Von Daniken's Mayan Rocket Man

leading from:

Erich von Daniken

and

Pakal Votan Tomb Lid

a) As if went in his book Chariots of the Gods, Erich Von Daniken came to believe that the figure in Pacal Votan's tomb lid depicted the god Kukulcan driving a rocket ship.  The figure sat there with his upper part of his body bent forward like a racing a motorcyclist today and that any child would identify his vehicle as a rocket.  It is pointed at the front, then changes to strangely grooved indentations like inlet ports, widens out and terminates at the tail in a darting flame. 

Palenque tomb lid from Chariots of the Gods

b) The crouching being himself, so Erich believed,  is manipulating a number of undefinable controls controls and has the heel of his left foot on a kind of a pedal. He perceived that his clothing is appropriate: short trousers with a broad belt,  a jacket with the modern Japanese opening at the neck and closely fitting bands at arms and legs. And this being wore complicated headgear with tubes and something like antennae on top. So Erich clearly saw this man as a space traveller, that he was looking at a piece of apparatus in front of his face, and that his front seat is seperated by struts from the rear portion o the vehicle in which symmetrically arranged boxes circles, points and spirals can be seen.

Source Quote

1. Erich von Däniken:"There sits a human being, with his upper part of his body bent forward like a racing a motorcyclist today any child would identify his vehicle as a rocket.  It is pointed at the front, then changes to strangely grooved indentations like inlet ports, widens out and terminates at the tail in a darting flame. The crouching being himself is manipulating a number of undefinable controls controls and has the heel of his left foot on a kind of a pedal. His clothing is appropriate: short trousers with a broad belt,  a jacket with the modern Japanese opening at the neck and closely fitting bands at arms and legs. With our knowledge of similar pictures we should be surprised if the complicated headgear were missing.And there it is with the usual indentation and tubes and something like antennae on top.  Our space traveler - he is clearly depicted as one - is not only bent forwards tensely; he is also looking intently at an apparatus hanging in front of his face. The astronauts front seat is separated by struts from the rear portion of the vehicle,  in which symmetrically arranged boxes circles, points and spirals can be seen (Chariots of the Gods (1968) (Space Gods revealed.1976))