CMV: If you've been fooled into believing the "Ancient Aliens" theory, you are missing out on the actual awesome and real history of humans.

I'll keep this very short, but the gist of my job has to do with both ancient history and materials science. So when I see how the ancient aliens theory has popularized this idea that anything that isn't a spear or a rock is proof that aliens came down to give us technology, it's honestly infuriating because it's so misinformed and often (consciously) deceitful.<br><br>One example that comes to mind is the "Baghdad Battery". This is a 5,000 year-old device that was discovered in Iraq that is often used as proof that ancient humans had been given advanced technology by aliens. In reality, it's now confirmed (not a debate in the field of archaeology) that the "Baghdad Battery" is an ancient medical device used to create small voltages that help with pain management. It just so happens that it can generate a small voltage because of how the materials are set up.<br><br>What's most frustrating is that for anyone who actually does read about ancient history will realize that the "ancient aliens" theory could not be any more inaccurate. If anything, it shows how dumb and unintelligent we perceive our ancestors to have been, especially when we see what they were able to achieve. For example, the ancient Sumerians created the first added-value tax. They knew exactly how much barley they had in a given reserve, and they were able to calculate how much was left every time someone withdraws some barley. This is one of the reasons that writing was invented, and in fact, the Sumerians are the ones who came up with the first written language and alphabet.<br><br>Or take ancient Egypt as an example. If you actually did some research into their mummification process, you would be shocked at how complex the process was. The Egyptians were able to accurately describe the structure and function of the brain even though they had no idea it was what controlled the body. They were able to point out which organs were critical for life, and which ones could be removed without affecting the body's function. What's more, their process of mummifying a body was the first time that humans had manipulated the internal biology of the body and in essence "cured" the process of natural decomposition. It was the first time that humans were able to give the body "super-natural" powers, in that it would not follow the same path as every other animal in the forest that died and decomposed.<br><br>Or take the Indus Valley Civilization, where one of the first examples of an advanced sanitation system was created. One of the biggest reasons that civilizations would collapse was because they had no efficient way of dealing with waste, which would lead to massive disease outbreaks. The Indus Valley Civilization solved this issue with a sophisticated drainage system, which allowed them to deal with garbage in a clean and efficient manner.<br><br>All of these examples are not only an insult to the people responsible for these discoveries, but also demonstrate a massive lack of understanding about how human beings and our societies have developed and evolved over time. Our ancestors were not ditsy monkeys who were lucky enough to have had aliens show them how to make pottery and the wheel. These people were intelligent, thoughtful, and imaginative human beings who wanted to create, build, and improve the world around them.