It's not ridiculous to believe people could do these monumental things in pre-industrial times. To think they couldn't is just modern arrogance. Whether or not the "internal ramp" theory for the pyramids is correct, it is a plausible solution to the problem, and illustrates that people could build such a thing in a reasonable amount of time. It certainly stretches credibility far less than aliens traveling billions and billions of miles to teach or help people build these structures.
Seriously, much of von Däniken's "evidence" is sloppy misreading of historical artifacts. For instance: Mayan Spaceman or Something More Prosaic? Anyone with a passing familiarity with mesoamerican art could tell you that's not an unusual image, and that much of the iconography there is pretty standard stuff for artwork of that time...it's just that if you don't know what you're looking at, you'll see something the way it relates to what you see in your culture, not what's actually being depicted: like seeing the shape of a bunny in clouds. von Däniken's mistake was not realizing or denying he was playing what do you see in the clouds. "I see an astronaut! Whoosh!" Heck, some people KNOW what it is, then still insist on ridiculous interpretations that rival some of the discussions of fictional startships on this site. Here's a great example of someone knowing what he's looking at and deluding himself into seeing something that's not there...going to laughable lengths to turn a depiction of a religious idea into some kind of Mayan Transformer. Bah!
Seriously, much of von Däniken's "evidence" is sloppy misreading of historical artifacts. For instance: Mayan Spaceman or Something More Prosaic? Anyone with a passing familiarity with mesoamerican art could tell you that's not an unusual image, and that much of the iconography there is pretty standard stuff for artwork of that time...it's just that if you don't know what you're looking at, you'll see something the way it relates to what you see in your culture, not what's actually being depicted: like seeing the shape of a bunny in clouds. von Däniken's mistake was not realizing or denying he was playing what do you see in the clouds. "I see an astronaut! Whoosh!" Heck, some people KNOW what it is, then still insist on ridiculous interpretations that rival some of the discussions of fictional startships on this site. Here's a great example of someone knowing what he's looking at and deluding himself into seeing something that's not there...going to laughable lengths to turn a depiction of a religious idea into some kind of Mayan Transformer. Bah!
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