When most people think of archaeology, they envision an excavation: but site preservation and curation is often overlooked. It’s easy to envision an archaeological dig: [...] The post… Read More

A couple weeks ago, Flint Dibble appeared on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast for a nearly 4.5 hour debate with Graham Hancock. The post Archaeologist Helps Pseudoarchaeologist find His Lane… Read More

This is a review of the biography of James Churchward prepared and published by his great-grandson, Jack E. Churchward. The post Book Review The Original My Friend Churchey and His Sunken Is… Read More

It probably wouldn’t surprise you that YouTube, like most social media, has its share of misinformation disguised as “educational material.” In this article, I discuss [… Read More

A review of the archaeology and geology of Gunung Padang in Indonesia, a site profiled on Ancient Apocalypse. The post Gunung Padang: What Archaeology Really Says. appeared first on Archaeol… Read More

A review of a book that I was surprised to find I liked. Andrew Collins is either going legit or I've missed something. Sobekneferu: The First Female Pharaoh The post Book Review The First F… Read More

I’ve been wanting to write a good overview of this relatively modern hoax for a while, so what follows is a detailed summary of what [...] The post The Kensington Rune Stone Hoax appea… Read More

The answer might not be as clear as we’d like it. But in this article, I’m going to give an overview and list the evidence [...] The post Younger-Dryas Impact. Science or Pseudos… Read More

The post Egyptian Stone Masonry at the Serapeum of Saqqara appeared first on Archaeology Review Read More

Though not for powering lights or electroplating metals, the explanation for these little jars is probably magical! The post The Baghdad Battery? appeared first on Archaeology Review Read More

We know this isn’t a light bulb not just because the technology didn’t exist yet, but because the Egyptians tell us what it really means. The post The Dendera Light Revealed app… Read More

I wrote this in response to a question on Twitter about a statement made by a pseudoarchaeologist on a YouTube video. The post A Response to a Strawman Argument of Pseudoarchaeology appeared… Read More

Yesterday, Graham Hancock posted a response to the SAA open letter to Netflix regarding his science fiction series, Ancient Apocalypse. Hancock had some questions. I thought I'd add some ans… Read More

Originally, this summary was found at the end of the review for episodes 7 & 8, but @FlintDibble recommended that I break it out into its own post and offer links to the other 5 reviews… Read More

In this final review of Graham Hancock's Ancient Apocalypse science fiction series on Netflix, we look at episodes 7 and 8 along with a summary of the series as a whole. The post Down with D… Read More

"I know this is not science!" -Graham Hancock, ep. 5, (00:14:25) The post Fitting the Sky to the Ground. A Review of Ancient Apocalypse 5 and 6 appeared first on Archaeology Review Read More

At this point most of Hancock's schtick is pretty routine, so I'm reviewing two episodes at once. I'll try to stick to just the main points. The post Graham Hancock’s Ancient Apocalyps… Read More

There is no mainstream in archaeology as Hancock so often says. The archaeology is either done scientifically or it isn't. In this post, I'll critique the second episode of Hancock's Netflix… Read More

I decided to take a moment to review Graham Hancock’s Netflix documentary since I know how much he appreciates my work and since I finished [...] The post Graham Hancock’s Ancien… Read More

I’m the co-administrator of a couple of archaeology-related groups on Facebook and, in the last few days, I noticed several post submissions related to a [...] The post Assigning Gende… Read More

In this review, we look at Stefan Milo's new book Tales of Ancient Worlds, written and illustrated for kids. The post Tales of Ancient Worlds Adventures in Archaeology–A Review appeare… Read More

In recent days, William Shatner has been feuding with some well-known archaeologists on Twitter. In this I review UnXplained from 4/9/2022. The post I Shat the Mystery, but I did not Pass th… Read More

Book Review: Empires of Atlantis. Written with a conclusion in mind and supported by data the author hopes no one can test. The post Book Review: Empires of Atlantis appeared first on Archae… Read More

In this post, I review the idea that monumental architecture in Egypt or elsewhere was created by pouring concrete into forms to make stones. From powdered stone. The post Were the Pyramids… Read More

Last night and through the last few hours, I watched as Scott Wolter, who formerly hosted a pseudoscience-based television show called America Unearthed, announced and [...] The post When Yo… Read More

This month we look at the Los Lunes Decalogue Stone in New Mexico which is claimed to be created by ancient Israelites. The post Archaeological Fraud of the Month: Los Lunas Stone appeared f… Read More

