Timeline

c. 450,000 BCE (Sitchin’s account) According to Zecharia Sitchin’s reading of Sumerian texts, beings known as the Anunnaki arrived on Earth from a twelfth planet, Nibiru. Their goal was primarily the extraction of gold, possibly for atmospheric or technological purposes. Early settlement sites were identified with Mesopotamian and African regions.

c. 300,000 BCE The Anunnaki allegedly began experimenting with genetic engineering, combining their own DNA with that of existing hominids. This event is interpreted as the origin of Homo sapiens in Sitchin’s “Earth Chronicles.” Biblical parallels are often drawn with Genesis 1:26—“Let us make man in our image”—where the plural Elohim is used.

c. 200,000–100,000 BCE Expansion of early human populations. Sitchin and some alternative researchers suggest episodes of direct rule by Anunnaki figures, remembered in myths as gods such as Enki, Enlil, and Inanna. Egyptian mythology may preserve echoes of this, with deities like Thoth linked to cultural diffusion into Central America (later identified with Quetzalcoatl and Kukulkan).

c. 12,000 BCE Some alternative chronologies tie the biblical Flood and Mesopotamian flood stories (Atrahasis, Gilgamesh) to a cataclysmic intervention—either natural disaster, pole shift, or deliberate act of the Anunnaki. Survivors are said to have reestablished civilization in Mesopotamia, Egypt, and the Levant.

c. 3,000–1,000 BCE Development of Sumerian, Akkadian, Babylonian, and Hebrew traditions. The term Elohim appears in Hebrew scripture, raising interpretive questions about plurality. Early temple states may preserve memories of non-human rulers, later recast as divine kingship.

Classical & Medieval periods Losses of knowledge occur in key centers: the burning of the Library of Alexandria, suppression of heterodox traditions, and Christianization of indigenous calendars and rituals (Julian, then Gregorian systems imposed). Mayan and other American codices are largely destroyed during the Spanish Inquisition and colonial campaigns.

20th Century

1940s–60s: Rising reports of unidentified flying objects bring renewed interest in non-human intelligences. Institutions like the Robertson Panel (1953) push for downplaying public concern.

1976–2000: Zecharia Sitchin publishes The Earth Chronicles series, systematizing his reinterpretation of Mesopotamian texts.

1990s: Researchers such as Jose Arguelles and Hunbatz Men advocate for recovery of Mayan calendrical knowledge, linking it to cycles of cosmic transformation.

2000 At the International Convention on the Mystery of Human Existence in Bellaria, Italy, Zecharia Sitchin appears alongside Monsignor Corrado Balducci. The Vatican representative signals openness to the possibility of extraterrestrial life, noting that such beings had been removed from lists of “demonic” categories. Some accounts suggest Balducci tacitly entertained parallels with Sitchin’s theories, though official doctrine remained cautious.

2000–2012 Attention shifts toward the Mayan Long Count Calendar’s end-date, December 21, 2012. Writers such as Adrian Gilbert emphasize astronomical alignments with the galactic center. Interpretations vary between apocalypse, renewal, or symbolic transformation.

Post-2012 Although the world did not experience a cataclysm, renewed interest in cycles of time, extraterrestrial presence, and suppressed histories persists. Alternative researchers continue connecting ancient narratives with modern UFO/UAP debates, often citing Sitchin’s work as a foundation.