Making Merry at Knossos or their's a sucker born every minute

The Economist ^ | May 14th 2009 | unknown

[Beowulf9]

ARCHAEOLOGY is an inexact science, as Sir Arthur Evans, a flamboyant early practitioner, knew. However painstaking the digging process, an excavator can always promote an extravagant theory under the guise of interpreting the finds.

As he started to unearth a prehistoric mound at Knossos in Crete at the turn of the 20th century, Evans put his imagination into high gear. He rebuilt parts of a 3,500-year-old palace in modernist style using cement and reconstructed fragmentary frescoes to suit his views on Bronze Age religion and politics.

[Beowulf9]

[nothingnew]

Ping

FMCDH(BITS)

[Tupelo]

Before I read the article, I was going to quibble about your use of “Theirs instead of “There's”.
I would have been wrong. The suckers do belong to the revisionist.

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

their's a sucker born every minute

Seriously? What does that mean?

[pabianice]

The history of anthropology is soaked with the prejudices of the investigators. That feminist fraud Margaret Mead is but one of the hoaxters and liars to litter the path of science. The tale of the Minoans is no different.

[BenLurkin]

gnip

[Cowboy Bob]

Bump for later read.

[BenLurkin]

"Group of Minoan bronze short swords from Iraklion and Ziba."

http://www.salimbeti.com/micenei/weapons1.htm

[bgill]

If the author can’t get the headline correct, then he can’t be trusted to get the rest of the article correct.

[blueunicorn6]

I’m pretty sure that the Democrats are working on a time machine to take Obama, Reid and Pelosi back in time so they can fix everything for forever. It’s either a time machine, or a machine to get into Fort Knox.

[Windflier]

"...their's a sucker born every minute"

I'm beginning to think that the MSM and the entire blogosphere speaks English as a second language.

[Windflier]

Original title: "Making merry at Knossos"

[buffaloguy]

“The history of anthropology is soaked with the prejudices of the investigators. “

1. No archeologist in the world owns a sail boat. If any of them did they would have figured out that sailors sail, sometimes just for the fun of it.

2. All Archeologists are of the opinion that all non modern civilizations were peaceful. Au Contraire....most civilizations made war on each other.

[Sherman Logan]

All Archeologists are of the opinion that all non modern civilizations were peaceful.

Same meme held for decades for the Maya. Peace loving worshippers of nature.

Then the linguists deciphered their inscriptions and discovered they were as warlike as any people in history.

Public torture was more or less the national sport. Human sacrifice was common. Etc.

Same for the Anasazi of the American SW, even claiming the cliff dwellings are't defensive in purpose. Then somebody discovered absolute proof of Anasazi cannibalism. Human DNA in a fossilized human turd.

[Beowulf9]

“All Archeologists are of the opinion that all non modern civilizations were peaceful.”

Perfect example: Stonehenge. Lol.

[colorado tanker]

Dang. I loved the idea of friendly, bare-breasted Goddess worshipers frolicking at Knossos.

[Lee N. Field]

Then somebody discovered absolute proof of Anasazi cannibalism. Human DNA in a fossilized human turd.

If I remember my biology correctly, from 3 decades ago, about half of human feces is cast off intestinal villus cells.

Of course there's human DNA in human turds.

[SunkenCiv]

GGG managers are SunkenCiv, StayAt HomeMother & Ernest_at_the_Beach	join list or digest view topics view or post blog bookmark post a topic subscribe
Thanks nothingnew, and gnop BenLurkin. ;') already posted, but we needed an update of any kind. Just adding to the catalog, not sending a general distribution. To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list.

[Sherman Logan]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cowboy_Wash

[Sherman Logan]

Sorry, I was not entirely accurate.

Should have said analysis found digested human muscle tissue (not DNA) in a dried (not fossilized) human turd.

http://www.unl.edu/rhames/courses/current/readings/Cannibals.pdf

Very interesting article, BTW. I have always wondered whether the collapse of Anasazi society, apparently related to internal power struggles, might have been caused by unpleasant ideas making their way up from MesoAmerica.

If the neighbors converted to a religion requiring human sacrifice and cannibalism, I’d move into a cliff dwelling myself!