Ever set up your new streaming device and wish that with all the many channels and apps available for Roku and FireTV, there should at least be one dedicated to archaeology? The post Review:… Read More

Folks behind yet another pseudoarchaeology show on The Discovery Channel seem not to like reasoned criticism from a real archaeologist. I’ve been wanting to write [...] The post &ldquo… Read More

Looking for graves, precious metals, and treasures with witching or divining rods just won’t go away. As a heritage professional for an agency that works [...] The post Dowsing and Arc… Read More

Not all archaeological frauds are about artifacts. Could the American Archaeological Association be an example? The American Archaeological Association (AAA) calls itself the “world&rs… Read More

The antiquities marketplace on Facebook is alive and well in spite of their own rules against it. Facebook Community Standards In June of 2020, Facebook [...] The post Facebook Hypocrisy: th… Read More

Noah’s ark gets discovered several times a year (maybe more than Atlantis). A recent set of press releases would have us believe it’s a fact [...] The post The Pseudoarchaeology… Read More

Archaeology-related gifts are always appreciated by archaeologists. Mostly because we’re poor! In previous years I’ve tried to come up with a list of gift ideas [...] The post Gi… Read More

This review contains paid/affiliate links to Amazon. Back in 2018, I reviewed the Olympus TG-870, which I found to be a near perfect field camera [...] The post Camera Review: Olympus TG-6 f… Read More

In the realm and imaginations of those who disseminate fake, fraudulent, and fantastic archaeological claims, there are some things that are just cliche in their [...] The post Buzzwords, Bo… Read More

Evil Archaeology: Demons, Possessions, and Sinister Relics reviewed for its scholarship since the author invited it by puting PhD on the cover. The post Evil Archaeology: Demons, Possessions… Read More

The SAA Archaeological Record has a new online edition out for November/December 2019 and it's a special pseudoarchaeology edition that includes articles from six different writers. The pos… Read More

Former U.S. Army officer and mathematician published a paper about a worldwide flood in the journal Mediterranean Archaeology and Archaeometry. And it's nearly completely based on pseudoscie… Read More

Receiving a DMCA "take-down" notification can be un-nerving for those not prepared or experienced with them, so I thought I'd share a recent attempt and my thoughts on it for other bloggers… Read More

Remember Glenn Beck? Here's that time in 2010 he thought he could prove the Lost Tribe of Israel built the mounds of Newark The post The Pseudoarchaeology of Glenn Beck appeared first on Arc… Read More

This is a slightly edited version of an article I wrote on this blog back in 2010. When does vandalism become an archaeological feature? When it’s done in antiquity, of course. The po… Read More

Here's a brief look at the discussion of aDNA in Denisovan Origins and what Collins and Little got wrong. The post Denisovan Origins and Ancient DNA appeared first on Archaeology Review Read More

A book review of Denisovan Origins by Andrew Collins and Gregory Little. Not a point-by-point debunking, but a word on style. The post Denisovan Origins: A Book Review appeared first on Arc… Read More

Newsletter woes I fully intended to do a quarterly newsletter, but over the summer I ended up having some problems with the newsletter plugin that [...] The post Short Announcements appeared… Read More

A book review of Missing Lands by Freddy Silva. This self-published book on Amazon has a very appealing cover but is lacking some reality. The post A Review of The Missing Lands: Uncovering… Read More

The "hard evidence" of pre-Columbian but non-indigenous explorers is examined in detail. The post Pre-Columbian Explorers in the Americas: The Flaccid Evidence. appeared first on Archaeology… Read More

Book Review: Crossing the Sands of Time. A review of Jack Churchward's book that examines the Uighur culture and the Lost Continent of Mu The post Book Review: Crossing the Sands of Time app… Read More

Pseudoarchaeological claims of horses present in the Americas isn't all that new. Recently, however, a new story started making the rounds on Facebook with a slightly different twist. The p… Read More

A story of 800-year old squash seeds being revived is making its rounds on Facebook again, linked to none other than that pseudoarchaeological website Ancient [...] The post Squashing Pseudo… Read More

Five discoveries of the early 20th century that I think were of great importance in the field of archaeology. The post Five Early-20th Century Archaeological Discoveries of Great Importance… Read More

Scott Wolter's America Unearthed is moved to the Travel Channel. The first episode about Vikings in Arizona is reviewed The post Review of Scott Wolter’s Pseudoarchaeology Show-Vikings… Read More

