"Archaeology is the search for fact... not truth. If it's truth you're looking for, Dr. Tyree's philosophy class is right down the hall."

Adventure. Intrigue. Treasure. Archaeological depictions in pop culture are full of attention grabbing aspects such as these as well as heroic and hairy chested leading men and gorgeous and mysterious exotic locations. As a student studying archaeology I have nothing against the popularity that the discipline has in pop culture, I think it's pretty great that the public is interested in history, but I do have a couple of issues with the stereotypes and popular beliefs surrounding archaeology that these depictions have created.

Now, before I go on with the topic at hand I'm going to share a little tidbit about my experience with archaeology. I have taken part in a field school in Belize for twice now, both seasons being a month in duration. We stayed at a fully functional but less than glamorous camp, working at an ancient Maya site in the middle of the jungle. From digging through clay to bug nets, outhouses to climbing overgrown temples, and howler monkeys to analyzing artifacts I loved every moment of the trip, but let me tell you, there was most definitely no golden idols, evil villains, or posh living quarters. 

hard at work, note the lack of face melting.

home away from home - the camp to the right. Photo Credit: Bruce Templeton.

Now from that top photo you can pretty clearly see that we are not following a series of clues while raiding the tomb of an ancient emperor to find a plethora of gold while ghost spirits unleash deadly traps of fire while the building tumbles around us while a despicable villain lurks in the shadows WHILE the golden treasure melts our faces off. No sir. We are carefully excavating, following the established ethics and procedures, and eventually filled that test pit back up, leaving almost no trace of our work there. 

This leads me to my first issue with archaeology in pop culture: lack of ethics.

With the exception of documentary programs, archaeological depictions usually lean more towards a grab-and-go approach to archaeology, where the only thing of value is the largest and most monetarily valuable artifact. Even documentary-type programs have this focus on the 'big find', because it is what the public is most interested in, when in reality the little finds and information gathered are of great importance to understanding the day to day life of the culture/society being studied. Archaeological depictions in pop culture are seriously lacking in the taking your time, following standard procedure, handling artifacts with care, and doing proper documentation and analysis realms. From Indiana Jones to American Digger, National Treasure to Chasing Mummies, archaeology is portrayed in a way that incorporates treasure, adventure, and a sense of urgency and time constraints, all of which add excitement and appeal to the public.

second issue: stereotyped image.

standard archaeologist attire. you all thought it.

 Arguably the most popular of archaeological depictions in popular culture, the Indiana Jones franchise has epitomized the archaeologist as being one of two types - the hairy chested or the hairy chinned (those who go out and do hands on fieldwork for their research, and those who do their research through reading texts). While they were not the first to dress archaeologists in what has become the stereotypical archaeologist fashion, Indiana Jones certainly solidified the image of archaeologists wearing khaki and a fedora. While the attire of an archaeologist in the field isn't too far off from this, there are multiple other types of archaeology that require different attire. 

Third issue: sexism.

A problem with archaeology is that it has been perceived as being an inherently masculine practice due to it's male dominated history and the aspects associated with it (action, adventure, outdoors, strength, hardship, drinking, etc.), and pop culture has supported this through it's heroic male leads. When looking at depictions of females in archaeology films  it can be seen that over time female characters begin to appear in the spotlight, instead of just as damsels in distress. However, because of archeology being constructed and viewed as a masculine field leading female characters are often portrayed in a masculine way, and are essentially male characters in a female disguise. Prime example? Lara Croft.

While it may be said that Lara Croft is merely a strong female character, she possesses all of the characteristics typical of your average heroic male lead - with the exception of her skin tight attire.

So arises the question: WHY is archaeology is being portrayed so inaccurately in pop culture? Archaeology burst into pop culture with the discovery of the tomb of King Tutankhamen, which garnered media attention from around the world.  As archaeology continued to grow in popularity films and television shows began to be produced. Due to a lack of communication between archaeologists and the public the public began to turn to fringe archaeology and fictional depictions to get their fill of archaeology. Hollywood is not interested in an accurate depiction of the discipline, but rather appealing to as large of an audience as possible to maximize profits. Audiences have begun to demand more from films however, and as a result archaeologists and historians are being utilized more than ever to assure details are correct - though this does not mean that archaeologists of pop culture will stop being unethical any time soon. The disconnect between archaeologists and the public has resulted in a near monopoly of the industry by pop culture, and the creation of a false understanding of who archaeologists are and what they do. There is a certain sense of nostalgia and mystery that surrounds the past and archaeology, causing it to appeal to both young and old and has been marketed accordingly.

Indiana Jones Lego set, complete with conveniently located treasure.

Now, in spite of all of this I'm going to reaffirm that I do appreciate the awareness of archaeology that is raised, as well as archaeology's popularity in pop culture. It is exciting that people are finding history interesting and are appreciative of museums and want to visit them and archaeological sites. I'm just a little concerned that all my friends and family think I'm going to be busting down temples and snatching up artifacts when I grow up.

s.

this post was written to the absolutely fantastic sounds of the Black Keys's newest album El Camino.

Sources:

Kulik, Karol. "A Short History of Archaeological Comunication," in Archaeology and the Media, ed. Timothy Clack and Marcus Brittain, 111-124. California: Left Coast Press, 2007.

photo: http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51TREJ--ugL._SL500_AA300_.jpg

Holtorf, Cornelius. Archaeology is a Brand!: The Meaning of Archaeology in Contemporary Popular Culture. Oxford: Left Coast Press, 2007.

photo: http://openlibrary.org/works/OL8489130W/Archeology_Is_a_Brand!

Holtorf, Cornelius. From Stonehenge to Las Vegas: Archaeology as Popular Culture. California: AltaMira Press, 2005.

photo: http://openlibrary.org/works/OL8489131W/From_Stonehenge_to_Las_Vegas

Indiana Jones photo: http://www.google.ca/imgres?um=1&hl=en&client=firefox-a&sa=N&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&biw=1196&bih=596&tbm=isch&tbnid=l6vTdbc7r2tdjM:&imgrefurl=http://movies.ign.com/articles/118/1182597p1.html&docid=Du5gDmY2Wv5TKM&imgurl=http://moviesmedia.ign.com/movies/image/article/118/1182597/cowboys-aliens-20110719034801336.jpg&w=431&h=300&ei=_tF_T5DEAcP8ggfI7si8DA&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=562&vpy=31&dur=195&hovh=187&hovw=269&tx=156&ty=111&sig=108160869769436767562&page=2&tbnh=126&tbnw=168&start=28&ndsp=27&ved=1t:429,r:9,s:28,i:243

Indiana Jones Lego set photo: http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/bricktales/z-godbricks/7621-1.jpg

Indiana Jones title quote: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097576/quotes

Lara Croft photo: http://ia.media-imdb.com/images/M/MV5BNzgwMDcwNzk1NV5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTYwNzY2OTY5._V1._SY317_.jpg