Are we really aliens? Was there a race of giants that once inhabited the Americas? A new book, Lost Secrets of the Gods, asks these mind shattering questions. Authors and researchers Paul Von Ward and Micah Hanks joined host Richard Syrett to discuss their essays in this book.

In the first half, Paul Von Ward explained why the use of the word "alien" to separate humans from other intelligent species can no longer be considered accurate. "We are latecomers in this universe and we've had assistance in our development from more advanced beings," he said. Von Ward dispelled creation myths and explained that life exists throughout the universe and arises by evolutionary processes wherever a certain set of conditions exist. Evolution, however, is not an adequate explanation for the modifications that can be seen in human evolutionary history and the rather quick rise of Homo sapien sapiens, he added.

Evidence demonstrates that modern humans have genetic links with an advanced alien species, Von Ward continued. He pointed to the biblical figure Noah, who is described in ancient stories as having blue eyes, curly red hair, and pale skin—traits unlike others in his family tree. Tribal elders believed that advanced beings called Watchers had intervened in the case of Noah and changed the evolutionary track of humans, Von Ward revealed. He also spoke about longevity before and after the flood cataclysm, noting that "some genetic manipulation had to have occurred to cut off our longevity."

In the latter half, Micah Hanks discussed the folklore surrounding giants as well as evidence that may support the existence of larger than normal human beings. He referenced a petroglyph in North Carolina known as Judaculla Rock, named after a giant of Cherokee legend called Tsul 'Kalu. Hanks shared the myth of Tsul 'Kalu and how it ties into the history of purported giants found in the Americas. Anthropologists James Mooney records the tale of a party of slant-eyed giants nearly twice as tall as common men that had come from the West to visit the Cherokee, he reported.

Hanks commented on the contentious debate about the existence of giants, noting that it is not necessarily a conspiracy since some of the best evidence supporting human remains of large stature can actually be found in Smithsonian records. "Back in the 1890s Cyrus Thomas and other members of the Bureau of Ethnology under the Smithsonian were recovering extremely large skeletal remains from Native American burial mounds," he explained. These skeletons were between seven and eight feet long, he added. Hanks suggested that in ancient times there was a greater incidence of these kinds of large people. Get more info on giant skeletons of myth and history at micahhanks.com.