Comments

  2. moarscienceplz says

    I imagine Jones was inspired by Heinrich Schliemann.
    From Wikipedia:

    An article published by the National Geographic Society called into question Schliemann’s qualifications, his motives, and his methods:

    In northwestern Turkey, Heinrich Schliemann excavated the site believed to be Troy in 1870. Schliemann was a German adventurer and con man who took sole credit for the discovery, even though he was digging at the site, called Hisarlik, at the behest of British archaeologist Frank Calvert. … Eager to find the legendary treasures of Troy, Schliemann blasted his way down to the second city, where he found what he believed were the jewels that once belonged to Helen. As it turns out, the jewels were a thousand years older than the time described in Homer’s epic.[1]
    Another article presented similar criticisms when reporting on a speech by University of Pennsylvania scholar C. Brian Rose:

    German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann was the first to explore the Mound of Troy in the 1870s. Unfortunately, he had had no formal education in archaeology, and dug an enormous trench “which we still call the Schliemann Trench,” according to Rose, because in the process Schliemann “destroyed a phenomenal amount of material.” … Only much later in his career would he accept the fact that the treasure had been found at a layer one thousand years removed from the battle between the Greeks and Trojans, and thus that it could not have been the treasure of King Priam. Schliemann may not have discovered the truth, but the publicity stunt worked, making Schliemann and the site famous and igniting the field of Homeric studies in the late 19th century.[20]

  3. petesh says

    Abernathy notes in his August, 1936 communication that

    Europe is embroiled in a massive armed conflict

    This seems an assertion that requires some explanation. The Spanish Civil War was barely a month old and largely confined to, well, Spain, to which various Germans, Brits, Americans etc did soon repair with belligerent intent; but the assault upon Guernica did not take place until November. The Italians had certainly said “Ah be seein’ ya” to the Emperor Selaisse but he was technically speaking African. The German army had wandered into the Rhineland, which was in breach of treaty but also in Germany. And most of the rest of Europe was still dusting itself off from the recent economic hardships.

    One wonders how Dr Jones replied.

  4. What a Maroon, living up to the 'nym says

    petesh,

    You must have better eyesight than me, because all I’m seeing is:

    As I’m sure you are aware, the political climate in Europe is somewhat volatile right now.

  5. petesh says

    Foiled by forgery! Seriously, a couple of commenters there noted the problem and he must have edited for accuracy. And to think I wasted precious minutes of my time.

  6. waydude says

    I got my degree in anthropology because of watching the Indiana Jones movies as a kid. Imagine my surprise when I am told by professors and students that those movies are all bullshit. But then when I graduated and started field work, it turns out IT’S ALL TRUE. They are just trying to keep it to themselves! Plus you get a secret bullwhip when you complete your PHD!!

  7. chigau (違う) says

    waydude #6
    You fool.
    You know you weren’t supposed to reveal that.
    You poor fool.
    .
    .
    .
    Is there someone at your door?

  10. dianne says

    I wonder what would have happened if Indiana Jones and Amelia Peabody had met. There’s probably fanfic out there somewhere on that.

  11. latveriandiplomat says

    @2: FWIW, Indy was most directly inspired by Roy Chapman Andrews. For all the violations of modern methodology you can lay at Anderws door, he was no Shliemann.