Week 11

Question 1

Fermi Paradox

Answer 1

The discrepancy between the lack of conclusive evidence of advanced extraterrestrial life and the apparently high likelihood of its existence.

Drake Equation

Question 2

Drake Equation

Answer 2

The equation estimating the possibility of number of active, communicative extraterrestrial civilizations in the Milky Way.

Wide range, 53-99% chance we are alone in the galaxy

Question 3

Inkblot Hypothesis

Answer 3

Artifacts discovered by people who have little/no understanding of their religious, artistic, or historical context of the drawings or images within the culture that produced them can be interpreted as the viewer wishes

Inkblot psychological test - what do you percieve the blot as?

Question 4

Amorous/Horny Astronaut Hypothesis

Answer 4

A group of intersteller and advanced space travelers came to Earth, found primative ape like creatures with potential (early humans) and fertilized them to create the modern human race

Question 5

“Our Ancestors, The Dummies” Hypothesis

Answer 5

The notion that the archaeological record is replete with evidence of highly advanced artifacts beyond the capability of ancient humans

Advanced techonolgy = aliens, obviously

Question 6

Experimental Archaeology

Answer 6

A field of study which attempts to generate and test archaeological hypotheses, usually by replicating or approximating the feasibility of ancient cultures performing various tasks or feats.

Question 7

Mastaba

Question 8

Stepped Pyramid

Answer 8

A type of building with bricks that decrease in size as they are placed on top of one another

Evolution of the Egyptian Pyramids, smaller than the pyramids we know

Question 9

Imhotep

Question 10

Archaeo-astronomy

Answer 10

How people of the past would’ve made sense of astronomy and the past with their architecture or calendars

Question 11

Chariots of the Gods: The Mysteries Continue (TLC, 1996)

What is the main claim being made by Von Daniken in this TV documentary?

Answer 11

Extraterrestrials visited us in antiquity and people worshiped them as gods

Antiquity: the ancient past, period before the Middle Ages

Question 12

Chariots of the Gods: The Mysteries Continue (TLC, 1996)

For each of the sites visited by Von Daniken and Karn, what is the interpretation put forward as evidence for extraterrestrial contact?

Answer 12

• Advanced technology and engineering
• Historical accounts of flight
• Iconography of flight and/or ETs
• Deformed skulls

Question 13

Chariots of the Gods: The Mysteries Continue (TLC, 1996)

What are some flawed methods of attitude and procedure encountered in this show?

Question 14

Who were some of the key historical figures in developing theories about extraterrestrial life?

Question 15

How has the science fiction universe of H. P. Lovecraft, including the god Cthulhu, helped give rise to ancient astronaut hypotheses?

Question 16

What is the Inkblot Hypothesis? How has this been applied to Lord Pakal’s tomb and the Nazca Lines? What are the problems with this hypothesis?

Question 17

What is the Amorous Astronaut (Horny Astronaut) Hypothesis? What are the problems with this?

Question 18

Our Ancestors The Dummies Hypothesis

How has this been applied to the Easter Island moai? What are the problems with this hypothesis? What do experiments suggest about the actual movement of these statues?

Question 19

According to Feder, what are some of the sources of bias in ancient astronaut hypotheses?

Question 20

According to Halmhofer, what is the core argument of most pseudoarchaeology? And how does this intersect with white nationalism and other forms of racism?

Question 21

Why were colonial powers interested in stealing Egyptian architecture and artifacts in the 19th century?

Question 22

How does Von Daniken interpret iconography from the Temple of Hathor as evidence for ancient Egyptian electricity? What are the problems with this argument?

Question 23

What is the “Baghdad Battery”? What hypotheses are tested by Myth Busters team to explain this object? Which hypotheses seem most credible?

Question 24

What is the evidence for a gradual development of pyramid-building traditions in ancient Egypt? What were some of the specific technological developments and trials-and-errors that preceded the Great Pyramids of Giza?

Answer 24

Evolution of the Egyptian Pyramids, and some Myan Pyramids are built on top of eachother to become larger and more complex

Question 25

Who built the Great Pyramids of Giza? How? How do we know? What role did the Great Pyramids and other funerary monuments play in Egyptian society?

Answer 25

Not slaves! Not Slave Laboror’s!! Constripted laboror’s! They were offered a place to live and food. Bakeries and breweries

Question 26

Who was King Tut? Was he cursed? How do we know?

Question 27

Who built Gobekli Tepe, and when? What role did this monument play for local hunter-gatherers?

Answer 27

Built by hunter gatherer’s, ceremonial monument