I've got another idea. Some of you will like this idea and, I'm sure, some of you will not. It came to me while walking home though South Carolina's piece of Hurricane Hermine, so it may be terrible. Here it is:
On Fridays, I'll feature a guest blog post on a non-mainstream archaeological topic. The guest author will present some aspect of his/her research in an evidence-based framework (i.e., using evidence to support or refute a claim) and will be responsible for answering questions and defending the claim in the comments. I'll have some standards and ground rules, but will try to remain open to any claim that (1) has to do with the human past and (2) is tied to material evidence.
What do you think?
On Fridays, I'll feature a guest blog post on a non-mainstream archaeological topic. The guest author will present some aspect of his/her research in an evidence-based framework (i.e., using evidence to support or refute a claim) and will be responsible for answering questions and defending the claim in the comments. I'll have some standards and ground rules, but will try to remain open to any claim that (1) has to do with the human past and (2) is tied to material evidence.
What do you think?
Prior to writing this blog post, I had no idea there was a (1980) musical called "Forbidden Zone." This image, which I do not claim to understand in any way, is apparently from that film.
While there is no shortage of things that I think are fun and interesting to discuss, I'm not able to write nearly as much as I'd like. During the academic year, I probably average 2-3 posts per week. That leaves plenty of dead air. Why not open up some space for some of my readers or others who might want to reach a different audience?
In the spirit of the Forbidden Archaeology class I'm teaching this semester, the important thing is that you orient your claim within some kind of scientific, evidence-based framework. The rest of us, then, will scrutinize your claim, your assumptions, and your evidence and work it over in the comments. It will be a virtual dojo, where evidence-based point-counterpoint plays out in the same space for all to see. If building things up by trying to knock things down geeks you out, you'll like it. If it hurts your feelings to have someone ask you hard questions or refute you, you probably won't like it.
While I've had guest posts on my blog before, they've all been related to #Swordgate (there are more swords coming, by the way). The idea for "Forbidden Friday" came to me as I was corresponding with Bob Voyles (aka Gunn), who often comments on this blog about stone holes and what calls the "Norse Code Stone." It's obvious that Voyles cares deeply about his work and has put a lot of time and effort into it -- why not just offer him an opportunity to explain it himself? As I and others have commented before, my first question when I read about the stone holes is "how do you know they were made by Norse explorers?" It's a reasonable, logical first question, and a great place to start: (1) construct the null hypothesis such as "all the stone holes in Minnesota are modern and were created to break up rocks;" (2) try to falisfy it. Voila, you're well on your way to doing some science. Voyles has accepted my invitation, so we'll see a guest post by him some time in the future.
Is anyone else out there interested? Giant skeletons? Ancient navigation? Sunken cities? Alien technology?
In the spirit of the Forbidden Archaeology class I'm teaching this semester, the important thing is that you orient your claim within some kind of scientific, evidence-based framework. The rest of us, then, will scrutinize your claim, your assumptions, and your evidence and work it over in the comments. It will be a virtual dojo, where evidence-based point-counterpoint plays out in the same space for all to see. If building things up by trying to knock things down geeks you out, you'll like it. If it hurts your feelings to have someone ask you hard questions or refute you, you probably won't like it.
While I've had guest posts on my blog before, they've all been related to #Swordgate (there are more swords coming, by the way). The idea for "Forbidden Friday" came to me as I was corresponding with Bob Voyles (aka Gunn), who often comments on this blog about stone holes and what calls the "Norse Code Stone." It's obvious that Voyles cares deeply about his work and has put a lot of time and effort into it -- why not just offer him an opportunity to explain it himself? As I and others have commented before, my first question when I read about the stone holes is "how do you know they were made by Norse explorers?" It's a reasonable, logical first question, and a great place to start: (1) construct the null hypothesis such as "all the stone holes in Minnesota are modern and were created to break up rocks;" (2) try to falisfy it. Voila, you're well on your way to doing some science. Voyles has accepted my invitation, so we'll see a guest post by him some time in the future.
Is anyone else out there interested? Giant skeletons? Ancient navigation? Sunken cities? Alien technology?
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