Dubious Discoveries

December 23, 2009 9:25 PM

Bogus! Why do fakes get made? Why do people fall for hoaxes? Greed, pride, revenge, nationalism, pranks, and gullibility mix in an archaeological setting. Archaeology Magazine examines eight classic cases, and more.
posted by amyms (6 comments total)

Coming soon to this list: The Voynich Manuscript.

I keed, I keed...
posted by qvantamon at 9:29 PM on December 23, 2009

I would add to this the penis temple at Chucuito. A few pics (on my site of this rockhard piece of ersatzery here.
posted by rhymer at 12:49 AM on December 24, 2009

Don't click the link! It redirects you to goatse!

And if it doesn't, someone really missed an opportunity...
posted by twine42 at 12:50 AM on December 24, 2009

Don't be dissing on the ersatz, I always say.
posted by ersatz at 4:51 AM on December 24, 2009

I always figured that hoaxes came from the same source that I got my incredible outrage (when I got older from younger) at how non-professional the origins of very finished consumer products ended up being once I got involved in the industries that produce them.

I always figured that if I were a millionare playboy I would probably spend a lot of time creating hoaxes just to prove that I could.
posted by kalessin at 6:06 AM on December 24, 2009

Wonderful article roundup. Thank you for posting! :)

I still hope that someday we'll find real evidence of "ravenous man-eating Pliocene clams"...
posted by zarq at 7:04 AM on December 24, 2009