Swiss writer Erich von Däniken has died
Swiss writer Erich von Däniken, who helped popularize the idea that astronauts from outer space visited Earth to help lay the foundations of human civilization, has died at the age of 90.
His death was reported by Swiss media, including the national broadcaster SRF, and his website states that he died on Saturday.
Von Däniken became famous for his 1968 book Chariots of the Gods, in which he claimed that structures such as the pyramids of ancient Egypt, Stonehenge in Britain, and the Nazca Lines in Peru were too advanced for their time and required help from outside sources.
"In my opinion, ancient structures were created by humans, not aliens, but it was aliens who guided them, who [taught] them, who gave them the knowledge to do it," von Daeniken says in a video on his YouTube channel.
His theories were controversial among historians, scientists, and fellow writers. However, they were popular, and his books, including Chariots of the Gods, sold nearly 70 million copies worldwide and were published in more than 30 languages, according to SFR.
Von Däniken claimed that ancient religions, myths, and art contain evidence that thousands of years ago, the ancestors of modern humans made contact with advanced extraterrestrial beings who appeared to them as gods and enabled their progress.
(reuters, im)