According to ancient Sumerian mythology, the Anunnaki were "gods" who were said to have visited the Earth long ago.
Popular author, Zecharia Sitchin claimed to have decoded the clay tablets of the ancient Sumerians, to reveal that the home planet of the Anunnaki, called Nibiru, is actually a part of our own Solar System but with a highly-elliptical orbit. He said Nibiru moves closest to Earth every 3,600 years and he predicted that Nibiru would have its next close encounter with Earth in 150 years.
Nonetheless, obsession with the "return of Nibiru" is at an all-time high on the Internet.
This episode of the late-1990s TV series, "Phenomenon: The Lost Archives," presented by Dean Stockwell and featuring several scientists, pundits and Zecharia Sitchin investigates Sitchin's claims that the Anunnaki genetically engineered man by splicing their own DNA with those of Homo erectus, sometime between 50,000 and 200,000 years ago. The goal was to produce slaves who would follow orders and mine gold for the Anunnaki in Southern Africa.
In 2010, the archeological remains of what appeared to be highly-sophisticated gold smelting operation, dated at 200,000 years ago was discovered near Maputo, Mozambique. This might lend some credence to Zecharia Sitchin's claims--claims, which are categorically not accepted by any branch of science in which Sitchin ever engaged.
Still, the Nibiru-obsessed say that this planet is careening toward us and that it will severely disrupt the Inner Solar System, causing cataclysms on Earth in 2012. This belief is not supported by any accredited astronomers.
