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If alien visitors to Earth created humans, then evidence for this would have been found by now within our ]. Since DNA sequencing is now cheap and easy, the ] idea that our true DNA sequences have been suppressed would seem to be discounted, since as almost anyone can sequence our ]s, if there was any extraterrestrial DNA to be found it would have by now. Additionally, humans and ] share up to 96% of their DNA and the remaining 4% is posited by some unknown agent, possibly bacterial. Thus, present-day genetics fails to produce evidence supporting Sitchin's theories and more readily supports the idea that humans evolved through a series of DNA mutations from a precursor ape-like species. There is no empirical evidence for his speculations. It is also based on unprovable speculation and therefore not a valid scientific theory. If alien visitors to Earth created humans, then evidence for this would have been found by now within our ]. Since DNA sequencing is now cheap and easy, the ] idea that our true DNA sequences have been suppressed would seem to be discounted, since as almost anyone can sequence our ]s, if there was any extraterrestrial DNA to be found it would have by now. Additionally, humans and ] share up to 96% of their DNA and the remaining 4% is posited by some unknown agent, possibly bacterial. Thus, present-day genetics fails to produce evidence supporting Sitchin's theories and more readily supports the idea that humans evolved through a series of DNA mutations from a precursor ape-like species. There is no empirical evidence for his speculations. It is also based on unprovable speculation and therefore not a valid scientific theory.



''Counter argument in support of Sitchin's theories:'' ''Counter argument in support of Sitchin's theories:''
{{original research}}


Since Sitchin has not presented a theory, there cannot be any serious counter arguments to support the speculations of Sitchin. However, there is also mention of the ] in several of his published works. Since Sitchin has not presented a theory, there cannot be any serious counter arguments to support the speculations of Sitchin. However, there is also mention of the ] in several of his published works.
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* Without extraterrestrial DNA to compare to, it is difficult to draw any conclusions. * Without extraterrestrial DNA to compare to, it is difficult to draw any conclusions.
* Even with non-matching extraterrestrial DNA, there would not be sufficient evidence to show that there was not another kind of extraterrestrial DNA that would provide a match * Even with non-matching extraterrestrial DNA, there would not be sufficient evidence to show that there was not another kind of extraterrestrial DNA that would provide a match
* A hoaxed article{{fact|date=May 2007}} claims a "Professor Sam Chang", an alleged coordinator of the ], along with other "researchers"{{who|date=May 2007}} in the group, have postitively identified alien DNA in the so-called 'non-encoding' sequences ('junk' DNA) of human DNA. This new development would support Sitchin's assertions if it is true.


==Sitchin Bibliography== ==Sitchin Bibliography==

Revision as of 05:56, 5 May 2007

File:Sitchin.jpg
Zecharia Sitchin's photograph from The 12th Planet

Zecharia Sitchin (born 1922) is a best-selling author of books promoting the ancient astronaut theory for human origins. He attributes the creation of the ancient Sumerian culture to the Annunaki (or Nephilim) from a hypothetical planet named Nibiru in the solar system. He asserts that Sumerian mythology reflects this view, though his speculations are largely ignored by mainstream scientists and historians.

Life

Sitchin was born in Baku, Azerbaijan, and was raised in the British Mandate of Palestine. He acquired a knowledge of modern and ancient Hebrew, other Semitic and European languages, the Old Testament, and the history and archeology of the Near East. Sitchin graduated from the University of London, majoring in economic history. A journalist and editor in Israel for many years, he now lives and writes in New York. His books have been widely translated, converted to Braille for the blind, and featured on radio and television.

Ideas

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Ancient
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According to Sitchin's interpretation of Sumerian cosmology, there is a hypothetical planet which follows a long, elliptical orbit, reaching the inner solar system roughly every 3,600 years. This planet is called Nibiru (the planet associated with Marduk in Babylonian cosmology). Nibiru collided catastrophically with Tiamat, another hypothetical planet that was between Mars and Jupiter. The collision formed the planet Earth, the asteroid belt, and the comets. Tiamat, as outlined in the Enûma Elish, is a goddess. According to Sitchin, however, Tiamat may have been what we now know as Earth. When struck by one of planet Nibiru's moons, Tiamat split in two. On a second pass Nibiru itself struck the broken fragments and one half of Tiamat became the asteroid belt. The second half, struck again by one of Nibiru's moons, was pushed into a new orbit and became today's planet Earth.

Scientists argue that this scenario is not plausible. However, Sitchin's supporters maintain it would explain Earth's peculiar early geography due to cleaving from the celestial collision -- i.e. solid continents on one side and a giant ocean on the other -- and would also explain why the Earth is layered in sediments.

