Ancient/Now - May 8th
Kara responds to the aftermath of protests at UCLA, archaeologist Flint Dibble takes on pseudoarchaology on Joe Rogan's podcast, and more
ICYMI: Kara writes about the aftermath of the UCLA protests
If you missed Kara’s post last week, “Who owns university campuses? Property, Ownership and Patriarchy,” about the ways in which student protesters are being painted as immoral vandals in the aftermath of the UCLA protests, be sure to read it. The preoccupation of the news media with the damage to university property and their downplaying of the failure of university and city leadership to protect peaceful student protesters from harm is telling and makes it clear who they think owns university campuses.
Follow events on social media:
UCLA R&F for a Democratic Union
Students for Justice in Palestine, UCLA
Archaeologist Flint Dibble takes on Graham Hancock’s ancient aliens
Recently archaeologist Flint Dibble (Cardiff University) did what many archaeologists refuse to do. He appeared on The Joe Rogan Experience to explain why archaeological evidence does not support writer and pseudoarchaeologist Graham Hancock’s assertion that an advanced global civilization existed at the end of the Ice Age and passed its technology on to cultures across the world before being obliterated by cataclysmic events set in motion by asteroid impacts. Hancock’s popular Netflix show Ancient Apocalypse connects this civilization to the story of Atlantis. Hancock doesn’t explicitly say things like aliens built the pyramids, cleverly leaving the marketability door for his books open to both the ancient aliens proponents as well as those of various other pseudoscientific crowds.
By going on Rogan’s podcast Dibble aimed to combat the misinformation promoted by Hancock with a massive audience, justifying his decision in an article on Sapiens by arguing that archaeologists cannot effectively push back against the ever-growing popularity of pseudoscience by refusing to engage with its peddlers and especially the general public. Dibble has a point, and kudos to him for having the cajones to do it on JRE, a show on which Hancock has appeared frequently over the years and had an unquestionable home field advantage.
A large part of Hancock’s time is spent lamenting his own persecution and dismissive treatment by archaeologists—likely because he has no real archaeological evidence to support his theorized lost civilization. As David Wengrow wrote last year in The Nation, Hancock has developed “self-victimization into a successful publishing strategy.” Wengrow argued in that article that Hancock’s Ancient Apocalypse should not simply be debunked by legitimate experts as the CGI-enhanced bullshit it is. Instead, he argues that the academic community needs to acknowledge the ways in which archaeology as a discipline has nurtured unscientific, speculative, and ultimately racist narratives from its inception. Archaeologists should resist the urge to debunk and dismiss the series, like most intellectual elites, he argues, and acknowledge archaeology’s long struggle against the myths embedded within its own origins.
Wengrow makes an excellent point, but the misinformation crisis we find ourselves in today requires a “yes, and” approach. Archaeology is often used as a social tool, concocting mythologies that define and buoy our nation-states or connecting patriarchies to a constructed, idealized epic past. It has a powerful potential to influence how people see the world and how they fit into it. No matter one’s perspective on whether or not archaeological experts should engage with someone like Graham Hancock to “debunk” his assertions, in one podcast appearance Dibble succeeded in reaching a huge public audience and (hopefully!) increased their awareness of existing archaeological data and perhaps even caused them to consider that maybe Graham Hancock’s “evidence” for an ancient lost civilization isn’t as convincing as he would lead them to believe.
Eric Cline’s 1177 B.C. adapted as a graphic novel
If you’re a fan of graphic novels, here’s something you don’t want to miss: Eric Cline’s popular history of the Bronze Age collapse, 1177 BC: The Year Civilization Collapsed, is now a graphic novel. Cartoonist and archaeological illustrator Glynnis Fawkes tackled the task of turning this epic, complex story into a comic. In a recent issue of The Ancient Near East Today she writes,
How would I muster the elements of comics to recreate the complex story of 1177 BC? But when I read — and couldn’t put down — Eric’s book, I knew I could create this adaptation, and even better, it would be an opportunity to create a visual world I would have devoured as a teenager fascinated by antiquity.
The key was that Eric constructed 1177 BC as a series of stories, each of which served as evidence for the larger story of the interconnected cultures of the Late Bronze Age. Such a narrative approach creates a vivid picture of that world and its collapse. Eric’s skill in weaving together threads of evidence made it possible for me to envision each page composition as a combination of maps, artifacts, and interactions of real and imagined characters.
1177 BC: A Graphic History of the Year Civilization Collapsed follows a recent trend in which scholars and authors are using the creative arts to bring history and archaeology to new audiences. For just a couple of examples, check out the Gertrude Bell Comics and the award-winning trilogy March, which tells the life story of civil rights leader and politician John Lewis.
AI deciphers carbonized papyrus roll
The use of AI as a research tool continues to revolutionize our study of the ancient world. Last month researchers announced that a carbonized papyrus scroll from Herculaneum preserved in the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 CE was read using AI and other imaging technologies. The text records a biography of Plato including an account of how he was sold into slavery and his specific burial location.
What else were we reading this week?
Ancient Egyptian sarcophagus uncovered in Nile Delta en route for restoration
Archaeologists in Egypt unearth section of large Ramses II statue
Tracing the spread of cacao domestication
Ancient Mesoamericans may have drunk tobacco in healing rituals, reveal archaeologists
The tools in a medieval Japanese healer's toolkit: From fortunetelling and exorcism to herbal medicines
Who owns prehistory? How debate over fossils in China shaped the relationship between science and sovereignty
Experiment captures why pottery forms are culturally distinct
First DNA study of ancient Eastern Arabians reveals malaria adaptation
Genetic study suggests a Stone Age strategy for avoiding inbreeding
Speaking Beyond the Destruction of Their Names
One more thing…
Friend of the podcast Neil Laird, multiple Emmy and BAFTA-nominated creator and Executive Producer, has a new novel out this week. Prime Time Travelers is a comedic romp of a time-traveling adventure, following tv director Jared Plummer and his inept crew, who set out to to shoot the documentary of a lifetime when a mysterious old woman opens a portal to ancient Egypt in the time of Ramses the Great.
Will they survive the chaos and bring home an Emmy-winning series, or will they get canceled before the first episode is even finished?
Imagine a rainbow-colored time machine with the wit of Neil Gaiman, the time slip romance of Outlander, and the queer coming-out charm of House in the Cerulean Sea, and your destination is Prime Time Travelers. If you crave a tale that's as outrageous as it is unforgettable, buckle up for a time-travel odyssey like no other.
If you missed Kara’s conversation with Neil, check out Episode #85 and Episode #86 of the Afterlives of Ancient Egypt podcast in which they talk about their experiences making television documentaries about the ancient world and how things get done behind the scenes.
Unfortunately, pseudo archaeology won’t go anywhere. It is the stuff of science fiction and makes history “sound more exciting” to those who don’t normally get excited about historical topics.