In the modern era vast amounts of information is readily available through the internet. From academic papers to wiki articles on penguins, individuals today are bombarded with different perspectives and beliefs, making it difficult to separate solid factual truth from loosely connected wishful thinking. This is especially important in the realm of archaeology, given the manner in which it is presented to the public. This presentation usually involves romanticizing the past in such a way that presents archaeologists as essentially glorified treasure hunters seeking the hidden truth of historical events. Since the average person may not dedicate much time to sorting through all of the misrepresentations of the field, it is undoubtedly the professional responsibility of all archaeologists to confront and counter act these false representations and the pseudoarchaeological beliefs that stem from them.

While it may seem rather silly for hard-working academics to have to monitor and correct the eccentric ideas of another group of individuals, it is essential. In both the past and present, supporters of “alternative” histories have spread their so called “theories” of the development of the human race. While for the most part many of these beliefs have not really lead to any real damage, there does exist a danger to these ideas when they are taken to the extreme. The nationalist archaeology conducted by the Nazi party during World War II is one example of such danger. They so deeply believed their alternate view on the origin of humanity that they would seek out and essentially steal anything they deemed was crucial in supporting this belief. Many different excavations and projects were led by officials within the party and with every new artifact discovered they would become more reassured their beliefs. These artifacts could then be presented to the public as physical evidence to support their twisted claim of superiority.

This is understandably an extreme example of pseudoarcheology and its potential consequences on public perception, however, the core concept of taking bits and pieces of human history and using them outside of their appropriate context to support a claim is still relevant today. The popularity of alternative history within modern media continues to support this idea. With so many shows, such as Ancient Aliens or America Unearthed, being presented on well-known networks like National Geographic, the public understanding of the actually history can become warped. Professional archaeologists should work to combat this rising tide of fantasy by working to increase public awareness of scientific and proper archaeological exploits. These actions could include appearing on pseudoarcheology shows, essentially undermining the threat from within by presenting authentic and scientifically supported theories on the history of humanity. Other ways to combat this would be to monitor and update the information available on sites like Wikipedia that are often used by the public as sources to understand concepts. The fundamental idea is that the professional archaeological community has to remain vigilante in order to keep the pseudoarcheology community from spread outrageous claims that could potentially damage society or public understanding of the past.