<HTML>(1) From P. James and N. Thorpe, *Ancient Mysteries* (NYC: Ballantine, 1999), p. 174:
"Hyperdiffusionism, like the ancient astronaut theories, is inherently racist -- albeit unconsciously -- as it denigrates the abilities of some ancient peoples and explains their achievements in terms of a superior 'master races.'"
Just thought this was worth noting, given the rather intense discussion of the topic on the IAB site some time ago. Much mud was slung at Duncan and Alex Bourdeau, as I recall, for even raising this subject at all. But here we have two respectable writers in a major publication reaching the same conclusions independently. Interesting.
James and Thorpe go on to provide some useful material worth recounting and analyzing for all (if you've read the book, apologies):
(2) The case of Zimbabwe nicely illustrates the essentialness of context in archaeological research and the interlocking nature of archaeological rational analysis. Zimbabwe is a large stone structure in the modern country of the same name. When Europeans first found it, they could not accept that the local African populations had been responsible for such impressive works, so they hypothesized that Phoenician refugees had built it, or some other "advanced" immigrants (from Europe, of course). In 1905 an Egyptologist (remember, those close-minded intellectual clones of their teachers) investigated the site thoroughly using the then most advanced archaeological techniques. He found (a) pottery similar to that still being used by the local Shona tribespeople; (b) the Shona word "dzimbabwe" meant "houses of stone"; and (c) imported artifacts from Arabia, Persia and China that dated to the 14th and 15th centurys AD. The Egyptologist concluded that Zimbabwe was the product of the local population in pre-colonial days, and had been a place of great sophistication and importance. It is worth noting as well that C-14 dates conducted years later confirmed his dates of AD 1100-1600 for construction and occupation of the site. Then, in the 1960s the colonialist government of Rhodesia attempted to revive the diffusionist explanation for Zimbabwe's creation -- funnily enough, expressly in the service of its racist political agenda -- and several close-minded academic archaeologists in the country were imprisoned, deported, or fired for criticizing the policy as contrary to the known facts of the site.
(3) Ed Leedskalnin has been referred to Anthony on a few occasions. Here's the story. He was a chap from Latvia who emigrated to Florida in 1920s and lived the life of a recluse for thirty years. In this time he fashioned a home for himself out of coral, working alone and in complete secrecy (sometimes at night). Standing just over 5 ft tall and weighing about 100 lbs, Leedskalnin managed to creat a Coral Castle (still to be seen in Florida today) using some 1,100 tons of stone coral. His methods have never been clarified. All he said himself was that he had rediscovered the ancient techniques of "leverage and balance."
Best,
Garrett</HTML>
