Studies in Ancient Astronautics Vol. 3
A N O V E L
Garrett P. Serviss
JasonColavito.com Books, 2012
"To think that we should have come to the planet Mars to solve one of the standing mysteries of the earth, which had puzzled mankind and defied all their efforts at solution for so many centuries!"
-- from Edison's Conquest of Mars
The ancient astronaut theory has a long and winding history based, in large measure, on the fertile interaction of speculative fiction and speculative history. Its roots can be traced to Victorian era pseudoscience, including Theosophy, speculation about the existence of Atlantis, and mystical investigations of the Great Pyramid of Egypt. But fact-based claims were not alone in creating the notion that aliens had visited the early earth and were responsible for achievements like the pyramids of Egypt. Science fiction played its role, too. Sometimes too well.
Edison’s Conquest of Mars (1898) drew on all of these themes to deliver one of earliest science fiction stories to present extraterrestrial beings as ancient astronauts. In the novel, Martians came down to the earth in prehistory, built the pyramids and the Sphinx, and abducted humans to use as slave labor—all claims suggested in the work of twentieth century ancient astronaut theorists.
These same motifs appear in the work of H. P. Lovecraft, who also used Theosophy, Atlantis, and Victorian pseudoscience to create his prehistoric gods and their stone temples. Later, ancient astronaut theorists would use these same building blocks to construct the twentieth-century version of the ancient astronaut theory, claiming truth where none existed. Serviss’ Edison may not have inspired the ancient astronaut genre, but it is a fascinating example of how the ideas available in popular culture repeatedly combined to produce the same idea time and again.
Volume 3 of Studies in Ancient Astronautics
Contents of This Volume
236 pages, paperback, 5.83" X 8.26", ISBN 978-1-300-04931-9
The Studies in Ancient Astronautics series presents key texts that explore the intersection of science, pseudoscience, and speculative fiction that gave rise to the various claims that make up the ancient astronaut theory.