What Archaeologists Really Think About Ancient Aliens, Lost Colonies, And Fingerprints Of The Gods

Here's an interesting article and academic review of that stuff that makes archaeologists want to go postal (or if you're in Ottawa, its 'go OC Transpo'...but I digress). Archaeologists don't live in a vacuum - they are fully aware of what popular culture likes to represent as alternatives to accepted truths of the day. Yes, scientific investigation is driven by challenging the status quo, but people, there's a lot of poop our there masquerading as revelation. Here's a revealing look at archaeology's take on it

There’s a popular meme that my archaeology friends have been circulating on social media lately: a picture of Giorgio Tsoukalos, a producer of the popular History Channel show Ancient Aliens, overlaid with the caption “I’m notsaying it was aliens, but it was aliens.”What Archaeologists Really Think About Ancient Aliens, Lost Colonies, And Fingerprints Of The Gods

Give it a read, then sashay over to the reviews. Gotta love a piece that reads:

Do me a favor. Go over to a window and look outside. I’ll wait. Okay, are you looking? See anything extraordinary? Yup, it is pigs flying. So many pigs. That should explain how a Graham Hancock book is being reviewed in American Antiquity. And it is about time. Since its publication in 1995, the book is estimated to have sold more than three million copies and has been published in 27 languages. As archaeologists, we ignore such a phenomenon at our peril.
TALKING TO THE GUY ON THE AIRPLANE

I get why they would be annoyed especially over the Ancient Alien theory and I must confess that although I know better I can't help but streaming it,but I don't quite get Ethan Watrall's criticism of Black Genesis though; is he saying that the pyramid complex do not line up with orion's belt and the Saharan folk at Nabta Playa did not anticipate later Kemet's bovine worship and star gazing?? again I do consume alot of the literature while knowing full well that much of it is outright BS or doggy just view it as works of fiction and all is well.

originally posted by: JohnnyCanuck
...makes archaeologists want to go postal (or if you're in Ottawa, its 'go OC Transpo'...but I digress).

That brought back a lot of memories...

The 95 from the east end to Rideau Centre. How many times did that I ride that to Uni....

I have to S&F just for the OC reference!!

I wonder if these same Archaeologists have ever wondered what is buried at the Smithsonian, or Vatican?

Must be nice to be willfully ignorant.

originally posted by: JohnTheSmith
I wonder if these same Archaeologists have ever wondered what is buried at the Smithsonian, or Vatican?

Must be nice to be willfully ignorant.

Repeated for relevance.

originally posted by: JohnTheSmith
I wonder if these same Archaeologists have ever wondered what is buried at the Smithsonian, or Vatican?
Must be nice to be willfully ignorant.

And you know what that the archaeological community has chosen to ignore? Do tell!

I gotta say the point made on the series regarding DNA manipulation is creative (and cool) if nothing else.
For me it is more believable that an advanced space faring race seeded and/or altered our planets indigenous ape population for reasons known only to them than an omnipotent "God" created us for companionship or whatever...
Anyhow, if we ever do find evidence of ancient aliens I believe it will be written in our coded DNA or RNA....and it will be indisputable....
Alas I love the idea of [controlled] pan spermia so am biased on the subject
-Christosterone

a reply to: JohnnyCanuck

My Friend Johnny Cancuk

I do understand the offering presented, and the dismissal and/or disdain that the research community holds for such views as the Ancient Alien concept, and the matter of gods and deities running things at some point in our distant past, but I am at a loss to understand the Dismissal and/or Disdain for the same indigenious peoples they wish to support while ignoring the lore and legends of those same peoples.

Take some of the Ancient sites here in the Americas, which also align with Orion's Belt, but go further to actually represent the entire constellation, and not the Belt alone.

What of the tales of the Native Populations of "Giants" and the areas of their habitation, in the Americas.

What of Ancient Scripts in Chaldean, Norse, Egyptian, Lybian, Celtic, Irish and on, found around the Americas?

What of the Isle Royale, and it's apparent base as the Copper Source for the Bronze Age.

While of course, these are some matters that could be addressed with some level of investigation, they just seemingly pass it off as nutty, and do not followup on these concepts, due to the sheer lunacy these concepts promote.

Alien Visitors, DNA Sequencing Mankind, Offspring of the Fallen (Giants), Mans travels to the Americas pre-Columbus.

This stuff is no way in which FUNDING can be expected from those Smithsonian Type cesspools of Historical Manipulation.

And it is this, that spins the wheels of the Educated and Main Street Common Sense sorts that makeup this dismissal and/or disdain group. They protect their own interests by protecting the interests of their supporters.

We can not expect that questionable evidence would ever see the light of day, if it represented the illusion of deceit with the "known" accounts.

Hell, the next thing we know is Darwin gets thrown under the bus and Creation become the true account of Man. God forbid. Imagine the Academics seeking jobs if that cookie crumbled.

Anyways Johnny. It's been sometime since we chatted, and I like to see things seem to remain the same

Ciao for now

Shane

This article doesnt say anything about what archaelogists as a whole feel. Archaelogy is not a single organisation and has a lot of inner disputing over many things. Its the same with anthropology. The viewpoints held are based on leading academics who get the major research grants to do large scale work in the field.

