Who are the Anunnaki?
The Anunnaki are a group of gods in the myths of the Sumerians and Akkadians of ancient Mesopotamia (around today’s Iraq). Said to be descendants of the sky god Anu, the name was used for gods of the heavens, the earth and the underworld. Myths inscribed on clay tablets show the Anunnaki deciding human fates and passing judgment in the underworld. For Mesopotamian mythology, see also the Epic of Gilgamesh.
The “aliens who created humanity” theory
In 1976, the American writer Zecharia Sitchin claimed in a book that the Anunnaki were aliens who came to Earth from Nibiru, an unknown planet orbiting at the edge of the solar system. According to Sitchin, the Anunnaki came to Earth to mine gold and created humanity through genetic engineering as a labor force. This theory spread worldwide as a leading example of the ancient astronaut theory, which sees ancient gods as aliens.
What experts say
However, experts in the Sumerian language and Mesopotamian history do not accept Sitchin’s theory. They point out that his readings of the clay tablets contain many errors, and that the original texts say nothing about Nibiru being a planet or the Anunnaki coming from space. It is also confirmed by fossil and genetic research that humanity’s ancestors evolved over a long time.
The Anunnaki in modern conspiracy theories
Today the Anunnaki are still linked with theories that humanity will be destroyed by Nibiru’s approach and with reptilian conspiracy theories claiming reptilian aliens rule humanity. It is an example of ancient gods being given new meanings in modern UFO legends.
