An increasing number of historical and archaeological finds made around the world have been classified as "out-of-place artifacts" (ooparts). They have been called this because they appear unexpectedly among the ruins of the past with no evidence of a preceding period of development; their technological sophistication seems far beyond the capabilities of ancient peoples. Drawing on the literature and art of the Chaldeans, Sumerians, Babylonians and others, Rene Noorbergen's contention is that a superior race of man was responsible for these scientific marvels that bear testimony to a civilization with technology comparable to our own.