Archaeological Fakes and Frauds in Arizona and Beyond by Dr. Matt Peeples

Depictions of archaeology in popular culture are full of dubious tales of ancient extraterrestrials, lost civilizations, giants, and widespread scientific conspiracy. In this talk, I will explore such fantastic claims focusing in particular on a few popular claims here in our own backyard in Arizona. My goal is not to simply “debunk” these claims (though I will do that too) but to further explore how and why pseudoscientific claims take hold in the popular imagination and what we can do about it. Are such claims just silly fun or do they do have the potential to do real damage to archaeological resources and the scientific process?

Purported “Anglo-Saxon” runes from the Mustang Mountains in SE Arizona (photo by Will Russell)