How Does an “Alternative” Archaeology Work?
This article is part of the “Buzzwords in Pseudoarchaeology” series Google “alternative archaeology” (with the quotes) and you’ll get about 17,000 hits. The first of […]
Pseudoarchaeology
Open Minds and “High Civilizations”
Two more buzz-terms among those that propagate pseudoarchaeological ideas are “Open Minds” and “High Civilization.” Open vs. Closed Minds Having an open mind is a […]
What is Pseudoarchaeology? Part 2: Out of Place Assumptions
Pseudoarchaeological claims are also marked by frequent mention of “out-of-place-artifacts” often called “ooparts” for short. The notion by those that see fantastic explanations for these […]
What is pseudoarchaeology? Part 1: Probably Wrong to Fantastically Charged
There are many who make a pretense of doing science, using scientific-sounding jargon and misplaced or misapplied scientific principles. In so doing, these people often […]
Hutton Pulitzer’s so-called “Roman Sword Report”
There simply is no such thing as a “high zinc content bronze sword.” If there was, it would be called a brass sword.
Roman Swords and Questionable Motives
I was asked to write a piece about the Roman sword nonsense at Oak Island, which I hadn’t really had a chance to read up […]
Sumerians in Bolivia? Probably not.
I subscribe to a lot of archaeology related feeds on social media and one of the memes going around last week included one with the […]
Pseudoarchaeology and Elongated Skulls
Elongated skulls of ancient people like the Peruvians have long been a source of mystery and fascination, particularly for significance-junkies that find aliens wherever they […]
Pseudoarchaeology of the Serapeum, a 19th Dynasty Egyptian Site in Saqqara
The wonder and awe isn’t found in fantasies of ancient aliens and “high technology” of long lost civilizations -rather it comes with the understanding that we are more than the sum of our parts when we decide to do something together. A fact that our ancient ancestors understood all too well. For better or worse.
?Nazi War Diggers: Why it’s a Bad Idea for NatGeo
National Geographic has long captured the hearts and imaginations of those interested in far-away cultures, history, and the world in general. The vivid and often […]