Alien influence, or far-superior human intelligence?

I've been watching the History Channel's Ancient Aliens series lately, and I find it fascinating that whenever an artifact is discovered indicating the existence of modern-day technology—electric lights and jet planes, for example—"Alien Astronaut Theorists" immediately conclude that 'it must have been aliens.' While not discounting the possibility of alien visitations, I disagree with the notion that our forebears were so primitive they couldn't have conceived of such things without extraterrestrial intervention. Was Benjamin Franklin visited by an alien when he supposedly “discovered” electricity? Was Englishman Humphry Davy given “alien technology” when he invented the first light bulb in 1809? What about Thomas Edison 70 years later? What about Nicola Tesla, whose inventions were many decades “ahead of his time”—and would have freed us from the tyranny of today's massive oil-based corporations had they not moved to “classify” his discoveries? Or were they nothing more than very intelligent and inquisitive human beings who stumbled upon natural laws and forces that could be harnessed for the good of all?


Could alien intelligence have contributed to Homo Sapien's progress? Possibly. But it's equally possible that we were once a far more intelligent species than we are today—especially when you consider the toxicity of our present environment. Back in the day, they didn't have smog or pollution-and-radiation-laden oceans, rivers and lakes, or raped the earth for resources until there was little left for the next generation, or TV's laden with materialistically-mind-altering commercials, or land-destroying vehicles, or any of the modern “conveniences” that have aided the utter decimation of our planet. Humans were not eating food filled with artificial ingredients that caused cancer and birth defects, or shaped the environment to suit themselves rather than shape ourselves to suit our environment. Ancient civilizations lasted for thousands of years; we've only been around for a tiny fraction of that time, and we're already destroying our planet. Humans back then could think with clearer heads in a cleaner world; I'd say that gave them a decided advantage over any so-called “civilized” peoples today.


It is the height of hubris to presume that only in the past 200 years (out of thousands upon thousands of years) of human history have we become advanced enough to discover—and harness—electricity or the laws of physics, or any number of things we take for granted today. Humans have been around for a very long time, and have constructed monuments that we today cannot duplicate. We've only had a couple of hundred of years in which we have accomplished truly marvelous works, but as a species we today are so far behind our ancient ancestors' knowledge and abilities, it's mind-boggling. We are merely children to them. We are also an arrogant species, and some day soon that arrogance will bite us all in the ass, if we do not begin accepting the fact that we are but a tiny thread in a much, much grander tapestry—and begin taking proper care of our little corner of the universe.