In this episode we talk with Stephanie Halmhofer about pseudoarchaeology and her research on topics such as the ancient aliens hypothesis and hyperdiffusionism.

Episode notes are available on the ArchaeoCafé website.
https://archaeocafe.kvasirpublishing.com/archaeocafe-podcast-ep-214-halmhofer/

About Stephanie Halmhofer

Stephanie is a doctoral student at the University of Alberta. Her thesis research focuses on the ways cults in North America use archaeology and pseudoarchaeology to build and support their mythical origins, and how cults impact the archaeological landscape. Her previous research has also included the study of glass beads, osteological analyses of human skeletal remains, and museum collection cataloguing and exhibition.
Web:
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Stephanie-Halmhofer
https://independent.academia.edu/StephanieHalmhofer
https://scholar.google.ca/citations?user=VhxQ_UAAAAAJ
https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanie-halmhofer-m-a-150588b6/

Some useful terminology and links

pseudoarchaeology
Interpretations of the past from outside the archaeological science community, which reject the accepted data gathering and analytical methods of the discipline.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pseudoarchaeology

pseudoscience
Statements, beliefs, or practices that claim to be both scientific and factual but are incompatible with the scientific method.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pseudoscience

ancient aliens hypothesis
A pseudoarchaeological hypothesis which suggests that intelligent extraterrestrial beings visited Earth and made contact with humans in ancient history and that this contact influenced the development of modern cultures, technologies, religions, and human biology. Two well-known proponents are Erich von Däniken and Giorgio Tsoukalos.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_astronauts
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erich_von_D%C3%A4niken
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giorgio_A._Tsoukalos

hyperdiffusionism
A pseudoarchaeological hypothesis suggesting that certain historical technologies or ideas originated with a single people or civilization before their adoption by other cultures. A frequent aspect of hyperdiffusionism is that the similarities among unrelated cultures are explained as having been inherited from the civilization of a lost continent (for example, Atlantis, Mu, or Lemuria) which has since sunk into the sea. Many of Graham Hancock's books involve examples of hyperdiffusionism.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperdiffusionism
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graham_Hancock

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