What would count as evidence? I have no idea. Some kind of consistent, verifiable pattern of historical information that is present in multiple cultures would probably qualify. And not something that can be easily dismissed as similarities in human thought development. For example, one of the things that bugged me about the history channel series on this issue was the focus on religious texts and epic stories. None of that is really valid as evidence of this kind of thing; anymore than it's evidence of divine intervention.
Thanks, I'm just going to clarify a few things for myself. To me, the ancient aliens tv show has made it more easy to discuss this topic, which, while I'm obviously arguing here that this is the case, I am not definitive in my position... I see it as a 50-30-20 %, where 50% that there was an alien influence that humanity mislabeled as "god" and worshiped them and they helped us solve some of our issues (making better tools for example, keeping their own technology for their own usage)... I could see this as quite possible if you consider, that if the technological timeline is accurate, if the extent that you understand the world is the if you make the stone pointy it will kill an animal better, and that cooked meat is better than raw, or which berries are good, which are poison, and which are medicine. The 30% that these ancient monuments are actually far older, and are actually remnants of a "previous cycle" of humanity that had developed technology matching ours or greater, and built all these super-structures, the problem I have with that is that there isn't even archaeological evidence to back that up, and the 20% is that it really ALL is human ingenuity that created all these monuments and we just seriously do not understand human development.
Here is how I weigh evidence : On this topic we are looking at the ancient world primarily, and for that we have to go to the earliest information we can come across, and that seems to be limited to :
- religious texts (which unfortunately have been retranslated in so many ways, that we probably can't truly appreciate the intention). I don't see a reason why these stories are the ones that were worth either carving in stone, or preserving, even through means of burial in a hidden location. I don't see how people would seek to preserve fiction because it made for good reading. I feel that these people were attempting to preserve their story of what happened, from their perspectives around the world. But even then, how long have these stories been preserved?? Was it through spoken language building through 50000 years?? When the record shows humans spreading out of Africa and around the world. Or are these stories as old as 200000 years when the first anatomically modern human arrives on the scene?? Older?
- stone monuments, because stone is one of the few things that will remain almost indefinitely, and comparing their age and skills at that period. The problem with dating stone is that at best you can date the last time the stone had been cut, but the tests are extremely expensive and so usually relies on carbon dating... but stone is not carbon, so you see the problem. I would then try and consider what it would take WITH modern knowledge and technology, but consider how people can accomplish such things with the tools at their disposal. A few pages ago I showed the picture of Ollentaytambo's quarry, where there is a stone cut out (the stone actually just outside the view of that particular photo I linked, btw), but they cut the back of the stone flat WHILE LEAVING A BRIDGE that physically prevents it from being cut in any fashion that I could think of at least... NEVERMIND trying that with stone or even copper tools that couldn't be done with modern technology.
- Similarity of stories around the world; this can be viewed as evidence of either :
a) that they just randomly came up with improbable similarities among these stories
b) That these stories are so old that they are from an "original source" maybe a different perspective
c) that these people actually were telling the truth as best that they could so that the people around them could understand.
Now, I don't doubt the timeline, that archaeology presents us with, I just think that anything more than what they found would be destroyed, or it's parts used as resources over the ages... If someone found a dead drill that had no idea what it was would wind up breaking it apart and using what it's made of. So, I don't think there's a whole lot that would actually survive a real long period of time. Like 1000 years without maintenance, and most of a city like New York would be reclaimed by nature.
So, when I first read the bible, being raised catholic, and rejecting it, that's when I was kind of blown away... cause these weren't stories of that god you're praying to in actuality... but of carnal beings. Especially in the tale of Lot where these angels show up and the towns people KNOW they are angels are what they are and are ATTACKING THEM and trying to kill them.
Do I know what kind of evidence of this sort would survive the duration of time being discussed? I do not. This doesn't really mean anything. So far as I can tell, no such evidence has persisted through the ages. That obviously doesn't mean that there wasn't valid evidence that did exist at some point in the past.
The one that looks most definitive (or a great hoax, but it's been going on a bit long for a hoax), is the starchild.
