Robert Cargill posted this today on his blog. It's funny because we've all seen it happen, again and again. Although the creators forgot to include the Fantasy Channel (formerly known as the History Channel).
pseudoarchaeology
Two Items Regarding Talpiot B and James Tabor
I'm just reading James Tabor's post regarding Prof. James Charlesworth's apparent discovery of the name "Jonah" on the ossuary that purports to have a fish symbol on it. If that turns out to be a true inscription (looks pretty reasonable to me), then that would...
Richard Bauckham on the Flimsy Evidence for Talpiot B as the Tomb of Joseph of Arimathea
I hope you all read the short but clear-headed guest post on Mark Goodacre's NT Blog by guest blogger Richard Bauckham. Professor Bauckham does a nice job of succinctly demonstrating the tenuous nature of what seems to be the only data point approximating evidence for...
Getting to Know Your 2012 Apocalyptic PaleoBabble
I came across this lengthy conversation (from this past August) recently. It's a good article that provides a number of links for understanding the history and past cultural applications of the 2012 Mayan "prophecy" nonsense. It's a good starting point for research...
Another Giant Human Skeleton That Isn't
I've blogged before about giant human skeletons that aren't giant human skeletons. The first two examples I blogged about were hoaxes, created with image editing software (see here and here). The Remnant of the Giants blog recently had an interesting post about a...
Hoaxing Ancient Documents Isn't New
Quite an interesting post from Prof. Larry Hurtado's blog today. The post focuses on an out-of-print book by Edgar J. Goodspeed (Famous Biblical Hoaxes, or, Modern Apocrypha). It was originally published in 1931 (repr. 1956). Hurtado's post sketches a litany of...
Canaanites in America?
Some PaleoBabble readers may be familiar with the longstanding controversy over whether certain "inscriptions" found in the United States were written thousands of years ago by ancient Semitic peoples from the Mediterranean (Phoenicians, Canaanites, Hebrews, etc.)....
The Fictional Roots of the Ancient Astronaut Myth
All of those interested in PaleoBabble should be aware of the work of Jason Colavito. Jason has done a lot of work tracing the common ancient astronaut motifs back through science fiction of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. His primary focus is H.P. Lovecraft....
Yahweh and Asherah: More Archaeo-Porn for the Masses
[ADDENDUM: March 23, 2011 I just wanted to direct readers to three items I have written, two of which are free. I offer them since the issue below gets into the issue of monotheism in Israel. First, there is a pre-publication version of an article that was published...
Dinosaur Petroglyphs and a Lesson in Intellectual Dishonesty
I was alerted to a new scholarly article today on the issue of so-called dinosaur petroglyphs. Here is the citation (the article is free): Senter and Cole. 2011. "Dinosaur" petroglyphs at Kachina Bridge site, Natural Bridges National Monument, southeastern Utah: not...
Another Blow to Fundamentalist Ancient Alien Theorists
As if they had any sort of coherent ammunition anyway! Here's a bit of commentary regarding the growth of scientific knowledge with respect to so-called "junk-DNA." It's becoming increasingly apparent that it isn't junk. Ancient alien theorists, as readers know, have...
Atlantis: The Myth That Keeps on Giving
Ever wondered how a few lines of Plato's Timaeus that mention Atlantis somehow morphed into a myth so bloated that you can fill a library wing with tomes by "authorities" and "researchers" describing the science, technology, religion, and enlightened culture of a...
Ahmed Osman: No Stranger to Revisionist PaleoBabble
Ahmed Osman has authored a number of books promoting fringe revisionist history with respect to ancient Egypt and the Bible (basically, the intersection of the two). His books have apparently sold well (no surprise there). Here are some titles (I love the one with the...
Ancient Planes, Rockets, and Helicopters?
I feel a little embarrassed. I can't believe I forgot to blog this, though I probably intended to redo the page and make it look nice. Oh well. The last time I was on Coast to Coast, I threw this page together (in about an hour - I know, it shows) since I knew people...
How the Pyramids Were Built: Aliens Not Needed Once Again
What a shock! Check out this recent post from Archaeology Daily News (you may have to scroll down to see the actual story). Pretty sweet explanation for how correct stone orientation and placement was achieved -- very simple and very clever. The architect's theory...