Here’s a couple articles on the interwebs the last week or so that are fake-archaeology (farkaeology?) Ancient-Batman? This one was being passed around the webs [...] The post Fake-Arc… Read More

A look at the origins of Cannabis in the Americas. Are there precolumbian origins? The post Cannabis in the Americas. When and from Where did it Arrive? appeared first on Archaeology Review Read More

Is there evidence of tobacco and cocaine use among ancient Egyptian mummies that suggests pre-Columbian, trans-Atlantic trade? The post New World Drugs in Old World Mummies? appeared first o… Read More

A review of two recent episodes of Expedition Unknown: the Jesus Mysteries and Atlantis in the Andes. The post Review of Recent Episodes of Expedition Unknown: Jesus and Atlantis of the Ande… Read More

Two different papers describe two different human footprints of the past from two very different locations in space and time across the Americas. The post Human Footprints Across the Sands o… Read More

Recently found 300,000 year old human remains said to ""foreshadow changes evident with modern human emergence." The post 300,000 Year Old Archaic Humans in China appeared first on Archaeolo… Read More

America Before: The Key to Earth’s Lost Civilization Hancock, Graham St. Martin’s Press Released April 23, 2019 (U.S.) 592 pages $29.99 ISBN: 978-1-250-15373-9 I received [...] T… Read More

I’ve been playing around with a Newsletter Plugin that should now start giving options to sign up for when you subscribe to the Archaeology Review [...] The post Quarterly Newsletter a… Read More

When it comes to fighting pseudoarchaeology or junk-archaeology, it’s easy to find a target to assail. Turn on the television, open a Facebook group, visit [...] The post Pseudoarchaeo… Read More

New research published in Nature Letters in March shows that complex societies nearly always precede the worship of moralizing gods. The post First: Complex Societies. Then: Moralizing Gods… Read More

Recent work by archaeologists in Eastern Europe, including Georgia and Germany, suggests that the practice of cranial modification, introduced to the region by the Huns before the Migration… Read More

Strontium ratios may need to be reassessed in some reference maps and DNA from historic artifacts show ancestry The post Recent Advances in Archaeological Sciences-March 2019 appeared first… Read More

Graham Hancock's new book 'America Before' is due out. Here's a pre-review based on promised content via his webiste. The post Pre-Review of ‘America Before’-Graham Hancock&rsquo… Read More

A current paper in Antiquity reinforces and confirms that the Birka warrior grave identified in 2017 as a female Viking is, in fact, female. The post Birka Warrior Confirmed Viking Female ap… Read More

Bayesian statistical analysis of 2,410 radiocarbon dates shows some interesting patterns concerning the spread of megalithic architecture. The post European and Mediterranean megaliths may h… Read More

Russian archaeologist, Alexander Belov, has concluded that Ancient Egyptians may have actually invented certain sailing technologies on their own rather than adopting them from other Mediter… Read More

A book review of Brien Foerster's recent book about the Paracas Culture, his pseudoarchaeological ideas, and his plagiarism. The post Review of Brien Foerster’s ‘Beyond the Black… Read More

This article is about the big discovery of Atlantis and why the story is now faded from the limelight in the news media just two months later. The post How the Discovery of ‘Atlantis&r… Read More

In pseudoarchaeology, as with other pseudosciences (i.e. astrology, naturopathy, etc.) there are often those that will ask, "what's the harm?" The post When Pseudoarchaeology Causes Harm app… Read More

New research reveals a striking correlation between climate change and large-scale settlement abandonment in North Mesopotamia. The post Climate change may have played a significant role in… Read More

A response to Richard, who objects to my disparaging remarks of Graham Hancock and his fantasies about 'Lost Civilizations.' The post Pyramids of Giza and the Pseudoarchaeology of ‘Los… Read More

Below is a list of the dozen most popular news stories related to archaeology that were posted on the Archaeology Review Facebook page in 2018. [...] The post The Best and the Worst Archaeol… Read More

A review of Legends of the Lost with Megan Fox, episode 4 of this 4-episode series. In this review, I finish with a summary of the series. The post Megan Fox Wears a Big Hat to Troy –… Read More

Fake, fraudulent, and fantastic topics in archaeology covered at Archaeology Review in 2018 The post 2018: The Year in Pseudoarchaeology appeared first on Archaeology Review Read More

