What really killed those beings on Paradise?

 Shaw and David took a new ship that we haven't seen. For all we know, anything could have been aboard. A different weapon maybe?  One poster here had a great theory.  The goo is unleashed on the planet and as a way to stop the spread, some weapon was used that wiped everyone out. Im almost 99 percent sure that gold thing ontop is some form of weapon. 

When I saw the bodies I immediately thought of Sodom and Gomorrah, pillars of salt etc.  The scene is very much indicative of a holocaust, a mass extinction event for example.  Makes we think of a thermal event that occurred atmospherically.  

@Ingeniero

Indeed we cant rule out that this device could be used to attack the Juggernaught.

We cant rule out if David decided to drop the Goo on-top of this Cathedral and it caused a Reaction that set off a completely different explosive event that Rendered the Engineers or who ever these beings are... Burnt to a Crisp and at the same time it would also blow upwards and cause the Juggernaught to Crash.

Kind of like throwing a Giant Balloon of Helium or Hydrogen onto a Exposed Electrical Wire or some other Electrical Generating Device.

I am open to any alternative theories to explain how the Juggernaught Crashed,  and why Black Goo caused a effect we have not seen before.

Maybe Shaw attempted to Stop David and this caused a loss of Control of the Ship, or something else that was on-board the Juggernaught that they was not AWARE of... which Fassbender made a comment in response to was Shaw and David alone... where he said "as far as we know"

@airshaft_surprise

Indeed reports are the Ark would indeed cause that, others are that those around it would become ill as if they had caught Radiation Poisoning.

The Source did say in regards to what i assume they meant the Goo but which one who knows...  i am pretty sure this was in relation to the Goo anyway.

They mentioned Atomic Energy and how it has its Benevolent Uses but then also it can be used to create a Atomic Weapon. They also expanded by referring to Fukushima too.

I think this was indeed aimed at the Black Goo and hinting at the Outbreak being a Accident, but also that maybe the intention of this stuff was for Benevolent means like the Sacrificial Scene.

I dont think they was refer this to the Terra-form Technology.

BigDave, so the Engineers of LV-223 might resemble the Igigi in the way they handle the tough grunt work for a higher order?

They are similar in appearance/task and seem to occupy a caste of their own on the planet Prometheus touched down on. 

@BigDave, yes thanks, i did not know about the radiation exposure wow! like you said about gold its prevalent in every cultures ancient texts - El Dorado(Akakor), Egypt, Alchemy(turning base metal into gold).etc.......

Indeed maybe the Igigi tale can fit, but then so loosely could other Ancient Mythos too.

The Temple/Cathedral does have that Gold Device on-top that looks like Technology, its a very specific shape like it performs some kind of Purpose.

Ridley has been taking the pages out of books like Chariots of the Gods and Ancient Astronaut theories and indeed some of those theories state that Pyramids was used for various reasons, some  hypothesize they Generate Electricity, some they create Electricity  usually both from Plasma and Gold is used in this.

some theories are they are Ancient Haarp Weather/Terra-forming Machines.

Now the Tops of the Pyramids (Pyramidion) were often lined with Gold Leaf, that was supposed to reflect the Suns Rays, there are many different Ancient Theories regarding Pyramids, some depict generating a current/waves that causes a Plasma Reaction in the Atmosphere and basically like a Tesla Coil

Others that they use Lighting/Plasma to then create powerful Wave/Vibrations and Magnetic Engineer the Pyramids then send down into the Earth Deep.

If Ridley Scott has been looking at some of these Theories then maybe he could have applied these to the Purpose of that Cathedral and its Gold Top.

I find it hard to think of any Coincidental Reason for them, is its just decorative for the Engineers?   A monument dedicated to something?

Nope i think it has to have a reason, they are arranged all around like the Large Hadron Collider and when looking at the Super Conductive Properties of Gold and how those Gold Parts are Arranged, i think it borrows off those Ancient Technology in the Pyramid Theories.

If this can produce massive amounts of Plasma Energy then there is the Potential for Burning of those Engineers.

