Ancient Aliens - The Top Ten Alien Petroglyphs

Episode Date: March 5, 2026

Ancient Aliens is counting down the top ten alien petroglyphs around the world, from strange, human-like figures to flying craft and carvings of what appear to be astronauts. Could these mysterious carvings provide a record of extraterrestrial visitation?See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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And stone carvings of what appear to be astronauts. For more than a decade, ancient aliens has traveled the globe to examine some of the most extraordinary and mysterious rock art ever discovered. Now, we're investigating the top ten alien petroglyphs that just may hold the proof that Earth has been visited by extraterrestrials. There is a doorway in the universe. Beyond it is the promise of truth. It demands we question everything we have ever been taught. The evidence is all around us. The future is right before our eyes. We are not alone. We have never been alone.

Here is ancient astronaut theorist, Giorgio Succolos. On ancient aliens, we have investigated some of the most mysterious carvings and paintings ever discovered. Our ancestors spent countless hours, leaving strange images and symbols on stone to create a record of what they experienced. And at one site in Nevada, the rock art is not only some of the oldest in the world, but predates any known civilization in North America. At number 10 on our countdown of the top 10 alien petroglyphs, the rock art of Winnemukkah Lake. Northwest Nevada. In the dried up bed of what was once Winamucka Lake are several limestone boulders that are covered with what appeared to be ancient carvings. Hugh Newman is the co-author of Giants on record. In Nevada, some of the most remarkable

petroglyphs found on earth. They're called the Winemuck of petroglyphs. They are extremely large, extremely deep cut, beautiful pans of leaves, zigzags, spirals and other motifs. It's a remarkable sight. So far, researchers have been unable to determine what the abstract patterns mean. But what's even more mysterious is the fact that the local piute people say the pediglifts were not created by their ancestors. but by a race of giants. This is Chris Hegg, author of Ancient Universal Language of Man. The Paiutes said that initially they did not create petroglyphs

that an ancient race called the SETICA did. The SETICA was a race of giants that was said to have been white, complexed, having red hair, and well over seven foot tall. The piutes explained that these giants live on the lake in Pyramid Lake on floating cities. In 2013, samples of the limestone were taken to the University of Colorado at Boulder, where scientists performed a series of radiocarbon tests on sediment within the petroglyphs to determine their age. The results were astonishing. They revealed the carvings were etched between 10,500 and 14,800 years ago, making them the

oldest petroglyphs ever found in North America. And what's so special about these is their extreme age because no one was supposed to be living in North America at that time. This is before the Clovis, this is before the first settlers in North America. So who could have done this? Could the petroglyphs at Winamucka Lake really have been created by an ancient race of giants? Ancient astronaut theorists say yes and suggest that the origins of these mysterious beings was even recorded into the stone. William Henry is an author and investigative mythologist.

When we look at petroglyphs with their incredible spirals, the doorways, the strange beings that are featured, the stories that are told, and suggest that they all have an origin with extraterrestrials themselves. If you travel 800 miles southeast from Winnemukka Lake, you will come to a remarkable site in Arizona. It's a place where the

Navajo people carved thousands of petroglyphs into rock walls and cliffs centuries ago. The images tell a story of their encounters with celestial visitors called the Star People. Number nine on our list, Rock Art Ranch. Winslow, Arizona, July 2021. Ancient astronaut theorists Giorgio Suclos and William Henry have traveled to Rock Art Ranch to investigate one of North America's most extensive collections of petroglyphs. Joining them is esteemed Navajo tribal ranger, John Dover. Rock Art Ranch's 5,000 acres are home to nearly 3,000 ancient petroglyphs. And on nearly every panel are figures that the Navajo identify as star people.

Tell me, John, petroglyphs are regarded as picture books that tell a story all at once. That's right. And also enmeshed in all this are religious symbols. Things that tell you something about how they worshipped, pictures of gods. And when you say gods, gods, right. In your culture, what does that mean? It could be anything from somebody coming to them and meeting with them and imparting knowledge. And in the case of the Navajo, that's what the Yebeche represent. In the case of the Hopis, the kachinas, represent those gods that came to earth to give them knowledge.

