عنوان

Cinema, Supernatural Archaeology, and the Hidden Human Past

Number

LA122729

.Language of Text, Soundtrack etc

انگلیسی

Title Proper

Cinema, Supernatural Archaeology, and the Hidden Human Past

General Material Designation

[Article]

First Statement of Responsibility

Peter Hiscock

Place of Publication, Distribution, etc.

Leiden

Name of Publisher, Distributor, etc.

Brill

Text of Note

Close analysis of modern movies reveals - yet archaeologists and historians have failed to understand - that the dominant representation of archaeological research and ancient human culture in mainstream cinema involves explorations of supernatural objects and events. Cinematic archaeology tends to be mythic rather than realistic in focus. Movies frequently present images of the human past that are pseudoarchaeological in the sense that these films tell the same stories as 'alternative archaeology,' even though they may not make an explicit claim to the truthfulness of the events depicted. This pattern is documented through a review of films employing the ancient astronaut model in which visiting aliens changed human development in the past, and through an examination of the work of writer/director Roland Emmerich who has specialized in those films. The cinematic history of these narratives is long, demonstrating that cinema does not merely reproduce popular pseudoarchaeological research, it has also contributed to the growth of these stories. Close analysis of modern movies reveals - yet archaeologists and historians have failed to understand - that the dominant representation of archaeological research and ancient human culture in mainstream cinema involves explorations of supernatural objects and events. Cinematic archaeology tends to be mythic rather than realistic in focus. Movies frequently present images of the human past that are pseudoarchaeological in the sense that these films tell the same stories as 'alternative archaeology,' even though they may not make an explicit claim to the truthfulness of the events depicted. This pattern is documented through a review of films employing the ancient astronaut model in which visiting aliens changed human development in the past, and through an examination of the work of writer/director Roland Emmerich who has specialized in those films. The cinematic history of these narratives is long, demonstrating that cinema does not merely reproduce popular pseudoarchaeological research, it has also contributed to the growth of these stories.

Date of Publication

2012

Physical description

156-177

Title

Numen

Volume Number

59/2-3

International Standard Serial Number

1568-5276

Subject Term

ancient astronauts

Subject Term

archaeology

Subject Term

cinema

Subject Term

Indiana Jones

Subject Term

pseudoarchaeology

Peter Hiscock

Call Number

10.1163/156852712X630761

Electronic name

p

[Article]

275578

a

Y