Found this from Star Gate SG1...  maybe something like this could fit in with the theory i propose in this Topic?

Destruction of Dakara

Igigi? are they mentioned in sitchins 12 planet? I read it a coupla times but a while ago now, i will have to get it out and read it again.

I watched the Destruction of Dakara, i see what you mean now and how this scenario could fit in with your theory, excellent!

@BigDave

Good work on this. I for one totally agree with your assessment that the beings on this planet were punished for some transgression. Lots of speculation but the bottom line is that David and the good Doctor didn't do this...

Pretty sure David and Shaw find all these creatures dead already when they land. Btw, do we know for a fact they crash? It seems a bit odd tough to land in the middle of a lush forest... 

Here is my theory.

The engineers were wiped out by another humanoid race yet to be revealed. What ever weapon it used it not only killed them but rendered their technology useless ( which is why Shaw and David are stranded there, more ships but no power). As far as the juggernaut crash, I think David was coaching to fly that thing. During its decent Shaw curcomes to her injuries from the star beast and is unable to control the ship and they crash.

The pyramid that David is walking from might be something like The Pyramid of the Moon in Teotihuacan ("Birthplace of the gods"). There is an open square in front of the pyramid (just like where all the burnt bodies in the trailer are). There is also a road "Avenue of the Dead" leading to The Pyramid of the Sun.

In AVP all life is extinguished if the serpents would win against the predators:

Seanjohn, Ati you are correct.

We do not know what is in the juggernaut Dr. Shaw and David 8 took upon LV-223. All we got to see was that the ship looked similar and they (Dr. Shaw and David 8) were able to get it to fly above cloud level.

The assumption was that similar cargo was upon similar ships but who knows?

whatever did it it wasnt volcanic activity or a weapon or a bomb otherwise those things would have damaged the temple etc.....it could be something where David and Shaw arrive at the planet only to find this...could be that they release the goo into the atmosphere, water etc and the screenplay just says thats what did it....personally i hope that david and shaw arrived and this was already done since that creates a mystery and hints at bigger things out there in this universe

Interesting points guys..

@Chli

Indeed a number of the other temples do look like these and Ancient Ziggurats of Ancient Mesopotamia

I pondered a while ago are these Temples like Ancient Landing Platforms as per Ancient Astronaut theories.. and could we be seeing a seen like out of Titanic or movies like Deep Impact where there is a impending Disaster and these guys here are just too late to make it to the Life Boats or Entrance to Safety.

The new Temples we see are very interesting as we have that Centerpiece  Cathedral...  maybe some knew of the Disaster or decision to destroy the World and so some had escaped.  It would be similar to a End of the World Event on Earth, where the World Elite and Wealthy know of the Doom and are rushed off to Safety of Escape Ships or Entrances to Underground Sanctuary ..  while the rest are left to Perish.

The AVP Shot is also very very on-topic as a possibility, if say some outbreak happened and the Temple was kind of a Safety Protocol like in AVP movie... so when something gets out of hand the Temple has a Back Up Super Weapon to Wipe the Slate Clean

I will safely Assume to 99.5% that Davids ship does have Urns on them, as for if they contain the same DNA or different who knows..

Much like these Egyptian Canopic Jars, yeah i know they are for storage of Organs... but i think they look like Urns and Spaights draft we had well was supposed to have 8 kinds of Xenomorphs.. so maybe other Temples on LV-223 have slightly different strains of Xeno DNA?

I am still pretty open to other reasons for this scene... but i feel evidence is backing up against David dropping the Goo as the cause.

It would really frost everyone's cookies if all the bodies in the original post were those of mutated and mad colonists.

Indeed that would be one major Curveball ;)

BD: Yes it does look like some kind of Harmagedon where a genocide has taken place. It could be engineers or perhaps another hominid race (who have temples where they worship the gods). In the latter case we see what could have happened to Earth if Shaw and Janek hadn't prevented it. It seems (from the prop) like the door into the temple is shut and that even one of the burnt corpses is in a squatting position raising his hands in a cursing protest. The doors were sealed just like what happened to the running engineers in the hologram on LV-223?