Fake News! Archaeological Fictions and Frauds

Harvard FAS

Aliens, lost civilizations, conspiracies, and more! Archaeology—the exploration of human history through the study of physical objects made in the past—has inspired countless bogus theories about human history. But how did a discipline grounded in rigorous methodologies, careful accumulation and analysis of data, and scientific method get wrapped up in these associations? This course seeks to explore archaeological fakes and fraudulent theories, otherwise known as pseudoarchaeology. We will…