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...
pseudoarchaeology
Is the Pseudo-Archaeological Belief That Aliens, Nephilim, Or Descendants of Atlantis Were Responsible for Pyramids, Mounds, Megalithic Architecture, Etc. Racist?
Short Answer: Yes (at least for some, like Erich von Daniken). Slightly Longer Answer: Yes, because some presume that humans in antiquity were so primitive they could not build these things without the assistance of non-human intelligence. Then, an elect super-race...
Of Denderah and Dim Bulbs: Is There Visual Evidence for Lightbulbs in Ancient Egypt?
I'll let viewers decide. Try not to laugh at Ancient Aliens when you see this. I know. It's hard.
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:...
Ancient Astronaut Theory and Racism
I've blogged before about how the theory of ancient aliens being responsible for the monumental building of ancient Egypt and other contemporaneous civilizations is inherently racist. The idea is basically that the humans of Egypt and these other cultures were simply...
Update on Jaime Maussan’s Fake Alien Mummy Circus
The UFO Watchdog blog recently posted an update on the alleged alien mummy brought to Gaia TV by Jaime Maussan. Jaime of course has a long, glorious history of hoaxing. You can read the update here in full, but it's basically about how the World Congress on Mummy...
Gobekli Tepe: Stop the Madness, Please
Boy, am I tired of hearing about Gobekli Tepe. Pardon the pun, but it's become a monument to those who cannot distinguish speculation from data. The truth is that no one really knows what the site was for, who built, or why it was built. No one knows the meaning of...
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...
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...
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...
The Sphinx 800,000 Years Old? A Good Lesson on How Alternative Historians Select Their Data
You may have seen this item enthusiastically recently reported on the Ancient Code site: "Scientists: Geological evidence shows the Great Sphinx is 800,000 years old." Ancient Code is a repository of fringe archaeology. Surprise! What Ancient Code doesn't tell you is...
Graham Hancock’s Magicians of the Gods: A Review
I encourage all of you to read Jason Colavito's lengthy review of Hancock's latest tome devoted to alternative history. But if you want the short version, Colavito offers this summary thought: Speaking as someone who found Fingerprints of the Gods to be entertaining...
A Blow to Racist Fringe History
Jason Colavito has an interesting post on some recent research that damages the Solutrean Hypothesis. For those who haven't heard of this, Jason explains: Fringe history believers have long used the Solutrean claim as evidence for European primacy in the Americas, a...
The Map Behind the Piri Reis Map
That's the title of this intriguing essay on the Piri Reis map -- an early 16th century map that allegedly shows the coastline of Antarctica not covered by ice. The image above of the Piri Reis map comes from this much longer and more detailed analysis, the effort of...
Medieval Pyramid PaleoBabble Reborn
That's the gist of this informative essay /by Jason Colavito: "Review of Scott Creighton's "The Secret Chamber of Osiris" (2015). As usual, Jason has done his homework and exposes how Creighton (the author) adopts medieval fantasies about pyramids as science.