Peer review in archaelogy is much more like an academic editing team than it is in the "physical" sciences. I dont think its possible to say that archaelogists think one way or the other. They are held to a standard to present theories that must have evidence but that doesnt mean they as individuals dont have ideas and feelings they dont present in papers. As a scientist you need to seperate your feeling sometimes from what you can prove.

As a former anthropology student I can say within the last 50 years many theories have come and gone in the history of mankind. If you go back further archaelogy was an extension of emperialism with that as its central viewpoint and purpose.

Fact is we barely have an idea what the truth is about mans history beyound our limited discoveries. The only areas we have good evidence are dry regions. If you knew how little we knew and how many of the discoveries we dont even understand or have a sense of the timeperiods culture you would understand the archaelogical field is not a grand authority but a cautious observer.

I suspect this Ancient Aliens theory is being pushed as a new form of religion rather than just entertainment.
Archaelogy as any science can only work with known finding, often pottery, and is deemed to always be "wrong" in the eyes of non academics since it's intrinsic in the way we consider scientific method: the next important finding will crash current theories.
The only problem I have is that scientists write books aswell and have academical careers, so having vested interests is a moot point because it applies to everyone, but MORE for the ones who make a career.

Also never forget that we live in a period of "science for profit" so mainstream theories will always get much more funding from private and public sources than alternative ones and despite most of the AA's stories are BS it doesn't mean they must be wrong at all times.

But being in doubt these days is seen as a weakness so I won't ever expect to see a majority of scientists of any kind criticize the system on which their career is dependant. It's sort of a self-blackmailing.
So I personally started ignoring all experts and authorities since I don't have any career to pursue, and I'm reading everything from the pov of the author, trying to believe what he is saying. Sometimes it gives you hints to do more research and find fallacies of those theories that popular media present as "absolute truth".

In a few words, science is about confirmation bias and alternatives are often just religious bias. In a purely scientific society there should always be devil's advocates that challenges well accepted theories, but in our society there is a funding limit and a general tendency of taking authorities as demi-gods.

a reply to: JohnnyCanuck

Unfortunately, the great unwashed masses tend to enjoy the idea that things are cooler in the past than they really were. It's a pleasant excursion from the mundane to entertain the ideas that aliens were here and helped us. Who cares, it means nothing more than the Kardashians latest eyeliner endorsement. It's entertainment, that's all. Sure some people believe anything that's on TV, but some people watch YouTube videos and see all kinds of hidden truths. Whatever... everyone likes to think their ideas are meritorious and sound. Thinking they have a deeper understanding then others. It's just the human ego. Completely normal. This reality is supposed to be tempered with intellectual study by those capable. This is how we crawl out of the gray morning ooze that is our society in it's current stage. That is supposedly why we are all here.

V

a reply to: JohnnyCanuck

Is it aliens or whatever. I don't know. But what I do know is it's archaeologists fault that these theories spring up and take root. Take for instance Baalbek in Lebanon and specifically the great platform. Apparently a preflood city. In that platform sits three sections of single piece stones weighing 1000 tons each. The lime quarry they come from is a quarter a mile away. Not a crane in the world could lift 1000 ton sections of material. So give me something more plausible than using basic tools and cut down trees ancient people cut and moved these pieces.

Puma punku. Look at the cuts in the rock in that place. Offer me something more than simple tools were used to make precision cuts that we would need to use some laser or maybe diamond type cut to match.

In other words is it aliens, ancient gods, etc. No ( possible I guess) but really give me something more than ancient people using basic tools pulled of what we would struggle to do today. Do that, the other theories wouldn't even get off the ground.

originally posted by: Shane
a reply to: JohnnyCanuck

Let me see if I can respond to a lot of stuff in an orderly manner...
-Indigenous teachings are increasingly valuable in consideration of archaeological and cultural resources, at least in the North American context. However, not all oral history or traditional knowledge can be taken as gospel...The Gospels, for example.
-In hitting me with scattershot of cosmology, giants, and epigraphy, you really need to cite your sources.
-The figures used in calculating ancient copper extraction in the Lake Superior region have been proven to be bogus. Link
-Pre-Columbian visits to North America have been proven by accredited research, and are celebrated as such. Trust me, I was at L'Anse aux Meadows three weeks ago. Investigation continues on Norse, and certainly Basques sites. Present some evidence, and it will be examined.
-You cite this huge academic conspiracy that simply does not exist! Yes, there can be political interference, and yes, academics can be reluctant to give up on those notions of their that made their names...HOWEVER...every year, hundreds of eager graduates hit the halls of academe, eager to make their own marks and the best way of doing that is to upset the applecart. Further, as I have mentioned elsewhere, archaeologists are notoriously cranky about anybody messing with their current research, and known to be vocal about it...you know how Time Team always seem to end up in the pub?

Really, if you want to achieve an understanding of these things, you need to shed the alt-mythology. I like it on the fringes, and my research tends to ruffle some feathers, but it is through re-examination of historical memes. My concession is that if one is going to engage in myth busting, one is obliges to tease out a better story. It's just polite.

originally posted by: luthier
Fact is we barely have an idea what the truth is about mans history beyound our limited discoveries. The only areas we have good evidence are dry regions. If you knew how little we knew and how many of the discoveries we dont even understand or have a sense of the timeperiods culture you would understand the archaelogical field is not a grand authority but a cautious observer.

A number of interesting points here, but some of what you say is dependent upon where one practices. In the New World, the Historic Era goes back a scant 500 years because the written history generally starts around Columbus. Yes, the Norse left their Vinland Saga, but on the whole archaeologists are compelled to look at the rest of the 10-15-20-whatever thousand year history through anthropology. The Old World has a much longer written tradition, thus archaeology is known as 'History's Handmaiden'.

Either way, yes, peer review is an important component, but the very subject of the peopling of the Americas has changed so radically in the last two decades, and remains in flux as new discoveries are made and old ones reviewed. Ya stand still, ya get run over. And much of the change is brought on by advances in technology...ie hard science.

a reply to: JohnnyCanuck

I have so little interest in what some conventionally educated establishment stooge tells me about the ancient past of this planet. You cant even count on a textbook of a history of the US to contain reliable true facts of the last 250 years. Theres a status quo to maintain and these archeologists better do it. Otherwise their grants get pulled, their funding dries up and they have to get real jobs.

a reply to: JohnnyCanuck

Sounds like an article that would make Zahi Hawass proud.

But then, he still want us to believe that the earth's great pyramids were built to serve as tombs and despite the fact that they're found all over the planet, there is no common link.

They used to teach us that Columbus discovered America and that atoms were the smallest things in the universe too, but we now know that neither of things are true.

Authors of currently accepted theory are always reluctant to yield any space to those with differing hypothesis and this article is just another example of that truth.

At the same time, those who promote new theories in an attempt to understand findings that modern day science/archeology has yet to explain, often challenge accepted theory with possibilities that some are unwilling to even consider.

I welcome the challenge to orthodox archeological dogma and try to remain open minded with respect to some of the unsolved mysteries surrounding ancient monumental sites.

Who knows what actual truths will be discovered in the future regarding the origin of these sites and/or the significance of the role they played in human history?

Archaeologists want to go postal over it because it would mean all those years in college were a waste of time.

Yes, it may have been profound but not quite worth a double post.

originally posted by: JohnnyCanuck
originally posted by: Urantia1111
a reply to: JohnnyCanuck

I have so little interest in what some conventionally educated establishment stooge tells me about the ancient past of this planet. You cant even count on a textbook of a history of the US to contain reliable true facts of the last 250 years. Theres a status quo to maintain and these archeologists better do it. Otherwise their grants get pulled, their funding dries up and they have to get real jobs.

Well, you can lead a horse to water...lol!
Happy Trails!!

originally posted by: IridiumFlareMadness
Archaeologists want to go postal over it because it would mean all those years in college were a waste of time.

How so? Any real argument to present or just citing the College of Google? If you spent as much time in studying the rebuttals to pseudo-archaeology and still maintained your opinion...that might be worthy of discussion. Deliberate ignorance is not.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and the picture at the beginning of the article says it all. Anyone who doesn't believe that today's humans are the most advanced form of life this galaxy has ever seen is just bat-crap crazy.

The author accuses ancient alien and ancient civilization theorists of cherry-picking their data, but mainstream archaeologists are just as guilty. Case in point, the Sphinx. Mainstream archaeologists tell us that it was carved in the likeness of Khufu. But it appears that the head is disproportionately smaller than the body, and they completely discount the obvious water erosion on the body. Water erosion would indicate that the Sphinx is far older than any known Egyptian dynasty, so that just can't be, right?

Then they tell us the pyramids were constructed to be tombs for the pharaohs. To accommodate that theory they tell us that thousands of people, barely out of the stone age, got together and quarried megalithic stones and transported them up the Nile and placed them with mathematical precision just so they could bury one guy. And they pace they had work at to complete construction before the pharaoh died is almost beyond belief. Also, let's ignore the fact that there is no proof any pharaoh was entombed in one of these megalithic structures. While were at it, let's ignore the idea that the construction site would make a lot more sense if it was closer to the Nile, as it was long before the pyramids were theoretically constructed.

I think a primary flaw in mainstream archaeology is the assumption that human progress has always been more or less linear. We start low, and we just keep getting better. But we can look at ourselves today and see how easy it would be for our advancement to undergo a serious setback. There are a lot of scenarios that could set our development back hundreds, or even thousands, of years. And what record would there be of us? Steel rusts, plastic degrades, only stone seems to stand the test of time, and there are limits to that.

Ancient Egypt is only one example of many. Puma Punku is another great one. Not only in the mysteries of it's construction, but the question of how do you destroy something like that? I could go on, but this post is getting a little long as it is.

Imagine someone in the Middle Ages gazing at the pyramids. They would have to think, "Wow, there is no way we could do that today. Those people were better than us. What happened to them? Something was lost." Today, our ego won't allow us to conceive that ancient humans might have been more advanced than us.