• Quick note - the problem with Youtube videos not embedding on the forum appears to have been fixed, thanks to ZiprHead. If you do still see problems let me know.

Cult Archaeology

Stainless_Steel_Rat said:
I read somewhere that the stoneage village of Skara Brae actually had a rudimentary indoor plumbing system setup. Have you heard of this? I'm kinda curious how rare the setup would be considered for it's time period, if it were true.


SSR
Click to expand...

Skara Brae is a neolithic settlement set in a mound near Olkney, Scotland. It was discovered in the 1800's when a storm ripped the grass sod off the mound, exposing a few of the buildings. The settlement consisted of a series of houses, each one with several fascinating features including shelves, dedicated beds, and hearths. The houses are built of stacked flat stones, typical of neolithic structures. As far as I'm aware (and as far as I can find), the only "plumbing" to speak of were sinks or water tanks, made of stones sealed together with clay to prevent leaking. There were no "pipes" or dedicated hot/cold water conduits.
 
Liamo said:
Joshua,

Another of von Daniken's ideas: the Baghdad batteries were used to power light bulbs such as the one depicted below.

Now, I understand that the batteries are posterior to the Egyptian civilisation, and it is doubtful it is an actual light bulb which is represented.

So the question is: what is that object?

Thanks,

Liam
Click to expand...

A surfboard.
 
Steveo said:
Are you saying that this is not true?
----------------------------------------------
Joshua Korosi

statues of big heads on Easter Island

----------------------------------------------

I'm sure I have seen picture of this, or is it the idea that the
natives did not put them up that is in question.
Click to expand...

An unfortunate editing error on my part. The statues are there, all right - dozens of them. von Daniken asserted that the volcanic rock they were carved from was too hard for the native tools, and too heavy to be transported by the natives from the interior quarries to the seaside locations. Nevertheless, the statues, called Moai, were carved and transported by natives. Half-carved Moai in various stages of completion still litter the quarry, and some of the statues that didn't make it to their intended locations lay here and there in the grass, abandoned. The Moai were supposed to be yet another piece of evidence for von Daniken's "ancient astronauts", but in my opinion they are the most tenuous of all his "evidence".

7.jpg



Steveo said:
Also I read a theory that the ancient people in South America
my have been able to construct rudimentary hot air balloons (no records of such). Because the weaving they did was so fine it could hold hot air.

That was put forth as a possible explanation of the geometric lines in the sands.
Click to expand...

While the fabric was indeed fine enough to be used for a hot-air balloon, the evidence that the Nazcans actually employed them is nonexistent. In addition, it wasn't really necessary to see the figures from a great height to direct their construction - while some of them are quite large, none of them is so big that it "can't be seen from the ground". The fact that so many of the lines (the feathers and legs of the animals) are so close together and often run parallel would make construction a lot simpler than is asserted.

Again with von Daniken, the Nazca lines were claimed to be "alien landing strips" - despite the fact that a regular airplane trying to land on one would destroy the soft "runways". Even if the ground could take it...can you imagine trying to plot an approach to one of these runways?

Nazca_monkey_s.jpg
 
I too enjoy woo woo archaeology, must come from watching all those "In Search Of" episodes when I was younger.

One of the more interesting sites that have the creduloids confounded is Nazca. How the hell could these stupid primative people possibly have created something like that without alien technology????

With nothing more than their eyes, ropes and poles.
http://www.incalink.com/nazcalines/NAZCALINES3.htm

Silly creduloids...
 
Can anyone find the ancient Apache and Spaceship on this piece of Egyptian temple wall?

Image6.gif


And damn you Joshua, I was composing my message on Nazca as you were posting yours. :cool:
 
This may seem like a fluff question, but... in the third Indiana Jones, movie, the beginning segment revolves around something called the "Cross of Coronado" or "Coronado's Cross"... or something. Since I'm too lazy to do a simple search, what can you tell me of this item? Did it ever exist?
 
Joshua Korosi said:
Archaeology fascinates me, it always has. There's something exceedingly cool about it. It's also an amateur hobby of mine, and I make a point of reading every single piece of material I can find on the subject.