And could one make the argument that these may have been visitations by flesh and blood exeterrestrials in ancient times? Oh, definitely. From what we understand, there's many different races of alien that are coming to this. world. John guides Giorgio and William to another site at Rock Art Ranch with even more strange petroglyphs. Wow, look at this. I mean, look at the hollow body with the star inside. One handpoint to the sky, the other down to earth. And just beneath that, look at that is a gray alien. That triangular head. Very strange. Yeah, it is. You have all kinds of different types of figures, different representations of gods.

Right. I mean, what we have to fill in with our imagination is that these beings off the wall, 3D, walking amongst the people. Look at all the different types of beings here. And then all the way across there, you've still got even more variety. I mean, this is almost like a meeting place of all these different worlds and different beings. So, you know, you have giants, you have little people. And the giants and the little people are talked about, in the other world that they came from before they came to this world.

And seeing creatures here having, for example, three fingers, you know, as far as I know, except for a couple of reptiles, there aren't any three-fingered creatures. No. You know, and especially nothing humanoid. Right. So, again, our ancestors had impeccable powers of observation. That's all they did all day.

They observed. And so your estimation then too is that this was not a bunch of kids, you know, on a Saturday night not knowing what to do. Absolutely not. These were people that came here with a purpose. And the purpose was to put their history on the wall showing where they came from, where they were going. Do the petroglyphs at Rock Art Ranch present a historical record of extraterrestrial visitation in the distance? past. For John and many who share the traditional beliefs of their ancestors, the answer is a resounding yes. I believe that these visitations have been documented in pictographs and

petroglyphs. They're not art, actually, for art's sake. The petroglyphs have been done this way for basically thousands of years. And that tells me that there were a lot of different types of beings that were interacting with early natives much more than we even think. Some of the most incredible rock card I have ever seen can be found

on one of the most remote islands on Earth. And in my opinion, what the people who carved it were depicting was actually misunderstood alien technology. Coming in at number eight on our countdown of the top 10 alien petroglyphs, the birdmen of Easter Island. Easter Island. This remote landmass in the South Pacific is famous for the colossal stone statues called Moai that dot its coast. But on the southwestern tip of the island are a series of equally mysterious petroglyphs that represent one of Easter Island's oldest

creation myths, the legend of Tangata Manu, or the Birdman. Jonathan Young is the founding curator of the Joseph Campbell Archives. According to the Rapa Nui, the indigenous people of Easter Island, when the great creator God looked in the mirror, he saw a bird over his shoulder and thought the image was good. And so he created a creature that was a combination of bird and human. But the Creator God was still lonely. So he created humans. But the humans worship the bird man because that was the great God's first creation.

This is Andrew Collins, author of Origins of the Gods. One of the central focuses of the rituals, the annual rituals at Easter Island was that of Tangatu Manu, the Bird Manu, the Birdman. And the birdman is a universal symbol that we find in many parts of the globe that relates to ancestry associated with figures, characters in feather coats, who were seen to be able to go between this world and the next. The Birdman motif is found in Egypt with Horace, the savior figure. And though the god of divine magic and alchemy, We find Birdmen in among the Maya with Casualt the feathered serpent, a bird man.

We also find Birdman in Cahokia, Illinois. When we look at the Birdman legend, it always has a cosmic connection, that these are humanoid figures that also have a celestial dimension to them. They can fly, they can ascend. Therefore, they're referred to as Bird Men. For ancient astronaut theorists, the most intriguing depiction of Birdmen, can be found by examining the stories of the Sumerian civilization that emerged 5,000 years ago.

And the beings they called the Anunaki. The term Anunnaki means those who from the heavens came. And our ancestors thought they were being visited by these divine, magical beings. Here is David Childress, author of Lost Cities and Ancient Mysteries of the Southwest. In the ancient Samarian texts, they were described as bringing knowledge and science. They were often depicted as bird-type people.