A review of Legends of the Lost with Megan Fox, episode 4: the Americas. read how Fox mixes facts with fantasies for the viewer. The post Megan Fox and the American Giants. Legends of the Lo… Read More

I thought I’d start a new thing. “Feedback from the Fringe.” If I get enough of these, I’ll create a new category to file them [...] The post Feedback From the Fringe… Read More

I’ll start by saying my prediction last month looks pretty close to spot on.  I essentially predicted (and you can read it here for yourself) [...] The post Megan Fox visits Stone… Read More

After watching tonight’s episode of Legends of the Lost with Megan Fox, I have to say it was unsurprising and didn’t stray much from my [...] The post Review of Legends of the Lo… Read More

Found in 1902 by archaeologist Valerios Stais, the Antikythera mechanism is an analog computer fashioned by early Greek scientists probably around 87 BCE but perhaps as [...] The post A… Read More

You may remember that I wrote back in April of the Travel Channel show expected to debut later this year with Megan Fox as a [...] The post The Megan Fox Pseudoarchaeology Show Gets a New Ti… Read More

I’m assured that the data in the two images are from Brien Foerster’s Facebook page. The person that provided them is trustworthy, so I have [...] The post Brien Foerster reveals… Read More

Hobby Lobby president, Steve Green, who is also the chairman of the Museum of the Bible, began buying up antiquities related to the bible between [...] The post Hobby Lobby’s Bible Mus… Read More

Back in September, a paper published in the journal Science Advances concluded that humans might have settled, or at least visited, Madagascar about 6,000 years [...] The post Conflicting re… Read More

On their website today, the banner with the words, “1818-2018 momento de união e de reconstuir” (1818-2018 a time of union and rebuilding) takes on [...] The post The Nati… Read More

Neolithic amber from Sicily was being traded on the Iberian Peninsula at least 2,000 years before Baltic amber made its way to the Western Mediterranean [...] The post Neolithic Amber Trade… Read More

I’m reviewing the Olympus TG-870 camera as an archaeologist. I’ve used it for about 2 years now as my primary camera both in the field [...] The post Review of the Olympus TG-870… Read More

Simply put, pseudoarchaeology is fake archaeology. The suffix, pseudo-, which comes from the Greek word pseudein (and means "to cheat" or "to lie") is added to the word archae… Read More

In the July/August 2007 issue of Atlantis Rising, a ragazine that appeals to the significance-junkie, the mystery-monger, and skeptics like me who are fascinated with the [...] The post… Read More

Throughout the United States, there seems to be a general push to teach children in public schools what certain politicians, religious leaders, and interest groups [...] The post Pseudoscien… Read More

Throughout the United States, there seems to be a general push to teach children in public schools what certain politicians, religious leaders, and interest groups [...] The post Pseudoscien… Read More

In my last post, I discussed both the Old Babylonian and the Akkadian versions of the Gilgamesh Epic and some of their similarities and differences. [...] The post The Gilgamesh Epic and its… Read More

The Epic of Gilgamesh is a story of heroism and adventure that still has an appeal to the reader today, suggesting that the human need [...] The post The Gilgamesh Epic and its Relationship… Read More

In two other parts in this series, I posted about the exaggerated antiquity of Man in which proponents suggest that modern humans (Homo sapiens), have [...] The post Forbidden Archaeology? T… Read More

In an earlier blog post, I mentioned the Nabta Playa monuments that date back to the Neolithic and the attempts of certain significance-junkies to use [...] The post Forbidden Archaeology? T… Read More

Pseudo-artifacts and gift ideas for the skeptic archaeologist (or that family member that you can’t stop watching Ancient Aliens every Friday night). These are genuine [...] The post T… Read More

Some may be familiar with the woo magazine, Atlantis Rising, but for those who are not, allow me to offer a brief introduction. Atlantis Rising [...] The post Forbidden Archaeology? Pseudo-a… Read More

On the Forest where I work, the vegetation from about mid-April until early-November makes pedestrian survey in anything but a plowed field next to impossible. [...] The post Using Software… Read More

ABSTRACT: In news of the past: UFO study finds no sign of aliens. But there will be no shortage of people who subscribe to the notion [...] The post Embellishments of memory: the unreli… Read More

I was browsing on Amazon today and, as Amazon likes to do, I was shown items I’ve looked at in the past. In this case [...] The post Your Very Own Roman Sword a la “The Curse of… Read More