Although pyrimidiots and other pseudoarchaeological factions often claim that mainstream archaeology is “covering up the truth” or “not properly investigating their ideas,” the fact is that most pseudoarchaeological assertions/hypotheses are both easily testable and frequently tested. Here we test two common pseudoarchaeological claims against the archaeological record and show how simple logic and deduction can disprove them.
The first claim is centered around the pyramids but actually branches across several domains of pseudoarchaeology. The claim has to do with who build the pyramids, and sometimes has to do with the timing of the Pyramids being built, and states that pyramid building was introduced into Egypt either by aliens or citizens of Atlantis (or some other super-advanced lost civilization). In the case of pyramid building being introduced by aliens (a common assertion of frauds like von Daniken), the assumption is that the pyramids were built with extraterrestrial help or by extraterrestrials during the period of time the Egyptians were supposed to have constructed them. In the case of the assertion that the pyramids were built by a lost, advanced civilization, however, the assumption is that archaeologists have mischaracterized both the builders and the time of the building.
Assuming either of these claims were true, what would the archaeological record look like? If aliens had constructed or assisted in the construction of the pyramids, one might expect the Egyptians (a notoriously wordy and meticulous bunch) to have mentioned this, even once. Even if the Egyptians thought the aliens were gods, you might then expect them to mention the gods making the pyramids, or helping the workers make the pyramids. Furthermore, you would expect there to be a lack of evidence of work camps, working materials, etc. Likewise, if a previous civilization had made the pyramids and the Egyptians had discovered them, you would think they would have written any of that down. The Egyptians were some of the first (informal, nonacademic) archaeologists themselves – and in several periods in their history discovered/rediscovered, identified, and restored archaeological sites. So, if Atlanteans or another lost group had created the pyramids before, you would expect the Egyptians to have an oral or written documented history of discovering the pyramids, or of the ancient civilization before them. Furthermore, if there was an advanced civilization in that spot, you would expect more archaeological evidence beyond the pyramids – remnant like houses, artifacts, other buildings, predating the Egyptians and of an advanced appearance.
You don’t actually see literally any of that. Instead, what you see is written history that carefully chronicles the building of the pyramids – from work orders, payments to workers, to explicit instructions on how to build a pyramid and what they were built for. Furthermore, the workers left evidence everywhere – work camps can be found near the valley of the kings, and some of the technology used to build the pyramids can also be found in Egyptian contexts. Moreover, historical accounts from contemporaries or later historians reassert this. Herodotus, who was fascinated with Egypt, wrote extensively about the workforces the Egyptians employed in Pyramid building.
Now we can test a second, similar hypothesis: that the Egyptians and the Mayans were both genetic and cultural descendants of the lost civilization of Atlantis. What would the archaeological record look like if this were the case?
If the Egyptians and Mayans were originally Atlantean settlers, we would expect to see some sort of mythological or historical documentation of this. Surely a super-advanced society isn’t illiterate? And even if they were, wouldn’t there be some sort of religious or historical tradition about their cultural origins? Furthermore, we would expect to see records from neighboring territories of new, advanced people colonizing these areas, and evidence of almost instantaneously developing city-states as an advanced civilization settled in the region. Finally, we would expect to see close cultural, religious, and social similarities between the Maya and the Egyptians.
What do we actually see? No mentions of Atlantis as a civilization until the Platonic dialogues, not evidence of a more advanced civilization anywhere in the area, and no mention of Atlantean origins in Egyptian or Mayan texts or myths. Furthermore, we see the Maya and the Egyptians had very disparate cultural traditions and their own (disparate, non-Atlantean) origin myths. Finally, we see evidence in the archaeological record of a relatively gradual advancement in the Yucatan and in Egypt from small-scale organization to city-states to dynasties, and evidence and records of several successive dynasties of varying technological prowess and in various stages of development.
None of the archaeological evidence lines up with what we would assume would be true if these two pseudoarchaeological hypotheses were legitimate. Therefore, logically, we can dismiss them.
My thoughts exactly. I mentioned this similarly in my own post. While the Egyptians are hardly modern historians, they were meticulous enough to at the very least record something of such magnitude without obfuscating it behind divine beings. Plus, they themselves said they built the pyramids…not the gods doing it…so that throws that theory into the rubbish bin. Similar lines of logic could also be applied to things like Exodus, but that’s another can of worms entirely.
We can not only record progression and development in Mayan culture, but in Egyptian pyramid building as well. The ‘perfect’ pyramids at Giza are the result of decades of development and architectural advancement in the royal courts of the Old Kingdom. Djoser’s step pyramid, Sneferu’s bent pyramid, and the even older Mastabas are all precursors to the mighty Giza structures. Had aliens built them, they surely (if one supposes they’re truly advanced) would’ve built perfect pyramids the first time and every time. We clearly do not see this happening.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading your post. All of the information you provided was incredibly sound and logical. I love that you have a very reasonable and patient tone to your writing. Even while you are completely decimating these very out-there ideas pushed by pseudoarchaeologists, you maintain a professional and logical standpoint. This really makes your arguments sound and complete. I especially appreciated the way you debunked the pseuodoarchaeological claims surrounding the building of the pyramids of Egypt. The approach you took in explaining the record provided by the Egyptians themselves as a way to disprove the pseudoscientific idea that aliens or some super-ancient civilization like Atlantis was responsible for the building of the pyramids was very effective. If aliens, or even aliens people mistook as gods or something, came and showed the people how to build the pyramids then, as you argued, the Egyptians–who had a writing system and tendency to document stuff, would have written about that instead of explaining how they actually built the pyramids in their records. I also liked that you mentioned the evidence of work camps and tools in the archaeological record, which is something pseudo archaeologists really love overlooking in favor of upholding their claims. Furthermore, the point you made about Atlantis, that if it was actually the predecessor to the Mayan and Egyptian people we would see that. There would be documentation of it, somewhere, from two cultures with elaborate writing systems. All in all, your post was a well put together and the arguments you made were sound and irrefutable. Thanks for such a good read!