So we have to ask ourselves, are these birdmen actually representatives of the Ananaki, who are extraterrestrials who appeared all over the world in prehistory? For ancient astronaut theorists like me, many of the mysterious images created by our ancestors provide compelling clues that suggest extraterrestrials visited Earth thousands of years ago. However, at one site in Northern California, the carvings aren't just records of the distant past, but depict UFOs that are still seen today. Number seven on our countdown, the petroglyphs at Lava Beds National Monument. Northern California

60 miles northeast of Mount Shasta at Lava Beds National Monument are thousands of petroglyphs these large geometric carvings were created as much as 6,000 years ago by ancestors of the Modoc tribe here is Dustin Neff author of Mount Shasta's forgotten history and legends

lava beds has probably over 5,000 different petroglyphs. And a lot of these were done down in caves. A lot of the rock art you find in lava beds is very different and unusual from rock art you find in other places of America. One of the most striking images you find in lava beds is an image of Mount Shasta carved into a cliffside

and inside is a depiction of some kind of being. According to the Modoc, this figure The figure represents their creator known as Skel. The local people believe that in ancient times, the great sky chief Skel came down from the sky to live in Shasta and has been there ever since and protects it. Is it possible this petrogly represents an otherworldly being that the Modoc people encountered centuries ago?

Ancient astronaut theorists say, say yes and suggest further evidence can be found by examining the bizarre stories that have been associated with Mount Shasta for centuries. Here is Karuk tribe elder Jack Walking Eagle Tom. I was driving back from Klamath Falls. It was around seven in the evening and in the summertime. All of a sudden I seen the whole mountain toward Wierika side open up and then this big ship came Hubbard for a minute and then went right in. And the next thing you know, the mountain close. And I was like, what is going on?

Almost everyone who lives there has seen something unusual. One of the most remarkable UFO sightings I've heard of took place in 2008. Witnesses in the town of McLeod saw the UFO that looked like a giant glowing jellyfish, move over the town, and then, fly off into the distance. For many hundreds of years, Mount Shasta has been known for mysterious lights. They seem to just manifest out of the mountain. So what is it that might be responsible for causing this activity?

I believe that places like Mount Shasta are in many ways earth portals. They are places of connection between this world and somewhere else. altogether. Is it possible that the mysterious winged figure at Lava Bed's National Monument is connected to the UFO sightings that continue to be reported around Mount Shasta? The petrogryph that shows something coming out of the mountain that's basically what I seen right here when it happened to me. That's what I seen and I guess maybe I had to see it too before I could believe. In 2014 a A mysterious cave painting was found in India that I believe contained some of the best evidence yet that our ancestors encountered extraterrestrial beings.

Number six on our countdown, Sharama Rock. Central India, July 2014. While exploring caves in the region of Charama, Indian archaeologist J.R. Bagat makes a stunning discovery. He finds an incredible. incredibly well-preserved 10,000-year-old cave painting that depicts several large humanoid figures. Chris Pittman is a UFO investigator. Very recently in the Churama region of India, there was a cave that was discovered with paintings that appear to show creatures with kind of distorted-looking faces, no noses, no mouths.

They seem to be holding weapons. Archaeologists said that some of them appeared to be. be wearing spacesuits. The times of India actually proposed the idea what if what we have depicted here are some type of exterrestrials or at least some type of flying craft because it's the basis for much of the Hindu pantheon of gods. Ancient Hindu texts feature stories about intelligent beings existing on other planets, like the Mahabharata, which tells of the gods coming to Earth.

Earth in flying machines. Here is Eric von Danikin, author of Chariots of the Gods. In the Mahabharata, there they write that one day, gigantic cities surrounded the earth. They did not have a word for spaceship at that time. They say cities, and they make clear difference that these cities were in the firmament, not in heaven. And small vehicles came down from these cities on the firmament.

The old Indians call these vehicles Vimanas. And out of the Vimanas, the teachers came out. No doubt they were visited by extraterrestrials. Might the figures in the cave paintings of Charama be depictions of extraterrestrials witnessed by our ancestors, as ancient astronaut theorists suggest? Perhaps the answer can be found in the local legends of a mysterious race of beings known as the Rohella. The locals told them stories of space beings, Roheelas, they called them, tiny beings that landed in craft and would abduct one or two humans at a time, never to return. What's incredible about this is that this is not ancient astronaut theorists looking at this art and saying, hey, this looks like a

It could be some sort of a space being or extraterrestrial. This is what the locals are saying. In the early 20th century, archaeologists discovered some very mysterious cave art in the Sahara Desert, and the experts who studied it found it to be out of this world. Number five an hour list, the Tassili astronauts. Tassili Naysiere, Algeria. Located on a vast plateau of the Saharan Desert, lies up. an incredible collection of prehistoric cave art.

