No news is better than evil news. Clearing up the way to face Alternative Archaeologies

• Main Author: Jaime Almansa Sánchez
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: JAS Arqueología 2016-12-01
• Series: AP : Online Journal in Public Archaeology
• Subjects: Alternative Archaeology; Public Archaeology; Popular Culture; Public Action; Engagement
• Online Access: http://revistas.jasarqueologia.es/index.php/APJournal/article/view/17

While Archaeology started to take form as a professional discipline, Alternative Archaeologies grew in several ways. As the years went by, the image of Archaeology started being corrupted by misconceptions and a lot of imagination, and those professionals that were claiming to be scientists forgot one of their first responsibilities; the public. This lack of interest is one of the reasons why today, a vast majority of society believes in many clichés of the past that alternative archaeologists have used to build a fictitious History that is not innocent at all. From UFOs and the mysteries of great civilizations to the political interpretation of the past, the dangers of Alternative Archaeologies are clear and under our responsibility. This paper analyzes this situation in order to propose a strategy that may make us the main characters of the popular imagery in the mid-term. Since confrontation and communication do not seem to be effective approaches, we need a change in the paradigm based on Public Archaeology and the increase of our presence in everyday life.