For many people, the word "Archaeology" evokes images of advanced ancient civilizations and unimaginable technologies, surpassing our own - of visits from aliens in antiquity, of whole vanished continents, and of evidence that (insert preferred religion here) is the One, True Faith.

These topics are referred to as "cult" Archaeology. They include such elements as "ancient astronauts", pyramidology, ley lines, Atlantis and its derivatives Mu and Lemuria, "Agartha", statues of big heads on Easter Island, and all manner of Biblicana such as Noah's ark and the use of "slave labor" to build the monuments of Egypt. Many scholars are upset at the prevalence of such thinking in our world. On the contrary, I relish the occasion when these topics are mentioned, and I enjoy the opportunity to set my friends and peers straight. Many misunderstandings stem simply from a lack of knowledge about the culture involved.

This is your opportunity to ask me anything about your favorite cult archaeology topic. If I know the answer, I'll give it to you; if I don't know the answer, then I'll go find the answer and still give it to you. I only ask that you be specific with your questions. For example, don't ask "What about the theory that aliens visited the earth in ancient times?", because I can't write a book for you. Instead, ask something like "If Atlantis didn't exist, why did two different civilizations on opposite sides of the ocean build pyramids?" or "Why do the dimensions of the Great Pyramid contain such a wealth of mathematical and astronomical data?" This way, you'll save me typing time and research, and receive a better answer overall. Of course, if anyone else feels they can answer a question, they're completely welcome.

Questions, please!
Click to expand...

Ever participated in a dig? I've been on two (As a definite amauteur).
 
It's interesting when we discount the achievements of early civilizations simply because we can't imagine carrying out a similar task ourselves today. I've seen documentaries where people have put forward various theories on how things were constructed and seen some of the most complicated, unwieldy ideas, when in truth, ancient peoples probably had the time and the inclination to haul enormous rocks around the hard way.

I am glad to hear the pyramids/Orion's belt thing doesn't add up. I've struggled with that idea for awhile, as well as seeing the point of having shafts designed to 'look' at a particular star.
 
Ian Osborne said:
I've read at The Sphynx must be at least 10,000 years old because weathering on its surface indicate it existed when Egypt was much wetter. Sounds like a woo-woo to me, but can you shed any light on this?
Click to expand...

This idea, while "popular" now, was originally offered more than 25 years ago, when the "erosion" was first noticed. In the early 80's, it was determined that the excessive erosion of the interior layers of the Sphinx was due to the rather large halite and gypsum content of the base limestone, combined with certain minerals in the mortar used to secure the outer layers. The mortar apparently wicked subsurface moisture in between the outer and inner layers; the halite and (to a lesser degree) gypsum slowly and slightly dissolved, loosening some of the outer layers and making the limestone look more "weathered" and older than it actually was. Bear in mind this is from memory - I can't immediately find a web reference to the specific article, but if you want to try and find it yourself, the body which published it was the "American Research Center of Egypt" or some derivation thereof.
 
Liamo said:
Joshua,

Another of von Daniken's ideas: the Baghdad batteries were used to power light bulbs such as the one depicted below.

Now, I understand that the batteries are posterior to the Egyptian civilisation, and it is doubtful it is an actual light bulb which is represented.

So the question is: what is that object?

Thanks,

Liam
Click to expand...

The "official" Egytological explanation for that scene, which appears in a couple of places in the richly inscribed Temple of Hathor at Dendera, is that it's the Sun-Barge, on which the sun god Ra traversed the sky during the day. The big bulb is the sun, somewhat distorted (but the Egyptians did that alot - "cartouches" are representations of the sun, and are stretched long enough to fit whichever pharaoh's name needs to be in them).

That might sound like a cheap and somewhat unbelievable brush-off of a potentially embarassing problem - but unlike the cult Archaeologists, whose "light bulb" explanation is based on subjective interpretation, the "official" Egyptological explanation is based on reality - specifically, the actual heiroglyphic inscriptions that surround the scenes themselves.
 
UnrepentantSinner said:
Can anyone find the ancient Apache and Spaceship on this piece of Egyptian temple wall?

Image6.gif

Click to expand...

