The earliest depictions of ancient aliens and UFOs are those carved on a mountain in Hunan, China. They are said to be dated 47,000 years old, which puts them in the time span of the Neanderthal man, predating Homo-sapiens. These paintings seem to suggest early encounters with unknown beings and, perhaps, visitations from extraterrestrials.

The further back you go in time, the harder these art pieces become to interpret. Extraterrestrial depictions in paintings are an incredibly controversial topic among scientists and ancient alien theorists. The scientific community is overwhelmingly skeptical about the subject, but their theories are often no less far fetched and are often backed up by evidence that is just as anecdotal.

Despite scientific skepticism, the annals of art history contain many curious examples of mysterious objects being sighted in the sky. Are these ancient artifacts trying to tell us something? What do these paintings tell us about the origins of humanity? And do they suggest a massive missing link in the history of the human story?

The ancient alien theory, sometimes known as the study of ‘ancient astronauts’, has been written on by a variety of fringe thinkers, including David Icke, Zecharia Sitchen, and Erich Von Daniken. They believe extraterrestrials visited the Earth thousands of years ago, sharing their expertise with early civilizations and forever changing the course of human history.

They believe this for two primary reasons: “the first is ancient religious texts in which humans witness and interact with gods or other heavenly beings who descend from the sky—sometimes in vehicles resembling spaceships—and possess spectacular powers. The second is physical specimens such as artwork depicting alien-like figures and ancient architectural marvels like Stonehenge and the pyramids of Egypt.” The Pyramid of the Sun at Mexico’s Teotihuacan for instance, lies at the center of complex pyramids, each aligned with the planets and stars.

What do you think primitive man was trying to depict in these ancient cave paintings?