The ancient paintings cover an area of 28,000 square miles and are believed to be 12,000 years old. The scenes that you see at Ticely, Nigeria are totally bizarre. They're showing a Sahara that was once fertile with giraffes and antelope and other animals we find only in Central Africa, really. And combined with them are these bizarre pictures

of what even the archaeologists have called the Martians and the spacemen. The petroglyphs that we find there are incredible. They look like modern-day astronauts with suits, with helmets, with visors, and even the ethnologists who found them. those rock paintings actually called it the astronauts, called the Tassili astronaut.

Might the figures painted throughout the Tassili Naysiaire be depictions of otherworldly beings, as ancient astronaut theorists suggest? Perhaps the answer can be found in the oral history of a mysterious West African tribe known as the Dogon. There's a really incredible story of the dogon that describe an ancestor spirit called nomo that descended from the sky in a loud noisy whirlwind that made the earth shake when it landed and their knowledge of everything was given to them by

that being that descended from the sky in the 1930s when french anthropologists were first discussing the nomo with these dogon priests the dogan priests said that the nomo were coming from the star system of Sirius. Well, the French anthropologists were amazed at that and were confused as well. According to the Dogan, the Namo didn't come from Sirius A, a star that is clearly visible in the evening sky, but from its tiny companion,

a dying star called Sirius B that can only be seen with advanced high-powered telescopes. Michi Okaku, PhD, is a theoretical physicist. Here we have this ancient tribe that says that, well, no, series is not a single star at all, but actually a double star system, and how could they have known it, given the fact that it requires telescopes to see the double star? Well, one theory is maybe the aliens gave them this knowledge. It can't be rolled out. That's one possibility, because they got it right on the dot. Here is author Philip Coppins.

The Dogon has always been focused upon in the sense that they have this story, this information about their ancestors who somehow had this contact with this non-human intelligence. Now the question is how did they attain this? It really might come from the Sahara Desert, from specifically culture pockets like Tassili and Ajar, and that the Dogon are descendants from these people. Is it possible that the beings described by the Dogon are the same figures depicted in the cave paintings of Tassili Nageir? I think the power of observation of our ancestors was as powerful and as accurate as it is

today. And to attribute that motif simply to only coincidence, in my opinion, does not hold water. So one has to wonder are these exterrestrials? When it comes to mysterious petroglyphs, one of the most extraordinary examples we've investigated can be found in the Italian Alps. In 2019, William Henry got to study this remarkable piece firsthand. Number four on our countdown of the top ten alien petroglyphs, the Spaceman of Valcamonica. in Valcomonica, Italy, July 13th, 2019.

Ancient astronaut theorist William Henry has traveled to this UNESCO World Heritage Site to investigate the area's mysterious petroglyphs. Joining him is Luca Giorelli, the head of the Valcomonica Historical and Anthropological Society. This place is massive. Yeah, it's very big, and the rock car covering all that area.

Are you ready for a hike? I'm ready. Let's go. Let's go. I'm here at Valcamonica because it is a treasure trove of images from the ancient world that have been well documented and studied by scholars. They don't agree on the meaning of the images, but some of them are very open-minded to the ancient astronaut theory. Luca leads William to an area with a panel of ancient petroglylyphs that appear strikingly familiar to modern eyes.

Here we are. Wow. What we have here? We have this one, this figure. Oh, look at that. The space man. Space man, exactly. Look at the helmet.

Look at the helmet. Right. It's like he's glowing. Yeah. And the communion rose. The communion rose. It's a strange, a mystery symbol with nine dots. It was made probably of the first millennium before Christ.

Wow. Archaeologists call this mysterious object the communion rose because of its flower-like shape. While its exact meaning is lost to history, some believe it is a religious symbol or a representation of the movement of the stars. But ancient astronaut theorists suggest it might also depict something else. The vessel that brought these helmeted figures to Valcamonica. Look at that, that looks like a spaceship. It's like you'd look up in the sky and you would see this kind of twirling, spinning ship in the sky. It seems to me just looking at it, they're trying to talk about beings coming from other worlds, maybe to this place.