Ha! The Black Hawk is down...no helicopter, no spaceship.

Egyptians did a lot of editing. That may seem counterintuitive, given that they carved messages in stone, but it's true. This was done by filling the old inscriptions with a very hard plaster, creating a "flat surface" again in which to carve the correction or alteration (Ramesses II had this done a lot...putting his own name on monuments that his predecessors had built).

In your picture, on the far right, you'll notice a bit of damage where the stone crumbled - moisture, most likely. The simplest explanation is, there was an "edit" done in this area, and some of the original fill plaster fell out afterwards when the damage occurred - and the old glyphs have "blurred" together with the not-so-old ones.

Sound implausible? Here, let this diagram help you out:


abydos.jpg


explain.gif
 
Re: Re: Cult Archaeology

The Central Scrutinizer said:


Ever participated in a dig? I've been on two (As a definite amauteur).
Click to expand...

Yes, I've volunteered for 3 different digs at Erie Indian sites in Lorain and Erie counties, offered by the Metroparks. Us volunteers get to do all the digging, and little of the field lab work...but that's fine by me, I'll let the people who know exactly what they're doing handle that stuff.

Best thing about Archaeology: it's an excellent excuse to play in the dirt, even when you've grown up. :D
 
Estimated Prophet said:
This may seem like a fluff question, but... in the third Indiana Jones, movie, the beginning segment revolves around something called the "Cross of Coronado" or "Coronado's Cross"... or something. Since I'm too lazy to do a simple search, what can you tell me of this item? Did it ever exist?
Click to expand...

The artifact was invented for the movie.

There is a "Cross of Coronado", but of a different sort - it's nearly 40 feet tall and marks the Spaniard's grave.
 
Re: Re: Re: Cult Archaeology

Joshua Korosi said:


Yes, I've volunteered for 3 different digs at Erie Indian sites in Lorain and Erie counties, offered by the Metroparks. Us volunteers get to do all the digging, and little of the field lab work...but that's fine by me, I'll let the people who know exactly what they're doing handle that stuff.

Best thing about Archaeology: it's an excellent excuse to play in the dirt, even when you've grown up. :D
Click to expand...

My two were:
1) Searching for / Excavating a summer kitchen of a log home in St. Louis County, beleived to have been built in the late 1700's

2) Excavating a Sugar Plantation on the island of Nevis that is thought to have existed from the mid 1700's to the early 1900's.

Enjoyed both and plan on many more!!!!
 
All three of the sites I worked at were apparently reused hunting camps...that is, the Eries would use the sites, then tear down, and then build new camps again next year. Lots of arrowheads, postholes, fireplaces, and the like.

Excavating a building site, like the digs you worked at, would be very cool. In fact, I know a spot that would be just perfect - not very old, early 1900's anyway - but the old foundation is there, in the middle of the woods. A big site. I thought about trying to get the attention of a local college, but I've decided to wait until I have some kind of degree before trying anything.

Who knows? In a few years, depending on how things turn out, maybe you could volunteer to work for me... ;)
 
Joshua Korosi said:
All three of the sites I worked at were apparently reused hunting camps...that is, the Eries would use the sites, then tear down, and then build new camps again next year. Lots of arrowheads, postholes, fireplaces, and the like.

Excavating a building site, like the digs you worked at, would be very cool. In fact, I know a spot that would be just perfect - not very old, early 1900's anyway - but the old foundation is there, in the middle of the woods. A big site. I thought about trying to get the attention of a local college, but I've decided to wait until I have some kind of degree before trying anything.

Who knows? In a few years, depending on how things turn out, maybe you could volunteer to work for me... ;)
Click to expand...

Did the Eries build mounds??? (No, they built a lake! Rimshot)

I know there are some Mississippian mounds in Ohio.
 
UnrepentantSinner said:
Can anyone find the ancient Apache and Spaceship on this piece of Egyptian temple wall?

Image6.gif


And damn you Joshua, I was composing my message on Nazca as you were posting yours. :cool:
Click to expand...

Noooo...but I have found the catfish, the cabin cruiser, and the airboat...:D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top Bottom