How is Archaeology Presented to the General Public By the Media?                                         

by Aimee Lindstedt and Kurt Sutton

            Media representations of any field of study are a very important and significant part of the American lifestyle. People depend on the media to give them accurate and detailed information about a variety of topics. The information that is therefore related to the people is then assumed to be 100% true. This is exactly the reason that media representation is so incredibly influential in America. What ever is presented to the people by the media, is accepted and embraced. Perhaps this is why the field of Archaeology has the reputation that it does. The media has presented archaeology, in most cases, as a farce. While there are a few accurate media outlets for archaeology, the excitement and the wonderment of the less accurate, far out weigh the truth. Below are some examples of the variety of information presented by the media to the general public.

            Perhaps one of the most popular sources of archaeological media attention is one that is entirely false. That is the newspaper Weekly World News. This paper publishes articles that present archaeologists discovering extreme items. Headlines such as: “Archaeologists find Middle Earth in New Jersey Swamp!”, “Archaeologist finds 12,000 Year Old Magazine From Atlantis!”, and “Discovery of 2,000 Year Old Celtic Graffiti Reveals: The Irish Built the Great Wall of China!” While attention is brought to the field of archaeology it is not the kind of attention that professionals in the field would hope for. Because none of these claims can be traced to the truth, it often makes the field of archaeology look like a sham. People, who read these articles, knowing they are not true, tend to believe that the entire study of archaeology is a joke. Articles such as these make it appear that archaeologists are making these claims, rather than the authors of the articles. The general public then begins to look at all facets of archaeology as unnecessary, not to mention untrue. The public can easily think that study of archaeology is a waste of time and money if these are the items that they are trying to discover and accomplish. This type of media attention on the field does nothing but present a negative image of the field to the general public.[i]

            There are however some excellent sources of Archaeological media representation out there. Archaeology Magazine is an excellent example of the positive side of media representation.  This magazine is an official publication of the Archaeological Institute of America. It reports on actual findings of archaeologists all over the world. Contributors to the magazine come from many accredited schools and institutions, etc… all around the world.  Archaeology presents true findings and ideas based upon actual research and supported by evidence. It also provides the most recent news and findings to the general public, while reanalyzing past discoveries and ideas. It is a very accurate portrayal of the true field of archaeology and the work that is being done in it. However, these types of publications are not often widely read by the general public. Because the articles are not as exciting and intense as the other papers, etc… they are often only read by those in the field itself, and not by members of the general public. Magazines such as Archaeology are scholarly magazines, and are therefore often only read by people in similar fields. [ii]

“The Mysterious Origins of Man”                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

On February 25, 1996 and again on June 8, 1996, NBC aired “The Mysterious Origins of Man” narrated by one Mr. Charlton Heston.  "The Mysterious Origins of Man" purports to be a factual documentary mainly about issues pertaining to archaeology namely human history and evolution.

The overall tone of “Mysterious Origins of Man” was against evolution, even though the theory is almost universally accepted in the scientific community.  The show did not specifically espouse creationism, but it does seem to attempt to use science to support a explanation of human origins along those lines.

This “documentary” draws upon a lot of mystic type sources such as Forbidden Archeology and The Hidden History of the Human Race by Michael Cremo and Richard Thompson.  Both of these gentlemen made appearances on the program, and are members of an offshoot of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness.[iii]

“Mysterious Origins of Man” has received a lot of criticism in the legitimate scientific community especially concerning some of the program’s more specious claims.  In a review of the program, Frank Steiger methodically destructs several of the shows claims:

The statements in this video do not stand up to critical examination, and in most cases consist of old arguments that have been repeatedly and conclusively refuted as far back as 1984 and earlier. There is a great deal of contradictory information that could have been presented by scientists intimately familiar with these hoaxes. This information was not presented because it would have destroyed the goal of the program: to attack science. The program was nothing more than a one-sided propaganda video with strong overtones of religious fundamentalism masquerading as science.[iv]

Those involved with the creation of the program have responded to the criticisms, but none of the arguments are as persuasive as the scientific arguments espoused by people such as Mr. Steiger.  An example of the shows refutations can by found in this article written by Bill Cote, producer of “Mysterious Origins of Man.”[v]

The main danger with archaeology as purported by this program is that it is as unbalanced as other forms of archaeological misrepresentation, but also claims to be cutting edge science.  The blend of seemingly scientific claims may not be as easily decipherable as those made by “The Weekly World News”, and therefore is much more likely to negatively influence peoples perceptions of archaeology.

TOPICS OF “MYSTERIOUS ORIGINS OF MAN: the Texas ‘dinosaur’/man-tracks, artificial blue spheres in South Africa, civilization on Antarctica 12,000 years ago, the Calveras skull, claims that man is millions of years old, dinosaur bodies recovered in Japan.

Conclusion

From these examples, it is not hard to see why people assumptions about archaeology. The media provides a great avenue for archaeological presentation, however it is clear that the exciting, yet false aspects of the field are the ones that dominate the minds of the general public. While the truth can be found out there, it is not as accessible nor as exciting as the glamorous stories told by others. The general public would prefer to read the glitzed up stories of adventure, rather than long scholarly journals and articles. This is why the field of Archaeology is portrayed to the public in the fashion that it is. The true portrayal of archaeology is often hidden behind the glamour and adventure of action packed media representation