How many lost continents can there be?

In Part 3 of Spooky Archaeology: Myth and the Science of the Past by Jeb J. Card, two archaeologists dig into the pseudoarchaeology of chapters 6-8. They go from the lost continents of Mu and Lemuria to haunted museums, crystal skulls, and archaeologists who doubled as spies.

Along the way they revisit Douglas Preston’s The Lost City of the Monkey God, share a story about a prank arrowhead planted on a real dig, and learn the Cold War story behind the search for the Titanic.

A must-listen for anyone who loves lost civilizations, museum mysteries, or a good spy story.

GIVEAWAY: We’re drawing for a second signed copy of Where the Moon Stands Still in November. Subscribe to our free newsletter to enter: https://bit.ly/4rNzqM8

WHAT WE COVER IN THIS EPISODE

‣ The lost continent of Mu and William Niven’s suspiciously lucky finds of carved stone tablets near Mexico City.

‣ Lemuria started as a scientific guess about how lemurs spread before it became another lost continent.

‣ Hyperdiffusionism claims all human innovation came from one lost source, and archaeologists know that’s not how it works.

‣ James Churchward claimed to find sunken Mu with help from ghosts, and his ideas were built on racist myths.

‣ The Smithsonian, the Cardiff Giant, and Hollow Earth show how museums became the setting for haunted-museum legends.

‣ Crystal skulls and Mitchell-Hedges lead us back to The Lost City of the Monkey God and what lidar can miss.

‣ Çatalhöyük (Catalhoyuk) excavator James Mellaart was linked to a vanished bracelet and a forger’s workshop found in his home.

‣ Archaeologists worked as spies from World War I through the Cold War, including Lawrence of Arabia and the Titanic search.

‣ Archaeologists compare a dig site to a crime scene, and we explain why that matters when you find an artifact.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Spooky Archaeology: Myth and the Science of the Past by archaeologist Jeb J. Card (University of New Mexico Press) traces how archaeology and the supernatural have shaped each other, from Victorian occultists and mummy curses to lost continents and crystal skulls. It’s a dense but rewarding read that’s especially fun if you like quirky historical figures, early Hollywood, or the history of ideas.

RESOURCES & LINKS

Our website (including Parts 1 and 2 of Spooky Archaeology): https://bit.ly/4AMDhNC

Newsletter, with Pass the Trowel guided questions and the giveaway: https://bit.ly/4rNzqM8

Frauds, Myths, and Mysteries, Part 1: https://bit.ly/4d8Gtcg

The Lost City of the Monkey God, Part 1: https://bit.ly/4isOZEy

The Archaeological Fantasies Podcast, co-hosted by Jeb Card and Ken Feder: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/archaeological-fantasies-podcast/id1404691339

Support the show: https://www.fpan.us/give/

COMING UP NEXT

Spooky Archaeology, Part 4: chapters 9-11 drops on November 15. It’s the series finale, and we’ll announce our first giveaway winner.

#archaeologybooksforfun #SpookyArchaeology #Lemuria

How did a museum catalog number convince a man he was a reincarnated Egyptian?

In Part 2 of Spooky Archaeology: Myth and the Science of the Past by Jeb J. Card, Tristan and Barbara talk about chapters 4 and 5. They discuss how hieroglyphs, mummies and lost civilizations like Atlantis became magnets for Victorian occultism and pop culture myths.

Along the way they meet King Tut’s curse, Martian meteorite messages, the Roswell hieroglyphs, and the 1932 film that invented the movie archaeologist. They also get into the darker side of how myth-making has turned archaeology into a tool for nationalism.

A must-listen for anyone who loves mummy movies, Victorian weirdness, or wondering why archaeology attracts so many strange ideas.

GIVEAWAY: We're drawing for a copy of Where the Moon Stands Still signed by author James W. Graham. Everyone subscribed to our newsletter by October 31 is entered.Subscribe here: https://bit.ly/4rNzqM8