According to Sitchin, Nibiru was the home of a technologically advanced human-like extraterrestrial race (called the Anunnaki in Sumerian myth) who were called the Nephilim in the Bible. He claims they first arrived on Earth probably 450,000 years ago, looking for minerals, especially gold, which they found and mined in Africa. These "gods" of the Anunnaki were the rank and file workers of the colonial expedition to earth from planet Nibiru. Sitchin believes the Anunnaki genetically engineered Homo sapiens as slave creatures to work their gold mines by crossing extraterrestrial genes with those of the Homo erectus. Sitchin claims ancient inscriptions report that human civilization in Sumer of Mesopotamia was set up under the guidance of these "gods", and human kingship was inaugurated to serve as an intermediary between the Anunnaki and mankind. Sitchin believes that fallout from nuclear weapons used during a war between factions of the extraterrestrials is the "evil wind" that destroyed Ur around 2000 BC, as recorded in the Lament for Ur. Sitchin claims that his research coincides with many biblical texts, and that the biblical texts come originally from the Sumerian writings of their history.

When Sitchin researched his books, only specialists could read the Sumerian language, but now anyone can check his translations in a recently published Sumerian Lexicon. Sitchin's translations do not hold up under linguistic scrutiny.

In a recently published book, 2012: Appointment With Marduk, Turkish proponent Burak Eldem presented a new view suggesting an orbital period of 3,661 years for the planet Nibiru, and positing a "return date" in the year AD 2012. According to Eldem's theory, 3,661 is one-seventh of 25,627, which is the total time span of "Five World Ages" according to the Mayan Long Count Calendar. The last orbital passage of Marduk, he adds, was in 1649 BC and caused great catastrophes on earth, including the Thera eruption. Sitchin has recently put forth his own date in the year 2085 for the next passage of Nibiru, but the date most talked about is 2012, which marks the end of the Maya calendar.

Controversy over his views

Sitchin's 'planetary collision' view does superficially resemble a theory which is seriously entertained by modern astronomers —the giant impact theory of the Moon's formation about 4.5 billion years ago by a body impacting with the newly-formed Earth. However, Sitchin's proposed series of rogue planetary collisions differ in both details and timing. As with Immanuel Velikovsky's earlier Worlds in Collision thesis, Sitchin claims to find evidence of ancient human knowledge of rogue celestial motions in a variety of mythological accounts. In Velikovsky's case, these interplanetary collisions were supposed to have taken place within the span of human existence, whereas for Sitchin these occurred during the early stages of planetary formation, but entered the mythological account passed down via the alien race which purportedly evolved on Nibiru after these encounters.

Similar ideas have been advanced by authors such as Immanuel Velikovsky, Erich von Däniken, and Laurence Gardner.

Astronomical and environmental objections

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If planet Nibiru's orbit takes 3,600 years, then its aphelion would be much further than Pluto's. At such a distance from the Sun, temperatures are so low that water would exist as ice and life as we know it would probably be impossible. If a form of life can exist in such conditions, then it would not be water-based and could conceivably perish in Earth's much warmer temperatures.

Sitchin counters the distance theory by stating that Nibiru may have an internally generated heat source. To quote Sitchin: "My answer has been that we need not go that far out to freeze to death, just rising above Earth’s surface would do the trick. It is the planet’s atmosphere that retains the warmth, be it warmth obtained from the Sun, or from an internal source of heat. The crucial issue for the Anunnaki, I explained, was to prevent the loss of Nibiru’s atmosphere; they sought to do that with a shield of gold particles, and they came here to obtain the gold."

Genetic objections

Argument against Sitchin's views:

If alien visitors to Earth created humans, then evidence for this would have been found by now within our DNA. Since DNA sequencing is now cheap and easy, the conspiracy theory idea that our true DNA sequences have been suppressed would seem to be discounted, since as almost anyone can sequence our genes, if there was any extraterrestrial DNA to be found it would have by now. Additionally, humans and chimpanzees share up to 96% of their DNA and the remaining 4% is posited by some unknown agent, possibly bacterial. Thus, present-day genetics fails to produce evidence supporting Sitchin's theories and more readily supports the idea that humans evolved through a series of DNA mutations from a precursor ape-like species. There is no empirical evidence for his speculations. It is also based on unprovable speculation and therefore not a valid scientific theory.

Counter argument in support of Sitchin's theories:

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Since Sitchin has not presented a theory, there cannot be any serious counter arguments to support the speculations of Sitchin. However, there is also mention of the Mitochondrial DNA in several of his published works.

  • Junk DNA may yield more clues about extraterrestrial DNA in humans and other beings.
  • Without extraterrestrial DNA to compare to, it is difficult to draw any conclusions.
  • Even with non-matching extraterrestrial DNA, there would not be sufficient evidence to show that there was not another kind of extraterrestrial DNA that would provide a match
  • A hoaxed article claims a "Professor Sam Chang", an alleged coordinator of the Human Genome Project, along with other "researchers" in the group, have postitively identified alien DNA in the so-called 'non-encoding' sequences ('junk' DNA) of human DNA. This new development would support Sitchin's assertions if it is true.

Sitchin Bibliography

References

  1. Ronald Story, ed., The Encyclopedia of Extraterrestrial Encounters, (New York New American Library, 2001), s.v. "Zecharia Sitchin," pp. 552.
  2. Halloran, John A. (2006). Sumerian Lexicon: A Dictionary Guide to the Ancient Sumerian Language. The David Brown Book Company.

See also

External links and sources

Pro-Sitchin

Critical of Sitchin

Categories: