Fake News! Archaeological Fictions and Frauds

CLASARCH 120 Subject & Catalog Number

Description

Aliens, lost civilizations, conspiracies, and more! Archaeology—the exploration of human history through the study of physical objects made in the past—has inspired countless bogus theories about human history. But how did a discipline grounded in rigorous methodologies, careful accumulation and analysis of data, and scientific method get wrapped up in these associations? This course seeks to explore archaeological fakes and fraudulent theories, otherwise known as pseudoarchaeology. We will investigate a range of pseudoarchaeologies and study how they developed and have been disseminated, including many that are circulating on television and the internet today. Our examination will include Atlantis, the Pyramids, Stonehenge, religious hoaxes, and other fakes or fictions of the past that have captured popular attention.

Pseudoarchaeologies can and have been used in powerful, and sometimes sinister, ways to influence modern ideas about the past and the present. The use and misuse of archaeology has supported nationalistic agendas, racial biases, and religious movements. By looking at archaeological ideas—real and fake ones—we can learn how ancient history informs our modern thinking. We will look at how arguments are constructed about the past as a means of demonstrating why evidence matters and how critical it is to give it primacy in discourses about both past and present.