Friday, April 28, 2006

Bosnian Pyramid Hoax?

Remember those two stories I linked to recently that indicated there might be a giant pyramid in Bosnia? Well, thanks to Kreg Richmond, here's an excerpt to a very different perspective on what's going on:
The world's oldest and largest pyramid found in Bosnia? It sounds incredible. The story has swept the media, from the Associated Press and the BBC, from papers and websites in the U.S. to those in India and Australia. Too bad that it is not a credible story at all. In fact, it is impossible.

...And there it is. A self-described archaeologist, who believes the Maya and others are descended from Atlanteans who came from the Pleiades, has been accepted as a legitimate researcher by many news outlets. His ideas of early pyramids in Bosnia, which is simply not possible, has been accepted as a major discovery. How could this happen?

If you want to categorize this farce, it seems a standard-issue "amateur/maverick confounds establishment with great discovery" story, which no doubt makes it appealing to uncritical reporters looking for a big story. This kind of tale is a staple of the pseudoarchaeology or fantastic archaeology genre. And the term "pyramidiot" has been applied to those obsessed with pyramids and who offer strange interpretations of them on websites and in books and television programs.

That's scorching. And it comes from the online site of Archaeology Magazine, which is published by the Archaelogical Institute of America. Here's a link to the full story:
Bosnian Rebuttal.

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