No surprise, but it doesn't go well. Carl Feagans, "The Pseudoarchaeology of America Before: A Review," April 22, 2019 As in biblical studies, where a lot of research can impress amateur readers, so it is with books like those of Hancock, which emphasize data that...
archaeology
For You Ancient Chronology Buffs …
If you're following the Naked Bible Podcast we've had several episodes where we get mired in the quagmire that is ancient chronology. Years ago I read the book Centuries of Darkness by Peter James. It's fundamental exposure to why the accepted chronologies of...
Why the Moundbuilder Myth is Wrong
Readers interested in ancient North America (and who are data-driven, not conspiracy-driven or fans of bad biblical interpretation) would do well to read this old (2011) essay by Kenneth Feder, Bradley T. Lepper, Terry A. Barnhart, and Deborah A. Bolnick:...
Apkallu in the News
I couldn't resist posting this -- hat tip to Matthew for it! "Record-Setting Sale Of An Ancient Assyrian Stone Relief Sparks Looting Fears In Iraq" $28 million for a seven-foot carved relief of an apkallu. Readers will recall that apkallu are either depicted with...
FringePop321 Video: Did the Israelites Build the Pyramids?
Some readers will recall I blogged about this in 2016. Now there's a FringePop321 video on the subject!
Has Isaiah’s Signature Been Uncovered in Jerusalem?
Well, if you can read paleo-Hebrew that sure looks like: [לישׁעיה[ו] נבי[א as in: ל = "belonging to" [ישׁעיה[ו] נבי[א= Isaiah the prophet (with some letters missing) We'll see. I can hardly wait for the minimalist crowd to come up with another "what you see really...
Gods of the Biblical World
This looks like a useful online resource. Here is the explanation on the site landing page: Welcome! This website was constructed to supply resources for an undergraduate class at Wofford College, called “Gods of the Biblical World: Polytheism, Magic, and Israelite...
Elongated Skulls: Professional vs. Amateur Research
Below are three informative essays on elongated skulls that anyone interested in the topic should read. They are informative because they provide a good survey (and sources in the notes) of the sort of research professionals conduct on these skulls, and because they...
Update on Jaime Maussan’s Phony Peruvian Alien Mummy
If you're following this story, this post from Archaeology Review is quite worthwhile: A Review of Jaime Maussan’s Alien Mummy from Peru. The highlight is an X-Ray of the three-fingered alien hand hoax perpetrated by Maussan. Here's a portion of the essay on that...
The Myth of Double-Row Teeth and Elongated-Skull Nephilim
I’ve blogged once before about this point of pseudo-research as it relates to using the Talmud for its justification. In biblical thinking and history, however, the nephilim (who were unusually tall) died out in biblical times. That means there were no modern nephilim...
Congratulations to Randall Price on Discovering a New Qumran Cave
If you listened to my ETS interview with Randall last November, there were inklings of this in between the lines. News was recently announced about the new Cave 12. Read it here.
American Moundbuilders and Earthworks: Textbook Pseudo-Archaeology
Here's a link to a short essay that outlines the basic "techniques" for pseudo-archaeological analysis. While the essay notes the flawed thinking of Glenn Beck in regard to the Newark Earthworks, the essay ought to be a cautionary piece for all Christian Middle Earth...
Ancient City Gate Associated with the Time of Hezekiah Under Excavation
Here's the story. Here's how the piece begins: An ancient city gate and shrine that King Hezekiah ordered to be destroyed during the eighth century B.C., according to the Hebrew Bible, are seeing the light of day following an excavation in Israel, archaeologists...
Works of George Wesley Buchanan Available on Logos Platform
Logos is publishing a compilation of George W. Buchanan’s works. Why do I mention this item out of the 3-4,000 items Logos publishes each year? Because I helped put this on the radar. Buchanan is one of the few serious NT scholars who is open to an alternative...
There’s PaleoBabble in the Evangelical World, Too
What's fair is fair. Sanctified paleobabble is still paleobabble. The excellent Evangelical Textual Criticism blog posted this back in February: "Debunking Silly Statements about the Bible." Most of the items are examples of claims that over-extend the data. That sort...