WHAT WE COVER IN THIS EPISODE

• Egyptian hieroglyphs seemed mystical until they were translated, and the texts turned out to be mostly mundane records of kings and harvests.
• Aleister Crowley saw the Stele of Revealing in the Cairo Museum, and its catalog number of 666 convinced him he had lived a past life in Egypt.
• Martian meteorite “messages” turned out to be sandstone and a newspaper hoax used for self-promotion.
• The Roswell hieroglyphs may have been decorative tape on an Air Force balloon train built to detect Soviet atomic tests.
• The Mummy (1932) gave film its first archaeologist archetypes, and Tristan and Barbara pick the one they’d want to play.
• King Tut’s curse grew from an exclusive media deal with The Times of London to what it is today with the help from Arthur Conan Doyle and plenty of rival newspapers.
• Atlantis filled real gaps in early archaeology, until radiocarbon dating helped dismantle “collapsed proto-history.”
• Archaeology as a tool for nationalism, from Napoleon’s expeditions in Egypt to Heinrich Himmler and the Nazis.
• Why archaeology attracts mysteries, and how this book is changing the way Barbara talks with the public about Atlantis and “artifact” rocks.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Spooky Archaeology: Myth and the Science of the Past by archaeologist Jeb J. Card (University of New Mexico Press) traces how archaeology and the supernatural have shaped each other, from Victorian occultists and mummy curses to ancient aliens and Atlantis. It’s a dense but rewarding read that’s especially fun if you like quirky historical figures, early Hollywood, or the history of ideas.

RESOURCES & LINKS

• Our website (including Part 1 of Spooky Archaeology): https://bit.ly/4AMDhNC
• Newsletter, with Pass the Trowel guided questions for chapters 4–5 and Tristan’s notes on Crowley and British Wicca: https://bit.ly/4rNzqM8
• Frauds, Myths, and Mysteries, Part 1: https://bit.ly/4d8Gtcg
• Our interview with Jim Graham, author of Where the Moon Stands Still: https://bit.ly/4B1x0xM

Support the show: https://www.fpan.us/give/

COMING UP NEXT

Spooky Archaeology, Part 3: chapters 6–8, drops on November 1. Read along with us and check the newsletter for guided questions.

#archaeologybooksforfun #SpookyArchaeology #AleisterCrowley

What's it like to watch the moon rise over a 2,000-year-old lunar observatory, and see a meteor streak across the sky?

In this special episode of Archaeology Books for Fun, Tristan talks with James W. Graham, author of Where the Moon Stands Still: Revealing the Cosmic Genius of Ohio's Indigenous Earthworks.

They discuss how a journalist came to tell the story of the Newark Earthworks, a Hopewell site that tracks the moon's 18.6-year cycle like an American Stonehenge, why it took decades for those lunar alignments to be accepted, and what's changed since the golf course finally left.

A must-listen for anyone interested in archaeoastronomy, ancient astronomy, Indigenous heritage, and why historic preservation laws matter right now.

Want a signed copy? Subscribe to our free newsletter for a chance to win one of two signed copies of Where the Moon Stands Still: https://bit.ly/4rNzqM8

WHAT WE COVER IN THIS EPISODE:

• How a career journalist came to write about Ohio's earthworks, and why he wanted to give the story a human face.
• Learning the archaeology as an outsider, through interviews with Ray Hively, Bob Horn, and Ohio archaeologist Brad Lepper.
• Why Hively and Horn's 1982 discovery of the Octagon's lunar alignments took a decade to get noticed, and why even they still question their own results.
• Archaeoastronomy catching on in the 1980s, including the Sun Dagger at Chaco Canyon, and why solar alignments were easier for people to accept than lunar ones.
• How Graham approached the Horns' adoption of two Native American children, and why it needed its own chapter.
• The Octagon Earthworks today: the golf course is gone, and the site is now a public park you can visit any time.
• Watching the moonrise over the Octagon in 2023 alongside Chief Glenna Wallace, with about 200 people and one meteor.

• Section 106 and historic preservation: why streamlining these laws means sites can be destroyed before anyone knows they're there.
• FPAN connection: Barbara, listening in this time, was recently in Washington, D.C., talking with members of Congress about these same preservation issues.

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Where the Moon Stands Still: Revealing the Cosmic Genius of Ohio's Indigenous Earthworks by James W. Graham.

Graham spent his career in journalism, public affairs, and public policy, and is also the author of Victura: The Kennedys, a Sailboat, and the Sea. Where the Moon Stands Still is one of our favorite books we've covered on the podcast.

RESOURCES & LINKS:

• Sign up for the newsletter for a chance to win one of two signed copies of Where the Moon Stands Still: https://bit.ly/4rNzqM8

• James W. Graham's website, including upcoming talks: https://www.jameswgraham.com/
• The first episode in our "Where the Moon Stands Still" series: https://bit.ly/3VXrkEJ
• Where the Moon Stands Still at Ohio State University Press: https://bit.ly/3UPWSfq
• Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks (UNESCO World Heritage): https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1689/

Support the show: https://www.fpan.us/give/

COMING UP NEXT: Our next full episode comes out October 15, continuing Spooky Archaeology.

#archaeologybooksforfun #WhereTheMoonStandsStill #NewarkEarthworks