The Astronauts of Tassili n'Ajjer
The account
Round-headed figures painted in the Sahara are said to be helmeted astronauts seen by prehistoric peoples.
What investigators found
Archaeologists interpret the figures as people wearing masks or body paint, or as beings from local rituals.
The story
The Tassili n'Ajjer plateau, in southern Algeria, holds thousands of rock paintings and engravings made when the Sahara was green, with rivers and savanna animals. Among the oldest are the so-called "Round Heads," human figures with large, smooth heads. French explorer Henri Lhote, who documented the site in the 1950s, nicknamed one of them the "great Martian god."
The nickname became an argument for supporters of the ancient astronaut theory, who see helmets and space suits in the paintings. Archaeologists disagree: the figures are consistent with ritual masks, ornaments and body paint, common themes in the art of hunting and herding peoples. The site is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, valued as one of the greatest records of prehistoric life in Africa.