Unidentified Submersible Objects (USOs) have been reported for decades, often by military personnel or commercial sailors who describe unusual craft entering or exiting the water, hovering without displacement, or moving at extraordinary speeds below the surface.

In recent years, these accounts have gained credibility through official statements and congressional hearings. In 2022, Deputy Director of Naval Intelligence Scott Bray acknowledged that many UAP sightings occur in or near water. Navy pilots have also described “transmedium” objects, craft that seem to move effortlessly between air and sea, without any visible means of propulsion.

With over 80% of Earth’s oceans still unexplored, and sonar anomalies occasionally making headlines, the ocean remains one of our least understood frontiers. If non-human intelligences were living in our waters, or even just using the oceans as entry points from somewhere else, that would force us to ask different kinds of questions.

What if they’re not coming from space at all? What if they’ve been here longer than us?

There are ancient accounts that might point to something like this. In Sumerian mythology, one of the oldest recorded traditions on Earth, beings from the sea are central to the story of human origins. Oannes, a half-fish, half-human figure, is said to have emerged from the Persian Gulf to teach early humans the foundations of civilization—writing, mathematics, and agriculture. He lived in the sea by day and came to land only to share knowledge.

Enki, another important Sumerian deity, was the god of wisdom, magic, and creation. He ruled the freshwater abyss, known as the Abzu, and was believed to have shaped the world from the deep.

These ancient stories suggest that knowledge, power, and perhaps even life itself, came from the water.

Other cultures echo this theme. Mermaids, serpent deities, and water spirits appear across global mythologies, often as messengers or guardians. These beings almost always come from below, surfacing with warnings, gifts, or visions. Across Africa, Mami Wata is revered as a powerful water spirit, often depicted as part-woman, part-fish, bringing wealth or healing, or demanding respect and offerings. In Hindu mythology, the apsaras dwell in water and dance between realms, while in Japan, the ningyo is a mer-creature whose appearance often heralds transformation or disaster. Even the sirens of Greek mythology, who lured sailors with song, speak to an ancient belief that the ocean is home to powerful intelligences both beautiful and dangerous.

What if these stories aren’t just metaphors? What if they are fragments of memory, pointing toward real encounters from long ago?

These myths have long held meaning, but in light of USO reports, they begin to sound a little less like stories and more like memories.

There have also been strange modern events that suggest something hidden in the oceans.

In 1952, an alleged encounter off the coast of California involved witnesses describing humanoid beings working on a submerged craft.

Fifteen years later, in 1967, the Shag Harbour Incident—often called Canada’s Roswell—took place off the coast of Nova Scotia. Multiple civilian and military witnesses observed a glowing object crash into the water and submerge. Search and rescue operations were conducted by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Canadian Coast Guard, and Navy divers were sent to investigate. Officially, nothing was recovered, but the event was classified as a UFO by the Canadian government, and it remains one of the most well-documented unexplained cases involving a submerged object.

Humans are strangely adapted for aquatic life. We have a mammalian diving reflex that slows our heartbeat and redirects blood flow when we submerge. We’re mostly hairless, we walk upright, and we shed tears and sweat salt, like sea creatures do. Some scientists point out that our fingers wrinkle in water to help us grip underwater surfaces. We even have a protective membrane—called the plica semilunaris—in the inner corner of our eyes, a vestigial remnant that hints we may have once seen better underwater.

The aquatic ape theory suggests that humans may have spent a significant part of our evolutionary journey living near or in water. While not widely accepted in mainstream science, it offers a compelling framework for why we are the way we are. Maybe we evolved in collaboration with the sea, not in opposition to it. Maybe we aren’t strangers to the water after all.

We have always looked to the water. The ocean may hold not only secrets from our distant past, but also clues to our future. It might even help us remember something essential about who we really are.