It could be an interpretation. Tell me about that five-pointed star. We have a lot of five-point star here on this rock, but we don't know what they're meaning when they did this particular geometric shape. Sometimes the stars mean energy, like energy from the stars would come to this place, where star beings would come to this place. Yeah, it could be an interpretation. We have a lot of mystery about the meaning of the engraving here in Valkimonyca.

We have a different motivation, religious, mythologica, and also describing events. Okay. So this is like a newspaper then. It says this was in the sky above us at some point, and this spaceman came down, and maybe met the communion people. It's going to be.

According to the ancient stories, the nearby city of Turin was founded by a character from Greek mythology called Faton, who came to Earth from the stars. Legend states that Turin was founded by the God Phyton, who is a son of the sun god Helios, and in the myth of Phytton, we learned the story of how he descended to Earth

in a fiery chariot, perhaps crash, into Mount Muscini. This also led to something fortuitous because he brought gifts to this place. He had great skills, was a metallurgist, and taught this to the local people. When we look at myths such as the myth of Fayton, here is really the story of a UFO, landing on a mountain, and interacting with the locals. When we look behind this myth of Bhatton, perhaps this is a story of a UFO, landing on a mountain, and interacting with the locals. When we look behind this myth of Bhatton, perhaps this is a little bit of a little bit of a little bit of a little,

perhaps this is what we're also seeing at Valcomonica. I think given the connection with the spacemen that are etched into the rock, we have to be open to the possibility that what the ancient artist is trying to portray is something that he actually saw in the sky, something coming out of the heavens. For ancient astronaut theorists,

the spacemen of Valcamonica and the legends that surrounded are evidence that our ancestors were visited by extraterrestrial beings. beings, but an even more compelling depiction of these possible visitors can be found on the opposite side of the world in the rock art of Australia. Number three on our countdown, the Wanjina. Northwestern Australia.

Here in a rugged desert region known as Kimberly are dozens of caves that are covered in paintings of mysterious figures called the Wanjina. You look at these Wangina figures in the cave art. They have big white faces. They have really no mouth to speak of. They have very large black eyes. And there's a field around their heads. To the Aboriginal people who have lived in Australia for thousands of years, the Wangina are

important figures in their creation myths. The Aboriginals have all kinds of ancient stories, of Wanjina figures, of great heroes and sky gods who manipulated the continent, created the rivers and mountains, and fought amongst each other, and then they left. Here is Aboriginal elder, Gary Simon Jagamara. We all have stories of people in crafts coming from the state. going to the stars, and so on. In order to keep them, pass them down to next generation, we carved them, we painted them, we sang them, we danced them in stories to guarantee that they passed down.

So when the visitors left, we didn't forget about them, and we never forget about the things that they passed down to us, and the knowledge they passed down. In many ways, these Wangina figures look exactly like gray aliens. And you have to wonder then, if the cave art is depicting extraterrestrials. The Wanjina petroglyphs are actual physical representations

of what the First Nation people of Australia actually witnessed. So this, to me, is an incredible treasure trove for the ancient astronaut theory. Of all the mysterious petroglyphs we've examined on ancient aliens, some of the most astounding can be found in the American Southwest. The region is chock full of carvings that show strange humanoid figures who came down from the sky. At number two on our countdown, the rock art of Utah.

Nine Mile Canyon, Eastern Utah. Often described as the world's longest art gallery, the red sandstone cliffs that border this 46-mile-long canyon are covered with more than 10,000 petroglyphs. Many depict hunting scenes and contain images of animals found in the region. But one mysterious panel seems oddly out of place. One of the most important galleries is referred to as the family panel. What's interesting about this one is that it shows these apparently luminous, humanoid-type beings that appear to have spacesuits on, a helmet, even antenna.

The Navajos themselves claim that these petroglyphs were from people who were before the flood, before this cataclysm had come to the earth, and they maintained that these images were many thousands of years old. Just 70 miles south of Nine Mile Canyon, in Sego Canyon, another panel of petroglyphs show nearly identical figures. They look like spacemen. You have these strange creatures that for all intents and purposes seem to be floating up in the sky. They appear to wear helmets very strange.

