Zecharia Sitchin (1920s−2010 ) : Zecharia Sitchin was one of the leading proponents of the ancient astronaut theory, an idea originally popularized by Erich von Däniken. This theory suggests that ancient cultures on Earth were influenced by extraterrestrial visitors. Sitchin argues that the ancient Sumerians were visited by extraterrestrials called the Anunnaki, since this is the name of deities mentioned in ancient Sumerian myths. In his book The 12th Planet (1978), Sitchin says that these extraterrestrials lived on a twelfth planet, Nibiru, that once existed in Earth’s solar system but was destroyed by a nuclear disaster; when this event occurred, colonists from Nibiru were stranded on Earth.
Sitchin has asserted that there were two classes of Nibiru colonists. One class was the Anunnaki, and the other was the Nephilim (a people mentioned in the Bible but not identified as having extraordinary powers or being from another world). Sitchin says these two groups warred with one another before learning to work together to add their own DNA to human DNA, thereby transforming a primitive form of humans, Homo erectus, into the current species, Homo sapiens. Sitchin’s other books include The Stairway to Heaven (1980), The Wars of Gods and Men (1985), The Lost Realms (1990), Genesis Revisited: Is Modern Science Catching Up with Ancient Knowledge? (1991), The Cosmic Code (1998), and The Lost Book of Enki: Memoirs and Prophecies of an Extraterrestrial God (2002). He maintains an Internet site about his books and activities at www.sitchin.com.
SEE ALSO:
- ancient astronauts;
- Däniken, Erich von
SOURCE:
The Greenhaven Encyclopedia of Paranormal Phenomena – written by Patricia D. Netzley © 2006 Gale, a part of Cengage Learning