Frauds, Myths, and Mysteries: Science and Pseudoscience in Archaeology

Ancient astronauts? Atlantis? Psychic archaeology? Pharaoh's curses? Committed to the scientific investigation of human antiquity, this indispensable supplementary text uses interesting archaeological hoaxes, myths, and mysteries to show how we can truly know things about the past through science. Examples of fantastic findings support the carefully, logically, and entertainingly described flaws in the purported evidence.

This textbook presents the scientific method and applies it to popular frauds and misconceptions in the field of prehistoric archaeology, such as the Cardiff Giant, Piltdown Man, Atlantis, America's first inhabitants, creationism, Noah's Ark, and the Newark Holy Stones. Black and white photographs are provided. The fifth edition adds a chapter on ancient Egypt.
Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Ken Feder received his Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of Connecticut in 1982. He is a full professor in the Department of Anthropology at Central Connecticut State University where he has taught since 1977. He is the founder and director of the Farmington River Archaeological Project, an on-going survey of an inland, upland valley in north central Connecticut. He is the author of several books including Human Antiquity: An Introduction to Physical Anthropology and Archaeology (with Michael Park); Frauds, Myths, and Mysteries: Science and Pseudoscience in Archaeology; A Village of Outcasts: Historical Archaeology and Documentary Research at the Lighthouse Site; The Past in Perspective: An Introduction to Human Prehistory; Field Methods in Archaeology (co-editor with Tom Hester and Harry Shafer); Lessons from the Past: An Introductory Reader in Archaeology (editor); and Dangerous Places: Health, Safety, and Archaeology (co-edited with David Poirier). He is a Fellow of the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal. He has been the recipient of the Excellence in Teaching Award at Central Connecticut State University. He has appeared on a number of television documentaries about archaeology for BBC Horizon, the History Channel, and the Learning Channel. He lives in West Simsbury, Connecticut with his wife, two sons, and three bad cats.

Chapter 1: Science and Pseudoscience

Belief in the Enbelievable

Pseudoscience and Archaeology

Why I Wrote This Book

Chapter 2: Epistemology: How You Know What You Know

Knowing Things

Science: Playing by the Rules

The Workings of Science

The Case of Childbed Fever

The Science and Nonscience: The Essential Differences

The Art of Science

Science and Archaeology

Chapter 3: Anatomy of an Archaeological Hoax

The Cardiff Giant: The Goliath of New York

Why Did They Do It?

Current Perspectives: Frauds

Chapter 4: Dawson’s Dawn Man: The Hoax at Piltdown

The Evolutionary Context

A Remarkable Discovery in Sussex

The Piltdown Enigma

Whodunnit?

The Lesson of Piltdown

Current Perspectives: Human Evolution

Chapter 5: Who Discovered America?

America's First People

Who's Next? After the Indians, Before Columbus

Europeans in America: The Norse Discovery of America

Other Voyagers, Other Visitors

America BC?

Current Perspectives: The Peopling of the Americas

(and more...)