A prior indigenous technological species might have arisen on ancient Earth or another body, such as a pre-greenhouse Venus or ancient Mars. The researcher notes that on Earth, erosion, and plate tectonics may have erased any evidence if such—ancient Alien—species ever lived on our planet millions, or perhaps billions of years ago. Extraterrestrial technosignatures might be expected to be extremely old, limiting the places they might still be found to beneath the surfaces of Mars and the Moon, or in the outer Solar System

One of the most asked questions on planet Earth is without a doubt: Are we the only ones out there? Is our species the first and only in the universe? Or is there a chance that life may have existed—or still sexists—somehwere else in te universe, perhaps somewhere in our own solar system?

One scientist believes he may finally have an answer.

Current space missions are trying to find signs of life in our solar system, but can these missions also find traces of the existence of technological civilizations that may have existed in our solar system before our own? According to Jason Wright, assistant professor of astrophysics and astronomy of the Pennsylvania State University, the answer is yes.

Professor Wright claims that ‘technological’ alien civilizations may have once lived on one of the planets in our solar system, and eventually disappeared without a trace.

In a study titled ‘Prior Indigenous Technological Species’, Professor Wright proposes that ancient aliens may have even lived on either Mars, Venus or Earth.

The scientific paper—which has been published in arXiv—states: A prior indigenous technological species might have arisen on ancient Earth or another body, such as a pre-greenhouse Venus or a wet Mars.

However, if these advanced alien civilizations existed in our solar system—perhaps even Earth—most evidence of their existence is probably gone by now.

If ancient aliens did inhabit Earth in the distant past, then the question would be HOW LONG AGO? How long ago could such a species have existed? Complex life has been common on Earth since the Cambrian “explosion” around 540 Myr ago; before this, the fossil record contains only much simpler organisms, such as single-celled species and their colonies. We would then expect that any prior intelligent species to be no older than this event.

As noted by the expert, if aliens existed in the distant past on Venus, evidence of their civilization may have been completely erased.

“One of the primary open questions of astrobiology is whether there is extant or extinct life elsewhere the Solar System. Implicit in much of this work is that we are looking for microbial or, at best, unintelligent life, even though technological artifacts might be much easier to find. But if a prior technological, perhaps spacefaring, species ever arose in the Solar System, it might have produced artifacts or other technosignatures that have survived to present day, meaning Solar System artifact SETI provides a potential path to resolving astrobiology’s question,” writes Professor Wright.

Furthermore, Professor Wright notes that on Earth, erosion, and plate tectonics may have also erased any evidence if such species ever lived on our planet millions of years ago.

“Remaining indigenous technosignatures might be expected to be extremely old, limiting the places they might still be found to beneath the surfaces of Mars and the Moon, or in the outer Solar System,” writes Professor Wright.

If there are traces of advanced alien civilizations on Earth, then evidence of their existence is most likely located underground.

Professor Wright notes in the study:

“Structures buried beneath surfaces might survive and be discoverable as long as they do not suffer a collision so severe that their artificial nature is obliterated. Merely destroying them would render them nonfunctional, but they might still be recognizably technological. We might conjecture that settlements or bases on these objects would have been built beneath the surface for a variety of reasons, and so still be discoverable today.”

Professor Wright, who has shaken a very controversial subject believes that in our current era, the growing field of space archaeology may one day help reveal evidence of ‘ancient aliens’.

Ancient Mars, a likely place to find ancient aliens.

As noted by Professor Wright, ancient Mars likely had liquid surface water and may have been habitable. As such, it is often considered the most likely place to find evidence for extraterrestrial life in the Solar System. After Earth, it is thus also perhaps the most likely host for a prior indigenous technological species.

“Such discoveries might occur using the tools of the burgeoning field of the archeology of space which includes searching for, finding, and interpreting human artifacts in space. Perhaps more likely, imagery and subsurface radar used to study the geology of planetary surfaces might reveal traces of buried structures or other artifacts,” concluded Professor Wright.

Source: Prior Indigenous Technological Species