So you have to ask, what was it that inspired these unusual images? Is it possible that they depict sky beings who came down from the stars to help the people, which is what the native legends say? According to the traditions of the Navajo, Fremont, and Ute peoples who have lived in this area for centuries, these figures represent visitors who descended from the sky. In talking about star people, all Native American tribes have these traditional oral histories that people came from the stars to visit them. And it's universal all across the United States, that these gods, as we call them today,

came to Earth and visited to provide knowledge. The creation story, you understand it correctly, we are all from the cosmos. Our ancestors were extraterrestrial. The story is told to indigenous people for thousands of years. Through oral history and through the petroglyphs and pictographs and the sacred sites

that continue to be part of our Native cultural traditions. The Native Americans traditionally use a oral tradition. Everything is spoken. The oral traditions actually go back thousands of years. It's just the way it was, and we've maintained that tradition even to this day. If, in fact, what we're seeing are portraying visitors from the stars,

it would make sense why they're wearing these spacesuits. because they would conceivably need protection from Earth's atmosphere and Earth's environment. Do the petroglyphs at Nine Mile Canyon and Sago Canyon point to Utah being a place of ancient alien visitation? Native American people have been very clear when they speak of celestial beings that imparted knowledge. And so if you compare that to the ancient astronaut theory, that's exactly. what it talks about, that the knowledge was imparted by beings who visited us. We're just moments away from revealing number one on our countdown of the top 10 alien petroglyphs, and you won't want to miss it because, in my opinion, it holds irrefutable proof

of an extraterrestrial encounter. While Utah has thousands of petroglyphs that feature mysterious beings, one stands apart, it depicts a group of figures meeting with what appears to be an extraterrestrial. Number one on our list, the Holy Ghost Panel. Horseshoe Canyon, Utah. Located within Canyon Land's National Park, the sandstone walls of this five-mile-long ravine feature some of the most remarkable petroglyphs in the United States. The intricate designs depict Native American shopping.

and the otherworldly creatures they claimed to communicate with. Here is author David Sukek. Here we have a classic shaman with the hourglass figure, feet pointed outward, arms which have birds' feet at the end which signify spirituality, and it's got the horns with the fringes coming out. But one section is of particular interest to ancient astronaut theorists. It's called the Ghost Panel. When you see the ghost panel, you see what are seven or eight, very tall figures in unusual garments.

They look like spacesuits. They're wearing some long robes, and it looks like they have helmets and things on. They're quite large and very strange looking. And certainly they look like some kind of... spacemen or extraterrestrials who have come down. For researchers, the most perplexing part of the painting is a curious detail on the large central figure. The central ghost-like figure, which is called the Holy Ghost.

If you look at the head of the Holy Ghost, you'll see his two eyes in the front of his face, but if you look to the left, you'll see the side of his head. This is a device which you do not see in any prehistoric art. And this motif is one of the reasons why I feel that this represents an event. Archaeologists suggest the ghost panel was created 10,000 years ago. Just who made these images remains a mystery.

But ancient astronaut theorists believe clues can be found within ancient traditions. The Navajo, they tell us that this rock art was actually created by their ancestors, who lived there long, long ago, and in fact were the survivors. of a flood. The Navajo referred to themselves as descendants of the holy people and that these holy people in fact helped them emerge after a cataclysm. The story of mysterious humanoid beings assisting Native peoples has been recounted for centuries in the American Southwest. Many researchers believe these encounters were so significant that they were carved in stone.

For hundreds of years, the Native Americans who lived in that area called the Ghost Panel, the panel of the Star People. Clearly they are strangers of some kind to these people. And if that's what it was, then we might assume that they are depicting extraterrestrials. The moment you lay eyes on the Holy Ghost Panel, you know you're looking at something extraordinary. And it's much more than a mere coincidence that all around the world, our ancestors made carvings and paintings of mysterious beings that they believe came from the sky. Could it be that these illustrations are all telling the same story that we were visited in the

distant past by extraterrestrials?