Ideas worth spreading

"Aliens built the pyramids" and other absurdities of pseudo-archaeology

1,803,215 views | Sarah Kurnick • TEDxMileHigh

Aliens have invaded ancient history: they've cropped up in humanity's past through popular television and movies, displacing facts with absurd yet commonplace beliefs like "aliens built the pyramids." Archaeologist Sarah Kurnick illustrates why these misconceptions perpetuate racist and xenophobic notions of history and culture -- and demonstrates how you can help debunk these dangerous, outlandish myths.

Aliens have invaded ancient history: they've cropped up in humanity's past through popular television and movies, displacing facts with absurd yet commonplace beliefs like "aliens built the pyramids." Archaeologist Sarah Kurnick illustrates why these misconceptions perpetuate racist and xenophobic notions of history and culture -- and demonstrates how you can help debunk these dangerous, outlandish myths.

This talk was presented to a local audience at TEDxMileHigh, an independent event. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.

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About the speaker

Sarah Kurnick

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Sarah Kurnick specializes in the ancient Maya and her research focuses on the creation, perpetuation and negation of inequality.

Marilyn Johnson | Harper Perennial, 2015 | Book

Lives in Ruins: Archaeologists and the Seductive Lure of Human Rubble

Ever wondered what it is like to be an archaeologist? In this engaging and witty book, Marilyn Johnson follows archaeologists working in different parts of the world to understand who they are, what they do and why they willingly endure difficult conditions to learn about the past.

Kenneth Feder | Oxford University Press, 2019 | Book

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

The notion that aliens built the pyramids is only one of many wrong yet common ideas about the past. In this delightful and thoughtful book, Kenneth Feder examines famous hoaxes and familiar pseudo-archaeological claims and explains how to evaluate strange notions about the past.

David Hurst Thomas | Basic Books, 2001 | Book

Skull Wars: Kennewick Man, Archaeology, And The Battle For Native American Identity

The relationships between archaeologists and Indigenous peoples have traditionally been problematic. In this book, David Hurst Thomas offers a sometimes-shocking always-informative look at the history of archaeologists and native peoples.

Robert J. Sharer and Loa P. Traxler | Stanford University Press, 2006 | Book

The Ancient Maya

Want to learn more about the ancient Maya? In this definitive and comprehensive work, Robert Sharer and Loa Traxler examine the history of the ancient Maya and provide information about ancient Maya politics, religion, and economics.

The Penn Museum | 1951-1965 | Watch

What in the World?®

In the 1950s and early 1960s, television networks aired factual and interesting programing about archaeology. On What in the World?®, a panel of archaeologists would try to identify objects from the storerooms of the Penn Museum. You can watch clips from several episodes here.

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This talk was presented to a local audience at TEDxMileHigh, an independent event. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.

Read more about TEDx.