Science Fiction
Xenoarchaeological themes are common in science fiction. Works about the exploration of enigmatic extraterrestrial artifacts have been satirically categorized as Big Dumb Object stories.
Some of the more prominent examples of xenoarchaeological fiction include Arthur C. Clarke's novel Rendezvous with Rama, H. Beam Piper's short story Omnilingual, and Charles Sheffield's Heritage Universe series.
Jack McDevitt's science fiction novels often revolve around human or alien historical and archaeological mysteries.
Mass Effect's plot revolves around technologies in the form of structures, transportation, buildings and machines left behind by an extinct alien race.
The primary setting of Halo: Combat Evolved takes place on a massive structure created by an ancient, extinct alien super race. These structures feature prominently in the sequels Halo 2, Halo 3, and Halo 4.
Read more about this topic: Xenoarchaeology
Famous quotes containing the words science and/or fiction:
“If science ever gets to the bottom of Voodoo in Haiti and Africa, it will be found that some important medical secrets, still unknown to medical science, give it its power, rather than the gestures of ceremony.”
—Zora Neale Hurston (1891–1960)
“We ignore thriller writers at our peril. Their genre is the political condition. They massage our dreams and magnify our nightmares. If it is true that we always need enemies, then we will always need writers of fiction to encode our fears and fantasies.”
—Daniel Easterman (b. 1949)