4 ms·

Fantasy stories about archaeology do serious harm. I've mapped dozens of burials looted by people who had bought into similarly fanciful tales of lost treasures

Fantasy stories about archaeology do serious harm. I've mapped dozens of burials looted by people who had bought into similarly fanciful tales of lost treasures and empires. That fantasy didn't make them any richer, but it did desecrate hundreds of graves and destroy a lot of cultural heritage. Please be careful with giving recommendations you know are inaccurate. Not only does it mean archaeologists have to go back and correct those misunderstandings, it contributes to the destruction of the very things we're trying to protect.

dougk16 6y ago
Ok I will stop recommending his books. Thanks for the heads up. I did not know his ideas were causing such destruction. I will still read all his books with an open mind but you don't have to worry about me looting any sites. :)
- ncmncm 6y ago
  I will not stop recommending Hancock's books. In many cases they are the only source of excellent photography of ancient constructions. Furthermore, Hancock is always very careful to separate factual exposition from his speculations. Finally, he has remarkably often turned out to be right, and his critics badly wrong. The Younger Dryas Boundary comet strike is now mainstream pre-history, supported by excavations as far afield as Chile, South Africa, and Syria. A culture cultivating the whole Amazon basin for at least 1500 years before being wiped out by smallpox 500 years ago is now well established fact, supported by LIDAR surveys revealing hundreds of miles of major earthworks.
  - dougk16 6y ago
    I'm with you. I tried to find that keen edge of sarcasm in my comment but I missed the mark. And really it was childish and I shouldn't have even attempted it. Apologies to AlotOfReading for not replying in earnest, and since I think they upvoted me. Yes I will continue to recommend Hancock's books, along with recommending critiques of his books. Hancock is pretty tame compared to other books I recommend ;). Free flow of information and especially the freedom to be wrong is vital and Hancock is a great expression of this.
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dougk16 6y ago

Ok I will stop recommending his books. Thanks for the heads up. I did not know his ideas were causing such destruction. I will still read all his books with an open mind but you don't have to worry about me looting any sites. :)

ncmncm 6y ago
I will not stop recommending Hancock's books. In many cases they are the only source of excellent photography of ancient constructions. Furthermore, Hancock is always very careful to separate factual exposition from his speculations. Finally, he has remarkably often turned out to be right, and his critics badly wrong. The Younger Dryas Boundary comet strike is now mainstream pre-history, supported by excavations as far afield as Chile, South Africa, and Syria. A culture cultivating the whole Amazon basin for at least 1500 years before being wiped out by smallpox 500 years ago is now well established fact, supported by LIDAR surveys revealing hundreds of miles of major earthworks.
- dougk16 6y ago
  I'm with you. I tried to find that keen edge of sarcasm in my comment but I missed the mark. And really it was childish and I shouldn't have even attempted it. Apologies to AlotOfReading for not replying in earnest, and since I think they upvoted me. Yes I will continue to recommend Hancock's books, along with recommending critiques of his books. Hancock is pretty tame compared to other books I recommend ;). Free flow of information and especially the freedom to be wrong is vital and Hancock is a great expression of this.
  - deleted 6y ago
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