FRAUDS, MYTHS, AND MYSTERIES
Science and Pseudoscience in Archaeology
THIRD EDITION
KENNETH L. FEDER Central Connecticut State University
Mayfield Publishing Company Moimtain View, California London • Toronto Contents
Preface v Science and Pseudoscience Belief in the Unbelievable 2 The Morning of the Magicians 6 Pseudoscience and Archaeology 8 Why I Wrote This Book 10 Frequently Asked Questions 13 Critical Thinking Exercises 13 Best of the Web 14
Epistemology: How You Know What You Know 15 Knowing Things 15 Collecting Information: Seeing Isn't Necessarily Believing 16 Collecting Information: Relying on Others 18 Science: Playing by the Rules 19 There Is a Real and Knowable Universe 20 The Universe Operates According to Understandable Laws 22 The Laws Are Immutable 22 The Laws Can Be Understood 24 The Workings of Science 24 The Case of Childbed Fever 26 Science and Nonscience: The Essential Differences 28 A Cheap— But Effective— Trick 29 A Rule in Assessing Explanations 30
XI XII Contents
The Art of Science 32 Where Do Hypotheses Come From? 32 Testing Hypotheses 34 The Human Enterprise of Science 35 Science and Archaeology 37 Frequently Asked Questions 38 Best of the Web 39 Critical Thinking Exercises 39
The Goliath of New York: The Cardiff Giant 40 The Cardiff Giant 42 The Discovery 42 The Beginning of the End 46 Hull's Confession 48 The End of the Giant 49 Why Did They Do It? 50 Current Perspectives; Frauds 52 Frequently Asked Questions 53 Best of the Web 54 Critical Thinking Exercise 54
4 Dawson's Dawn Man: The Hoax at Piltdown 55 The Evolutionary Context 56 A Remarkable Discovery in Sussex 59 The Piltdown Enigma 65 Unmasking the Hoax 67 Whodunnit? 68 Suspect: Charles Dawson 68 Suspect: Arthur Smith Woodward 69 Suspect: Pierre Teilhard de Chardin 70 Suspect: Sir Arthur Keith 71 Suspect: Martin A. C. Hinton 71 Suspect: Sir Grafton Elliot Smith 72 Suspect: W. /. Sollas 72 Suspect: Lewis Abbott 73 Suspect: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle 73 The Lesson of Piltdown 74 Current Perspectives: Human Evolution 74 Frequently Asked Questions 77 Best of the Web 78 Critical Thiriking Exercises 78 Contents XIII
5 Who Discovered America? 79 The Discovery of a New World 80 Biblical Exegesis and American Indians 84 American Indians: From Israelites to Atlanteans 85 Joseph de Acosta and Gregoria Garcia 86 Tracing the Movement of Ancient People 87 Tracing People by Their Culture 87 Tracing People by Their Biology 89 Tracing People by Their Materials 89 Out of Asia 90 An "American Genesis"? 90 Current Perspectives: The Peopling of the Americas 92 Frequently Asked Questions 96 Best of the Web 97 Critical Thinking Exercise 97
After the Indians, Before Columbus? 98 A Trail of Artifacts: Sixteenth-Century Visitors to the New World 99 Martin Frobisher and Francisco Vasquez de Coronado 99 The Spanish Entrada into the American Southeast 100 St. Brendan and His Ox-Hide Boat 102 Fusang: The Chinese Discovery of America? 103 Prince Madoc and Welshmen in the New World 104 Africans in Ancient America? 105 Afrocentrism 110 Africans in Ancient America: The Verdict 110 America b .c .? I ll Linguistics 112 Inscriptions 112 Architecture 113 The Archaeological Verdict 115 The Viking Discovery of America 119 A New Found Land 122 Where Was Vinland and Who Were the Skraelings? 124 The Vinland Map 124 Archaeological Evidence of the Viking Presence 125 The Newport Tower 126 Current Perspectives: The Norse Discovery of America 127 Frequently Asked Questions 131 Critical Thinking Exercise 131 Best of the Web 132 XIV Contents
The Myth of the Moundbuilders 133 The Myth of a Vanished Race 137 Who Were the Moundbuilders? Identifying the Vanished Race 139 The Walum Olum 140 The Archaeology of the Myth 140 The Moundbudder Mystery Solved 143 Rationale for the Myth of a Vanished Race 151 Current Perspectives: The Moundbuilders 152 Frequently Asked Questions 157 Best of the Web 158 Critical Thinking Exercise 158
8 Lost: One Continent—Reward 159 Atlantis: The Source of the Legend 160 The Timaeus Dialogue 160 The Critias Dialogue 162 The Source and Meaning of Timaeus and Critias 163 Who Invented Atlantis? 164 Where Did Plato Get the Story? A Minoan Source 165 After Plato 168 Ignatius Donnelly: The Minnesota Congressman 169 Atlantis After Donnelly 178 Current Perspectives: Atlantis 179 Frequently Asked Questions 182 Critical Thinking Exercise 182 Best of the Web 183
Prehistoric E.T.: The Fantasy of Ancient Astronauts 184 Gods in Fiery Chariots 184 Hypothesis 1 185 Hypothesis 2 193 Hypothesis 3 195 Ancient Egypt 195 Von Ddniken's Response 200 More Mysteries of Ancient Egypt? 202 More Ancestors, More Dummies 203 Extraterrestrial Calendars? 203 Extraterrestrial Aliens in the Pacific? 205 The Archaeology of Mars 207 Current Perspectives: The von Daniken Phenomenon 212 Contents XV
Frequently Asked Questions 214 Best of the Web 215 Critical Thinking Exercise 215
10 Good Vibrations: Psychics, Dowsers, and Photo-Fields 216 Psychic Archaeology 218 The Roots of Psychic Archaeology 219 Psychic Site Location 220 Psychic Excavation 221 Psychic Cultural Reconstruction 223 Psychic Archaeology: The Verdict 1T7 Dowsing Instead of Digging 227 Testing the Dowsers 228 Electromagnetic Photo-Fields 229 Current Perspectives; Archaeology Without Digging 231 Frequently Asked Questions 232 Best of the Web 234 Critical Thinking Exercise 234
11 Old Time Religion—New Age Harmonics 235 Scientific Creationism 236 Noah's Ark 238 Footprints in Time 245 Other Guises of Creationism 248 The Shroud of Turin 249 Testing the Shroud 253 New Age Prehistory 258 Arizona in the New Age 259 Current Perspectives: Religions Old and New 261 Frequently Asked Questions 263 Critical Thiriking Exercise 263 Best of the Web 264
12 Real Mysteries of a Veritable Past 265 The Ice Man 265 The Cave Painters of Europe 267 Explaining the Cave Paintings 269 The Civilization of the Maya 271 XVI Contents
Explaining the Maya T71 Stonehenge 275 Explaining Stonehenge 279 Circular Reasoning About Stonehenge 281 An Ancient Astronomy? 282 Why Was Stonehenge Built? 283 Conclusion: A Past We Deserve 284 Frequently Asked Questions 285 Critical Thmking Exercise 285 Best of the Web 286
References 287 Index 305