Two popular, bold claims made in pseudoarchaeology are that pyramid building was introduced by extra terrestrial contact, and that Atlantis was an advanced civilization that Egyptians defused knowledge from. Many believers have written novels, articles, and even created television shows and movies supporting the concept. The evidence used to prove these claims are not hard scientific facts and are not in unison with the archaeological record. While many concepts may seem unsolved, there are often times explanations that most people are unaware of, in turn this causes people to turn to unnecessary, outlandish beliefs about civilizations in history.
If pyramid building was introduced by aliens or citizens of a lost civilization, there would be supporting evidence everywhere in the archaeological record. First of all, there would have to be remnants of the two groups interacting. If aliens visited the earth to guide humans, there would most definitely be remains from aliens, spaceships, and other equipment that they brought along. This applies to Atlantan populations as well, if they were to meet up with the Egyptians, there is no physical proof that supports. If the Egyptians were given technology outside of their own standing in terms of inventions, then there would be evidence of this advanced equipment in the areas of pyramid building, such as steel. There would be evidence of devices used to transport and create the large stones used in the construction of the pyramids. In fact, the archeological record shows the opposite of these claims. Markings made on the stone boulders show that common copper tools were most likely used to shape the stones for the pyramid construction. There is no proof in the archaeological record of advanced technology like that being described by those who hold these beliefs of extraterrestrials or Atlantians having and sharing these techniques and skill with pyramid builders like the Egyptians.
Another popular “theory” is that Mayan and Egyptian cultures and societies defused from the advanced race of Atlantis. Like the previously mentioned hypothesis, this scenario would also have to produce evidence for the archaeological record, which it does not. If this claim was to be true, that would mean that Atlantian people shared similar concepts, such as pyramid building, burial chambers, and writing, with both Mayan cultures in South America and Egyptian societies in Africa. These similar practices seem to be enough evidence supporting the existence of an ancient, advanced lost civilization. In reality, these two different civilizations developed these practices at different points in history as well as in affect to different instigates. Also, there would be a large record of unidentifiable culture remains left from the Atlantis civilization. If there was this incredible advanced civilization that possessed technology far beyond other cultures, then there would definitely be cultural remains found in the archaeological record. The similarities between these two civilizations are quit fascinating, but the context behind them explains the differences and resolves the pseudoscientific debates.
The intricate developments and complex inventions of past civilizations can seem very mysterious, causing many to point towards fairy tale stories to complete the missing record they know of. When the archaeological record and context is taken into consideration, then the real truth about how inventive past cultures were can be seen.
I agree that in order to have either pyramid be introduced by aliens or for Egypt to have gained information from Atlantis, the context has to be ignored. Context is the most important answer to questions in archaeology. I enjoyed your final paragraph when you talked about the intricate developments and inventions of past civilizations. I understand that these can be challenging comprehend, but most artifacts can be explained with the context of the time period and of what civilization they evolved from. When talking about the Mayan and Egyptian civilizations gaining from Atlantian races, I agree that the main contradicting point is the difference in time periods between the two civilizations. Because they developed at different times, the archaeological record does not help to justify the two civilizations gaining this information from the same superior civilization. With pyramid building, the archeological record would need to show the two groups interacting, as you said, and every piece of evidence pseudo archaeologist use can be explained with historical context. There are many questions that archaeologists and the public have about history and past civilizations, but to not look at the historical context of historical artifacts does not help to answer these questions. When trying to find these answers, we also cannot erase the advancements of existing civilizations. Past civilizations were not barbaric and savage, they had cultures and their own technology that can explain what archaeologists find. We cannot ignore past civilizations’ history in order to find support for the answers we want.