Explorations of New Approaches to Online Public Outreach Archaeology in the Age of Pseudoscience
Channel: Recording Archaeology
Date: 2015-10-07

Alexis Jordan
UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MILWAUKEE
The growing number of diverse free online media platforms have to some extent, democratized the ability to share one’s content with the wider world. The Internet has become a tool for the dissemination of both professional and alternative archaeological content. Consequently archaeology found on the Web ranges from professional to avocational, to blatant pseudoscientific appropriation and misrepresentation. The online prevalence and accessibility of misrepresentations of archaeology increase the probability that pseudoscientific content may serve as the public’s most likely exposure to the discipline. The long-term consequences of this trend are likely to involve the growth of negative perceptions regarding the validity and importance of archaeological research. As academic disciplines must increasingly justify their existence and relevancy to the wider world, such perceptions can have far reaching impacts. The question is no longer should archaeologists address this phenomenon, but how. In an effort to address this phenomenon, I will explore proactive rather than reactive responses to the proliferation of online pseudoarchaeology through the generation of new approaches to online public outreach archaeology endeavors. These include: the centralization and promotion of online archaeology resources; archaeologists as public figures utilizing online social and news medias; and updating and expanding quantitative survey studies to obtain better insight into public perceptions and interests in archaeology. Only through improved communication efforts in web-based medias can we hope to communicate with larger portions of the population and better articulate the realities and significance of professional archaeology.