The Amorous Astronaut and the Creation of Man
For as long as the idea of evolution has been around, there have been debates about its accurateness, especially when concerning the Christian religions and the literal interpretation of the Bible. But it is not only the Christians who have debated evolution, but people who believe that aliens, or “astronauts”, came down from space and created the human race with our ape-like ancestors, “producing an evolutionary leap by what amounts to interstellar hybridization” (1).
Yes, there are people in the world who claim that the “biological evolution of the human species resulted from actual interbreeding between extraterrestrial aliens and ancient hominids” (1). The creator of this claim is Erich von Däniken, a writer of many books that state there is proof of alien influence on Earth. Many refer to this claim as the “Amorous Astronaut Hypothesis”.
According to Kenneth L. Feder, von Däniken describes the following scenario in his book, The Chariot of the Gods? (1968):
“A group of extremely advanced, interstellar space travelers lands on earth, for the first time perhaps millions of years ago. They find a primitive race of creatures, very apelike, with small brains, but with a lot of potential. Then, von Däniken claims, ‘A few specially selected women would be fertilized by the astronauts. Thus a new race would arise that skipped a stage in natural evolution.’” (2)
This claim can easily proved a myth, not by using scientific information regarding evolution (for there is a possibility that all the pieces of the evolutionary puzzle have not yet been uncovered), but by genetics. There are very few cases where two species can mate and then produce an offspring. In the cases when this can happen, the offspring is sterile, and cannot continue its line (3). This is the case with the horse and donkey offspring, the mule; a mule and a mule will never be able to bear offspring.
So, with this rule of hybridization in genetics, what would the likelihood of an alien species coming to earth, mating with our hominid (human-like) ancestors, and producing non-sterile offspring be?
Not very likely. As Carl Sagan points out in an interview, our human ancestors would probably have had better chance mating with a petunia than with an extraterrestrial being (4); at least the petunia is from Earth. The chances that two beings who evolved on completely different planets in possibly different galaxies having compatible DNA in order to copulate are very unlikely, and therefore, the whole “Amorous Astronaut” hypothesis is impossible.
Sources:
(1) Shermer, Michael. "Amorous Astronauts". The Skeptic Encyclopedia of Pseudoscience. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2002. Print.
(2) Feder, Kenneth L. Frauds, Myths, and Mysteries: Science and Pseudoscience in Archaeology, Second Edition. London and Toronto: Mayfield Publishing Company, 1996. Print.
(3) Darwin, Charles. "Chapter IX. Hybridism: Origin and causes of the sterility of first crosses and of hybrids." On the Origin of Species. Classic Reader, 2010. Web. 14 Apr. 2012. <website>
(4) Novak, Ralph. "Carl Sagan Searches for Neighbors Out There in Space." People Magazine Online Archive, 18 Mar. 1974. Web. 14 Apr. 2012 <website>
Yes, there are people in the world who claim that the “biological evolution of the human species resulted from actual interbreeding between extraterrestrial aliens and ancient hominids” (1). The creator of this claim is Erich von Däniken, a writer of many books that state there is proof of alien influence on Earth. Many refer to this claim as the “Amorous Astronaut Hypothesis”.
According to Kenneth L. Feder, von Däniken describes the following scenario in his book, The Chariot of the Gods? (1968):
“A group of extremely advanced, interstellar space travelers lands on earth, for the first time perhaps millions of years ago. They find a primitive race of creatures, very apelike, with small brains, but with a lot of potential. Then, von Däniken claims, ‘A few specially selected women would be fertilized by the astronauts. Thus a new race would arise that skipped a stage in natural evolution.’” (2)
This claim can easily proved a myth, not by using scientific information regarding evolution (for there is a possibility that all the pieces of the evolutionary puzzle have not yet been uncovered), but by genetics. There are very few cases where two species can mate and then produce an offspring. In the cases when this can happen, the offspring is sterile, and cannot continue its line (3). This is the case with the horse and donkey offspring, the mule; a mule and a mule will never be able to bear offspring.
So, with this rule of hybridization in genetics, what would the likelihood of an alien species coming to earth, mating with our hominid (human-like) ancestors, and producing non-sterile offspring be?
Not very likely. As Carl Sagan points out in an interview, our human ancestors would probably have had better chance mating with a petunia than with an extraterrestrial being (4); at least the petunia is from Earth. The chances that two beings who evolved on completely different planets in possibly different galaxies having compatible DNA in order to copulate are very unlikely, and therefore, the whole “Amorous Astronaut” hypothesis is impossible.
Sources:
(1) Shermer, Michael. "Amorous Astronauts". The Skeptic Encyclopedia of Pseudoscience. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2002. Print.
(2) Feder, Kenneth L. Frauds, Myths, and Mysteries: Science and Pseudoscience in Archaeology, Second Edition. London and Toronto: Mayfield Publishing Company, 1996. Print.
(3) Darwin, Charles. "Chapter IX. Hybridism: Origin and causes of the sterility of first crosses and of hybrids." On the Origin of Species. Classic Reader, 2010. Web. 14 Apr. 2012. <website>
(4) Novak, Ralph. "Carl Sagan Searches for Neighbors Out There in Space." People Magazine Online Archive, 18 Mar. 1974. Web. 14 Apr. 2012 <website>