Debunking alien claims matters, but so does telling richer, more compelling stories about how humans shaped their own past.

Erich von Däniken, the Swiss author whose bestselling books about the extraterrestrial origins of ancient civilizations brought him fame among paranormal enthusiasts and scorn from the scientific ...

Could ancient humans really have built the pyramids without extraterrestrial help? Or do such questions reveal more about modern anxieties than the past itself? The idea that aliens assisted the ...