john hawks weblog

paleoanthropology, genetics and evolution

cult archaeology

  • Best open letter ever

    Fri, 2011-04-08 23:42 -- John Hawks

    I so totally wish I'd thought of this first: "An Open Letter To People Who Think They Have Found The Artifact That Will Change Archaeology As We Know It"

    Don't get me wrong, I really do want to see your cool artifacts. However, I must tell you, that more than half of the people who come to see me actually just have plain old boring rocks. That's not a judgment. I am sure the Geology Department will be interested in seeing your rocks.

    Oh, the snark, it fills me with joy! There are so many more where that came from. I want them all for my FAQ.

    Tags: 
    cult archaeology
    blogging
    archaeology
    humor

  • Ready for birdcage lining

    Wed, 2010-01-13 21:03 -- John Hawks

    What we're up against:

    His 13 books, with names like “Genesis Revisited” and “The Earth Chronicles,” have sold millions of copies and been translated into 25 languages.

    ...

    The planet’s inhabitants were technologically advanced humanlike beings, Mr. Sitchin said, standing about nine feet tall. Some 450,000 years ago, they detected reserves of gold in southeast Africa and made a colonial expedition to Earth, splashing down in what is now the Persian Gulf.

    Mr. Sitchin said these Nibiru-ites recruited laborers from Earth’s erect primates to build eight great cities. Enki, who became the Sumerians’ god of science, bestowed some of the Nibiru-ites’ advanced genetic makeup upon these bipeds so they could work as miners.

    This is how Mr. Sitchin explains what scientists attribute to evolution.

    That's in the NY Times today.

    Tags: 
    pseudoscience
    cult archaeology
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Neandertals

For years, I've worked on their bones. Now I'm working on their genes. Read more about the science studying these ancient people.

Denisova

From a finger bone of an ancient human came the record of a completely unexpected population. My lab is working on the science of the Denisova genome.

Acceleration

The advent of agriculture caused natural selection to speed up greatly in humans. We're uncovering some of the ways that populations have rapidly changed during the last 10,000 years.

Malapa

Just outside Johannesburg, the Malapa site is producing some of the most exciting finds in human evolution. This site is the headquarters of the Malapa Soft Tissue Project.