技术制造的复杂齿轮系统，该系统可与14世纪的时钟媲美。由于其构造的精密性、其对宇宙天体运动近乎精确的预测以及跨越1300年的明显技术差距，UFO迷们将此引为外星人接触人类的证据，因为人类不可能那么早地掌握这种复杂的技术。但是，如果外星人真是此装置的主人的话，他们很可能不会只告诉希腊人五大行星，或者至少给他们一个指南针。当然，古希腊文献提到过类似的装置，但并没有提到来自其他星球的访客。

6Saqqara Bird

Found in a tomb excavation in 1898, the Saqqara Bird has been rumored, by believers in the Ancient Astronaut Theory, to be evidence of advanced flight in ancient Egypt. They note the vertical tail of the “bird” resembles a tailplane on an aircraft as opposed to the horizontal tail feathers of a real bird. The lack of legs, and the angle of the wings has lent to speculation about the design’s capability of aerodynamic lift. Tests performed on recreations of the artifact have shown it to have no aerodynamic properties conductive to flight. Modern scientific theories suggest it’s either a religious artifact or even just a simple children’s toy.

6 萨卡拉木鸟

萨卡拉木鸟于1898年在一次墓穴开掘中发现，古代宇航员理论的相信者声称它是古埃及存在先进飞行技术的证据。他们指出，该“鸟”的垂直尾部类似于飞机上的横尾翼，而与真正鸟类的水平尾羽方向相反。足部的缺失以及双翼的角度不禁让人对这种设计的空气动力升力产生猜测。对这种手工制品复制品的实验表明，它并不具备有利于飞行的空气动力属性。现代科学理论表明，它要么是一种宗教制品，要么只不过是一个简单的儿童玩具。

5Dogu

Dogu are small humanoid figurines created in prehistoric Japan. The unusual appearance of the Dogu has been claimed to resemble some sort of space suit, supposedly complete with goggles, armor and hoses. Adding to the mystery, their exact purpose remains unclear to historians. Ancient Astronaut proponents tend to ignore the fact that the “goggle-eyed type” figures are only one of many types of Dogu, and that archaeologists have pointed out the similarity of the figure’s eyes with Inuit snow goggles. They are seldom discovered intact, with limbs having been cut or broken off. This with the exaggerated hips, buttocks, and breasts depicted suggest a possible usage in fertility rituals.

5 土偶

土偶是史前日本制造的人型小泥塑。有人声称土偶不同寻常的外观类似某种太空服，可以想像护目镜、盔甲和呼吸管均已配齐。历史学家仍然不清楚土偶的具体用途，这增添了它的神秘感。古代宇航员理论的支持者很容易忽视下面的事实：“护目镜式”形象仅仅只是许多类土偶中的一类，且考古学家已指出过土偶眼睛与因纽特雪地护目镜类似。此类土偶发现时很少有完整的，四肢要么被切掉要么破损。对髋部、臀部及乳房的夸张表现表明，这种土偶很可能用于有关生育的宗教仪式中。

4Crop Circles

In 1966, a man claimed to have seen a saucer shaped craft over a field near Tully, Australia. The saucer allegedly left a circular pattern of flattened reeds over the area it had taken off from. Years later, this unique story inspired two English pranksters to create their own patterns of flattened crops in local fields, using simple tools. The fad quickly spread, and crop circles became increasingly complex and intricate. While some believe this is a result of alien technology advancing, or the increasingly complex nature of an extraterrestrial “message” to humans, the overwhelming majority of crop circles have been revealed as products of deception, artistic expression and/or business or tourist interests.

4 麦田怪圈

1966年，一个人声称在澳大利亚塔利的一个麦田上方看见一个碟形飞行器。据称该飞碟在它起飞的麦田中留下一圈压平的芦苇。多年后，这个独特的故事激发了两名英国恶作剧者的灵感，他们用简单的工具在当地的庄稼地里亲自创作了压平的庄稼组成的怪圈。这种做法迅速传播，成为一种时尚，麦田怪圈也变得越来越复杂和精巧。虽然有人相信这是外星人科技进步或外星人给人类的“消息”越来越复杂的结果，但麦田怪圈中的绝大多数已被揭露为欺骗、艺术表现和/或商业或旅游利益的产物。

3Norwegian Spiral

In December of 2009, an enormous spiral appeared in the sky over northern Norway, leading to speculation of an extraterrestrial visit. The unusual visual phenomenon lasted for 2-3 minutes, and consisted of a blue light originating on the horizon, which gained altitude, culminating into a large white pinwheel effect before disappearing “into a wormhole.” UFO enthusiasts cited this as evidence of extraterrestrial intelligence, while the official explanation from the Russian government wasn’t quite as fantastic. Apparently, a Russian military missile test went haywire, and the spiral effect was either a result of a broken stabilizer engine, or the missile circling an airborne misfire beacon until it ran out of fuel and fell into the sea.

3 挪威螺旋光圈

2009年12月，一个巨大的螺旋光圈出现在挪威北部的上空，引发人们对外星人来访的猜想。这种不寻常的视觉现象持续了2-3分钟，先是从地平线上发出蓝色的光，这种蓝光慢慢升高，最后形成一个巨大的白色风车效果，然后消失“在一个虫洞中”。UFO迷将此现象引作外星文明的证据，而来自俄罗斯政府的官方解释却并不那么让人着迷。显然，俄罗斯一次军事导弹试验出了问题，螺旋效果要么是稳定器发动机损坏造成的，要么是导弹围绕空中熄火信标转圈直到燃料用尽跌入海中造中的。

2Stonehenge

With it’s enormous stones dating past 2400BC, the purpose and construction methods of Stonehenge have long been debated. Humans are generally accepted to have built the actual monument, as comparably large stones have been erected in modern times using primitive tools. However, Ancient Astronaut theorists claim that the positions of the stones confirm an ancient ability to predict eclipses. This ability would mean the ancients had knowledge of lunar nodes – the two points in space where Earth’s orbit intersects the moon’s orbit. This knowledge wouldn’t be possible without extraterrestrial influence — or by generations of astute study that was continuously passed down and improved upon. Modern science obviously leans towards the latter, but it is possible that scientists have also attributed too much astronomical meaning to the placement of the stones.

2 巨石阵

巨石阵的历史可追溯至公元前2400年前，其建造目的和方法长久以来没有定论。普遍认为是人类建造了这个实际上的纪念碑，与此类似，人们在现代也曾使用原始工具立起过巨大的石头。但是，古代宇航员理论支持者声称，石头的位置证明古代人有预测日月食的能力。这种能力表明，古代人掌握了黄白道交点--地球轨道与月球轨道在太空中相交的两点--的知识。没有外星人的影响(或通过几代人不断传承和改善的努力研究)，古人是不可能掌握这种知识的。现代科学显然支持后一种猜测，但也有可能是科学家对巨石的位置赋予了过多的天文学含义。

1Pyramids of Giza

Similar to many other megalithic sites around the world, the Pyramids of Giza have been repeatedly attributed to extraterrestrials throughout the years, mostly because of the sheer magnitude of their construction. According to believers, the technology needed to build the massive monuments was not available to the Egyptians during the time they were built. The cuts and placement of the stones are said to be so precise that we cannot recreate them even in modern times. The placement of the pyramids themselves and the measurements contained within are also said to support the Ancient Astronaut Theory, such as the height of the Great Pyramid being an accurate, scaled-down measurement of the distance between Earth and the Sun, or the three Giza Pyramids correlating with the constellation Orion. Modern measuring techniques have proven hopeful ideas like those to be false, yet the rumors persist. The Pyramids of Giza do display a remarkable knowledge of engineering and measuring for their time period, but one would think that if creatures capable of interstellar travel were actually responsible for them, they would have done a better job.

1 吉萨金字塔

类似于世界各地的许多其他巨石建筑群，吉萨金字塔多年来一直被人们认为是外星人的杰作，这主要是因为它们巨大的工程量。据持此理论的人称，在这些巨型纪念碑建造期间，埃及人还没掌握建造这种纪念碑所需的技术。据说，这些石头的放置和切割十分精确，以致于即使是在现代我们也无法复制它们。据说，金字塔本身的位置和内含的尺寸也能证明古代宇航员理论，例如大金字塔的高度恰好是地球到太阳之间距离按比例缩小的结果，另外，三个吉萨金字塔的位置与猎户星座类似。现代测量技术已证明类似抱有希望的想法是错误的，但传言仍在继续。吉萨金字塔的确展示了建造当时的杰出工程和测量学知识，但有人会想，如果能够进行星际旅行的生物真的是这些杰作的主人的话，那么他们的工程质量应该会更好。

Religions

Believers in extraterrestrials have also pointed to religious texts to support their claims of a previous visitation. Proponents often mention the imagery in the Book of Ezekiel, or the vimanas of Hindu Vedic texts, while some religions, like Raelism and Scientology, hold the belief of extraterrestrials as basic tenets of their faith. One thing some Ancient Astronaut theorists like to mention as a modern day comparison are the so-called Cargo Cults. These “cults” arose when the primitive, indigenous populations of isolated islands were exposed to visitors from civilized countries. For example, U.S. soldiers landed on the tiny island of Tanna, Vanuatu, during WWII to build airstrips for their fight against Japan. The tribal inhabitants viewed the soldiers as gods, and accepted gifts from them as rewards from their deities. When the soldiers left as quickly as they came, the inhabitants began recreating their “rituals,” such as marching in formation and building makeshift landing strips and planes, in order to continue the delivery of their divine “cargo.” Some ufologists have speculated that ancient religions may have developed the same way, with extraterrestrials acting the part of American soldiers.

宗教

相信有外星人的人士还曾引述宗教文字来佐证外星人曾经来访的观点。支持者经常提及以西结书中的雕像，即印度吠陀文献中的维曼拿斯(vimanas，印度文献中记载的一种神话般的飞行器--译者注)，而有些宗教(如雷尔教派和科学论派)将相信外星人的存在作为其信仰的基本教义。一些古代宇航员理论支持者喜欢提及用来与当代作比较的一件事是所谓的货物崇拜。这种“崇拜”在孤岛上的原始、土著人遇到来自文明国家的来访者时产生。例如，二战期间，美国士兵曾登陆瓦鲁阿图一个叫塔纳的小岛，在岛上建造机场，方便对日作战。部落土著将这些士兵视为天神，接受“神赐”礼物，认为这是神对于他们虔诚的奖赏。当这些士兵们如同迅速到来那般迅速离开时，土著开始重新创建他们的“仪式”，如按队列行进以及建造临时机场和飞机，以便继续上交他们的神圣“货物”。一些UFO专家推测，古代宗教也可能是以同样的方式发展的，只不过外星人取代了美国士兵的地位。