A new book published by NASA questions our ability to identify signs of extraterrestrial activity, pointing to ancient rock art as a potential indication of aliens’ existence, reports the Blaze.
Archaeology, Anthropology, and Interstellar Communication is edited by Douglas Vakoch, the director of Interstellar Message Composition at the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) organization. The book likens our difficulty in understanding the people who created ancient rock carvings to our likely inability to relate to alien lifeforms, saying that “for all intents and purposes, they might have been made by aliens.”
Vakoch argues that scientists may have difficulty identifying “manifestations of extraterrestrial intelligence” because they may “resemble a naturally occurring phenomenon.” So, while he’s not claiming that ancient rock art is a sign of life beyond this planet, there may be other indications of alien civilization that we are totally unequipped to understand or even recognize. Luckily, what we’ve learned from the fields of archaeology and anthropology may help.
