My New Ancient Aliens Article in Swans

11/5/2012

I lieu of a blog post today, I would like to direct everyone to Swans magazine where I have a new article out today: "Of Atlantis and Aliens: Alternatives to History as Cultural Mirror." The article is part of their special issue focusing on the New Age and covers the way alternative history theories have served as a mirror of cultural preoccupations, especially as they relate to politics and religion.

One small note: Due to an editing error, the first paragraph of the article incorrectly identifies yazona as the Persian word for ayazana, the Median holy sites, when in fact ayazana is the Persian word and yazona the Median. I have requested that a correction be made to restore the line to the way I originally (and correctly) wrote it. So, please, no angry comments about me misunderstanding Persian and Median dialect forms of the word for sacred sites!

Update: Swans has generously corrected the mistake, and the article is now correct.

2 Comments

Mack

11/6/2012 03:53:17 am

I recently found your blog via Twitter and have been thoroughly enjoying it ever since. I am always looking for good sites and articles that debunk Ancient Astronaut claims, and they aren't as common as I had anticipated. So thank you for all your work in disproving so many of the Ancient Astronaut proponent's assertions.

As an archaeology student, one of the biggest problems I have with Ancient Aliens "theorists" is how they underestimate human ingenuity and resourcefulness. Far more interesting and compelling to me is how ancient humans, through inventiveness and creativity, found ways to build the stunning monuments and complexes that AA theorists claim were built with help from, or explicitly by, extraterrestrials.

Many modern people don't realize just how much can be accomplished with just rope, wood, stone and the human mind. Considering all the advances that we, as humans, have made, both technologically and scientifically, throughout history, it is not hard for me to give credit to humans' ingenuity for creating civilization and all the marvels, both in the ancient world and the modern, that come with it.

Why is it so difficult for so many others to accept that humans are (and always were) clever and versatile and adroit? It's kind of a sad view of history, when you think about it, to attribute many of our ancestor's greatest accomplishments in technology, engineering, and science to another species.

Jason Colavito link

11/7/2012 06:56:24 am

I'm so glad yo found my site and are enjoying it!

I wish I knew why so many refuse to accept humans were responsible for human achievements, but the impulse isn't new. The ancient Greeks attributed Bronze Age ruins to the Cyclopes, and medieval peasants said Roman ruins were the work of the Devil. Ancient astronaut speculators are the last in a long line of people who long for supernatural salvation.

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My New Ancient Aliens Article in Swans

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