Oh thats a shame..........

[BAJR]

"Moreover, this advanced boat civilisation came from a place, the Greek philosopher Plato called 'Atlantis', who's influences can still be seen in our society and physical DNA today......"
Coincidence? I think not. !

[Bodger51]

I dont think 'he' could call it Atlantis.

You'd have to ask about the DNA, but I would suspect that the option of non-diversified Gene pools would only serve inherent mutations, as much as suffering from drift isles as sand bar remnants.

To Denmark and the peat Isles between the british Isles and bak again, like Lindisfarm already.

There are manay reasons to support, such notions, but reputations can extend well beyond conceptual boundaries, with Greek Maps showing the cartographically distant isle of Iceland, from a sea faring culture with aspirations of drawing together the strands of adventurism, heroism and the humble foundations of courage that defies social conformity and norms.

In a relative way, if you moved very fast in an orbit, you could be back before yo left, but is that decay as a relative action, or relative decay in action.

Sustainable methods are difficult to acheive but the task is never a pointless one.

Dating can be a useful tool, but the applications are founded in the application of coordination and cooperation.

Difficult, in making motions towards, but each to their way in the world they and we live.

[ZSilvia]

I just had a look at ancient trenches as well. You have to give the author credit for imagination. While, yes we read this and quickly see it as entirely unsustainable, it is a pretty fun read. I know I'll get flak for saying this, but I actually really enjoy talking with people who have ideas like this. I don't know, I think there is a value in interpretations of the naive and uninformed. Kevin Woolridge has rightly pointed out that this person has clearly never had much constructive criticism. If they had, I think they definitely could have gone on to do alright in university because there is definitely potential for creative opinion if they were better read.

But really, connecting megaliths to archer towers makes for pretty cool imagery when you imagine such a battle playing out in your head...and it isn't impossible to imagine some megaliths somewhere being part of a battle landscape backdrop of a later, say, medieval battle, etc. Very un-archaeological, I know, but there is no harm in constructing fictional narratives around archaeological/historical evidence. Maybe this person could go on to found a new literary genre of "archaeological fiction." I guess my point here is that I think its alright for people to explore alternative narrative avenues to bring these things to life. Its a fun pastime - though I wouldnt advise submitting it at conference :o) of course with better information these narratives play out better in your mind. Come on, you know you all do it when you are on a site.

But in all seriousness, he is right to consider the possibilities when he says: "I believe their purposes were utilitarian and served a myriad of functions including but not limited to navigational devices, borders, and defense lines for the ancient mining and trade industry" but loses it at "in an era of archery warfare." In this person's inexperience with prior scholarship they naively do what any good academic should do, be critical of the evidence and try to punch holes in the norm. With better information, this person would have better questions. I wouldn't write this person off, they'd probably be fun to chat with at the pub.

But of course, there are those who might take their pseudo-archaeological narratives it a bit too seriously...the pyramids of Eastern Europe come to mind (I wonder whatever happened to THAT guy)

[Wax]

I enjoy a good story as much as anyone and indeed there is a place for the imaginative flights that archaeology inspires. But there is a world of difference between fiction and a sound archaeological theory. It is the boundaries between the two that need to be defined. A good story teller imbues the story with their own personality should the archaeologist being doing this ?

I do wonder if the critical abilities to tell fact from fiction are being lost as we are bombarded by electronic media that is indescriminate with the information it hurls at us.

Ps what was Bodger 51 talking about?

[Ken Denham]

Interesting, reminds me of an bloke I worked with a few years ago, a professional archaeologist, who firmly believed that there had been an advanced human civilisation before the Paleolithic which had destroyed itself with nuclear warfare. Made for some good pub chat.

[CARTOON REALITY]

I thought this was meant to be a discussion about typology?

[Bodger51]

Toypology studies and seriation studies are interesting but there are alot more elements to discuss when considering the nature of it.

Admittedly, both types of relative dating actually underpin the archaeological knowledge base as apparent debates and skill sets of the workforce.

But with regards to the transferability of this field to other areas its the methodological application of the two methods as part of the heritage function, whilst commited engagement intto the industry requires this to move beyond functions and into the area of extensive awareness, which moves counter to getting the job done.

but there you have it with career development plans, but the industry is something out of the control of the individual and requires mustering to acheive effective change as mind sets of both why and what we do

[Bodger51]

typology not toypology

[Wax]

I thought this was meant to be a discussion about typology?

Are typologies "flights of fantasy" ?:face-huh:

[ZSilvia]

I enjoy a good story as much as anyone and indeed there is a place for the imaginative flights that archaeology inspires. But there is a world of difference between fiction and a sound archaeological theory. It is the boundaries between the two that need to be defined. A good story teller imbues the story with their own personality should the archaeologist being doing this ?

No, I agree, archaeologists shouldn't be doing this. That Robert Langdon guy seems pretty wild.. I think theres a difference between him and our megalith archer. The archer just seems to be a more naive amateur who would benefit from a good long chat about what solid information is out there. I get the sense he watched Avatar and saw that as a paradigm for our neolithic brethren. Langdon clearly changed his name to sell his tome of insanity.


[/QUOTE]I do wonder if the critical abilities to tell fact from fiction are being lost as we are bombarded by electronic media that is indescriminate with the information it hurls at us.[/QUOTE]

Agreed, if only there were a way to make scholarly publications more accessible to the non-university affiliated public...