Remarkably, ancient cultures seemed to understand a lot about astronomy, to be very advanced. They practised astronomy. They understood that the sun was the centre of our planetary system, they knew the planets in it, they calculated time and seasons using the stars. They navigated the seas, which requires certain knowledge of planet Earth’s position within the universe. Come to think of it, the sky was more important to them than the Earth - we could say that they were more advanced in astronomy than in other areas of life.
Something must have happened that caused them to have this orientation and beliefs. For example: what if the notion that the Gods visited Earth as some sort of astronauts is not a religious notion, not a fantasy of primitive peoples? Maybe some ancients actually saw them? Maybe they actually interacted with them, maybe they had things done to them? More on Talkatics