TEDxMileHigh 2020

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A few years ago, a stranger sitting next to me on a plane asked what I did for a living. I told him that I’m an archaeologist and that I study the ancient Maya. He said, “Wow, I love archaeology!” and told me how excited he gets when hearing about new finds. Then, he told me how amazing it is that aliens from the planet Nibiru had come to Earth and established the ancient Sumerian culture in Mesopotamia.

I have these conversations a lot. On planes, in bookstores, and in bars, people want to talk with me about pseudo-archaeology: something that seems like archaeology but isn’t. It involves making wild and unproven claims about the human past. Things like: Aliens built the pyramids. Or, survivors from the lost continent of Atlantis invented hieroglyphic writing.

Most of us know that claims like these are unfounded and frankly absurd. Yet, they’re everywhere. They’re on TV shows, in movies, and in books. Think of the History Channel’s Ancient Aliens, currently in its 15^th season. Or the most recent Indiana Jones movie about the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Or Erich von Däniken’s classic book Chariots of the Gods, which has sold over 70 million copies. 

But here’s the crucial question. Who cares? It’s only entertainment, right? Isn’t it a nice escape from reality and a fun way to think about the world? It’s not. Most pseudo-archaeology is racist and xenophobic. And, like other forms of entertainment, it impacts our culture in real ways. Let me give you an example.

It’s common to hear pseudo-archaeologists claim that groups like the ancient Egyptians and the ancient Maya accomplished incredible things, but only with help from outside groups, like aliens or people from Atlantis. What you rarely hear is Pseudo-archaeologists suggesting that, say, Romans needed help building the Coliseum, or that Greeks needed help building the Parthenon. Why? For pseudo-archaeologists, Europeans could accomplish their feats on their own, but non-Europeans must have had outside guidance.

Claims like these are not just outrageous. They’re offensive. Here, and in many other instances, pseudo-archaeology sustains myths of white supremacy, disparages non-Europeans, and discredits their ancestors’ achievements. 

I’ve spent the last 12 summers doing fieldwork in the Maya region. A few years ago, I was staying in a small village near the Belize-Guatemala border. I spent day after day in the lab, staring at tiny, brown, eroded pieces of ceramics. The Maya man who lived across the street made slate carvings for tourists. He’d stop by every so often to chat. One day he brought over a slate carving. It was this image: the design carved into the sarcophagus of the Maya king Pakal, around his death in 683 AD. 

This image is incredible and complex. It shows the deceased king rising from the jaws of the underworld to be reborn as a deity. In the center of the image is the world tree that reaches from the underworld, through the realm of the living, to the upper world. Around the edges is a sky band with symbols for the sun, moon, and stars.

I was so excited to talk with my neighbor about ancient Maya religion, cosmology, and iconography. Instead, he wanted to talk about an Ancient Aliens episode he had watched – the one about the Maya. He said this image showed an astronaut at the controls of a rocket ship.

I was shocked. Instead of marveling at his own ancestors, he was in awe of a fictional alien! He even told me that, one day, he hoped to give this carving to Erich von Däniken, the father of the Ancient Aliens phenomenon. 

Pseudo-archaeology undoubtedly harms its subjects – often indigenous peoples like the Maya. But, it also harms its viewers. It harms all of us. Like other forms of racism, it exacerbates inequality and prevents us from appreciating and benefitting from human diversity.

And what’s scary is that pseudo-archaeology is a small part of a much bigger problem. It’s just one example of people getting history wrong on purpose, of people knowingly modifying historical and archaeological facts. Why do that? Often, the past is intentionally changed to justify racism in the present or to create a nicer version of history: a version of history we can take pride in. 

Six years ago, nearby Jefferson County, Colorado became a battleground over how to teach American history to high school students. The Advanced Placement U.S. history curriculum had been expanded to include things like the removal of Native Americans to reservations and the rise of extreme economic inequality. Members of the local school board were upset. They vigorously protested the changes arguing that the new curriculum focused too much on the negative parts of American history. They said it didn’t do enough to teach students patriotism, American exceptionalism, or the benefits of capitalism. 

Right now, we’re in a heated debate over public monuments to controversial figures like Robert E. Lee and Christopher Columbus. Should these monuments be left as they are, relocated to museums, or destroyed? And, what should happen to the protestors who have defaced these monuments? Should they be celebrated for helping debunk myths of white supremacy? Or, should they be punished for vigilantism and lawlessness? What do we make of scenes like this?

For me, these debates about history textbooks and public monuments suggest similar messages. First, the past is, and always has been, political. What we choose to remember and forget relates directly to current political concerns.

Second, we need to consider who presents the past. Who gets to choose the content of history classes and the subjects of public monuments? Imagine how our understanding of history might change if it was told by the marginalized rather than the powerful.

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We can help combat racism and xenophobia today by changing how we think about the past. Archaeologists need to do two things. First, we need to make our discipline more inclusive and work with and for the descendants of the peoples we study.

Richard Leventhal’s work at Tihosuco, Mexico is groundbreaking. Pun intended. For over a century, foreign archaeologists have traveled to the Maya area to excavate things they thought were important, mostly temples and pyramids. Leventhal took a different approach. He asked the Maya people of Tihosuco what they were interested in. Turns out, they didn’t particularly care about temples or pyramids. They were interested in the Caste War: a major, but understudied, colonial period Maya rebellion. 

Second, we need to make archaeology more accessible. The last time I walked into a bookstore, I asked where I could find the archaeology books. The clerk took me to a section labeled “ancient mysteries and lost knowledge.” It had books with titles like “Extra-Planetary Experiences.” What’s absolutely absurd about this is that real archaeology, archaeology based in scientific facts and historical contexts, is fascinating. You don’t need aliens to make it interesting. And it’s up to us archaeologists to present accurate information about the past in an engaging way. It is our job to find new ways to share our work with the public. 

This used to be the norm. In the 1950s there was a game show on CBS called What in the World? The host would present an object and the archaeologist-contestants would try to guess what it was and where it was from. The show was funny and interesting and exposed viewers to the diversity of human cultures.

In the late 1960s, archaeology changed focus. Instead of concentrating on public engagement, archaeologists worked together to professionalize the discipline. On the plus side, we now have things like Bayesian analysis of radiocarbon dates and theoretical approaches like the New Materialisms. But, in the process, archaeology left the public behind. Shows like What in the World? became less common, and pseudo-archaeology emerged to fill the void. 

But we can all contribute to changing how we think about the past. When you see pseudo-archaeological claims, be skeptical. And know that if you share a clip from a pseudo-archaeology tv show, post about Atlantis, or forward an article about ancient aliens, even if it’s not your intention, you may be promoting racism and xenophobia. 

Also, know that the past is alive. It is political, it is ever-changing, and it influences our daily lives in meaningful ways. So the next time you watch the History Channel, read an archaeology book, or see a monument, remember that every statement about the past is a powerful statement about the present.

Thank you.

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