Bad Archaeology

[SavedOnebyGrace]

Source: Is Pseudoarchaeology Racist?

The Great Serpent Mound (Ohio, USA) (Source)

A common observation made by critics of Bad Archaeologists is that so many of their ideas have an underlying and unspoken racist assumption: the benighted savages of distant continents and ancient times could not possibly have been responsible for the remarkable ruined structures found in their lands. Thus the walls of Puma Punku (Perú), the pyramids of Giza (Egypt), the Great Enclosure of Zimbabwe or the Serpent Mound of Ohio (USA) must have been built (or at the very least designed) by outsiders, whether they came from a more “advanced” (but nevertheless contemporary and known) civilization, a lost continent or outer space. And if those responsible were human, they are usually described in terms that leave us in no doubt that they were white-skinned.

Sometimes, mythology is used to justify these ideas. Bad Archaeologists are very fond of stories about Wiracocha in South America, for instance. We are told that he was a tall bearded man with white skin who came from overseas to bring Sometimes, mythology is used to justify these ideas. Bad Archaeologists are very fond of stories about Wiracocha in South America, for instance. We are told that he was a tall bearded man with white skin who came from overseas to bring civilization to the Andean peoples before departing across the sea. What they fail to reveal is the source of these legends: accounts by the Spanish Conquistadores who used them to justify their conquests and to show the conquered people that a previous visitor from elsewhere had brought them nothing but good. The subtext is plain and it ought to come as no surprise that versions of the stories collected by more recent anthropologists and folklorists do not have the details that make Wiracocha appear to have European characteristics.to the Andean peoples before departing across the sea. What they fail to reveal is the source of these legends: accounts by the Spanish Conquistadores who used them to justify their conquests and to show the conquered people that a previous visitor from elsewhere had brought them nothing but good. The subtext is plain and it ought to come as no surprise that versions of the stories collected by more recent anthropologists and folklorists do not have the details that make Wiracocha appear to have European characteristics.

Occasionally, the racism has been even more overt. The work of the Ahnenerbe, the antiquarian wing of Heinrich Himmler’s SS, was designed to find evidence showing that the ancient Germans were responsible for just about every advance in human technology and society. Their particular brand of racism had little appeal outside Germany, unsurprisingly, and seems to have had little long-term effect on pseudoarchaeology. Only those on the far right will admit to a belief in such overtly racist attitudes.  (See link above for continuation of article.)

[Guest]

  (See post above for continuation of article.)

Edited November 24, 2020 by Saved.One.by.Grace

[Guest]

Another field of bad archaeology are ley lines.  We can thank the New Age Movement for there recent popularity. 

Source: https://www.skeptical-science.com/critical-thinking/magical-ley-lines-debunked/

 For a continuation of the article, use the link above.

[Marathoner]

Good reading, @Saved.One.by.Grace. The mounds of North America in particular are a fascinating study. If my memory serves the oldest known earthwork is Watson Brake in Louisiana, about 5,500 years in age. My archeology professor devoted a few lectures to "bad archeology" and the mounds of North America figured prominently. It was assumed that indigenous cultures were incapable of works on that scale so all manner of wild conjecture was forwarded to explain their existence. 

[Guest]

10 minutes ago, Marathoner said:

Good reading, @Saved.One.by.Grace. The mounds of North America in particular are a fascinating study. If my memory serves the oldest known earthwork is Watson Brake in Louisiana, about 5,500 years in age. My archeology professor devoted a few lectures to "bad archeology" and the mounds of North America figured prominently. It was assumed that indigenous cultures were incapable of works on that scale so all manner of wild conjecture was forwarded to explain their existence. 

I lived across the Mississippi River from Cahokia Mounds.  It was even speculated by "Ancient Alien Theorists" that they helped the indigenous people building the Mounds.  Before I was a Christian, I read all kinds of books by Frank Edwards, Erich Von Daniken and others with all kinds of wild theories.  There's no reason to believe the indigenous peoples of North and South America were not as capable of feats comparable to the Egyptians and Greeks.

[JohnR7]

On 11/23/2020 at 5:38 PM, Saved.One.by.Grace said:

A common observation made by critics of Bad Archaeologists is that so many of their ideas have an underlying and unspoken racist assumption

The evidence that God gives us remains the same. As Paul says: they are without excuse: "For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood from His workmanship, so that men are without excuse". (Romans 1:20)

[Didymos]

Yes. it's racism to claim that the indigenous people of a region couldn't have built those monuments. In the end we are all humans, members of the same homo sapiens species and capable of doing wonderful (and sadly enough also teriible) things. Basically my brain and capabilities are the same as that of (say) a stone age native american. In fact it's estimated that if we could bring back someone from about 70.000 years ago, he or she (in modern clothing) wouldn't look that much different from us and not stand out in the crowd. Also he/she could probably (after a thorough schooling) do my job, and hate it as much as I do. Yeah, I would rather be working outside, getting my hands dirty and building megaliths and such.

 

[Roymond]

On 11/24/2020 at 12:54 PM, Saved.One.by.Grace said:

Another field of bad archaeology are ley lines.  We can thank the New Age Movement for there recent popularity. 

Source: https://www.skeptical-science.com/critical-thinking/magical-ley-lines-debunked/

 

 For a continuation of the article, use the link above.

Ah, but they've served as plot points in a number of fun novels!