Is the Ancient Alien Theory correct?

 The cloudy notion of the beginning of life is explored in the controversial extraterrestrial science fiction film on Amazon Prime.

Where precisely did life on Earth originate? It's one of the most fundamental problems that researchers haven't been able to fully answer, and it provides a captivating premise for science fiction authors and filmmakers in Hollywood, albeit one that isn't necessarily correct.

One movie that addressed this issue head-on was Ridley Scott's Prometheus, a science fiction picture from 2012 that functioned as a prequel to the Alien series.

In the movie, researchers deduce from prehistoric cave paintings that life on Earth was first introduced to the planet by "Engineers," extraterrestrial beings from another solar system. 

Is it more feasible than you think, despite the fact that it appears like a silly plot device created for cinematic entertainment? Okay, sort of.

It is "absolutely plausible," according to Seth Shostak, a prominent scientist at the SETI Institute, that life began on an alien world, albeit probably not in the way Prometheus suggests. 

Shostak and other astronomy and archaeology specialists were interviewed by Inverse to discuss the unusual and controversial science that underlies this bizarre extraterrestrial horror movie. Let's start now.

However, if you're interested in seeing the film, don't wait too long—Prometheus will be departing Amazon Prime at the start of June.

The Inverse series Reel Science exposes the true (and false) science that underpins your favorite films and television shows.

Describe panspermia.

According to the science fiction film Prometheus, alien "Engineers" are thought to be the ancestors of humans. Universal Studios 20th

As it turns out, the strange sci-fi concept of Prometheus is based on a real-world scientific hypothesis called panspermia, which contends that life may be brought to a planet from somewhere else, either as a traveler on an asteroid or comet or by a transfer between planets.

According to Jason Wright, "It's merely used to allude to the notion that life may have a single beginning, but end up in various locations in the Solar System or perhaps in the cosmos." Wright is the head of the Penn State Extraterrestrial Intelligence Center and a professor of astronomy.

A scenario where panspermia may have occurred would be if ancient bacteria first appeared on a planet like Mars, but were later transported to Earth by a rock that was displaced by an asteroid impact.

In that regard, Shostak asserts that it's plausible that life is not naturally occurring on Earth.

Astrobiologists refer to the possibility that comets and asteroids might transport life across planets as lithopanspermia. It's also one of the reasons why astronauts are so eager to look for evidence of microbial life on Mars. If we discovered signs of life on Mars that mirrored our own, it may shed light on how life came to exist on Earth.

However, according to Wright, "life may have been intentionally disseminated by a spacefaring species." like people. Aliens are another option.

The concept of directed panspermia was put out by scientists Francis Crick and Leslie Orgel in the 1970s. They defined it as "the belief that species were purposefully transferred to the Earth by intelligent creatures on another planet."

Prometheus' assertion that alien life is the genesis of life on Earth is firmly in the domain of science fiction — for now, according to Wright, who calls both panspermia ideas "very speculative" and unproven.

Can Prometheus happen?

Aliens are one potential, though not particularly plausible, explanation for life on Earth. Shutterstock

But is it possible that aliens from a planet in another system brought life to Earth?

After all, the possibility that the galaxy contains more habitable planetary systems similar to the one in Prometheus is not unreasonable. NASA has even discovered a number of planets the size of Earth in a region of the TRAPPIST-1 solar system that may be habitable, and they are still looking for more.

The existence of such a system is "all quite feasible," according to Wright, who adds that it is doubtful that we will discover any proof that extraterrestrials brought life to Earth.

"Keep in mind that life on Earth has existed for nearly 4 billion years. Therefore, any extraterrestrial technology that would have transported it to the Solar System did so billions of years ago, says Wright.

According to Shostak, it is quite possible for life to spread between two planets in the same planetary system, such as Mars and Earth, but it is quite different across planetary systems. 

The scientists in the film Prometheus trek to a system that is so remote that they must hibernate for years to survive the voyage in order to discover our alleged extraterrestrial origins.

The possibility of aliens traveling all the way from their home planet is extremely improbable, but not impossible, according to Wright.

Reading more into the film, however, which implies that the extraterrestrial engineers only contributed to the DNA origins of humans and not all life, makes the science seem improbable. Although it's left a little vague, Dr. Shaw from the film seems to be saying that "us" particularly refers to "humanity" when she says, "They designed us." Shostak and Wright disagree that this theory is tenable.

Shostak adds, "I don't think there's any prospect of proving it as science. It's a lovely way of making oneself sound significant.

So, to put it mildly, the science in Prometheus is a mixed bag. Wright, though, advises against making an effort to make it make sense.

In terms of science, you're not meant to take it too seriously, he continues.

Is Prometheus' hypothesis about aliens problematic?

It's troublesome how the movie uses prehistoric cave art to support its claim that mankind was created by aliens. Universal Studios 20th

The Prometheus narrative is based on dubious and sometimes racist notions about "ancient aliens," a term used to refer to both ancient peoples and extraterrestrials.

Kathryn Denning, an associate professor of anthropology at York University whose study focuses on space travel, tells Inverse, "I saw the movie eons ago, and absolutely, it's an issue.

The theory of ancient aliens was made popular by the History Channel, but it simply holds that aliens affected and maybe even engineered the art and civilization of prehistoric peoples. It's racist to think that prehistoric peoples needed the assistance of extraterrestrials to build monuments like the pyramids since it implies that they lacked the sophistication to develop sophisticated societies and works of art.

Denning continues, "We may certainly argue that it's racist to imply that prehistoric cultures of people who weren't white needed the assistance of aliens to come up with their fantastic achievements.

An intricate version of the "ancient aliens" idea may be read into Prometheus' description of how the Engineers created mankind and the representation of extraterrestrial species in prehistoric cave art. Dr. Holloway from the film even embraces racism by saying that "there's no way these primitive, old civilizations could have conceivably known about" the planetary system from where the Engineers originated.

The paucity of supporting evidence and troubling implications of the "ancient aliens" idea has led many archaeologists to mock it.

Nobody I know who studies anthropology takes it seriously, says Denning.

The old alien idea, however, is what Denning claims attracts us since it provides something archaeology does not: "the prospect of an exciting return visit—and maybe even help—from extraterrestrials." However, the scientists in Prometheus receive zero assistance from the Engineers.

In the end, analysts claim that rather than our scientific roots, the movie's most profound value may be found in its inquiries into human goals.

Prometheus, according to Denning, "may be best understood as a legendary investigation of what we ourselves, as humans, make and destroy."

Amazon Prime is currently offering Prometheus for streaming.